Page 88 of A Taste of Whiskey
“I was keeping you safe. There aren’t many horse rehab therapists around here, which means you’d be easy to find.”
“That’s brilliant,” Bobbie said. “But I doubt that profile will get much interest without a real picture.”
“You’d be surprised,” Birdie said. “Guys are like puppies. They want treats, but they’re not particularly picky about who they get them from. Give them a trail of goodies, and they’ll keep their noses to the ground until they find them.”
“Ew.I don’t want you with guys like that.” Sasha wondered if she needed to keep a closer eye on her little sister.
“I didn’tsayI’m doing it.”
“You better not, or I’ll tell Cowboy,” Sasha warned.
“Forget I said anything. You’re such a party pooper.” Birdie held up a shiny pink dress that was sleeveless on one side and off-the-shoulder on the other. The skirt gathered at the waist and had a ridiculously high and wide slit on one side. “What do you think of this one?”
“It’s not really my style,” Sasha said.
“Really?” Birdie admired the dress. “I think you’d look good in it.”
“Sasha, you’d look hot in this one.” Bobbie held up a black minidress with white cuffs and a white collar.
“She’s trying to turn her man on, not show him how to use his library card,” Birdie said.
“I bet tons of guys fantasize about women who don’t feel the need to flaunt their assets,” Bobbie said. “You know,lady in the streets, freak in the sheets.”
Sasha laughed. “I totally agree about all that, but I think I can go a little sexier since my man already knows I’ll be anything he wants in the sheets.”
“Finally, some details!” Birdie hurried over to Sasha, pushing a shopping cart, which was already full of dresses. “What’s he like in the bedroom?” she asked hushed and urgently. “I bet he’s got a dominant side. Is he good at finding the doorbell? He must be, because otherwise you wouldn’t risk pissing off Mom and Dad.”
“I think you’ve got that backward,” Bobbie said. “Sashamust be phenomenal in bed forhimto risk everything for her. Especially after what Doc said at the wedding.”
Sasha’s stomach twisted. She’d been so upset after that confrontation, she’d confided in them about it. “I still can’t believe he saw me leaving Ezra’s that night. We fully expected to walk into breakfast the morning after the wedding and have our asses handed to us, but everyone acted normal. Well, everyone except Doc. He’s been giving me the cold shoulder, and I hate it.”
“That must be uncomfortable since you work so closely with him,” Bobbie said empathetically.
“It’s awful. When we meet in the mornings after I do rounds, I swear he looks like he can’t stand the sight of me. I keep thinking about what he said, and I know he’s worried I’ll get hurt. But why punishmefor it?”
“Is he punishing you? Or worried about you?” Bobbie asked.
“I don’t know, but it feels like a punishment since he’s so mad at me.”
“Maybe he feels like he got punished for falling in love with Juliette,” Bobbie said. “You’ve heard the rumors about Juliette’s father saying he was going to destroy him, and you and Ezra are doing exactly what he was doing, only they weren’t keeping it a secret.”
“You could be right,” Birdie said. “But I think it’s because he can’t control Sasha. He’s always had a tight rein on us, and she gave him hell for it. I’m proud of you, sis.”
“I’m proud of myself, too, but Doc and I have always been close, and I hate that he’s so angry at me.”
Bobbie pulled out a dress and looked it over as she said, “Do you think he’s hurt that you shut him out? Or didn’t trust him enough to tell him?”
“Why would Ieverwillingly tell Doc who I’m sleeping with?”
“You wouldn’t.” Bobbie put the dress back on the rack. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“You weren’t thinking. We’d be nuts to tell any of our brothers about our private lives,” Birdie said.
“I don’t know what to do,” Sasha admitted. “I’m afraid Doc’s going to say something, which has me on edge, and I hate lying to Mom and Dad. But most of all, I want to be close to Ezra all the time, and I can’t. I can’t hold his hand or touch him or anything.”
“That has to be hard, but where can you go from here?” Bobbie asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out, and I know he is, too, but I don’t want to push him. It’s not like he can quit and move off the ranch without disrupting Gus’s entire life.” A painful knot lodged in her chest. “I can’t talk about it anymore. Let’s just focus on finding a great dress.”
