CHAPTER 6
Nicki spent two days trying to avoid Jack. The man seemed to be everywhere.
Not that he wasn’t adorable, because he was, and sexy. Hell, he practically melted her every time he came up, actually snuck up, behind her with a hey, darlin’.
The problem was his constant questions.
The other two Gordon brothers had been easy to lie to. They took her and her story at face value, never pushing for more.
Not Jack. He must have made a thousand subtle inquiries, all purred out in that sexy southern drawl of his.
Maybe being on the run had made her paranoid. Maybe Jack was only interested in learning more about her because he liked her.
That would have been welcome attention at any other time in her life, but not now. Now secrecy was the only thing keeping her safe.
Bad timing, that’s what this was. If they had met at any other time, in any other situation, she would have flirted her butt off with him.
Flirting. Maybe that was still a good idea.
If she could blind him with her sex appeal, maybe he’d stop prying into her past. She glanced down at her mucking boots, sunken ankle-high in mud and manure, and laughed at that ridiculous idea.
Sex appeal. Yeah, right.
She dragged the heavy hose behind her and refilled the water tub in one of the far paddocks where the stallions were turned out. She doubted Jack would follow her all the way out here and she could use a few minutes away from his prodding.
“Hey, Nicki.”
Hearing the male voice suddenly close behind her made her jump. Turning, she breathed in relief to see it was a Gordon brother, but not Jack. “Jared. Hey.”
“So, now that I’ve got you alone, what do you think of my brother?”
Jeez. Could she never get away from Jack, even when he wasn’t there? She decided to play coy. “You know I like Jimmy.”
Jared grinned. “You’re a smart one, Nick, and you know very well I wasn’t talking about Jimmy. What do you think of our Jack?”
“I think he’s not going to be around here long enough for me to think anything about him. That’s what I think.” She hoped that would end this line of questioning.
She’d thought she was safe with Jared. Who knew he was a matchmaker? And was the question Jared’s idea to begin with?
What if Jack had put Jared up to this because he really did have a thing for her?
If Jack wasn’t suspicious, just interested, she didn’t know what to do because the facts remained the same. She was in hiding. Making romantic connections, opening up to anyone about her past, getting tied down to one place and one person, was not an option. Even if she did wish it were.
Jared continued to watch her as she devoted more than the necessary attention to filling the tub.
She finally couldn’t take it any longer. “Was there something else, Jared, besides your interest in my opinion of your brothers?”
He smiled broader and shook his head. “Nah. That was pretty much it. Oh, and Bucky’s abscess broke through. He’s up and standing in the stall again.”
Thank goodness he was back to talking about work. This she could handle. “That’s great. I’ll turn him out into the paddock when I’m done here.”
“Do that later. The new mare I bought is in heat and ready to be bred. I’m fixin’ to bring the lucky stud over to her.” Jared hooked a thumb in the direction of the paddock containing the stud in question. “Since this mare’s an unknown, I wouldn’t mind an extra hand around in case she’s a kicker.”
Nicki raised a brow. “So you are here for something besides bothering me?”
He grinned while slipping open the gate. “Yup, but bothering you is so much fun I decided to do that too.”
Jared hooked the lead rope she hadn’t noticed him holding to a beautiful black Arabian’s halter and led him out of the paddock. Nicki secured the gate behind them, then ran to shut off the water to the hose.
When she caught up with him and the stallion, Jared glanced sideways at her. “So, you like Jimmy more than Jack then.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at his persistence. “Whose side are you on, anyway? Jack’s or Jimmy’s?”
“I’m on my own side. I figure if I can marry you off to one of my two brothers, you’ll never quit on me and I won’t have to pay you anymore.”
Nicki laughed again. She didn’t have plans to marry anyone at the moment, but she did like it here. She only hoped she could stick around for a while.