Hard to Handle (Caine Cousins #2)(10)

Lynx glanced back at Reagan again. Yeah, he could see her being the best time of his life, too.

“Take her out,” Calvin suggested, his gaze discreetly moving in Reagan’s direction. “But I’m bettin’ she’s not the fancy-restaurant type. I know. Invite her to the lake tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night?”

“Yeah. Monday’s Labor Day. Y’all are plannin’ a party out there, right? It’s tradition, after all.”

It was tradition, but not something he’d even thought about this year.

The door behind him squeaked open, but Lynx didn’t bother to turn around. He was too busy trying to figure out how to put together a party in less than twenty-four hours. Sure, Labor Day was on Monday, but their party would start Sunday night and go until people passed out. That’s how they rolled out in the country.

A firm hand gripped his shoulder, causing Lynx to glance over his shoulder.

“What’s up?” he asked Wolfe.

The man was grinning from ear to ear.

Suddenly, Lynx had a good idea what was so urgent for Wolfe to take care of with Rhys. He smirked at his cousin, enjoying the way the man couldn’t maintain eye contact.

“So, Lynx was just tellin’ me how y’all are gonna put together a party at the lake for Labor Day.”

Wolfe’s gaze slammed into Lynx’s.

He offered his cousin a one-shoulder shrug. “I can make it happen.”

Wolfe nodded. “I think that’d be cool. We need somethin’ to break up the tension right now.”

Damn right they did.

With a smile on his face, Lynx got to his feet and clanked his beer bottle on the table to get everyone’s attention.

“Hey, y’all hear about the party we’re throwin’ at the Caine lake tomorrow night? Well, if you didn’t, it’s on like Donkey Kong.”

A couple of people groaned at his terminology. It only made him laugh.

“So, get your friends and meet us out there, yeah? And bring somethin’, too. Ice, coolers.” He grinned. “Beer’s good, too.”

A chorus of cheers erupted.

And just like that, Lynx had single-handedly set up a party.

Now he just had to get some beer for them.

And the girl.

The first he could worry about tomorrow, the latter he would take care of tonight.

More like right now.



Reagan knew Lynx was coming to the bar before he even turned toward her. It was a feeling she had, something she couldn’t shake.

Of course, her nerves decided to riot, even though she was willing them to chill the fuck out.

The second he had mentioned the party by the lake to everyone in the bar, memories of so long ago had come roaring to the forefront of her brain. Fortunately for her, she was able to push them back, tamp them down. She didn’t have time to be reminiscing about the time she’d spent with Lynx all those years ago.

“Hey,” he greeted, stepping up to the bar and resting one arm on the top. He had tucked himself into the corner where he normally spent his time. She’d come to think of it as his space, and anytime someone else took it, she got irritated. No one said her thoughts were ever rational.

“Hey,” she said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “’Nother beer?”

“Sure.”

Reagan grabbed a Coors Light and passed it over. Lynx Caine was a relatively simple man. She knew he didn’t particularly care for Coors Light, but considering she didn’t have any of the fancy brews in her bar, he took it without complaint.

Lynx cocked his head in that way that invited her to come closer.

Hesitantly, Reagan moved toward him, leaving the two guys she’d been chatting with to carry on their conversation without her. Not that she’d been particularly interested in their topic of the day they’d spent on the ranch, but she did like to talk to her customers. Plus, being engaged in conversation always kept men from hitting on her. She wasn’t so full of herself to think that every guy wanted to hit on her, but she had her fair share. She knew some of it had to do with the fact that she owned the place.

“You comin’ out to the lake tomorrow night?”

She shrugged, wiping down the bar top. “Don’t know yet.”

“You got other plans?”

Reagan lifted her gaze to his, holding it for a second before she exhaled slowly. “You askin’ as friends?”

“Of course.”

The way he said that didn’t make her believe him.

“What? Can’t a guy invite a girl out to the lake for some beer around the bonfire?”

“He can,” she told him. “As long as the guy knows the girl’s not goin’ as a date.”

“’Course not.”

Again, she didn’t believe him.

Of course, maybe Lynx was wholly serious. Maybe he was just inviting her as a friend.

What if he had a date? Would she be able to handle seeing him with another woman while she was that close? It wasn’t above him to do that. Not that Lynx would try to rub it in her face, but she knew him. He didn’t chase women. They generally were the ones chasing him. And she’d never seen him lacking in the female companion department.

She had to give the guy a little credit. He had been spending damn near every night at the bar until closing time, then sleeping in his truck in front of her house for the past three weeks. She couldn’t imagine he’d had much time to be mixing it up with the ladies as of late. Unless…