Chapter Twelve
"You told her what?" Sterling sputtered when Trace finally had the chance to take him aside during the evening chores and explain his conversation with Cecilia, minus the kissing part. "What were you thinking?"
"I was trying to not blow my cover."
Sterling ran a hand through his cropped hair. "I get that, but now you've complicated things. My parents live in town. They're traveling a bunch, but if CiCi digs deeper, that could spell trouble." His face hardened. "And I refuse to ask my parents to lie."
"I'm real sorry about that. I don't want your parents to lie either. Hell, I don't even want you to lie." He stopped abruptly, because how could he even begin to explain the way his brain went nuclear around Cecilia?
"You were supposed to stick to the ranch and lie low," St
