Page 43 of Beaten

I shook my head no. While I sort of liked the idea of Jamie winning a prize for me, I didn’t want to deal with Ashley teasing me. Or Chris getting mad because Jamie was being unprofessional.

I wasn’t surprised when Jack popped several of the smallest balloons and won Meg a medium size teddy bear after only a few rounds. But he’d have to win a few more times to upgrade the bear to a huge size.

Meg laughed as she pulled him away before he could pay for the next game. “I love you, Jack.” She hugged the cute, purple bowtie-wearing teddy bear, before pushing up to her toes and kissing him on the cheek. “It’s perfect.”

I didn’t intend to be a creeper and stare at them, but they were so damn cute. I blushed when Jack caught me, but he didn’t seem to care, he just smiled, put his arms around Meg and kissed the top of her head. “I love you too Princess. Want to try your hand at popping balloons?”

She shook her head no and pointed at the next booth, giggling. “I want to shoot the ducks.”

After Chris won a small pink teddy bear for Zoe, we moved over to the duck shooting game. Meg stepped up and paid as Ashley challenged me to a shoot out, then we convinced Vicky to join us. It was good for her to get out and have some adult fun, she spent most of her days home with Zoe. Jack was standing behind Meg, cheering, and Chris was encouraging Vicky. Ashley looked back at AJ and told him he needed to cheer for her since she was all alone.Damn, Meg isn’t the only one gunning for an Oscar today. Ashley was laying it on thick, and AJ was clearly loving the attention.

He gave her a big smile, clapped his hands together, and said, “You got this!”

When Jamie stepped up behind me and said he’d be my cheerleader, the butterflies in my stomach went into overdrive.

We lined up behind the BB guns marked one through four, Meg, Ashley, me, and Vicky. Strangers took the last two spots. None of us won, but we had too much fun to care. Theguys bought us all huge pretzels as consolation prizes. They were soft and gooey and covered in large salt crystals, and were way better than some cheap, tiny toy prize. I shared my pretzel with Jamie who took small pieces, one at a time, rather than just splitting it. It almost felt intimate to be sharing my pretzel with him; it was the same way Chris and Vicky were sharing theirs. Meg was pulling pieces off and feeding them to Jack so he wouldn’t get salt on her teddy bear, which he was still carrying for her. AJ bought two pretzels, saying he was too hungry to share. Ashley didn’t seem phased by it and made a joke about him keeping up his energy levels.

After finishing our pretzels, we wondered around looking at exhibits and various goodies for sale. They had everything: including toys, homemade crafts, jewelry, fruits and vegetables and potted plants. I almost choked on my spit when I heard Ashley read a sign in front of a plant display. “Succulent means juicy.”

The words themselves weren’t that funny, but how she said them a she blinked and fluttered her eyelashes was hysterical.

We made our way to the barn, and after Meg got her fill of feeding and petting the cows, we played with the baby goats. They were stupidly energetic, and beyond adorable, jumping around in their Fourth of July themed pajamas. Chris shared a moment with Vicky as they gushed about wanting to bring Zoe to the fair when she was old enough. I hoped I’d get an invite when the day came.

We spent the rest afternoon walking around and talking. Before long before Chris said it was time for him and Vicky to go. They had fun, but wanted to get home to Zoe. Therest of us decided we were ready to call it a day too, so we walked out with them. We’d originally planned on staying to watch the fireworks but we’d had enough of the loud, chaotic environment and decided to watch the Weatherford show instead.

We passed the Carousel on our way to the gate and Ashley and I decided we needed to ride for old-time’s-sake. And we somehow convinced everyone to ride with us. Even Chris and Vicky. Ashley and I rode side-by-side horses and laughed the entire time.

We said goodbye to Chris and Vicky at the gate. Then Ashley suggested we go out for some real food since we had time to kill before the fireworks. Everyone agreed. I for one, could use some real food after eating fair food all day.

Ashley asked if she could ride with AJ, as she was opening the back door and climbing in. She turned and raised one eyebrow while grinning at me.

Damn her, she wanted me and Jamie to have some time alone even though I’d reminded her a thousand times this wasn’t a date. Yes, he’d stayed closer to me than was necessary, and on more than one occasion he’d put his hand on my lower back as we walked through the crowd, but he was just being protective. Doug had down that when I panicked in the middle of the road. I mean, I liked it and it felt kind of personal, but I couldn’t read too much into it.This isn’t a date. Though he did insist on paying for me a lot, which Ashley had noticed, and pointed out.

Jack didn’t answer Ashley, but Meg did, with a big shit-eating grin on her face. “Of course you can ride with us.”She sounded a little too eager and I had a sneaky suspicion she and Ashley were in cahoots. Jack looked at Jamie, and shrugged. “See you at dinner.”

I was quiet during the ride, too busy trying, and failing, not to think about much I enjoyed spending today with Jamie, and reminding myself today wasn’t a date. It was stupid to even think about it. He’d never want someone as broken as me.I’m his client.Plus he’s my brother’s best friend. So I couldn’t even think about liking him.

I didn’t mean to ignore Jamie, and felt bad when I realized he’d been asking me a question.

“I’m sorry Jamie, I spaced out for a second.”

“I asked if you’re okay? You seem sad.”

“I’m fine.” Then knowing that most men think when a woman says she’s fine it means she is not in fact fine, I corrected myself. “Just thinking about what a great time I had today. Thank you for everything Jamie, really, it was the best day I’ve had in a long time.”

“I’m glad you had fun.”

I could look at his warm, sweet smile all day.

Chapter 19

Jamie

Emily’s cheeks were an adorable shade of pink when she climbed into my SUV, and it wasn’t from the sun. She was embarrassed because Ashley and Meg had been none too subtle when they arranged for us to ride back to Weatherford alone. If it hadn’t been for the fact that they’d only met each other today, I might have thought they’d planned it all along. While they’d gotten along all day, I wouldn’t have thought they knew each other well enough to start scheming together.But I’ve been wrong before.

Emily apologized while I started the engine. “Sorry about Ashley. She’s always been a bit crazy.” At least the color in her cheek was fading

“No need to apologize, she’s been shamelessly flirting with AJ all day, and I would’ve been more surprised if she hadn’t asked to ride back with them.” I knew that wasn’t what shemeant, but it was part of the reason Ashley rode back with them, and I wanted Emily to feel more comfortable, not less.

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