Gavin nods. “I think it’s great that you’re putting yourself out there.”
My eyebrows fly up in surprise. I didn’t expect that comment from him. He chuckles. “At least try to hide your shock.” He shakes his head, serving himself pop. “I’m not at that place, but you have no reason to hide. Honestly, this is probably for your own good. I know you could spend days without human interaction, but that’s not good either.”
“I know.” I sigh. “I’m eating another cupcake,” I announce, plucking the cupcake from the plastic container and peeling the paper wrapper. I tear off the bottom half and eat it before taking a bite of the perfect balance of frosting and cake.
“You’ve been eating cupcakes the same way since we were kids,” Gavin comments.
“It’s the best way to eat them.”
“Nah.” He grabs his own and tears off the bottom part, placing it on top of the frosting to create a sandwich. “This is the best way to eat a cupcake.”
“Let’s agree to disagree,” I say around a mouthful of dark chocolate goodness.
“Deal.”
“Are you eating my cupcakes?” Penny stops in front of us with her hands on her hips. Her hair is a mess from running wild, and she gives us the cutest pout that I can’t help but giggle.
“They’re for everyone, and I made sure to save you your favorite vanilla one with the pink frosting.”
“Yes!” She jumps up and down. “Can I have it now, Daddy?” She smiles so wide, her neck strains from the force, and she clutches her hands over her chest.
“Sure thing, but that’s it. You’ve got summer camp tomorrow.”
“I know! It’s slippin’ side day.” She takes a big bite of her cupcake, pink frosting mustache taking over her face.
“Slip and slide,” Gavin says slowly.
“That’s what I said,” she argues.
“Penny, has anyone told you how adorable you are?” I tickle her ribs. She giggles, crumbs of vanilla cake flying everywhere.
“You’re gonna make me drop my cupcake, Abbie,” she yells.
“More cupcakes?” Emily says, dropping on the blanket next to us. “Give me one, too.” She reaches her hand out.
“It better not be the last one,” Sienna hollers, jogging over to us.
“Hurry, hide it,” Emily whispers.
“I heard that!” Sienna exclaims, reaching for the container holding the last cupcake.
“Good thing you bought two for each of us,” I look at Gavin.
“I know my people,” he responds.
Penny takes a seat on his lap as she finishes her cupcake. I look around at my family and smile. I love these people. We’ve always been there for each other, and the older my sisters get, the closer we become, even with pesky interrogations about my lack of a love life.
With Penny asleep against his chest, Gavin gets ready to leave. “I can take Emily and Sienna home on the way.”
“I’ll take them. Get Penny home so she can nap comfortably. Let’s grab lunch or dinner this week,” I suggest. Every chance I get, I make plans to hang out with Gavin so that he gets out of the house and spends time with adults that aren’t his parents.
“Sure. You can tell me more about this guy,” he teases.
I roll my eyes. “It’s nothing.”
“Uh-huh.” He smiles. “Bye, cuz.”
I hug him around Penny and rub her back. “She’s so darn cute.”
“A handful, too,” he adds. “Thanks for this. She had fun.”
“Anytime. Now, I’ve got all this space for her to run around on.” I extend my arms and wave around the property. Obviously, not all of it is mine, but the house is built on acres belonging to the Coopers, so it’s free to use while I live here.
“Thanks.” He waves at Emily and Sienna, who are standing by the front door.
I grab the blanket and shake off the pieces of grass. Sienna helps me take in the bag of chips and the pop. When I walk into the house, Emily is washing the cups we used.
“I really like this house,” she says when she places the last cup on the drying rack. “It’s nicer than an apartment.”
“It is,” I agree. “A little dark at night, but I’ll get used to that.” I drop the blanket on the counter and put the chips away in the pantry.
“It’s probably beautiful to see the stars, though,” Sienna adds.
I nod and smile. I still have to finish unpacking some boxes, but Faith, Poppy, and Averly helped me a lot yesterday. They were here until late in the night, drinking wine and helping me get organized.
