Page 33 of Wild Highway (Runaway 2)

Damn it, Carol.

“Wine?” JR offered, lifting a bottle after we’d taken our seats.

“Please.” I held out my glass. And keep it coming.

Easton ripped his chair out, sitting down with a loud huff. The clank of his beer bottle hitting the table sent the message loud and clear. He was pissed I was here, and he was pissed he had to sit beside me.

I gave him a saccharine smile and held out my glass. “Cheers.”

His lip curled.

“Cheers.” Cash chuckled and came to my rescue, extending his beer bottle across the table to clink with mine. Then he tipped his bottle to Katherine’s glass before taking a long pull.

I took a sip of mine as Liddy, seated to my left, held out her hand. She smiled sweetly.

What was she . . . oh. Right. The prayer. The entire table joined hands as Jake Sr. bowed from his seat at the head of the table.

I took Liddy’s hand, then kept my eyes glued to my plate as I lifted my right into the air. It was up to Easton if he was going to touch me or not.

His hesitation was obvious.

The entire table waited. And waited.

Jake cleared his throat, and finally, Easton grabbed my hand, jerking my arm in the process as he lowered his chin.

The smell of his soap wafted to my nose. His face was clean shaven, and he must have showered between the time he’d seen me in the lobby and the time he’d come here because his hair was damp at the ends.

Easton’s grip was rough, his callouses pressing into the tender skin of my palm as Jake prayed. Tingles shot up my arm and that scent of his was dizzying. But I’d held up under more extreme situations than this. I would not let myself drool.

“Amen.”

The second the word echoed around the table, my hand was dropped like a hot coal.

Liddy gave my other hand a light squeeze, then let me go to drape a napkin in her lap.

I reached for my wine, sharing a look with Katherine across the table.

She lifted her glass in a sign of solidarity.

“So, Gemma.” Jake scooped a heap of mashed potatoes onto his plate as the rest of the food began the circle around the table. “Katherine told me you drove here from Boston. That’s quite a trip.”

“Technically, I drove from West Virginia, but yes, it was a long trip. I have to say, the best part was through Montana. I’d forgotten how beautiful it was here.”

“We sure are having a nice fall,” Liddy said, passing me a bowl of green beans. “How long are you planning to stay?”

“Not long,” Easton answered, before he drained the last swallow of his beer.

I shoved the bowl in his face. “Beans?”

He wrenched the dish from my grasp, grumbling something under his breath that earned him a scowl from Carol on his other side.

“How’d Rory do on the trail ride today?” JR asked Cash after the food had been passed around.

“Good. He’s a quick learner and the guests like him.”

“Maybe you should put him on the schedule,” JR told Easton.

Beside me, his teeth ground together audibly. “I know how to delegate my staff. It was my idea to send him along with Cash in the first place.”