Page 4 of Falling for Forever

Mostly.

Lydia jogged backward toward the house. With how often she stopped by, she kept a few spare sets of clothes in case she needed them. Rylee was a doll and insisted she make herself at home whenever she came over. “Save me a spot at the table.”

“I always do,” he called back.

She hurried inside with a smile on her face. Bypassing the kitchen where her brother and sister-in-law were finishing up preparation for dinner, she took the steps upstairs two at a time. Wren was probably hiding away somewhere until they called everyone down for dinner. Jason and Faith weren’t here yet if the lack of their vehicles in the front of the house was any indication.

They’d be here soon. She had no doubt.

Once she’d rushed her way through a shower and changed into more comfortable clothes, everyone had merged into the kitchen. True to his word, Chet had an open seat beside him. He glanced up when she came in and his smile made her stomach flip.

That was a common occurrence. He had the best sort of smile. It was boyish and charming. Chet could have any girl he wanted, but she’d never seen him date anyone. It was as if he had an aversion to relationships.

She plopped down into the chair beside him just as everyone started dishing themselves some of the fried chicken Rylee had prepared. Conversations were tossed back and forth, but she wasn’t interested in the business side of things.

Leaning toward Chet, she whispered, “You know, I was just thinking that I’ve never met any of your girlfriends.”

He paused in the middle of buttering a biscuit. Then he glanced at her. One side of his mouth quirked upward, and he blew out a breath that ruffled the light, wavy brown hair that nearly fell into his blue eyes. “I didn’t know you were interested in my love life. Don’t tell me you’re jealous. If you wanted to go on an official date, all you had to do was ask.”

Her eyes widened. Even though he was teasing her, the urge to defend herself was immediate. “Of course not. I didn’t—that wasn’t—” The blush crept into her face. This had been the wrong topic to bring up, especially when she’d wanted to tease him about his love life or actually the lack of a love life.

His hand found her knee beneath the table. His low chuckle sent goose bumps along her skin. “Easy, Lydia. I was just kidding.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Not funny.” She didn’t want to even think about what his offer to take her out on a real date had done to her. It wasn’t fair how easily he could rile her up without even trying. At least when she pushed his buttons, she did it on purpose. Guys were so easy.

He laughed again and squeezed her knee before releasing it. She looked down at where he’d touched her.

“Lydia.”

Her head snapped up. Everyone was looking her way.

Every. One.

She blinked several times and willed the heat to fade from her cheeks, but it wouldn’t, no matter how hard she tried. She could sense Chet’s amusement at her side, and she promised herself she’d get him back. It was the least she could do since he’d messed with her head in front of her family. “What?”

Tate coughed and she looked his way. His eyes moved from her to Chet. There was a hint of suspicion in his gaze, though he had no reason to believe she and Chet were more than friends. She was certain he’d already had “the talk” with Chet when it came to her. Not that it would stop her. She was the only one who had control over her life. If anyone in her family tried to manipulate her relationships present or future, she’d put them in their place right away.

“What?” she repeated, this time with a little more irritation.

Tate settled back in his seat before he spoke again. “Have you considered my offer?”

She blinked again. “Offer.”

He sighed as if she was being the difficult one. “Dressage.”

“Oh. Right.” Her brother taught children and teens, mostly boys, how to compete in the rodeo. But he didn’t have as much experience with dressage. “I don’t know.” She pushed her corn around her plate. “It’s a great offer. I think it’d be fun to teach, but I’m not sure it’s a good fit for me. I don’t have any experience training horses. Even though I know a lot about the sport, I think it’d be important to get some horse training under my belt.”

Tate nodded.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Jason added. “Not all horses are trained and ready for those kinds of events and inexperienced riders need to know not only their performance but how to get their horse to work through the course.”

Lydia nodded. “Exactly.”

Wren, who had been silent, sighed. “It’s not a hard decision, Lydia. You either want to do it, or you don’t. Do you think that anyone who gets hired for work around here is proficient at the get-go?”

She had a point. Wren had a knack for seeing past a problem.

“Besides, you have one of the best horse trainers as a brother.” She tilted her head toward Jason. “And didn’t you just get a new horse to train?”