Page 14 of Nut Grabber
"Hayes." Josh answers the door with a tight smile, using his body to block any chance I have of looking around him inside. "Can I help you?"
I frown. Seems he was expecting me but isn't pleased to see me. Has something happened I'm not aware of?
"I was supposed to have dinner with Kym tonight. Do you happen to know where she is?"
"She's not at her place?" Something about the tone of his voice tells me he knows damn well she's not there.
"No. Is she here?"
He narrows the door slightly and shakes his head. "Nope. Not here."
Feeling like something isn't quite right, I give him a look. "Are you sure? We had plans tonight. I don't understand what's happening."
"Chicks, hey?" he says, his voice rising slightly in pitch. "But...I'm sure she's not here."
My suspicion getting the better of me, I try to push past him. But he wraps an arm around the doorframe and blocks me. "I wouldn't go in if I were you," he warns.
Intense curiosity stirring through me, I take a few steps back then stand tall as anger builds inside my chest like steam building pressure in an old kettle. "What's going on, Josh? What aren't you telling me?"
His lips twist together for a few seconds before he finally answers. "Nothing. I'm sure it's nothing."
Feeling sure he’s lying and not believing his non answer for a second, I fake leaving so he drops his guard. Then I quickly turn and push past him, only to step into the kitchen and find nothing but a pile of romance novels spread out over the kitchen table with a laptop setup in the middle open to Word.
My eyes dart around, taking in all the evidence before me and trying to figure out what it means.
"Is there a book club here or something?" I ask, turning to Josh, who's now quickly moving past me and pushing the laptop closed.
"This is none of your business."
"Kym is my business," I shoot back.
"No. Kym ismybusiness. I'm her brother, and from what I hear, you aren't her favorite person right now."
"What?" I frown. "Why? What's going on Josh, and why on earth are all these romance books here without anyone to read them? Are Kym and Regina off hiding somewhere?" I call out for Kym, but Josh stops me.
"She's not here! The books are mine, OK? Jesus." Josh lets out a sigh and takes a seat on the pulled-out chair at the table.
"Yours?"
"Yeah. They're fucking awesome. You should try reading one sometime. Maybe it'd help you become a decent partner instead of some player who was trying to pull the wool over my little sister's eyes."
With my face scrunched in confusion, I shake my head. "What are you talking about?"
"You and the games you play."
"What games?"
"The girls heard some of the other shearers talking about what a player you are."
"I can assure you, I am no player."
"Let's see if this feels familiar then. You find some naive girl at every farm you work on, make her fall for you then convince her she's better off without you so you can repeat the process again and again while bragging about it to your buddies."
"That sounds like the plot to one of your stories," I say, folding my arms across my chest as I nod toward the romance novels all over the table.
"Maybe," Josh says with a shrug. "But the girls say they heard the guys mention you by name. They didn't imagine it."
My brow knits. "My name?"
