Page 13 of Forever Enough

Bradly stood there with his dimpled smile, saying nothing, as I looked between Merit and Avery before finding my eyes back on him. The light in the barn hadn’t nearly done the man justice. He was built, which surprised me—why, I wasn’t sure. It made sense, since he grew up on a ranch. The few times I’d watched bull riding on TV, the cowboys seemed…smaller. Those dark eyes sparkled like the snow outside in the sun, if that was even possible with how insanely black they looked.

Finally able to pull my eyes off the extremely handsome cowboy, I cleared my throat as I set the basket down on the kitchen island. “We met last night.”

“Last night?” Merit asked as she turned to look at her son.

“When I got back home from dropping off Lily and Maverick, I saw there were lights on in the barn, so I headed down and found Mackenzie in there.”

“You went to the barn on the farm side?” Avery asked with a laugh. “Wow. When was the last time you were there? Ten years old, maybe?”

Bradly shot his younger sister a look. “No comments from the peanut gallery, Avery.”

Folding her arms over her chest, she smirked. “No, really. When was the last time you were there? And don’t say last night. I mean before last night.”

Bradly looked irritated…and a bit embarrassed.

“Bradly was never fond of the farm,” Merit stated as she gave her son a loving look. “When he was little, though, he loved to help me plant things. He would bring his cars and trucks and play in the dirt with them. But his heart has always been on the cattle side of the ranch.”

Avery added, “Or on top of a bull at Uncle Ty’s place.”

I smiled and focused on the basket, deciding the last thing I wanted to do was be in the middle of this little argument. “Lou said you asked for some veggies, so I picked these for you. I also picked you some fruit as well. If you can’t use it all, I thought maybe Stella would like some.”

Merit started to take the food out of the basket. “Oh, everything looks amazing. Stella will love the figs.”

“I’m glad. Well, I’ll let you visit with your family.”

“No! You just got here, and I’ve hardly gotten to see you at all lately. What did you do yesterday for Christmas?” Merit asked breezily as she moved about in her kitchen. Avery took a seat on one of the stools at the kitchen island, while Bradly continued to lean against the counter. The hairs on the back of my neck lifted as I felt his gaze on me while I looked everywhere but at him.

It should have made me uncomfortable, the way he stared at me, but it was the opposite. There was something about Bradly’s attention that was awakening a feeling deep inside of me.

“Um, I worked in the greenhouse for a bit.”

Merit stopped what she was doing and just stared at me for a long moment. “You worked on Christmas?”

I shrugged. “I didn’t mind. I took a few of the horses out to exercise them, pruned some of the plants, weeded, and cleaned up the barn some before the storm moved in.”

“Then she had a pajama party in the barn with her goat Pickles and her cat,” Bradly added with a grin.

Avery gasped. “How fun! I wish I would have known. I love Pickles and Mr. Whiskers! I would have joined you instead of playing dominoes.”

Merit rolled her eyes at her daughter, while Bradly laughed. I smiled but wasn’t sure if it was an inside joke I was missing.

“You didn’t have to play long. That storm came in and everyone left,” Merit stated with a huff.

“The fact that I had to play at all, Mom, is enough to wish I was at a PJ party with Mackenzie and her pets.”

“You played dominoes last night?” I asked. “On Christmas?”

Avery rolled her eyes, this time more dramatically. “Family game night.”

I smiled. “That sounds fun.”

Both Avery and Bradly stared at me like I’d just grown two heads.

“Oh, it can be, but not when we play an old person’s game,” Avery said, as she shot her mother a look that Merit ignored.

“How long have you worked here? On the farm?” Bradly asked, changing the subject abruptly.

My attention was drawn back to him. Goodness, his eyes were haunting, but in a good way. He surely left a trail of broken hearts when he was out on the road with the bull riding stuff; there could be little doubt about that.