“No.” Josie lowered her sandwich to the brown paper wrapper and filled her lungs with a sharp breath. “No. It’s not that. The sandwich is fine. Good, actually. Really good.” She shoved her hair from her eyes and looked around like she expected someone to sneak up on her. She took another rallying breath. “I met your dad and brother while you were at the store.”
“I’m sorry.” Seth had to chuckle. They weren’t all bad, but they were definitely cut from a different cloth than Seth, a cloth which lacked manners, respect and decorum when it came to the opposite sex. He hoped they hadn’t said or done anything too offensive in his absence. “I should’ve warned you they were coming back into town early. I thought I’d get back before they did. That’s on me.”
“That’s not the issue at all. It’s just…It’s just, they might be under the impression I’m someone else.”
“Like they got you confused with somebody?” Seth chewed slowly, Josie’s words a speed bump. She wasn’t the sort of woman easily confused with others. She was altogether unique in an intriguing and downright unforgettable way.
“Like I confused them into thinking I’m someone I’m not.” She stared at her clenched hands when she added, “I might’ve led them to believe I was Bridgette.”
“Oh.” Seth flinched. “Okay. How’d that come about?”
“They were saying some pretty rude things about you, Seth.” Her gaze finally lifted to his, impaling him with an intensity that nearly gave him heartburn. He coughed a little to clear his throat. “They didn’t know I was here, but I overheard them, and I couldn’t let them talk about you like that. I had to put a stop to it somehow.”
“Should’ve just let them say what they needed to say. It’s nothing new, Josie. I’m used to it. I’ve been dealing with their disapproval my entire life.”
“But it wasn’t right. So I went up to them to let them know what I’d heard and one thing led to another and now they think we’ve been dating…for a few years.” Her entire face was cloaked in apology from her doe-wide eyes to her scrunched mouth that pulled tight in apprehension, like she anticipated the worst reaction Seth could dole out. Readied for the strike of his chastising words. “I’m so sorry, Seth. I plan to come clean with them as soon as we’re done with lunch, but I figured you should know how things transpired first.”
“You don’t have to apologize. It’s really not a big deal. To be honest, I’m surprised they even knew who Bridgette was to begin with. I didn’t talk about her all that much back when we were dating.”
“In fairness, they didn’t, really. Tanner couldn’t remember her name, just that you two dated and that she worked with animals.”
“And you work with animals.”
“Yeah, that was kind of how it all started. To be totally transparent, I might have kept it going longer than it needed to. The lie snowballed, but I’m the one who pushed it down the mountain.”
Seth paused, taking a moment to absorb the situation. “Is there a reason why you kept it going?”
Josie’s shoulders lifted to her ears. “I don’t know. Their whole demeanor changed when I said we’d been dating for a while. And when I told them we’d taken the next step—that I’d moved onto the property—something shifted in your dad. Said something about you finally becoming a man. Putting down roots. Showing responsibility. I don’t know. Maybe he even seemed a little proud.”
Of course, a secure relationship would change the way his father viewed him. Tanner had married young—right out of high school—just like their mom and dad had back in their day. His grandparents were wed even younger, though no one talked about their exact ages which led Seth to believe there might’ve been a bit of scandal associated with it, considering his grandfather had been a great deal older than Gramm.
And then there was Seth, nearing thirty without any real marriage prospects, or interest in tying the knot, for that matter. There were many reasons for his father’s disapproval, but this was the hump he could never get over. “A good woman will keep you grounded, honest, and well-fed. Can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want that, Son. You’d be a fool not to.”
It wasn’t that Seth didn’t want companionship—someone to share his life with. Of course, he did. But marriage wasn’t a business arrangement, even though he had a hunch that settling down would greatly improve his odds of securing his place in the family’s business. He often wondered how one thing had anything to do with the other, but his father was the boss. Marriage was practically a job requirement.
Seth grabbed the paper cup full of soda and brought the straw to his lips. The carbonation bubbled in his mouth and he forced a swallow to gulp it down.
“I’ll make this right,” Josie insisted. Her sandwich sat half-eaten on the wrapper with a fly buzzing around it. She swatted her hand to shoo it away. “And I’ll make sure I’m off your property by sundown.”
Seth choked. “No, that’s not necessary, Josie. You don’t have to leave—”
“But I do. I haven’t even been here one day and I’ve already managed to mess everything up. I’m beginning to think I’m a bit of a liability.”
“You haven’t messed anything up. Honestly, by the sounds of it, you might’ve made things better. As crazy as that may be.”
“I don’t know about that.” She released a breath that sounded a little like a groan. “You’ve done so much for me already, Seth. I owe you big time. And I think the best favor I can give is to get completely out of your hair.”
“No favors, Josie. I don’t work like that.”
“But I do owe you one, whether you think so or not. A monumental one after this mess I’ve created.”
It occurred to Seth that Josie wasn’t going to let up. It wasn’t her nature. But it wasn’t his to expect anything in return for offering her a temporary job and place to live. He’d learned long ago that if you expected to be rewarded for the good you put into the world, then everything got canceled out. You just had to go with your gut and do what you thought was best in each situation you faced in life. No strings attached. No expectations to be met.
He knew it wasn’t best to let Josie leave quite yet, no matter how hard she pushed. It wasn’t best for the horses. It wasn’t best for her bank account. And it wasn’t best for Seth.
“You’re not going anywhere and that’s not up for negotiation.”
Shocked into silence, Josie’s mouth clamped shut, whatever words she had readied dying before they met her lips.
“And if you really insist on returning the favor—”
“I absolutely do,” she interrupted.
“Then maybe hold off on coming clean with my dad and Tanner just yet.”
Josie pulled a stunned expression. It only lasted a few seconds before she wiped it clean from her face and marshaled her composure. “Okay. I can do that.”
“We don’t have to act like a real couple or anything. I obviously don’t expect that. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little curious about my father’s reaction. We can stage a break up by the weekend, but maybe for the next few days, we could play along?”