Gone Country (Rough Riders #14)(15)

“I should’ve set a firm date for the start date.”


“Well, we don’t blame ya for waiting. You were already taking care of a house, even if technically it wasn’t yours.”


“Did you tell Gavin about my building delay?”


“Nope. It’s between us, Ree, you have our word,” Chet said. “And no matter what you decide, whether or not to proceed in the spring, and why or why not, it’ll stay strictly between us.”


Her sharp gaze moved between the brothers. “Why would you think I’d back out?” She bristled. “I assure you, I may have had some rough times in the past, but I do have the money now—”


“Whoa, there, that wasn’t what I was insinuating at all.” Chet blushed and looked at Remy.


“You’re insinuating something…worse?”


“Let’s just back up,” Remy said. “One of Gavin’s main stipulations for hiring us was to keep this project in line with your original plans for the B&B outbuildings you didn’t get to implement due to your financial situation at the time.”


“Gavin respects you. It’s there every time your name comes up,” Chet assured her. “And we’re to defer all the dirt work changes and landscaping to you. You have total control.”


“Our whole point is…even before we talked to Gavin, we believed you’d be better off waiting until after calving season to break ground. A lot of things could change between now and then.”


“What kind of things could change?” she asked Remy suspiciously.


Remy gave an embarrassed laugh. “Now, Rielle, darlin’, don’t take this the wrong way. You are a damn attractive woman, but you don’t date. We know you’ve said no to all guys who’ve asked you out, not just us. Now you’re living with a man who saved your bacon a few years back?”


“You think I’m interested in Gavin because he’s rich?” Goddammit. Was that what everyone in the area would think? She’d assured Gavin it wouldn’t bother her…but faced with assumptions, she wasn’t so sure.


Both Chet and Remy burst out laughing.


“No, but the man sure is interested in you.”


She stared at them blankly.


Remy nudged Chet. “Told ya she hadn’t even freakin’ noticed.”


She had noticed how Gavin acted around her—she’d have to be blind not to see how he looked at her sometimes, stupid not to recognize the familiar way he touched her and a complete idiot to pretend to be unaffected by his attention. It just surprised her that Chet and Remy West had picked up on the undercurrent so quickly.


Or had Gavin said something to them?


No. Gavin wasn’t like that. But as far as she was concerned, that topic was off limits. “The only thing I’m interested in is you guys taking some of these tomatoes off my hands. You can swing by your mama’s house and earn major brownie points.”


“That’d be great. You’re a doll,” Remy said.


“And just for that, I’ll send a loaf of bread home with you guys too.”


Chet groaned. “Man, I love your homemade bread. Don’t suppose you’ve got any extra honey lying around?”


“Jesus, Chet,” Remy said and smacked him in the back of the head. “Don’t be such a f*ckin’ mooch.”


“I’m not a mooch, *. I was gonna buy it.”


Remy dodged Chet’s retaliatory swat.


“Boys. There’s enough to go around. Let’s head up to the house.” She purposely didn’t say my house.


Gavin didn’t appear until Chet and Remy were gone. He leaned against the porch support. “I see you take pity on poor bachelors and send them home with food.”


She hadn’t shaken off the disappointing news yet. “The bachelors I like, yes. Why? You jealous?”


“A little.” Gavin started down the steps. “But since you feed me on occasion, I get the better deal, since I’m living with you and all. That seemed to interest them more than it should have.” He stopped in front of her. “Is everything all right?”


The man had no concept of personal space. She considered saying something flip, but a soft, “No,” slipped out and she dropped her gaze to the empty basket still clutched in her hands.


He took the basket from her. When she looked up, he curled his hands around her arms, moving closer yet. “Rielle. What’s going on?”


“West Construction can’t start on my house until next spring.”


“Because of the garage addition? Dammit, I told them I could wait if it would affect—”


“No, it has nothing to do with that.”


A calculating look entered his eyes. “If you need—”


Lightning fast Rielle placed her fingers over his lips. “Don’t you assume anything and offer me money or I swear to God I will scream or…do something equally horrible to you.”


His lips curled into a smile and he lightly nipped her fingers before she pulled her hand away. “I like it when you get feisty. But if money isn’t the issue, what is?”