Page 30 of Cowboy Seeks Husband

“So should I just pick someone and start talking?”

“Yes, John’s waiting for you by that huge tree over there.” She pointed in the direction of a live oak where one camera’s tripod rested on a piece of pressed wood so it wouldn’t sink into the mud, while other cameramen and their Steadicams waited in the shade.

“There’s drier spots than that one around,” Walker said, but Molly waved him off and went back to her conversation with Luke. They were paying him nearly seventy-thousand dollars for the use of the ranch as a venue, so if they wanted to trudge around in mud, he was going to let them. He touched Ben’s shoulder.

“Hey, man,” he said, feeling incredibly self-conscious. “We need to go up there for a chat.”

“Excuse me.”

Walker turned around to be faced with John and a cameraman he’d never seen before. “Yes?”

“Can you ask him more romantically?”

“What?”

“You know, hold out your hand and ask if he wouldn’t mind joining you for a talk alone, or something.”

“Are you serious?”

John stared at him. “Yes?”

Walker huffed out a breath through his nose, and his cheeks heated up as he turned back to Ben, who watched the interaction with a twinkle in his eye. Walker would ask him nicely, sure. But he wasn’t going to hold out a hand to a man taller than him, and he wasn’t going to burden the request with innuendo. “Ben, would you like to join me for a chat under the oak tree over there?”

“Of course,” Ben said. He swung his long, powerful legs over the bench he was sitting on and rose to his feet.

Damn. Walker felt a little frisson ofsomethingcurl up his spine.

“After you,” Walker said, but fell into step with him anyway.

“This is awkward, isn’t it?” Ben whispered in his ear as they walked side by side.

Walker looked up at him in surprise. “Yeah, it is. I didn’t really think of it from your side of things, but it’s got to be worse for you. Especially dealing with all the others. How were your last few nights in the bunks?”

“Not bad. The smallest guy in the room snores the loudest, believe it or not.”

Walker laughed quietly. “No way.”

Ben nodded but didn’t say anything else. Walker thought Ben seemed a little uncomfortable, so he decided to take the lead and just pretend John and the cameras weren’t there. He perched his ass on the low-hanging tree branch the camera was aimed at, tipped his hat back, and asked, “So you’re a mechanic, right?”

“Right. In Florida. Born and raised.”

Walker swatted at a fly. “So this heat doesn’t bother you.”

“Oh, it bothers me. But whining’s not going to make it cool down any faster.” He grinned, and his blue eyes twinkled. He shrugged his muscled shoulders lightly. “How about you? Did you grow up on this farm?”

“Yep.” Walker shifted so the bark of the tree didn’t dig through his jeans so much and patted the branch. Ben chuckled but joined him. Since they were sitting in the shade Walker tipped his hat back a little more so he could see Ben’s stunning eyes better. “My family’s owned this ranch for four generations.”

“They still alive?”

“Yep. My parents live in the farmhouse with me,” Walker said, nodding toward the structure in question. “Grandparents are gone. Pretty recently actually.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Hit my dad hard.”

“I’m sorry.”

Walker met Ben’s eyes again and saw nothing but sincerity. “Thanks. So tell me, what brings you here? You don’t seem to be a reality show type, if you don’t mind me saying so.” Molly wouldn’t like that he’d said that, but whatever. Once all the editing was done this conversation would probably end up looking like it was about something else entirely.

Ben rubbed the back of his neck and the sleeve of his white T-shirt seemed about to give under the pressure. “I’m not, no. I’m—” He faltered and looked genuinely pained for a second.

“Hey, now.” Walker shifted a little, putting his side to the camera for a modicum of privacy. Only to be faced with another one. “If you don’t want to talk about something, just say so, okay? I’m winging it here. I don’t know what I’m doing either.”