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her chest. “Really?”
    “Yeah. He’s a good guy, Laney. And I think he’s crazy about you.”
    “I think I’m starting to feel a little crazy about him, too.”
    The thought was exciting yet terrifying. James—the last guy she’d felt head-over-heels crazy about—had destroyed her life. But this thing she had with Sawyer was different. It had to be.
     

Chapter 7
     
    Sawyer looked around his room. His accommodations at the Double C were simple, but adequate. There was a lot more space than his room in the trailer park back home. Full-size bed, nightstand, dresser. There was even a closet to hang his nice shirts. The small building sat next to the barn and had three bedrooms, a small living area, and a tiny kitchen with an ancient electric stove, microwave, and a fridge that mostly held beer and frozen dinners. He lived there with two other ranch hands. It wasn’t much, but it was perfect for him.
    There was a knock on his door and Travis poked his head in. “Hey, man. There’s a girl here askin’ for you.”
    “Thanks.” He followed him down the hall and found Laney standing in the living room, blanket in one hand, take-out bags in the other. “What’s all this?”
    “It’s my turn to pay for dinner, so I grabbed some stuff from the diner and brought a blanket. I saw a perfect picnic spot when I was here last time.”
    He opened the door and motioned her toward it. “Lead the way.”
    They crossed the property to an old oak tree. She set the bags down and unfolded the blanket, handing him one end. He helped her spread it out.
    Laney sat and started pulling things out of the bags. “I have beer,” she said and set a six-pack on the blanket. “Per our alcohol agreement. And here’s dessert.” She set a down a small pan of chocolate-frosted brownies.
    “Beer and brownies. That’s all I need.” He sat down next to her.
    “I’ve got more.” She flashed that beautiful smile of hers and opened Styrofoam containers filled with cheeseburgers, fries, macaroni and cheese, and onion rings.
    “How many people are you trying to feed?”
    She shrugged. “I didn’t know what you liked.”
    “I like you.”
    Her cheeks turns rosey. “I like you, too.”
    He leaned to her, his lips caressing the baby-soft skin on her shoulder, her neck. She turned to him and pressed her lips to his, a sweet sigh as he deepened the kiss. Fuck, did that turn him on.
    Her stomach growled, transforming their hungry kiss into a fit of giggles.
    “Sorry. It all smells so good.”
    “Then let’s dig in.”
    They ate and talked about their favorite foods and what places they could eat at on future dates. The meals she promised to make him.
    “My grandma makes the best fried chicken. She made me learn how to do it when I was twelve. You know southern women and their cooking. But she’s really good. She should have opened a restaurant.” Laney took another bite of her cheeseburger. “What about you? Anyone in your family make anything special?”
    Since meeting Laney, she’d told him a few stories about her family, nothing major, but he’d kept quiet about his own. He didn’t have any stories worth telling. Maybe just the one.
    “My sister used to make me chocolate chip pancakes every Sunday morning. Sometimes she’d put whipped cream on them. We’d watch cartoons while we ate. But then she left. I haven’t had one since. I was nine, I think.”
    “I didn’t know you had a sister.”
    He turned away from Laney. “I don’t see her much.”
    Desiree had left home when she was a teenager to move in with her boyfriend. He’d only seen her a handful of times after that, but at least there were semi-regular phone calls. He hadn’t heard anything from her since he’d gotten out of jail. Sadly, he didn’t even know if she was alive, neither her nor their mom. But it’s not like he tried to stay in contact either. He’d wanted to forget about his former life, which meant forgetting about the people in it,