“Whenever you want to come by, you know you’re welcome.”
“Sleepover?” Sienna’s eyes brighten.
“Of course.”
When they were little girls, and we would spend weekends trapped in the house, Sienna and Emily would come up with the idea to sleep in the living room, watching movies, and eating junk food as if we were at a sleepover. It started to become a tradition after I moved, so we would still get quality time together.
“Awesome. We’ll pick a date,” Sienna smiles.
Soon Emily will be in college, Sienna following closely behind. Who knows when they’ll be back, and we’ll get quality time to spend like this.
Finn
I wipe the sweat off my brow with the sleeve of my shirt as I ride, checking in on our cattle as they graze freely. We have a livestock auction this weekend, and we need to gather the cattle we’ll be taking to sell.
The week has been killer in preparation for this, all of us keeping a close eye on the animals to make sure nothing out of the ordinary happens.
After I finish my chores, I ride Midnight back toward the ranch, where the pile of firewood lays on the ground and put on my working gloves. With our long and brutal winters, I always prefer to be overstocked with firewood than freeze my ass off, so we cut down more than enough wood to dry out and season before the cold arrives in early fall.
I lift the ax from the chopping block and grab a log, standing it on the block. Sweat trickles down my neck as I swing the ax to split the firewood. My muscles strain with the repetitive action as I work through the pile of wood. It’ll take me a few days to get through it all, but at least it’ll have plenty of time to dry out.
The ringing of my phone in my back pocket jolts me as I toss a log onto the split pile. I reach for it and answer, removing my Stetson hat and wiping my brow.
“Hello?”
“Finn? Hi, it’s Abbie. Sorry to bother you while you’re at work, but I wanted to know if you could come by once you’re done. The pipe under the kitchen sink is leaking.” Abbie sounds breathless.
“Sure. I’ll head over now before it gets any worse.”
“No, no. Finish working.” Her voice rises in panic.
“It’s okay,” I chuckle. “I’m on the same property, so technically it’s still work.”
She sighs. “Okay, thanks.”
I lean the ax against the chopping block and head toward my truck, telling one of our ranch hands I’ll be right back in case my dad goes looking for me.
When I pull into the driveway at the farmhouse, Abbie is standing outside on the porch steps.
“You really didn’t need to rush over here,” she calls out as I climb out of my truck and walk towards her. When I get closer, I notice her t-shirt is wet, and her nipples are hard against the fabric.
Fuck. I take a deep breath and focus on her face, ignoring the hardening in my jeans.
“It’s really no problem. Show me what’s going on.” Wiping my boots on the outdoor rug, I step in and immediately hear the tell-tale sound of leaking water.
“I tried to wrap a towel around it now but got splashed instead.”
As if I hadn’t noticed. I swallow my cocky response. “It’s okay. I may need to call Eli, but I figured it’d be faster if I came and took a look first.”
I sit on the floor under the sink where the cabinets are open, and a small plastic container is collecting the water. Abbie’s placed
towels on the bottom of the cabinet to help absorb the moisture.
I roll up my sleeves and start messing with the pipe, searching for the source of the problem. Looking at the joint that connects two curved pieces of the pipe, the water is shooting out from there. There’s no way of adjusting that joint myself.
“Do you know where the main water valve is?” I turn to look at Abbie, who is leaning against the counter next to me. I catch sight of her bare feet with teal-colored toes and smile.
“No,” she shakes her head.
“It’s on the side of the house, where the hose is. Just turn it, and it’ll stop the running water.”
“B-R-B,” she stands straighter before taking off.
I chuckle at her response while holding a towel tight around the pipe, so the cabinets don’t get soaked. I’ll have to call Eli as soon as possible.
“Did that work?” I hear her voice coming from somewhere in front of the house. I remove the towel to check.
“Yup. Thanks.”
I stand, wiping my hands on my jeans.
