“No, you’re going to eat now.”

“Owen,” she argued, but I held up my sandwich a couple of inches from her mouth, refusing to move until she took a bite. Her answering moan told me how hungry she was.

With a mouthful of food, Aspen lifted a hand and covered her mouth as she spoke. “I didn’t intend to spoil y’all’s lunch together.”

“Oh, no worry, my dear. I’m happy to have you join us. In fact, I’ll go grab another plate and sandwich.”

“There’s more?” I asked with delight. I really did love this sandwich. Mom chuckled as she stepped back into the house, and Aspen turned her upper body to face me.

“I’ve missed you,” I told her as I set the sandwich back on the plate, swept her hat off her head, and placed it on my own. It was way too small, but I’d do it a hundred times to make Aspen giggle the way she was.

“You know what they say about wearing a cowboy's hat,” she implied, and I leaned forward, brushing my nose against hers.

“It’s the number one rule, and I always follow the rules. You can expect a good ride later.”

Her cheeks reddened like the leaves on the oak tree that currently offered its shade over the deck. “I’m looking forward to it.”

I removed the hat and placed it in an open space on the table, then wrapped my other arm around her waist. My thumb brushed against the bare skin of her lower back.

“I told you I missed you,” I reminded her, and she moved her arms around my neck.

“You saw me earlier this week.”

I shrugged, because I didn’t care if I saw her every day. I’d still miss her.

“I miss you too,” she confessed.

“Come over tonight.”

“Owen, I don’t know if….” She closed her eyes, ending her sentence midway. All signs pointed to her turning me down again. Either it wasn’t a good idea, or she was busy, or the farm needed her. She was stretched thin, and I was doing a poor job of trying to show her she couldn’t be everything to everyone and still maintain a relationship. Something had to be cut, and I prayed Aspen knew love or a relationship shouldn’t be that item.

“Owen! There’s someone here for you,” Andrew called out almost angrily, surprising both me and Aspen. I hadn’t been expecting anyone, and my first thought was that Vanessa had shown up unannounced.

“Shit,” I mumbled as I gently lifted Aspen off my lap. She weighed no more than a rag doll, but her body was stiff from the sudden news.

“You don’t think it’s your ex, do you?” Aspen asked, as she followed me into the house.

“I sure as fuck hope not.”

Thankfully, when I turned the corner, the woman in question who was chatting with my mother happened to be a solid foot shorter than my ex.

“Hello, I’m Owen.” I walked toward the newcomer, not missing Andrew’s scrunched face of as he leaned against the hallway wall, hidden in the shadows.

“Hi!” she greeted me enthusiastically as she stepped around my mom. “It’s so nice to meet you. Well, again, that is.”

“I’m sorry. We’ve met before?” I asked impatiently and with a harsher tone than I meant, but I felt like I was missing a very important detail in this woman’s arrival. How had we met? Was this a crazed fan?

“This is our new guest,” Beverly piped in. “She’s a physical therapist for the Nashville Bears.”

“Oh!” I chimed in. “You’re the one my coach was sending.”

“Yeah. I apologize. It took a couple of days longer to get here than I planned.”

“That’s okay.” My mom moved toward the check-in area, in full manager mode. Andrew stomped off in the other direction, and Aspen and I both flinched when the mud room door slammed. I imagined the screen door bouncing a time or two.

“I am. I just need to get my stuff, then maybe we can get together to come up with a training plan. I’m Kelsey, by the way. Kelsey Davis. I met you at spring training two years ago. Your athletic director mentioned it’s your shoulder you’re worried about?”

I nodded and explained I also needed a solid training regimen while I was here. Kelsey agreed, and we planned to meet once she was settled in.

Guess I was spending the day at the B&B after all.

As Mom went to help Kelsey with her bags, I looked at Aspen and shrugged.

“I feel like we’re missing something,” she mumbled as we made our way back to the porch. Along the way, I grabbed the sandwich Mom was making before Kelsey arrived.

“About what?” I asked her as I sat in my previously vacated seat, then tugged her back down on my lap.

“Andrew’s reaction. He was so angry when he found out a woman was here and then stormed off without even meeting her.”

I had my suspicions, but I planned on keeping those to myself. Andrew could think what he wanted about me. Even in a fake relationship, I would never cheat on his sister. I wasn’t the scumbag he wanted me to be. Although I wished he trusted his sister more. She’d never tolerate a man who gave off the slightest inkling he was cheating. Aspen may have been a wallflower, but that made her observant.

“Yeah. Maybe he just forgot to rotate that stick in his ass or something,” I said in jest, and Aspen nearly choked on her bite of food as she laughed.

“He really is so straightlaced sometimes. I bet he thought she was here for you for some… nefarious reason.”

Leave it to Aspen to come to the same conclusion as me.

“Probably.”

We finished our lunch, and eventually my mom came back to check in with us, apologizing a thousand times for Kelsey’s interruption.

Aspen and I helped clean up, since my girl claimed she really needed to head back to work. But I hadn’t spent nearly enough time with her.

As we finished wiping down the clean dishes, Aspen reached for my wrist and tugged me toward the opposite side of the house. There was a hidden narrow stairwell that my shoulders barely fit through as we climbed.

“This was part of the original design of the house. During the renovation, most everything was knocked down, but Autumn wanted to recreate as many original features as she could. This is my favorite one of them.”

I followed along, reaching up to grip her hips a few times, which brought her ass to my chest.

The staircase twisted twice, and by the time we reached the top, I realized we were on the third floor. It was a small room, no bigger than a nursery or an office. The only light came from a dormer window overlooking the backyard. Aspen quickly informed me that when Autumn and Colton lived here full time, they used this as the office. She gestured toward the hidden door that led to the living area my mother now resided in. There were two chairs and a coffee table in the space. It looked like a nice private place to get away and relax.

Aspen stepped toward me, and my hands settled on her denim-clad hips.

“Why’d you bring me here, cricket?”

“Because I won’t see you for a while, and I want to make sure you’ll be thinking about me when you meet with Kelsey later.”

“Jealous?” I asked, smiling as she placed her hands on my chest and slowly trailed them downward.