Page 36 of A Cowboy's Claim

“You don’t need?—”

“Jinx. Please get in the truck.” He kept his gaze steady until she flounced out the door. “Syd, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay. Thanks again for your help today.” Her lips quirked. “Have a nice trip home.”

“Remember that Tansy isn’t the only one good at revenge,” he muttered softly as Sydney stuck out her tongue then winked.

Jinx moved like the wind. She popped Dixie into the backseat of the crew cab and settled in the front passenger seat before Declan made it off the porch. He took a deep, deep breath, then headed into a small and intense hell.

He got onto the highway before breaking the silence. “Awkward?”

“So much,” Jinx said, teenage angst in every syllable.

Dixie whined and shoved her head over the backrest until her nose hit Jinx’s cheek as if checking to see what was wrong.

“It’s okay,” Jinx told her quietly. “I’m just being silly. Lay down.”

Dixie obeyed, and suddenly the entire thing tilted toward the funny side of the equation.

The fact Jinx was icked-out by what she’d seen and not terrified the way she would have been last September when she arrived? Declan could get up on the stage at Rough Cut and dance a jig in front of everyone to celebrate.

They still needed to have a chat.

He cleared his throat.

“You’re going to make us talk about this? Really?” Jinx whined.

“I really am,” he returned. “You’ve seen Petra and Aiden kiss before.”

“And Tansy and Jake, yes. Plus I know how sex works, so don’t, for God’s sake, think you need to havethattalk with me.”

“You don’t think I should be kissing Sydney?”

“I already knew you guys were kissing,” Jinx confessed.

Really? “Yeah? That’s not common knowledge,” he admitted.

“I kind of spotted you one day just after Christmas. Sneaking into the barn.”

“Sorry. We were usually more discreet.”

“Ha,” she laughed. “Today was discreet?”

“We were outside her house, which is in a pretty remote location.” Such a strange conversation, but as long as Jinx kept talking, so would he.

“It’s just…thatwas a little more…heatedthan most people do in public.”

“Sex can get that way.”

“Ugh, please.” She gave a full body quiver that was clearly at least eighty percent dramatic effect.

Declan snorted. “You know this is a really awkward conversation for both of us.”

“I know.” Jinx stared at his face. “I thought maybe you weren’t getting together with Sydney because of me.”

“The hell?” He shook his head. “Not true.”

“Because you had to be careful around me and that sort of thing. And I appreciate it, but I feel so much safer now. I don’t want you to avoid being together if you want to.”