of the barn where Ty had just disappeared. Penny straightened. “Why are you here?”
He smirked. “I could ask you the same thing.”
She placed a hand on her hip as he came to stand beside her. “You had chores to do.”
Cole removed his hat and tossed it through the open window. “I ran into Chad in town. He said some hotshot figured out what was wrong with his tractor just by asking a few questions. It would have been at least a week before a mechanic could come take a look at it. I came to meet the guy.” He reached into the window and pulled out an apple. His lips closed over the fruit and a crisp crunching filled the air as he took a bite. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I figured if he was as good as Chad claimed him to be, we might ask him to take a look at the baler.”
Penny straightened. “Oh?”
He nodded. “But I don’t know that Pops would like it.”
“How come?”
“The guy’s a drifter, Penny. You know how hard it is to get our folks to trust new people. He’s not a local and he’s not a rancher.”
“So?” Penny scowled. “If Chad thinks he’s good enough to work on his tractor, then he should be good enough to help us.”
Cole took another bite and lifted his hands. “Don’t get mad at me. I don’t care who works for us.”
Penny rolled her eyes. No, but Cole didn’t exactly treat outsiders with the same kind of respect as those who grew up here. “Maybe you shouldn’t tell them, then.” Her parents usually took Chad’s recommendations to heart.
He shrugged. “I don’t think it matters one way or the other. The second he shows up, Mom and Dad will know. It’s not like cowboys wear combat boots.” Cole dropped his hand and swung his arm around to toss the apple core into some bushes. He looked Penny up and down. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“I was practicing with Cocoa.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Then why are you here?” His brows rose and he moved closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. “You met the guy already.”
“Yeah, so?”
“You like him.”
“What? Do not.” She shoved his shoulder. How was he able to discern things like that without any context?
Cole let out a loud laugh and laid a hand on his forehead. “Mom’s gonna go nuts over this. You can’t date an outsider.”
“Knock it off, Cole. Nothing’s gonna happen between us. He’s leaving anyway.”
He snorted. “Maybe. Maybe not.”
She stilled. Ty wasn’t leaving? “Did he say something to you?”
Cole poked her, his finger pushing her shoulder. “See, I knew it. You have a thing for him. Do yourself a favor and forget it before it becomes a problem.” He brushed past her and walked around the front of his truck. “I heard Harrison is back. Perhaps he’d be a better option.”
Harrison? Her ex? Heart fluttering slightly, she wrung her hands. It didn’t matter. They hadn’t worked out five years ago when he’d decided to chase some pipe dream, and it wouldn’t work now. So what if he was back? He had probably forgotten all about her anyway.
Cole jerked open the door and climbed in. He poked his head out the window, his hand coming out and resting on the top of the car. His fingers drummed as he gave her a pointed stare. “I mean it, Penny. You can’t get involved with him. It wouldn’t end well. You’re not some fairy tale princess and he’s not a prince. Besides, this whole thing you have for him isn’t real. You’re just fixated on him because he’s new.”
She bristled. “You don’t have any say in what I can or can’t do, Cole.”
“No, but I know our parents. Listen to me or don’t. It’s your funeral.” He ducked inside the truck and started the engine. The Chevy purred to life and he turned the truck toward the road.
Penny clenched her hands into fists. He couldn’t tell her what to do. He was a fool if he thought she’d allow her parents to dictate who she dated. What did he think? That they lived in some historical world where their parents got to decide who she fell in love with? That was preposterous. Besides, she didn’t even like the guy.
The notion that anything would happen between her and Ty was even more ridiculous. For all either of them knew, Ty would be long gone before they could figure