by Nikki Ashton
“Did Carter apologize?” Bronte asked, taking the menu from me and stuffing it back into its little wooden holder.
“No, why would he? When has he ever apologized for anything he’s ever done or said to me?”
“Ugh that boy irritates me beyond belief.”
Bronte craned her neck to look over my shoulder toward my brother and when I saw her give the universal sign of dick head, I knew he was looking over.
“Stop it.” I giggled. “Just let them be a pair of idiots together.”
“Ugh boys are so stupid, and you wonder why I want in Jefferson’s pants.”
My stomach churned as she reminded me that Hunter and I were supposed to be working together on a plan.
“Made your mind up, girls?” Delphine asked as she placed a coke and a glass of milk on the table.
“I’ll have a chicken salad sandwich and a piece of Garth’s chocolate brownie cake, please Delphine,” I replied and smiled up at her.
“Tuna on rye please, Delphine, but same cake.” Bronte sighed. “God, I love that cake.”
Delphine laughed. “I’m pretty sure that Garth’s chocolate brownie cake is the only reason most folks come in here.” She turned to walk away and then suddenly turned back. “Oh Ellie, I meant to tell you, my nephew Dylan is coming into town next week. I thought you could use him in the calendar if you’re short of men.”
I shifted in my seat, remembering the last time I’d seen Dylan about four years previous. He had a bag of donuts in one hand and a single donut in the other which he’d devoured with two bites.
I was short of Mr. March, but without being mean, I wasn’t sure Dylan was the kind of guy the ladies of Dayton Valley would want to welcome Spring with.
“I don’t know, Delphine, I think I might have the right number.”
I didn’t need to mention I’d fired Hunter only minutes before.
“Oh no you don’t,” Bronte butted in. “Cooper Wyatt dropped out, his fiancée told him it was her or the calendar, so the ball-less idiot chose her.”
Bronte frowned, crinkling up her tiny button nose. Sometimes she’s was so damn cute, yet I also wanted to strangle her.
“Oh wow, that’s amazing,” Delphine gushed as she reached into her apron pocket. “Have I showed you a picture of him lately? He’s lost 72 pounds.”
My ears pricked up a little, but only because I wanted to fist pump his endeavors for losing weight. I’d been a chubby kid up until I was around twelve and it wasn’t nice to be made fun of. That was why I’d gone total freak out on Belinda’s car when she’d called me fat ass.
“Here you go,” Delphine said, passing her phone to Bronte. “How cute is he?”
Bronte let out a long, low whistle. “Wow, Delphine. He looks fine.”
Delphine beamed with pride and taking the phone from Bronte, passed it to me. I expected to give it a cursory glance, but when I looked down at the blond, bronzed god looking up at me, my vajayjay did a little gallop. I didn’t usually like longer hair on a man, but jeez Dylan certainly wore his well.
“Woah,” I exclaimed. “He’s hot, Delphine.”
“I know, right.” She raised a brow and grinned. “And single.”
“Oh my God,” Bronte screamed. “Delphine, you have to introduce him to Ellie. You have to.”
“We are so in tune,” Delphine said and high-fived Bronte. “Which is why I think he’d be perfect for the calendar. You get a cute guy and I get to introduce you both. Win, win, Ellie.”
“Oh no,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m not sure I…”
“Come on, Ellie,” Bronte replied. “He’s hotter than Satan’s ball sack.”
I rolled my eyes, thinking that description actually applied more to Hunter, and turned to Delphine. “I’d be glad of his help with the calendar, but as for anything else I’m—”
“Who’s that?”
Hunter’s voice cut into mine as he leaned into Delphine and stared down at the picture.
“My nephew Dylan.” She practically preened as Hunter actually took the phone and peered more closely. “He’s coming to stay and I’m going to introduce him to Ellie. He’s going to take part in the calendar.”
Hunter’s head shot up and he stared at me, his eyes dark and intense.
“Thought you had enough guys for that?” he asked, holding the phone out to Delphine without taking his eyes from me.
