Gone Country (Rough Riders #14)(27)

“Okay.”


“I’m glad you came over to talk to me. You’re different than the girls around here.”


She blinked at him.


“I recognize that have-I-just-been-insulted? look. I definitely meant that as a compliment. I’ve had more real conversations with you in the last few months than I’ve ever had with anyone else in this town.”


Sierra did a mental fist pump, but managed a droll, “Cool. I suspected you only wanted to hang with me to give your uncles the middle finger for being friends with a McKay.”


He laughed. “Nope. I like you despite your family heritage. You’re funny. You don’t bullshit me. You don’t try that fake come-on crap.” His voice rose an octave. “Oh Boone, you’re an EMT? I’ll play doctor with you anytime.” He rolled his eyes. “Lame, huh?”


“Really lame.” Good thing she hadn’t said it, because she’d definitely been thinking it.


“West! We’ve got an injury, let’s go!” the other EMT shouted.


Boone’s boots hit the dirt. “See you around, McKay.” And he was gone.


Back in the stands, Marin was so enamored with Mitch she didn’t even notice that Sierra had returned, wearing a borrowed jacket. Not that she’d tell her friend where she got it. Some secrets were just too good to share with anyone.


Chapter Eleven


“Rielle!”


Gavin winced. Why couldn’t Sierra walk downstairs instead of yelling down the stairs? He should install an intercom system.


“What?” Rielle yelled back.


Then again, these two didn’t need one.


“Come up and watch a movie with us. I made popcorn.”


“Be right there.”


Sierra gave him a smug look. “It’s on.”


“Don’t be so cocky,” he warned. “I still say she won’t want to watch the movie you picked.”


“We’ll see, won’t we?” She ripped open the bags of microwave popcorn and filled two bowls.


Rielle walked in. “Hey guys.”


Gavin pretended not to notice how the V-cut of her T-shirt made her breasts look completely lickable. Or that her cargo shorts were too baggy and hung low on her hips, providing a peek of her flat belly. Or that her smile seemed to light up the whole damn room.


She frowned at the windows. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to those blinds. Makes it dark as a cave up here.”


“Which is perfect for watching movies,” Sierra said. “You’ve got two choices.”


“Why do I get to pick?” She looked at Gavin. “And isn’t Sunday night sacred football night?” His love of sports baffled her.


“I set the DVR to watch it later.”


Sierra handed Rielle a bowl of popcorn. “Dad and I can’t agree on one.”


“What are the choices?”


“Ten Things I Hate About You or Seabiscuit.”


“Definitely the one with Heath Ledger.”


Sierra did a little happy dance. “Told ya. And I want cherry.”


Rielle’s gaze winged between them. “What’d I miss?”


“We bet on which one you’d choose. Seabiscuit was Dad’s idea. It’s the best movie in the history of movies—according to him—and he’s always trying to get me to watch it.”


“Only because you’ve never made it through the whole thing so you can’t know how great it is.”


“That’s because it puts me to sleep.” Sierra stretched out on the loveseat and asked Rielle, “Have you seen it?”


“No. I fell asleep too. But Heath Ledger definitely keeps me awake.”


Gavin put the disc into the DVD player. He turned around. Sierra had snatched the remote. “Where’s my popcorn?”


“You’re sharing with Rielle.”


He’d be suspicious his daughter suspected something was going between him and Rielle if he didn’t know how selfish Sierra was about her popcorn.


Rielle already had her feet on the coffee table.


He dropped beside her so they were hip to hip. He stretched his left arm across the back of the couch and grabbed a handful of popcorn.


“Your new furniture is comfy,” Rielle said.


“I must’ve sat on two dozen sofas until I found this one. It’s a little bland bachelor-ish as the fashionista pointed out, but comfort is more important than style.”


“Definitely plenty of room for guests.”


“Not if we invite all the McKays,” Sierra said.


Rielle laughed.


So while she watched the movie, Gavin covertly watched her. The curve of her smile. The way she grabbed a handful of popcorn, then ate it delicately—a kernel at a time. He liked that she gradually snuggled closer to him. Not in an obvious lover’s clinch that would raise Sierra’s eyebrows.


When her eyes started to droop, he didn’t jostle her awake. He let her sleep so he could watch her without guilt.