When he put me down, I had to take an extra deep breath. “Thank you. It’s nice to see you, too,” I wheezed out.
“See, Jake?” Ox said. “That’s how you take turns. Learned that in Kindergarten, ya know?”
“Shut up,” Jake said.
Emily must’ve approached from behind me, because suddenly she was standing next to me. “Don’t mind Jake. The bonehead’s been grouchy for weeks now.”
Jake poked Emily in her side, making her squeal with laughter, then wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her neck. “I’ll show you a bonehead.”
“Uh-uh-uh.” She shook her finger at him. “The doctor said six weeks. You’ve got two more days before I’m allowed to—”
Jake clamped his mouth over hers, muffling out the last word.
“Did she say duck?” Ox asked, grinning.
Judd chuckled. “Nope. Pretty sure it was truck.”
“Maybe she meant luck,” Bobbie Jo said as she joined the group.
I shrugged. “Could’ve been suck.”
Jake pulled his mouth from Emily’s and everyone blinked at me. I blushed, realizing they took it differently than how I meant it. I was just throwing out a rhyming word like everyone else. Or so I thought.
Jake laughed and said, “I like the way you think.”
“You would.” Emily rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t give him any ideas, Anna. The man’s relentless as it is.”
He winked at her. “Pot and kettle, baby.”
She grinned at that and winked back at him. I could see why Emily was so smitten by her husband. Jake was as good-looking as ever with his dark hair and steely gray eyes. And as funny and beautiful as Emily was, I could definitely see why Jake had fallen so hard for her. I was glad to see he ended up so happy.
And Bobbie Jo stood next to them with a genuine, heartfelt smile on her face, proving how glad she was that Jake found someone else to love. As far as ex-girlfriends go, he couldn’t have asked for a better one.
“So, Anna,” Ox said, snaring my attention. “Didn’t you live in Houston all those years ago? What brings you to our neck of the woods?”
I nodded. “There was an opening at the library, and Bobbie Jo was able to put in a good word for me. Her mother knows the director.”
“You’re a librarian?” Ox asked, letting loose one of his boisterous chuckles. For a tiny guy, he had one of the loudest, most entertaining laughs I’d ever heard. “Perfect job for you. At camp, you always had your nose in a book.”
“Yes. I…um, suppose I did,” I replied meekly, realizing that everyone—including Cowboy—probably remembered me as a boring, mousy girl.
“I didn’t even recognize you when you first walked down the stairs,” Judd said seriously. “Man, you sure have changed since the last time I saw you. You’re all grown up.”
Though I was sure he meant it as a compliment, I felt the familiar heat of embarrassment creeping up my neck as everyone stared at me. It was terrific seeing so many recognizable faces, although I’d always hated being the center of attention. It overwhelmed me and gave me the urge to stick my entire head into a book, rather than just my nose.
But I tried to play it cool. Even if my hands were feeling clammy and I was beginning to break into a sweat. The jacket I had on wasn’t helping matters.
“So, what have you been up to all of these years?” Jake inquired.
“Not much, really,” I said vaguely. “What about you guys?”
Jake’s keen eyes fixed on me and he cocked his head, as if he knew I was deliberately taking the focus off myself and steering the conversation back to them. It’s not like I had anything to hide. Nothing more than usual, anyway. I just didn’t like talking about myself that much.
Hank pulled at his belt as he rose from his plastic lawn chair. “All right, boys. Break’s over,” he called out. “Let the womenfolk be. You can catch up with them over supper.”
“Why not now?” Jake asked.
“Because I said so. You boys need to go find Cowboy. I’d do it myself, but it’s too far of a walk. I have enough damn pins and screws in my knee to declare myself a robot.”
“We could always get you one of those souped-up scooters to drive around on the property.” Jake grinned as he baited his elderly uncle.
“Those are for old people,” Hank said seriously. “Now go find Cowboy and get to work. I don’t pay you all to sit around.”
Jake chuckled at that. “You don’t pay us at all, you old coot.”
“That’s because I dock wages for smart mouths. Right now, all of you are dangerously close to going in the red and owing me some money.”
The men rolled their eyes at Hank’s idle threat, but they didn’t hesitate to get moving. Bobbie Jo and I grinned as Jake leaned over and gave Emily a quick kiss and then whispered something in her ear that made her face light up.
As the boys walked toward the pond, Hank turned to me. “Honey, can I get you to do me a small favor?”
“Um, sure,” I said warily.
“Floss needs some fresh eggs to boil for her potato salad. There’s a stack of buckets along the far wall in the barn. If you would be a dear and get me one, I’d appreciate it.”
“Absolutely. In fact, if you want I could even…”
I was just about to offer to gather the eggs for him, too, but Emily stood behind him, shaking her head violently. She flapped her arms like a chicken, then sliced a finger across her throat, as if we were playing some weird game of charades that I hadn’t signed up for. I wasn’t sure what any of it meant, but gathering the eggs didn’t look like anything I wanted to be involved in.
“No problem,” I told him, bewildered by whatever came over Emily. “I’ll be right back.”
Chapter Eight
Inside the musty-smelling barn, I’d just found a small bucket when Cowboy’s voice sounded outside the door. Not ready to face him alone, I panicked, hurried into the nearest horse stall that was filled with a few hay bales, and ducked down to keep from being spotted. Thankfully, the stall sat against the back wall in the center of the room, leaving me a clear view of almost the entire barn.
My plan was simple: wait for him to leave, then do the same.
Through the narrow slats on the stall gate, I watched in silence as Cowboy stepped inside, followed seconds later by three shadows that turned out to be Jake, Ox, and Judd.
“Should’ve known you guys would follow me in here,” Cowboy griped, clearly still upset. “It’s not like you sissies have anything better to do than harass me.”
He kicked a metal pail that clanged against the stall I was in. Startled by the loud sound, I jumped as the silver bucket shot out a few feet away from the gate and knocked over several wooden-handled shovels leaning against the wall.
Jake, Ox, and Judd stood in the barn doorway giving Cowboy a slow clap for his bad aim. I couldn’t help but grin.
“You guys are dicks.”
“Aw, come on, Cowboy. We’re just playing around,” Ox said. “Besides, when the hell did you ever start looking at Bobbie Jo like that?”
Judd chuckled. “Yeah, you looked like you wanted to rip her clothes off.”
Not looking the least bit amused, Cowboy whirled on them. “You sick sonofabitches! That’d be like me screwing my own sister,” he snapped, throwing his hands in the air. “And for your information, you bunch of nitwits, I wasn’t looking at her. I was looking at… Aw, shit. Forget it.”
Even though it made sense that if Cowboy hadn’t been looking at Bobbie Jo, he would’ve been looking at me, Ox and Judd didn’t catch on. I mean, obviously he wasn’t referring to Emily. At least not while Jake stood there. But leave it to the FBI guy to be the only one to pick up on it.
“Anna?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow to his friend. When Cowboy didn’t answer, Jake laughed. Loudly. “Really?”