Kelsey: To be fair, I think Jake really is serious about never dating again.
Tessa: Do you think Shelby likes him?
Cade: I want off.
Kelsey: Not sure. But they’ve been friends their whole life.
Tessa: Interesting
Logan: Tessa…
Tessa: Very interesting.
4
JAKE
I spentthe next hour helping Shelby move into her cabin, which was a stone's throw from mine. Standing in front of her car, I stared up at the two small A-frame cabins in front of me. There was about twenty feet of separation between us. I hadn’t considered the proximity a problem at all yesterday, but today, with fresh eyes, the cabins seemed a little close.
I introduced her to Sophie, who hid behind my leg before I sent her to play on the swings. She had grown shy around new people since we moved. I was thankful she had taken to Kelsey and Cade’s family so well, as Kelsey would be the one watching her during the days once the dude ranch opened next week.
It felt like I had a million things I should be saying to Shelby as we hauled boxes, but we circled around each other, only making it bearable with jokes and awkward smiles. It was hard to describe exactly, but she was both less and more of…a lot of things. I couldn’t get a good read on her. She was still Shelby, but…this was a version I’d never seen before.
I was determined to get us back on track.
Shelby reached in to grab a large suitcase from her car, but I beat her to it, pushing her hands away to heft it out of the trunk.
“Holy crap, what do you have in here?” I groaned as I pretended to topple under the weight.
“A couple of bodies I didn’t have time to get rid of before coming.”
“You always did have a way with men.”
She shot me a look that made me hide the smile on my face.
“No, I didn’t,” she said as she grabbed a handful of pillows from the backseat.
I made a face as I agreed with her. “No. You didn’t.”
“I hear you went out with Briggs the other night,” I told her as we walked back toward the house, our hands full.
She stopped, her mouth open in surprise. “You heard about that?”
Her response confused me, but she seemed so surprised that I couldn’t help pushing this button. “Yeah, I heard all about it.”
She blinked, still not moving, while I shifted the weight of her suitcase to my other hand.
“What did he say?”
It was the way she kept trying to be nonchalant, all the while sneaking glances at me before looking away again, that had my curiosity piqued. Something had definitely happened. Something she didn’t want me to know about, which cheered me up considerably.
“You know what you did, Shelb. Care to explain yourself?”
She examined me carefully before her eyes narrowed.
“What do you know?”
I shrugged, playing this out. “Just assume I know everything.”