“Cooper Wyatt pulled out,” Bronte replied brightly. “He likes his fiancée to hold his balls for him when he’s taking a leak.”
I straightened and automatically my chest pushed out. I didn’t fail to notice Hunter’s eyes dropped to it and my damn nipples got a little hard at the thought. Stupid bitches!
“I may ask him to do two now, seeing as you’re not helping out.”
“Why?” Bronte asked the same time as Hunter shouted, “I damn am.”
“No, you’re not, Hunter,” I replied, giving him a shake of my head. “I don’t need you.”
“I think you do,” Hunter said through gritted teeth.
“You do,” Bronte whined.
“No, I don’t, not after he spoke to me like I was the dirt under his shoe, I don’t.”
Bronte slapped him on the arm, while Delphine slipped away mouthing that she’d be back with our food.
“You idiot,” Bronte said. “Apologize immediately.”
“I don’t want him to apologize. I’m not putting him in the calendar.”
I knew he’d be a great asset and would probably be the selling point for half the ladies in town, not to mention the other towns the hospital serviced, but he was an idiot and I was standing my ground. I was determined. I didn’t need Hunter Delaney for anything, least of all a titillating calendar shot of him in just his underwear.
As I jutted my chin out with determination, Hunter leaned down, his mouth close to my ear.
“No calendar, no help in getting Carter and Bronte together,” he whispered. “In fact, I might just go back over there now and tell him your little plan.”
I gasped like I was a shielded Southern Belle and he’d just told me the dirtiest joke ever.
“You wouldn’t.”
He didn’t speak but raised his brows and nodded slowly.
“Okay,” I said the fight going out of me. “You’re back in.”
Bronte clapped like a sea lion while Hunter grinned and then carried on to the men’s room. Me, well I cussed and cursed under my breath and realized that the stupid idiot had me tightly by my lady balls.
Hunter
Not a fucking chance would Ellie be getting introduced to Delphine’s damn nephew.
Fucking pretty boy.
Nothing else was going to happen between me and her, that much was pretty evident after I pissed her off in the café the day before, but that didn’t mean that I was going to sit back and let some Thor lookalike cozy up to her. Stupid prick needed to get a haircut anyway.
“Hey, son you got a minute?”
“Hang on.”
I forked the clean hay around the calving pen and then turned to Pop. “What’s up?”
He frowned and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “L and J want to go to into town. Was wondering if you could take them.”
“Why me?” I asked, rubbing my forehead with my forearm. “Can’t you? I was going to ride out to the far pasture and check whether we need cut down that storm damaged tree.”
Pop rubbed the floor with the toe of his boot. “I’m kind of avoiding someone.”
“Shit, Pop,” I groaned. “You’ve dumped Jojo.”
“Yeah, and she didn’t take it too well.”
“Why does that stop you going into town? I thought she worked at Tatum’s Grocery Store at Jennings Bridge.”
“Yeah, she did, but they asked her to cover here for a few weeks. And,” he sighed, rubbing a hand down his beard, “because she thought we were seeing each other, she agreed. Thought she’d get to see more of me.”
“You don�
�t have to take Auntie L and J into the grocery store.”
“That’s kinda where they want to go, and you know I can’t leave them on their own in there. Remember last time and they came home with twenty cans of Chicken a la King, just because it was on special.”
I couldn’t help laughing, mainly at the pained look on Pop’s face. “Yeah, we have beef on hand, and they bought canned chicken in case we had a winter storm and needed supplies.”
Pop shrugged as if to say, ‘told you so’.
“So, will you take them?”
I’d been looking forward to giving Dante, my horse, a blow out, but Pop looked as though the idea of him going into town was about as popular as a fart in a spacesuit.
“I’ll let you have the afternoon off tomorrow,” he said, almost pleading with me.
Liking the idea of a few hours down time, I nodded. “Okay. As long as you go and check the tree and take Dante instead of Jezebel.”
