The Badge & the Bad Boy: A steamy small town romance by Lena Hendrix

Author:Lena Hendrix [Hendrix, Lena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-07T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

VAL

Even days later, if I closed my eyes and stilled my breathing, I could ignore the musk of the hay barn and still feel the pulse of Evan as he finished inside me.

“Someone has a secret!” Gemma’s giddy, singsong voice cut through my fantasy.

My eyes flew open, and a faint buzzing in my ears deafened me to the room as panic prickled at the base of my skull.

She knows. Shit. Shit!

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Gemma’s brows drew together, darkening her crystal-blue eyes, her hair half-swept up in a little messy bun at her crown.

“Hi.” I cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah. It’s okay.”

Gemma finished climbing the ladder to the top of the hayloft and plopped down onto a bale, crossing her slim legs. Her eyes glittered, and her wide smile was radiant. She really was a beautiful girl.

“So,” I said, ready to face the truth of being caught. “I think it’s important you know—”

“I’m moving out!” Gemma’s excitement bubbled out of her, cutting my confession off midstream.

I stared at her as her leg bounced and creaked the old floorboards. “Oh, come on!” She planted her hands on her hips. “I thought you’d be excited for me!”

“Wow, Gem. Yeah, no, I am. I’m just confused. Moving out?” Relief mixed with newfound confusion. Were Evan and Gemma leaving the ranch? A sharp and disconcerting pain pinched behind my breastbone at the thought.

“Yes! My own place. I can’t even right now! They finished renovation work on one of the small cottages. It’s closer to the lodge than our place now, and I buttered Ma up––told her I wanted to take some classes at a nearby community college and needed somewhere I could study, listen to the online lectures, that kind of thing. But you can’t tell Evan yet. Ma’s going to help me break the news.”

“No, I wouldn’t say anything, Why would I say anything?”

Gemma flicked her wrist in dismissal. “I know you guys are like, whatever.”

I continued cleaning and sweeping the loft, but I couldn’t meet her eyes. “I’m not sure what you mean. Your brother and I aren’t . . .” I shook my head with a dismissive laugh, the lie dying a bitter death on my tongue.

“Yeah, okay. Whatever, I don’t care. I just had to tell you!”

I frowned. I thought Evan and I had been doing a pretty good job at keeping outward appearances, but Gemma definitely seemed to have her suspicions.

Who else has noticed?

I steeled myself against the reality that I would have to be diligent in making sure that any interactions between us were strictly friendly.

No. Cordial.

Aloof? Fuck, I don’t know how to do this.

“A place of your own. Wow.”

“Maybe one day I can even get my own apartment off the ranch. But this is something.”

“How do you think Evan will take the news?” I tamped down my errant thoughts and tried to muster up the excitement Gemma deserved. This was a big step in regaining her confidence and her independence.

She rolled her eyes. “He’ll freak out.

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