Page 21 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
Karen paused with one foot on the bottom riser. She moved back and glanced underneath before pointing toward the house. “If you don’t mind, I’ll take the stable route.”
“Front door’s open,” Zach said. He waited until Karen strode out of sight before turning to Finn. “Quick. Are we taking this challenge?”
“Absolutely. I mean it, I don’t want Brandon anywhere near our friends.” Only Finn didn’t want to complicate matters any more than they already were. “No mention of the deadline or consequences unless we need to. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” Zach raised his voice and waved a hand. “Karen. Nice to meet you. I’m Zach Sorenson.”
“I’ve heard about you,” Karen said with a smile as she stepped through the sliding door onto the deck.
“Only good things, I hope.”
She arched a brow. “I hear you’ve got a poker face that my brother-in-law can’t read. That’s a good trait in a man.”
Finn stepped closer. She was dressed in casual cowboy, and he wanted to pick her up and eat her in one bite. “Didn’t expect to see you so soon. Hope it’s for a good reason.”
“Might be,” she said before her head tilted to one side and she stared him down intently. “Whose plans to invade had you sounding so thrilled?”
Damn. He’d hoped she would let that one slide. Finn opened his mouth to come up with a story that was the truth without spilling all the beans, but Zach interrupted.
“You saw the car that just left? Had to deal with some legal stuff for getting the ranch up and running. There’s somebody who wants to be involved we don’t like very much. We were just chatting about making sure he won’t be in the picture.”
Her gaze danced between the two of them before she nodded. “Sounds like a good thing.”
Zach gestured to the chairs on the deck. “Want to sit for a while? I can grab some drinks.”
She eyed the chairs, and the railless platform. “Is this part structurally sound?”
“Mostly. We think,” Zach admitted.
A snort escaped her, and her gaze met Finn’s. Their eyes stayed locked for a moment before she dipped her chin again. “If you’ve got a beer, I’ll take one. We should talk.”
Zach took off into the house. Finn pulled the chairs so they were close enough to have a discussion while still looking over the land.
Karen rested a hand on his forearm to get his attention. “How much does Zach know about us?”
She spoke softly, with a quick glance toward the house as if checking his friend was still out of earshot.
Finn straightened. “I would guess he knows about as much as your sisters do.”
He got an epic eye roll for that one before she shook her head and settled in the chair on the far right. “Didn’t take you for the type to kiss and tell.”
“Trust me. Or more to the point, trust Zach. He’s not going to say a word out of line, and he’s already your biggest supporter.”
That one made her start with surprise.
It was his turn to glance toward the house, thankful that Zach was taking the longest time ever to grab and open three beers.
“Karen?” He waited until she glanced up. He maintained eye contact as he settled in the farthest chair from her. “Zach is like family, but he is first and foremost a hell of a good guy. You needanything, you trust him.”
She took a moment as if letting that soak in. Her expression softened. “Thanks for that. I appreciate it, and I’ll remember it.”
“Do I need to bring a notepad?” Zach poked his head out the door.
“Just get out here with the damn drinks,” Finn muttered.
Karen snickered, pulling her expression back into a warm smile as she accepted a longneck with thanks. “Now it feels as if I’m on holiday. Day drinking and all.”
Zach lowered a bag to the ground beside his chair then examined his beer label briefly before raising the bottle in a toast. “To our last time day drinking in a long while.”