“Fine. No problem.” Pop replied. “I’ll let him blow off some steam. I know he’s been frustrated, stuck in the stables for the last two weeks because of that abscess on his tail.”
We had four horses in total, but we rarely used our two older mares Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette. They’d worked hard over the years and deserved their time in the pasture opposite to the house. To say they’d been mad at having to work had been an understatement. Dolly had even tried to throw me the day before.
I handed Pop the fork and was about to walk out of the barn, when something struck me. Him and Ellie. It just blasted from nowhere, right out of left field.
“You’re not after someone else, are you?”
“Fuck no. I think I’m going to stay away from the ladies for a little while.” He grinned at me and smoothed back his hair. “Well until singles night on Friday at Stars & Stripes.”
“Really? Pop, you do know that you’ve probably had most of the single women in this town.”
“Yeah, but according to Mack from the feed store there’s a bus coming in from Middleton Ridge.”
“Like you’ve not got enough women to be going at,” I muttered and shook my head. “Seriously Pop, I hope you’re wrapping up because you’re gonna catch something nasty one of these days.”
“Of course, I am. What sort of idiot do you think I am?”
“A sex crazed one,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “I’ll see you later.”
“Later, son, and I really appreciate it.”
I waved him away and went to wrangle my aunts into the truck, for what I knew was going to be an afternoon of hell.
Leaning onto the handle of the cart, I yawned loudly as we went into minute four of my aunts arguing about which was the best toilet paper.
“We keeping you awake?” Auntie L asked, arching a brow at me.
“Well, does it matter. As long as I can wipe my ass without poking my finger through, I don’t care which is softest.”
“Of course, it matters,” Auntie J exclaimed, hitting me with a pack of two rolls. “When you ride out on your horse every morning, you don’t want to have a sore butt before you’ve even started your day.” She turned and put the pack back. “We’ll come back to them later.”
“What?” I threw my hands in the air. “You’re kidding right?”
They both looked at me like I was the most stupid person on earth. Being that I’d agreed to bring them shopping, I think they had a point.
“We need to take our time choosing.” Auntie L tutted and then moved past me with her nose in the air.
“Take no notice, sweetheart,” Auntie J said. “She’s hormonal.”
At this point I knew I’d done something bad in a former life.
Shuddering, I followed them with the cart only to find they’d stopped again. This time though they weren’t arguing about which was the best of something, they were talking to none other than Ellie. Ellie who was dressed in jean shorts which cupped her ass cheeks to perfection and showed off her slim, tanned legs – images of which in a short cheer skirt were still invading my dreams.
As I reached them, Ellie gave me a cursory glance with, if I wasn’t mistaken, a little curl of her top lip.
“Ellie.’
I knew she must still be mad at me for how I’d been in the café, but I didn’t expect her to ignore me totally.
“Okay, that’s rude,” I grumbled.
Ellie’s head shot around and she levelled me with a deadpanned stare. “Because you’d know.”
“Oh my, Hunter, what did you do?” Auntie J asked, clutching her purse close to her chest.
“Nothing,” I remonstrated.
I wasn’t about to tell her why I’d lost my shit with Ellie in the café. That would open up a whole can of worms that I didn’t want to sift through. It was hard enough coming to terms with the fact that I’d suddenly started fantasizing about my best friend’s little sister, never mind the fact that her smell reminded me of my dead mom.
What a mind fuck.
“Oh, Hunter,” Auntie L sighed. “I thought you were more of a gentleman than that.”
I startled, wondering if she could read my dirty thoughts, especially as I was trying to avoid looking at Ellie’s tits in the tight white tee she was wearing.
“I’m always a gentleman,” I argued.
Ellie crossed her arms over her chest as though she also knew what was going on in my head. She probably did to be fair, the last couple of times we’d met she’d had to tell me to keep my eyes above chin level.
“Not so much in the café,” she replied with a smirk.
Auntie J smacked my arm. “I’m so disappointed with you, Hunter Meredith Delaney.”
As she full named me, I drew in a breath the same time that Ellie burst out laughing.
