Page 18 of Off-Limits Love
“Uh-huh. You like her. Don’t pretend you don’t.”
Hud’s words struck home as he thought of Mak’s embarrassment when Emi mentioned telling her father. “Doesn’t matter if I do or not.”
He focused on feeding Dash, the munching sounds from all the animals loud in the barn combined with the complaints from those still waiting on their dinner.
“Because you stutter? Seriously, dude, when are you going to realize the right woman won’t care?”
“Drop it,” he ordered.
“No, I won’t. What if she’s okay with it? Mak seemed to be smiling a lot while you were out on the water. And she kept sneaking looks at you at lunch. Are you really going to let a chance with Mak slip by because you’ve had some bad luck with shallow women?”
Finn moved down the stalls to feed the next in line. The babydoll sheep were all in one pen and scrambling to find their place in front of the feeder bin.
“Fine. Ignore me. Be that way. But you know I’m right, and I just don’t get it. So what if you stutter? Stutters don’t matter in bed, dude.”
Finn slammed the lid to the food bin and fastened the latch, glaring at Hudson. “You need to watch yourself. And stop hitting on every woman you meet. Not every woman wants some young punk looking at them like a side of beef. Mak included.”
“Whoa,” Hudson said, raising his hands. “Flirting isn’t objectifying. And if they’re not interested, I back off. Don’t get mad at me for enjoying beautiful women. You should try it sometime instead of avoiding them.”
“I don’t avoid.”
“Yeah, right. Then why are you so grumpy? She’s right next door. Go see her,” Hud said with a wave of his arm. “If you feel weird about it, take one of the babydolls to show Emi and break the ice.”
“I’m not using her daughter to get to her,” he said, even though Hud had a good idea. Emi was such a small itty-bit, as Sam so fondly called her and her mother, and she’d been fascinated by the talk of miniature animals on the farm. The babydoll sheep were sure to be a hit. Or maybe Dash or Pixie.
“Then go have a porch sit. Talk about the freaking weather. You know Sam’ll get the hint and stick around until you’re comfortable.”
Finn fed the last of the animals with Hud dogging his every step and going on like a fool until he’d had enough. “It won’t work, Hud.”
No animal would make up for the fact he couldn’t speak to the woman—any woman—without the stupid stutter, and he was only setting himself up for another disappointment if he thought differently, even for a second.
“You keep telling yourself that, but I’m telling you; Mak was checking you out today just as much as you were her. And she knows you stutter, so why would she be doing that if she cared so much about it?”
He braced his hands against the feed bin and fought his frustration. “She’s like the others. She might like what she sees, but she warned Emi not to tell her dad I was with them today.”
Finn stalked to the end of the aisle and began feeding the horses.
“So? Maybe she just didn’t want to stir the pot with her ex. That doesn’t mean she’s got an issue with you.”
Finn froze at the words. Could that be it?
He wouldn’t pretend to understand the dynamics of a divorced couple since he’d never been married himself, but common sense said those relationships could be tricky.
“Seriously, bro? Your go-to move is to blame your stutter, but maybe she just wanted to avoid a fight. People get mad when it comes to having their kids around people they don’t know.Menthey don’t know. It wasn’t like you two were on a date, but if her ex would get mad about it, I can see why she’d not want Emi to mention things, you know? Single moms don’t usually introduce their kids to anyone right away. Not until they know whether or not the guy’ll stick.”
Finn shoved himself off the third stall and straightened, aware of Hudson’s gaze following his every move as he finished the feeding.
That done, Finn headed back to where Hud waited and knocked shoulders with his kid brother as he passed. “For an idiot, sometimes you make sense.”
Hud grinned. “So are you going after her?”
“I didn’t say that.” He didn’t deserve to be with Mak—with any woman—when he couldn’t even speak to them, but he appreciated Hudson pointing out that maybe Mak had only wanted to avoid a fight with her ex.
That reason was easier to swallow compared to the alternative and the thought that she was like the other women from his past. He wasn’t sure why it mattered, since he wasn’t going after Mak, but for some reason, it did.
“Well if not, I’ll totally shoot my shot. You know I like older women. They’re way less drama than girls my age.”
Finn shifted his hand to Hud’s shoulder and squeezed hard in warning. “Don’t even think about it.”
