Her gaze wandered up to his eyes, which were an arresting blue-green. Had to be contacts. No one’s eyes were that color without enhancement. Regardless. Those eyes were as cool as his standoffish demeanor. His lips were flattened into a thin line too.
She bristled when his gaze slowly took in every nuance of her face as if attempting to put the pieces together. That scrutiny prompted her to step forward until they were boot tips to flip-flops, their bodies almost touching. Mr. Rugged Sexy-Eyed Cowboy needed to know that he didn’t intimidate her.
“I’m GG’s only granddaughter, Jade Evans. I can see by your confusion that I wasn’t what you expected, so let me clear it up for you. Yes, I was adopted as a baby, but that doesn’t mean—”
“Whoa, there, tiger. I wasn’t questioning your parentage. And since I haven’t seen pictures of you or your parents—ever—anywhere in this house, let alone seen any of you bother to step foot in Wyoming, I had no preconceived ideas about you.”
Not the answer she’d been expecting. But he had managed to get in a dig about her family anyway.
“Now, now, no fighting. No need to get indigestion before we eat lunch, is there?”
Jade watched a sweet smile bloom across the man’s face as he looked at GG.
“If you’re truly making liverwurst sandwiches, Miz G, I’ll guarantee indigestion.”
“Oh, you.” GG flapped her hand at him. “I know you hate it, so of course that’s not on the menu for today.”
The way he pandered to GG ticked Jade off. “Excuse me, but I didn’t catch your name.”
That aquamarine-colored gaze winged back to her. “Tobin Hale.”
“Tobin Hale,” she repeated. “Is that one name? Like Billy Bob?”
He raised an eyebrow. “You’re making a lot of assumptions about me, for us just meeting, Jade.”
She smiled at him. “Assumptions about you, Tobin Hale, are exactly why I’m in Wyoming.” She faced her grandma. “Since this is the first time I’ve been here, can you show me around after lunch?”
“I’d love that. Let’s go inside. This bickering between you two is eating into Tobin’s lunch hour. He needs to get back to work.”
Tobin pushed open the screen door and held it for them. “No need to rush now, Miz G. I believe I’ll take the rest of the afternoon off so I can help you show Jade around.”
More like show me over the edge of a cliff, she thought.
The interior of the house was as whimsical as Jade had imagined. The kitchen with its bloodred walls, crisp white cabinetry, dark gray countertops and wide-planked floor had a warm, welcoming country kitchen vibe. On the antique sideboard Jade noticed stacks of jelly jars. “GG, are those your strawberry champagne preserves?”
“You remembered! I put up a big batch.”
“I finished the last jar you gave me just this week.”
“This is the primo stuff. Better ingredients and all that. I’ll hook you up with a case.”
Jade felt Tobin studying her so she met his gaze head-on.
“I’ll even load it in your car before I send you on your merry way,” Tobin said helpfully.
Back where you belong, went unsaid.
“Tobin, dear, would you get out the plates?”
“Sure, Miz G.”
“Jade, be a doll and grab the milk out of the fridge.”
“GG, I haven’t had milk with lunch for years.”
“The milk is for Tobin.” GG squeezed his biceps. “How do you think he got so big and strong?”
“I assumed from lifting cows or whatever.”
Tobin laughed. “Well, darlin’, I’ll take that assumption as a compliment that you think I’m capable of lifting a twelve-hundred-pound cow by myself.”
GG snickered. “You’re gonna get quite the education, girlie, on life in the West. I guarantee it’s nothing you learned at Columbia.”
Blushing, Jade grabbed the milk out of the fridge and set it on the table.
Tobin carried two plates, one loaded with sandwiches, the other with fruit, and parked himself between Jade and her grandmother.
Not a subtle move at all.
GG set a glass in front of each plate and passed out Hello Kitty napkins. “No liverwurst on the sandwiches, just turkey, ham, roast beef and salami.” She patted Tobin’s muscled forearm. “I eat more meat when you’re around.”
“The food is just an extra bonus for living here with you,” Tobin said.
So . . . was this where she just jumped in and asked why Tobin was living here? Or did she let the conversation develop naturally? Jade had zero stealth skills. She’d never needed any. Thinking back to all the episodes of Veronica Mars she’d watched where the sleuth tricked suspects into spilling their guts without much effort . . . well, she was drawing a blank on that technique.