Free Weekend With Her Bachelor (Bachelor Auction Returns Book 4) by Jeannie Moon Page B

plopped his booted feet on the coffee table, popped the top off a bottle of beer, and handed it to his brother. “I guess that depends on your point of view.”
    Gavin took a long pull from the bottle and sat next to his brother. A true cowboy, with ranching in his blood, Dan was probably the smartest of the five of them, but he had the least amount of formal education. A philosopher, a deep thinker, he only ever cared about working with the horses and had become known as one of the best breeders and trainers in the west.
    Gavin was a doctor, Eli a lawyer, but Dan had a way of seeing to the heart of a matter, which made Gavin wonder what had happened that he took the drive to Bozeman.
    “Why don’t you explain this to me instead of talking in code.”
    Dan rubbed his hand across his cheek. “Ally.”
    It seemed that was everyone’s favorite conversation to have with him. Too bad he didn’t want to talk about it. Gavin hadn’t been able to get Ally out of his head since the kiss they shared in the gazebo. It gave him the kind of rush that said he and Ally would either be really good together or would be really bad for each other. This middle ground they were on at the moment wasn’t going to last.
    “What about her?”
    “She was at the diner today having lunch with her ma, I don’t know how it came up, but your name got tossed around with the term ‘friends with benefits’ attached. Ally was even more embarrassed when her mom said something, loud enough for everyone to hear, about Ally needing sex.”
    “For Christ’s sake. Parents. They do it to us every time.”
    “Based on reports out of the diner, Ally just about crawled under the table when a few volunteers offered to help her out.” Dan was chuckling and having a good time at Ally’s expense, or Gavin’s, depending on how you looked at it.
    The thought of anyone making offers to Ally made Gavin’s blood boil. Which was another problem. He was starting to feel things for her again. It was more than physical; he wanted her. All to himself.
    They’d been texting, and there had been a few late night phone conversations that gave him a look at the woman she’d become. It was true she was no longer the girl he knew in high school. She was better. Yeah, she still had a huge heart, and was whip smart, but Ally was also accomplished, sassy, and five-alarm sexy. Pretty damn perfect.
    He was screwed.
    “She walks back into my life and everything gets complicated.”
    Dan laughed. “I remember watching you when the pair of you were in high school, and all I could think was that you two were going to love each other forever, or kill each other.”
    “She must have been so embarrassed.”
    Dan nodded. “I’m guessin’. What are you going to do? You have to go to that wedding with her in a few days. Are you rooming together, because that could prove to be a problem.” Dan took a sip off his beer. “Or not, depending on your point of view.”
    “Fucking point of view. Of course it would be bad. She lives in Seattle. I live here. That doesn’t make for an easy relationship. What am I supposed to do?”
    Ally said they wouldn’t have to worry about sharing a bed, but just being in the same room with her meant he’d be in a constant state of agony. The woman had him tied in knots.
    Dan was no help, shrugging it off and grabbing for the remote.
    “Comfortable?” Gavin asked.
    “Yep. Good thing too, since I’m sleeping here.”
    “You are?” Gavin enjoyed the closeness he had with his family—most of the time. This was not one of those times.
    “I’m drinking, it’s late—I’m not going back to Marietta tonight. I’ll be out of your hair early. Probably leave about five.”
    Perfect. Tomorrow he didn’t have to be up at the buttcrack of dawn, and Dan was not his quiet brother. “I guess I’ll go to the gym in the morning.”
    “If you’d get your ass back to the ranch more and do physical work, you wouldn’t need a gym.”
    “I’ll tell