CHAPTER 7
JOHN
"You were talkin' about me," I stated when Carly came and took a seat in front of me, looking rather red in the face and unwilling to meet my gaze. I found that incredibly entertaining.
"We were not," she argued back, but the fact that she was getting redder seemed to suggest otherwise.
"Oh, so you were just gigglin' about how cute this table is and not about the guy sittin' at it?" I suggested.
I wasn't good at this whole flirting thing; I wasn't even sure I was doing it right, but the way she looked at me in that moment told me I wasn't doing it entirely wrong.
"I didn't say you were cute, now you're just puttin' words in my mouth," Carly retorted. "And we weren't giggling, I'll have you know," she added.
"Okay," I shrugged, taking a bite out of my sandwich.
"Oh my God, seriously, you're so aggravating, I think I liked you better when you didn't talk," Carly rolled her eyes, laughing.
I didn't say a word, glancing down at my food and inspecting it rather fondly. I counted the seconds in my head: one... two... three... I didn't even get to sixty when she started speaking again.
"Okay, I know the difference between you bein' you and you purposefully givin' me the silent treatment... Stop," she said.
"I can't do anythin' right with you, can I?" I teased, glancing over Carly's shoulder briefly to find that her blonde friend was still watching us. I didn't know what was going on and to be honest I wasn't sure I wanted to know. "Your friend's been eyeballin' me since we got here," I pointed out to Carly.
She glanced over her shoulder, the waitress behind the counter winked, and when Carly turned to face me again her face had returned to a bright shade of crimson.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing, she's just a pain in my ass," Carly replied.
"You aren't tryin' to set me up with her are you?" I asked with a small smile.
"Oh, no, no, don't worry, she's engaged," Carly said, perhaps a little too quickly. "She's actually gettin' married in just over a month... which is actually kind of terrifyin', since we still have a lot of things we have to do before her big day. I'm the maid of honor... It's been a lot of work, trust me, she's a picky bride! We spent a whole weekend in Dallas specifically to shop for a wedding dress and the dresses for the bridesmaids... I don't know, personally I think when my day comes I'll just elope... it'll be a whole lot easier for everyone involved," she laughed.
I was content listening to her; it meant I didn't have to come up with anything to fill the silence as we ate. I liked how animated she got whenever she spoke about something she was really interested in; she was perhaps complaining about the dresses and the wedding preparations, but I could tell she was still really excited about it.
"I've never been to a weddin' before," I said.
"Are you serious?" Carly asked incredulously. "You're thirty and you've never been to a wedding? You must have some friends that got hitched at one point or another... or a second cousin once removed or somethin'?" she trailed off, looking thoughtful.
"Well, I mean, a couple of my army buddies are married... or were," I shrugged. I didn't want to get into Mick's story and how he'd been planning on proposing to his high school sweetheart before he was killed overseas. "But most of 'em were already married when I met 'em," I added... It was either that or the fact that I wasn't close enough to them to get an invitation. I wasn't exactly the most sociable guy around, I didn't blame them.
"Well, in any case... most of my friends have been gettin' married or are havin' babies these days... not necessarily in that order either... And then in the meantime, my only lover is Netflix," she laughed.
"There's nothin' wrong with that," I told her honestly. "Try bein' thirty and not even havin' Netflix to fall back on. It's a rough life," I joked.
Carly laughed, ducking her head so that her face hid behind her hair again.
CARLY
We drove back to the ranch in silence a little while later, after making a quick stop to grab some groceries and dog food. I couldn't explain what happened at Buck's, but something between John and I shifted today, or at the very least it became clear that I wasn't the only one feeling it.
I didn't have much experience with men; in fact, the only boyfriend I'd ever had was probably not the best guy to use as a comparison.
I was pretty certain John was flirting with me back there however, which meant on some level he had to be interested. I glanced at him, sitting next to me in the driver's seat of his truck. He looked too casual, too relaxed, his feelings and thoughts hidden behind the shadow of that damn baseball cap.
The rest of the day was uneventful at best. I helped John groom the horses, but by four I had to meet a client so I left him to do his thing.
"You'll be alright?" I asked him, leaning against a wooden post. He was bent over one of our more troublesome horses, trying to clean his hooves. "That one doesn't like to cooperate much..." I added with a smile.
"I'll be fine, I'm a big boy," John said, his words coming out with a grunt as he finally got Dallas to lift his leg. "Victory," John smirked, looking up at me briefly.
"Okay, I'm out of here; don't get hoofed in the face," I smiled.
I exited the stables just as my client rolled into the driveway. She was a pretty redheaded woman a few years older than I was and a single mother of two. Her four year old daughter was absolutely in love with all of the horses here and after much work she finally got her mama to let her take lessons.
"Hey Mandy, how are you?" I smiled, reaching her as she was getting out of her vehicle.
"Oh hi sweetie, I'm good," she replied.
"Can I go see the horses, mama... please, please, please, please?" Caitlyn asked the moment her door was opened and she flung herself out of the car.
Mandy looked at me for confirmation.
"Yes of course... you know the drill... don't get too close..." I warned, but I wasn't worried about her. She wasn't allowed to get close to the horses if an adult wasn't nearby and she was pretty good at following orders. "John, my ranch hand, he's in the stables right now anyway so I'm sure he'll keep an eye out. Do you want some coffee?" I added to Mandy as we made our way towards the main house.
"Coffee would be nice, thank you," Mandy replied, glancing behind her towards the stables.
Over a cup of coffee we talked about the lessons a little, keeping it casual. We were able to wrap things up pretty quickly, after which she handed me a cheque for the first six lessons, which would take place every Saturday with a few other kids in my beginner group.
I was glad when we finished and made our way back to the stables. I was never really the most business-oriented person, and to be honest formal talks of money didn't really appeal to me all that much. If I could give lessons free of charge and still make a profit at the end of the month, I would.
"Hey Caitlyn, are you ready to go?" Mandy asked when we walked into the stables a few minutes later, interrupting what was most likely the most adorable thing I'd ever seen.
"But we just got here! And John is showing me how to put a saddle on!" Caitlyn protested, pointing to John. She was standing on a hay bale so that she could see over the stall. John was actually smiling as he finished putting the saddle blanket on, but his smile faltered slightly when his gaze landed on me.
He looked like a deer in headlights just then, as if caught doing something he shouldn't have been doing. I couldn't help but laugh.
"In my defense, she asked me to," he chuckled.
"I'm sorry about her, she should know better than to bother people... right hon?" Mandy was quick to add, making her way towards the bouncy four year old and picking her up. "She's too friendly..." she added.
"Don't worry about it, she's cute," John smiled.
"We'll work on tackin' up the horses in our first lesson," I told a disappointed Caitlyn, giving her a smile. "You'll be back on Saturday, right?" I asked.
"Yes ma'am!" Caitlyn grinned. "Are you coming to my lesson too?" she asked John.
"Oh, well uh... I might make an appearance," John shrugged.
I didn't like the way Mandy looked at John just then, obviously checking him out.
"Anyway," I said sharply. "I'll walk you out."
As I led Mandy away, I could've sworn I heard John chuckle in the background, like he knew exactly what was running through my mind.