Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,39

me. I’m gonna call it a night. Head home and take something. You guys enjoy.” And with that Madison set down her glass and hightailed it out of the barn, leaving the rest of them staring after her in surprise.

Gabriella blinked. Her chest hurt. On top of that, annoyance flared. “What was that about?” she asked the room, grappling to understand what had just happened.

Joey sighed. “I think she cares and is feeling…I don’t know, protective of you.”

“Or jealous,” Becca added, with an apologetic look to Joey. Was this something they’d discussed? “I don’t know Madison as well as either of you, but that’s what it felt like from here.” She tapped her nails on the outside of the glass, the clinking the only sound in the room.

“There’s nothing going on with Ryan and me,” Gabriella said.

Joey took a moment. “Yet.”

“No, Jo, it’s not like—”

Joey cut her off. “You don’t have to convince me of anything, and you’re welcome to change your mind at any point about Ryan. Or not, even. You have my friendship and support.” She looked over at Becca and took her hand. “You were there for me when I needed someone, and I’ll always be there for you.”

“That makes two of us,” Becca said and kissed Joey’s hand.

“I appreciate that.” She downed the last of her wine and gave it some thought before turning back to her friends. “I think what’s happening for me is that I’m making a new friend, and I like it.”

“Then I like it for you,” Joey said. “She makes you smile and glow, and that matters so much.”

“She also makes me fume.”

Becca raised a knowing eyebrow and exchanged a look with Joey.

“What?” Gabriella asked.

“It sounds familiar,” Becca said with a grin. “That’s all.”

“No, no, no. You fell in love with Joey. She’s your person.”

“Yes. She is. But we also wanted to murder each other a lot early on.”

Gabriella scoffed, laughing off the impractical comparison, because she knew what this was with Ryan and what it wasn’t. She let the empty glass press against her cheek, contemplating the smile, glow, and fume combination. She’d experienced two of the three together in various combinations. But the whole group? All together? She wasn’t sure what to do with the new discovery. It had her thinking about one person in particular, though, and missing her. Actually missing her. What in the world was happening exactly? In a way, it felt like there were forces behind the scenes at work, moving them all around, inching her and Ryan closer together one millimeter at a time. In fact, maybe it was time that she admitted she was no longer in the driver’s seat, and sat back and enjoyed the ride.

* * *

There weren’t many days spun together as beautiful as that Thursday at the end of April. Sunshine, blue skies, and the gentle caress of a refreshing breeze had Ryan energized and ready for the game. She’d run an extra mile that morning because she was keyed up even before work began, just thinking about playing ball. She arrived early to take in the end of the first game to find the Muskrats completely wrecking the Prairie Dogs in a 7–1 beatdown with twelve minutes left in the fifty-minute timed game.

Three batters into the inning, Gabriella strode to the plate in her bright yellow uniform looking like a wound-up stick of dynamite waiting to go off. She slung the bat over one shoulder and back again as she walked, repeating the action several times like a badass. She adjusted the bill of her cap almost in challenge to the pitcher, which had Ryan bursting with pride and wrestling with lust. From her third row seat on the bleachers, she surveyed the stands around her. Joey and Becca were there screaming for their friend. Madison, too, though she was always a little quieter. She clapped and smiled along, though, seeming to enjoy the game.

Ryan returned her focus to Gabriella, who let the first pitch go, a ball. She passed on the second pitch, too, this time drawing the strike, and then another. Damn. Before the next one, she looked over her shoulder to the stands, her eyes settling on Ryan. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she caught half a smile before Gabriella turned back and slugged the hell out of that softball, line driving it right past the shortstop’s glove, running like hell, and earning a double. Holy hell, she was a force. Ryan shook her head,