“It’s a mess. Sorry about that.” Abbie walks toward me, and I notice her toned legs in jean shorts and the cowboy boots she must’ve slipped on when she ran out.
“Don’t mock my boots,” she warns, mistaking my once-over for teasing.
“I’d never.” I place a hand over my chest with a gasp.
“So, what’s the damage?” She tilts her head toward the sink. Her nose wrinkles as she waits.
The reason I’m here. Right. “I need to call Eli and see if he can send his plumber over today. Sorry about this. It must be something with the installation.”
“Don’t be sorry. I thought I did something to the sink and freaked.” Abbie grimaces. I can’t help but linger my eyes across her chest as the wet material continues to taunt me.
Damn it. When did Abbie Murphy become a woman to desire?
I damn well shake that thought out of my mind. “You did nothing wrong. Let me call Eli a second.” She nods and turns away, though I don’t need any privacy to make this call.
As soon as I talk to Eli, he tells me he’s going to send his plumber over within the next hour. Abbie sighs when I relay the message, and I notice her eyes flicking to her phone.
“How’s the dating app working out?” I smile as I ask her, noticing her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.
“Uh, okay?” She shrugs, her lips pressing together.
“That’s convincing,” I chuckle. “What happened to that Nick guy?” I bring my arms over my chest and lean my hip against the counter, crossing my foot over the other.
“Nothing. He’s still there. He asked if I wanted to have dinner tomorrow since he only works the morning, but I haven’t replied.”
“Why not?” I furrow my eyebrows.
“I don’t know,” she whines, tossing her head back, and I chuckle. “I haven’t been on a date in forever, and I suck at starting conversations or keeping them flowing. I get super awkward when I’m nervous.”
“Just be yourself.”
“Easy for you to say, you’re Mr. Social Butterfly. It comes easy for you, and you go on like a million dates with ease.”
I purse my lips, deepening the valley between my eyebrows. Sure, I date a lot like any single man, but somehow it sounds bad when Abbie puts it that way.
“Let’s practice,” I suggest.
“Huh?” Her eyes widen.
“Don’t be scared. This will help ease your nerves. Come on, let’s pretend I’m Nick.” I move to sit on a stool at the counter.
“Hey, Abbie, it’s great to meet you. Man, you sure are prettier than your profile picture shows.”
“Funny, Finn. Can you be serious for a second?” She crosses her arms and glares at me.
I smirk. “I am being serious. Usually, profile pictures suck.”
“And you’d know this because you’ve used so many dating apps,” she rolls her eyes.
“No, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t seen a picture or two while dating.” I shrug unapologetically and lean on my elbows. “Let’s start again.”
“Fine,” she huffs.
“Hey, Abbie, how are you? It’s great to finally meet you.” I leave out the pretty comment.
“Hey, Fi-Nick.” She shakes her head. “It’s nice meeting you. I’m well, and you?”
“Okay, wait. Why does this sound like a business meeting? Loosen up.” I wave my hands in front of her.
Her eyes grow worried, and she starts to breathe quickly. “It did sound formal, didn’t it?”
“It sounded like you were meeting an intimidating boss.”
Abbie’s nose scrunches up. “I don’t want that. How’s this? Hey, Nick. I’m great, and you? I’m glad we got together.”
“That’s better,” I nod slowly. This Nick dude better not try anything sleazy.
“How’s work?” I add to keep the conversation going.
“It’s good. I’m working on editing photos of a wedding I took a few weeks ago. It’s was beautiful.”
“Nice.” My head bobs.
“How about you?” Abbie looks at me from the corner of her eyes as her head tilts.
“Work is great.” I pause on purpose, seeing if she’ll come up with more of the conversation.
Abbie purses her lips and rolls her eyes around as they bounce around the kitchen. After a few seconds, I speak.
“Talk about anything. You guys have messaged, right? Pick something and expand on it. Your hobbies, things you have in common. Anything, really.”
