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He gave me a once-over. “You look like you’ve been chewing glass.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Might as well have been.”
Hunt raised a brow. “What now?”
I glanced around, making sure no one else was within earshot. “Talked to Kaz about Piper and…we need to be careful?”
Hunt snorted. “Meaning?”
I told him what Kaz had told me about Piper’smodus operandiwhen someone didn’t want to sell to her.
“She’s not just pushing legal pressure. There was anaccidentat another ranch she wanted. One of the owners didn’t walk away.”
Hunt went slack-jawed. “Jesus Christ.”
“I don’t know what the hell that means for us,” I conceded. “But we need to stay sharp. No strangers on our land, and none of the hands get so comfortable they stop payin’ attention. Everybody keeps their eyes open ‘til this blows over.”
Hunt’s eyes darkened. “If she’s going to kill someone, it’s probably gonna be you.”
“Maybe,” I granted. “But she’ll also try to hurt the ranch. I think Piper Novak will do whatever she has to.”
Hunt muttered a curse. “I’ll let the boys know.”
CHAPTER 36
elena
“Wear the damn dress,” Joy ordered.
“I’m going to look like a hooker.” I eyed the red dress on the hanger outside the fitting room with disdain. “My boobs are gonna fall out of that thing.”
“You remember what cleavage looks like?”
I looked down at my chest. “You mean that thing where you wear an uncomfortable bra that squishes your tits together? Nah. I’ve worked very hard to forget about that, and I ain’t interested in remembering.”
When I told Joy I had a date, she made me come to her store,Bringing You Joy,on Wildflower Canyon’s Main Street. Her boutique was a popular destination because it was charming, stylish, and just trendy enough to make you feel like you belonged in a city without forgetting you lived in ranch country.
It wasn’t designer—no overpriced labels, no salespeople sneering at your worn boots—but it was high-end,so you could buy a damn good pair of jeans, a leather jacket that’d last you years, and a dress sexy enough to make a man forget how to talk.
Which was exactly what Joy was trying to force on me now.
“Wear the damn dress,” she ordered again, hands on her hips.
I glared at the offending piece of red fabric hanging from the dressing room door. “I don’t want to look like a ho, Joy.”
Joy snorted. “Excuse me, but you’ll be a high-class ho.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Not helping.”
She grinned, unapologetic. “Duke won’t know what hit him.”
I rolled my eyes. The man was already dangerous enough without me traipsing around in a dress designed to make him forget all the reasons we shouldn’t be doing this.
I sighed, grabbing the stupid outfit. "Fine. But if my boobs fall out, you're bailing me out of jail when I punch someone for staring."
Joy clapped her hands together like she'd won the lottery. "Deal."
I came out of her boutique flustered, wearing the damn dressanda new matching pair of bra and panties. Joy had tried to get me to buy new shoes, but I had put my booted foot down on that. I was happy to wear a dress, but it was with cowboy boots. She relented, grudgingly.