Free Seeing You by Dakota Flint

then I was going to give Scott here a tour of the ranch, but I’m sure Dylan can start it off and I’ll catch up. Let’s go to my office.”
    As Wade stood to leave, Erin said, “Well, we should be going. I have to open up the shop tomorrow morning. Don’t feel like you have to go yet, though, Scott. I’m sure Dylan will be more than glad to give the tour one-on-one.” She smiled at me, the glint back in her eyes.
    We all said our good-byes, the girls hugging me sweetly, and Erin taking an extra long time to hug Wade and whisper something in his ear. Whatever it was made him look at me, the oddest look on his face, then swing his gaze to Scott standing near the door, waiting to start his exciting tour of ranch life.
     
    Finishing up the tour in the stables, I introduced Scott to Blitzen. He wasn’t really the cowboy type, but, to give him credit, he had listened and looked interested as I showed him around and he had a nice, gentle rub for Blitzen, who hung her head over the stall door.
    “So, what do you think? Ready to quit school and join the rodeo?” I wondered where Wade was and why he didn’t catch up with us.
    Scott laughed. “Um, no, not exactly. It’s really pretty out here, but the only thing I’d really want to get my hands on would be the cowboys.” He blushed, as if he hadn’t meant to say that. It was cute, I decided. He was cute. Cute and young, that was for sure.
    “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
    He turned toward me, propping his arm on the stall door, mirroring my position. Barely a foot separated us. “So. You come into town much?”
    I’d kind of been expecting something like this. All the furtive looks at my ass out of the corner of his eye and the subsequent blushing as we walked around. I tried to think of the best way to let him down gently. Honesty was probably the best idea. “Nope, not really. Just for errands. No time or interest for anything else.” There. That was plain as day, and I could see Scott heard what I was saying by the disappointed look on his face.
    “Hey, you done with the tour?” I turned to look at Wade, who was looking from me to Scott and back to me again.
    “Yep. Showed Scott how glamorous ranching is, and I’m trying to talk him out of giving up school to become a ranch hand.” I wasn’t sure why I felt like I just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar, but I didn’t like it. “Everything okay with Dwayne?”
    “Yeah. Fine.” Wade just continued to look at us. I could feel my muscles starting to tense.
    “Um, this was really nice, but I should be going. Thanks for dinner and the tour. I had a very nice time.” Scott kept shooting uncertain looks between Wade and myself, probably picking up on the weird tension.
    Seeing as Wade still wasn’t going to say anything, I glared at him and said to Scott, “You’re welcome. It was nice having you.”
    We walked Scott to his car and it was only when Scott’s car was a tiny red dot on the road leading away from the ranch that Wade turned to me and said something. “Nice kid, huh?” He looked at me expectantly.
    “Yeah, nice kid.” I wasn’t sure what he wanted from me. Erin’s words from earlier ran through my mind again, but I determinedly pushed them away.
    “You gonna see him again?”
    Huh. So that’s what this was about. Had Wade wanted to see this kid again? “Probably not. You?”
    Wade’s eyebrows lifted. “I wasn’t the one looking all cozy with him a minute ago.”
    I snorted my disbelief. “Cozy? Seriously?”
    “Yeah, that’s what it looked like to me.”
    “Well, then, I think you might need to have your eyesight checked.” Suddenly I felt weary of trying to figure everything out. I just wanted to sink into sleep for a week and forget Wade, and family dinners, and cute kids from town. “It doesn’t matter. You’ll see whatever you want to see, I bet.”
    I turned and walked off toward the bunkhouse, not bothering to say good night, even when I heard Wade say behind