“You make it sound so easy. I literally draw a blank. I’m convinced my brain runs away and hides somewhere outside of my body so it won’t have to do the work.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I laugh. “You have no trouble talking to your friends,” I add.
“Yeah, but that’s not the same. I’ve known them for years. We have a different relationship than some stranger I’m trying to impress, so he’ll like me.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I lift my hands to stop her. “That’s the problem. You don’t need to pretend to be the person you think he wants. You have to be yourself. If you start off trying to be what you think a guy wants, it’ll never work. Impress him by being natural. Trust me, that’s refreshing. So many women are playing a part, wearing too much makeup. Be you, Abbie.”
I hold her eyes captive as I speak, making sure she truly gets the message and feeling myself get swallowed up by the golden specks in her green eyes.
I shake it off, and my lips stretch into a forced smile. I don’t need to be thinking about Abbie in that way.
“You’re right,” she sighs, thankfully breaking eye contact.
“I know.” I return to my confident self just in time for someone to knock on the door. “That must be the plumber.” I stand to open the door, then realize this isn’t my house.
I pause and step aside so Abbie can walk in front of me. Her eyebrows pull together as she passes me and opens the door.
“Hey,” Eli walks in with the plumber, and by the looks of it, he isn’t happy.
“What’s up?” I lift my chin in greeting.
“Hi,” Abbie says, looking at me with raised eyebrows and bugged eyes behind their backs. Mad, she mouths.
I nod and show Eli the pipe that burst. As the plumber gets to work, Eli observes him. If I had to guess, this guy’s job was hanging by a thin thread. The plumber wipes his face with a small towel that he pulls out of his pocket and continues working, half of his body jammed into the small cabinet.
“Do you guys want anything to drink?” Abbie speaks up.
“I’m okay,” Eli responds.
“Me too,” I tell her.
The plumber mumbles a ‘no, thank you’ before reaching for a wrench. He works diligently to fix the problem, reporting that he didn’t seal the two pipes correctly, and the water pressure caused it to leak. The pipe is fixed, and he’s cleaning up the area in less than an hour
“You don’t owe me anything, it’s on the h
ouse,” Eli raises a hand before I can even ask him the total.
“You sure?”
“Yup.” He nods and claps my back before saying goodbye to Abbie.
“Thanks,” I tell him. “Go easy on him.” I tilt my head toward the plumber who scrambled outside to turn on the water valve.
“I’m this close to firing his ass.” Eli brings his thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart.
“No, he has a family to feed,” Abbie frowns.
“This is the second job he costs me in less than two months. He’s a great plumber, but he needs to get his act together,” Eli argues.
“Just think about his family,” Abbie’s shoulders slump. “We never know what’s going on in people’s lives.”
Eli scrubs a hand down his face and shakes his head. “He’s definitely on probation.”
Abbie’s face lights up with a smile and thanks Eli profusely. Once he leaves, I turn to look at her as we stand by the front door.
“Just have fun tomorrow. He should be worried about impressing you.”
“Thanks, Finn, for everything.” I nod once, smiling in return.
“If you need anything else, just holler.”
“Will do.” She leans against the door as I walk to my truck. When I climb in, I take her in over the roof of my truck, slapping the metal once. Fuck me, I really do have a hard-on for Abbie Murphy.
Abbie
I stir awake, rubbing my eyes with my fingers. I hear the buzzing sound again and groan as I turn in my bed, trying to kick off the tangled sheets between my legs, but they just get more wrapped up around me.
“Ugh.” I sit up and yank them off. “God, that’s annoying,” I murmur to myself as I reach for my phone on the nightstand.
I open my text messages and see the culprit responsible for waking me up at seven in the morning on a Saturday.
Finn: How was your date on thursday?
Abbie: Good
Finn: Did he impress you?
Abbie: Kinda. It was okay. The conversation wasn’t terrible and dinner was good
You Make It Easy: A best friend's brother romance (Love in Everton Book 5) Page 4
