“I’ll see what I can do,” Brenna said cheerily, swiping up the shirts.
They got back into the car, Brenna fussing over her puppy, and Elise thought she was home free until she backed out of the space and Brenna spoke again.
“So, I’ve been giving some thought as to whom you might be seeing here in Bluebonnet.”
“He’s not in Bluebonnet,” Elise said hastily, forcing herself to concentrate on the road. “Remember that I said I didn’t like anyone in Bluebonnet?”
“Yeah, but you’re still staying in town, right?”
She shot a glance over at Brenna, who was distracted with her puppy, kissing its ugly face. “I’m staying at the bed-and-breakfast, yes.”
“So . . . there’re cheaper places down the highway.”
“I like Emily’s place.”
“Yeah, but if you were seeing someone from outside, you’d probably spend more time out of town. But every time I call or Grant calls, you’re in Bluebonnet. Which tells me something’s keeping you here. And besides, you just admitted there is someone. You said he’s not staying in Bluebonnet, which means there is a he.”
Elise chewed on the inside of her cheek nervously.
“So that tells me that I’m on the right track,” Brenna said. “Which leads me to about four different guys I can think of.”
“Maybe I’m not dating anyone. Maybe I just got a . . . um . . .” Oh hell, she couldn’t even say the word aloud.
“Vibrator?” Brenna giggled, the sound gleeful. “Yeah right. Besides, I don’t see you walking into a sex store and buying one.”
Elise’s face felt hot again and she concentrated on the road. “Did you want to go to another thrift store? There’s one the next town over, I think—”
“It’s not a vibe,” Brenna declared. “Though if you want to go by a sex shop while we’re out, I’m game. I’d love to buy something that would blow Grant’s mind. Maybe an anal wand.”
Elise cringed. “Please don’t mention ‘anal wand’ and my brother in the same sentence.”
Brenna just giggled again. “I guess that’s a no. Anyway. Four guys.” She held her fingers up and wiggled them in the periphery of Elise’s vision. “And Pop is one of them, but I’m guessing he’s way too old for you.”
Colt’s father? Elise pictured him, all gut and whiskery chin and trucker cap. “He’s nice, but no.”
“That’s what I thought. Which leads me to Berry, Colt’s brother. And unless you’ve got a total hard-on for mullets paired with Duck Dynasty beards, I think we can rule out pretty much anyone in Colt’s family after all.”
“Um.”
Brenna peered at her face, then sat back. “You’re not all flushed. It’s not one of them.”
“It might be,” Elise said, trying to deflect. Rome was going to kill her if she told Brenna. He was going to be furious. She bit her lip. “Please stop guessing.”
“Nope. Just getting warmed up,” Brenna said. “Now, there’s Miguel that works behind the bar at Maya Loco, and he’s a hot piece of prime meat, but I think he’s got a girlfriend. Unless you chased her off.” And Brenna stared at Elise’s face. “Nope, no reaction. Not Miguel. Which leads me to my final guess.”
“Oh?” Elise felt coiled and tense, her hands tight on the steering wheel. Here it comes.
“That cute young fireman with the tight ass.” And Brenna peered at her face again, watching.
Elise relaxed, almost exhaling with utter relief. She hadn’t guessed right. “I’ll never say.” She looked over at Brenna and smiled, full of relief.
A sly look crossed Brenna’s face. “Uh huh.”
“What?” Elise smiled.
“I texted Emily while you were inside the thrift shop. Wanna guess what she told me?”
Oh shit. Elise felt her face get hot immediately, and it was made worse by Brenna’s gleeful laugh. “Oh my god, I was right! You’re totally nailing Rome!”
Elise felt her shoulders hunch, and she wanted to hide under the seat of the car. Not a good idea, considering she was driving. “I’m not.”
“You totally are. Look at your face. You look like you want to throw up!”
“Would I look like I wanted to throw up if we were talking about a guy I was dating?” Elise tried to divert.
“If we’re talking about you? Yes! You always look like you want to puke when you get embarrassed, and you’re embarrassed about dating Rome!” She turned in her seat and bounced.
“Emily said she wouldn’t tell!”
“Well, she didn’t, really.” Brenna shot her a smug look. “I texted her and said ‘How long have Elise and Rome been f**king?’ and she spilled all the beans. It was a total guess on my part, but I’m awesome with guessing, looks like. Grant is totally going to shit a brick when he finds out.”
“Brenna,” Elise said, her voice sharper than she realized. “Please don’t say anything.”
“Why?”
“Because Grant’s a little overprotective as it is. You know how he gets.”
“Mmm, you might have a point.” Brenna tapped her chin. “That might be bad.”
“Please, Brenna. Please. Don’t tell him.”
Brenna sighed. “All right. It’ll be our secret.”
Elise gave a small whimper of relief.
• • •
At Rome’s suggestion, they’d set up a large supply shed near the paintball course, and after the dry run this morning, they’d decided to go ahead and start moving over some of the equipment. Rome was responsible for setting up shelves and organizing things in an efficient way, but he didn’t mind. Work was work, and he was glad for it. He’d just hung a large pegboard on the back wall of the shed and was using the power screwdriver to keep it in place when Grant came storming over the hill.
“Lozada,” he called, his voice furious. “I need to talk to you.”
Well, shit. Rome couldn’t say that he hadn’t been anticipating this day, but it had arrived a little sooner than he’d hoped for. With a sigh, he finished drilling in the screw, turned, and headed out of the shed.
Grant was there, dressed in his slacks and button-down shirt like he always wore, glasses perched on his nose. It was clear, Rome thought, who was the boss around here and who was the grunt, and Grant never let anyone forget that. The man’s jaw was set so hard that he looked like he was going to break a tooth, though. He was furious about something.