“No way,” she laughed. “Your middle name is not Meredith. Oh shit, that’s hilarious. Does Carter know.”
Of course, my best friend knew. On the very day he found out, during a history lesson about family trees when we were thirteen, he caught his dick in a coke bottle. Okay weird I know, but he was keeping watch outside the school sports hall while I got my first sexual experience from Paulette Benedict who was two years older than us. That meant we both had shit on each other.
The fact that Ellie now knew at least meant that all bets were off with Carter. I could hold that juicy little nugget over his head without any fear for ever more.
“Yes, Carter knows,” I replied through gritted teeth.
Ellie had tears edging at the corners of her eyes as she continued to laugh and held her stomach. To add insult to injury, both my aunts joined in with her.
“It was Sondra’s uncle’s name. He left her quite a sum of money, on provision she promised to name her first child after him,” Auntie L explained with a giggle.
Auntie J looked at me with a huge grin. “She didn’t really want you to have it, but it had been his last will and testament, so she had no choice really.”
“Yeah, I’m aware,” I said, flashing narrow eyes at Ellie who was still braying like a fucking donkey. “Mom told me the story many times.” Usually when she was a little tipsy and apologizing profusely for landing me with such a shit name.
“Oh my God, Hunter,” Ellie sighed, her laughter finally dying down. “That’s the funniest thing I ever did hear.”
“Well, never mind that,” Auntie J said, laying a hand on Ellie’s arm. “Why don’t you tell us how he upset you.”
Ellie shook her head. “Oh no, it’s fine Auntie J. It was nothing and I’m sure he’s sorry. Aren’t you, Hunter?”
Her words were pointed as she raised both her brows, almost to her hairline.
“I’m sorry,” I breathed out. “And I promise to be a gentleman in the future.”
I couldn’t be bothered with arguing with her about it. Anyway, she was right, I had been a bit of dick.
Auntie J smiled. “That’s good, so how about you apologize properly by taking Ellie to the singles night on Friday.”
Ellie giggled nervo
usly. “That’s okay. It’s fine.”
“You don’t really take someone to a singles night, Auntie J.”
“Only if it’s a date you don’t,” she replied, her lips twitching as she tried to hold back a smile. “It’s not a date, is it?”
“No, she hasn’t even said yes.” I pushed the cart away from them. “Anyway, come on, you still have a whole list of stuff you need to get.”
“She hasn’t said yes, yet. Ooh, Janice-Ann, do you think that means they’re going to the singles night together.”
“Now, Lynn-Ann, don’t put the cart before the horse. Hunter hasn’t asked Ellie yet.”
“I wasn’t going to,” I declared.
“Why?” Ellie asked. “What’s wrong with taking me to the singles night? It’s not like it’d be a date Hunter… Meredith.”
My nostrils flared as I looked at her. She was sucking on her bottom lip and one hip was cocked out. She had the same fire in her eyes as a wild mountain horse and I wondered how the fuck I’d never seen her before. I mean I’d known she was hot, but I’d never really seen her. Yet for the past couple of weeks, she’d been all I could fucking see, especially when I was jacking off.
“It wouldn’t be a date,” I stated.
“I wouldn’t want a date with you.” Ellie screwed up her nose and looked like she could smell shit.
“It’ll be great,” Auntie J said. “You’ll be there, so will we and then there’s Bronte.”
“Bronte’s going?” Ellie exclaimed.
“Yes,” Auntie J replied. “I spoke to her this morning. I booked in for us to have our nails done, so they look nice for Friday night.”
“Don’t forget Jefferson.” Auntie L beamed at us. “All there together, just like Janice-Ann said, so much fun.”
“You’re going.” I almost choked on the gasp of air I took in. “You can’t. It’s singles night.”
“Well, we’re single,” Auntie L said with a defiant tilt of her chin. “So, why shouldn’t we?”
I raised my palms to the ceiling. “Because… well because…”
“Your Pop is going?” Ellie muttered, looking like her eyes might burst out of her head. “And Bronte.”
