Page 59 of A Cowboy's Bride
“Seemed like the right thing to do.” Declan's gaze drifted over the group before landing on the pizza on the cutting board. “Is that pizza ready? I'm starving.”
Sydney rolled her eyes then pushed past him and sat in the chair next to Jinx. “Go ahead and feed him. He probably can't think straight and it’s making him hangry.”
“I wasn’t angry,” Declan insisted. “I was reasonable but firm. Now he knows better than to pull a gun on anyone.”
Holy shit. Instinctively, Aiden glanced toward Jinx to see how she was doing after that comment. Petra was doing the same, because, sure enough, Jinx had shot upright. “Someone pulled a gun on you?” she demanded of Sydney.
Jake’s gaze slid over Sydney as if examining her carefully for wounds. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. There wasn’t any danger. Not really.” Sydney laid a gentle hand on Jinx’s wrist. “Mr. Talita is a cranky old man who would never dream of hurting anyone. He’s used to putting on a show to scare people off, though, trying to protect his territory. I can't take fault with that. We were well on the way to solving our communication problem when the Lone Ranger here came to myrescue.”
Once again all eyes landed on Declan.
He helped himself to a piece of pizza and bit into it without another word. He considered while he chewed then washed the bite down with a swig of beer before speaking.
“Seemed like the right thing to do at the time,” he repeated mildly. He met Sydney’s annoyed gaze and lifted his chin slightly. “Would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Sydney glared harder. “You know, there's names for men like you.”
“Hungry?”
Aiden laughed, and the sound broke the tension. Sydney obviously didn't have a problem with her initial situation, but more of a problem with Declan showing up. But even that was washed away as Tansy continued passing out slices of steaming hot pizza, and the conversation moved to different topics.
An hour later, Jake eased back in his chair and patted his belly. “Ladies, you outdid yourselves. Thank you, that was delicious. Especially the goat cheese one.”
“My favourite was the liver and onions,” Declan said with a straight face.
For some reason that made Jinx snicker.
Sydney eyed Declan. “Are you drunk?” she asked.
“I’ll explain,” Jinx offered. She bounced to her feet, then shocked them all by extending an invitation. “Sydney, do you and Tansy want to see the rope swing Aiden made for me in the barn?”
“That sounds like an excellent idea, and one that gets us out of doing the dishes.” Sydney nodded her approval. “Well done.”
“Rope swings are my favourite,” Tansy agreed. “Plus, I need some kitten cuddle time if you have any.” She eyed Jake. “Leave the pizza oven. I’ll grab it tomorrow when it’s cooled off. Everything else needs to be hand washed.”
“You said your baking sheets always go in the dishwasher,” Petra reminded her with amusement. “Not that there’s a dishwasher here yet in the first place, but…”
“She’s making more work for us,” Jake gave a long-suffering sigh. “I’m not the one who intruded on Sydney’s visit.”
“If you don’t want to get shot, don’t hang with the crows,” Tansy teased before batting her lashes.
Jake rolled his eyes.
Jinx guided the ladies toward the barn. Jake and Declan loaded up the dirty dishes, and suddenly Aiden found himself alone with Petra by the fire.
“Shove over,” Petra demanded before curling herself up comfortably in his lap.
“This is nice,” he told her honestly. He rearranged her soft ass more comfortably in his lap as she draped her arms over his shoulders. It didn’t seem as if she were getting cozy to spark up a sexual connection, though. She was quiet, more so than he’d ever seen her in their short time together.
Aiden brushed his fingers over her cheek. “How’re you doing, darling?”
“I’m…” She hesitated. “Overwhelmed. I hate to admit that, but as good as things have been going, and as much as I know I’m in the right place, I’m teetering on the edge of too much.”
As if the confession had taken every bit of her strength, she laid her head on his shoulder and let out a huge exhale.
Aiden stroked her back softly. Thinking for a moment and filtering through all the possible ways to make things better.
