Page 12 of Unlikely to Stay
CC couldn’t believe her bad luck.First, she went on a date with a gay guy.Well, it wasn’t total bad luck.She had made a great friend.But she still had no relationship prospect on the horizon.Now, hottie Brant Billings was on the back deck of her best friend’s home, just yards away.Maybe she could hide out in the bathroom until he left.That sounded like the best idea at the moment.There was only so much humiliation a girl could take.
“That was such a great game!”Wyatt high-fived Brant in celebration.The Thunder had beaten the Grizzlies by ten, successfully sending themselves into the next round of the playoffs.
“So, Brant?I was right, wasn’t I?”
“Right about what?”
“About you coming here being a good idea.Don’t tell me no.I have to be told I’m wrong more than I’m comfortable with in my relationship.I don’t need a buddy of mine telling me I’m wrong, too.”
Brant chuckled.“Yes, it was a good idea.”
“Hell yeah, it was a good idea!”Wyatt contributed.“No one is more fun than Griff and me.You shoulda been in Parker in high school.Boy, did we make some memories!Speaking of high school, where are you from originally?”
The dreaded question.One of the reasons Brant avoided building relationships with anyone.He hated the look of pity on people’s faces when he told him he was a foster kid.
“Grew up in Oklahoma City,” he said vaguely, hoping Wyatt wouldn’t push.Thankfully, he didn’t.
“Wow, the city, huh?That’s a lot different than Parker.How’d you wind up here?”
That was something Brant could talk about.“I had a ton of student loan debt since I put myself through school.One of my professors told me about this program that would pay off your student loans if you worked in a rural area for a certain amount of time.”Brant held out his hands.“So here I am.”
“Here you are,” Griff agreed.“How long do you plan on staying?”
“Well, the program says I have to stay in one place at least three years before the loans can be forgiven.”
“Haven’t you been here three years already?”
“About two and a half probably.”
“So, are you planning on staying?”Wyatt asked.“I know it’s small and a lot different than the big city, but our town has a lot to offer.”
Brant shrugged.“I haven’t even thought about it.I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get there.”
“Fair enough,” Griff agreed.“Although if you hang out with Wyatt and me on a regular basis it’ll make the decision for you.We’re awesome.”
Brant laughed.“You two act like a couple of teenage girls trying to get me to join your clique.”
“Hey, we take what we can get.In February, Marty Samson asked us to be his wingmen at the senior citizens center Valentine’s dance.Apparently, we turn the heads of a few of the old women in town.Marty figured if he had us by his side he could get lucky.”
“Well?Did he?”
“I don’t know,” Griff replied.“We didn’t go.”
“Had to take your women out, didn’t you?”
Wyatt grinned.“This one is a fast learner.He’ll make some lucky lady a good rule follower.”
Brant rolled his eyes but he knew Wyatt and Griff were just giving him a hard time.It was obvious to everyone in Parker how in love the men sitting beside him were with the women in their lives.Griff and Breckin had rebuilt Griff’s bar while Wyatt and Annie worked side by side on her granny’s farm, which they turned into an animal sanctuary and mini zoo right after they were married.
Now, Parker Lake wasn’t the only thing people visited.Apparently, their tiny town was a hot spot for people from all over to visit Sophie’s Haven and the animals that lived there.Brant had never been, but he was told living in Sophie’s Haven were several tigers, a grizzly bear, lemurs, sloths, kangaroos, deer, alpaca, emu, lizards, snakes, birds, and more.Annie led an educational class for kids, taught them about the animals, and let them interact with some of the small ones as she was teaching.People could also pay to have one-on-one interaction with some of the animals like the sloths, kangaroos, and lemurs.There was even a petting zoo with the farm animals that had been living on the farm with Annie and her granny before she passed away, all of which were named after Disney animals.
And of course, Annie and Wyatt took in every stray animal scheduled to be euthanized by shelters so the animals could either be adopted from Sophie’s or live out their days on the farm.A person could adopt cats, dogs, even birds and some lizards.It really was an amazing place.Brant had to put it on his schedule to visit.
“Unfortunately, if I’m to stay in Parker, the chances of me meeting a lucky lady to train me to be a good follower are slim to none.Unless I bite the bullet and take Patty up on her flirting and let the cougar have her way with me.”
Wyatt snorted.“Please don’t do that.Patty is nice and all, but she’s my mom’s age.It would be beyond gross.”
“It’s called sarcasm.There’s no way I could do that, no matter how nice she is.”