After a long day of shopping and good food in Aspen, Brooke and her friends stopped in at Outlaws for some dancing. She had done her best not to think about Adam because she wasn’t going to tell Monica and Emily about him, but at the honky-tonk, he was never far from her thoughts.
Sitting in a booth, having a beer to cool down after dancing with the other two women, Brooke snacked from a bowl of popcorn on the table.
“Well, you’re getting some looks tonight,” Emily said, glancing over her shoulder where two guys at the bar were staring at them. She had to speak loudly to be heard over Miranda Lambert belting out a mournful tune.
Brooke and Monica followed her gaze, then shared a groan and quickly pretended their bottles of beer were very interesting.
“They’re Derek and Chad, two guys we went to school with,” Brooke said. “Actually, they used to be in Adam’s posse.”
She wanted to wince—she hadn’t meant to bring him up that day, and had been successful—until then.
Emily gave her an interested look. “You said Adam straightened himself out with the help of football. How about them?”
Monica shook her head. “Both have been divorced already, and Derek doesn’t see his kid enough. Bad news.”
Emily looked at both Brooke and Monica. “It never ceases to amaze me how much you small-town people all know about each other.”
Brooke risked another glance at the two men. That could have been Adam if he hadn’t been sentenced to community service as a football manager. But, of course, there were many men who would forget about community service when it was over, and go back to their old lives. Adam hadn’t.
It was men like Derek and Chad that made Adam none too eager to renew old acquaintances. But he’d found new friends on the football team. Wasn’t he curious about them? She thought about getting out her high-school yearbook and perusing the faces. Adam would want to know who—and then she stopped herself. If Adam was interested, he’d do something about it. He wouldn’t welcome her interference.
He just welcomed her into his bed.
Her face got all hot, and she told herself it was because of the dancing. She’d never kept this kind of secret from her friends.
As if reading her mind, Monica mused, “You know, you’ve got a handsome man right on the ranch to distract you every day.”
Brooke shrugged and gave her a bright smile. “We work together. It’s not like that. Maybe you should ask him out.”
“Nope; I already said, he’s my past.”
Brooke took another sip of beer, then changed the subject. “Hey, I’ve got something interesting. You know this mess about Leather and Lace? Mrs. Palmer says she predicted there would be problems when reading her cards.”
Monica and Emily gave a collective groan.
“She brought her cards to Thanksgiving. Good thing Adam wasn’t there,” Brooke added, shaking her head.
“He didn’t come to Thanksgiving?” Monica asked.
“He celebrated with the widows at the boardinghouse.”
“Wonder why he didn’t celebrate with you?” Monica eyed Brooke with speculation. “I mean your family, of course.”
“He’s become a loner—strangest thing,” Brooke said, keeping her voice light. “He said after the Marines, he needs a little peace and quiet.”
“At the boardinghouse?” Monica said, her expression one of incredulity.
Trying to speak nonchalantly, Brooke said, “My dad invited him to move into the bunkhouse. So he’s got his peace and quiet.”
“Good for him,” Emily said.
But Brooke was trying not to watch Monica, who was eyeing her with too much interest.
“The bunkhouse?” Monica echoed, elbow on the table, chin propped on her hand.
Brooke summoned her acting skills. “Yep. He moved in a few days ago. He’s still a loner. I barely see him but for work.”
“Twelve hours a day,” Monica mused.
Emily looked from Monica to Brooke in confusion. “Is there something I’m not seeing?”
“I don’t know, is there?” Monica asked innocently.
Brooke smiled and shook her head. “You’re thinking too hard, Monica. Adam and I weren’t attracted to each other in high school, and there’ll be no relationship beyond work now.” And that wasn’t even a lie—oh, she was good.
“If you say so.”
Monica gave her a last, searching glance, and Brooke threw her hands wide, as if she didn’t know what Monica expected of her.
“But back to Leather and Lace,” Emily said. “Are we going to go to the next town-council meeting? The widows need our support.”