#hayes.

cocky wasn't a bad thing. as long as one had the traits that they were actually confident about to back it up. so hearing liam refer to him that way only made him shrug his shoulders. "if you ever catch me slipping and i'm not as good as i say i am, then please, feel free to call me out on it. i promise i always put my money where my mouth is." he lowered his arm back down, but didn't push forward. "don't worry about me. my line of work has given me some impressive stamina. so has growing up on a farm." hayes chuckled softly at his comment. the man was funny, he had to give him that much. "medium boy or not, i'm not only offering to help because our grandparents were friends. i like helping others and it has nothing to do with me thinking you can't handle yourself. it has everything to do with me just wanting to be a helping hand. the offer stands whenever you want too, doesn't expire."

                     “   i   love   you   .   and   ​​​​​​​i   ​​​​​​​know   ​​​​​​​you   don't   ​​​​​​​feel   ​​​​​​​the   ​​​​​​​same   about   ​​​​​​​me   ​​​​​​​and   ​​​​​​​that's   ​​​​​​​okay   ​​​​​​​,   ​​​​​​​i   ​​​​​​​just   ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​⸻   i   ​​​​​​​just   ​​​​​​​wanted   ​​​​​​​to   ​​​​​​​get   ​​​​​​​to   ​​​​​​​say   ​​​​​​​that   ​​​​​​​at   ​​​​​​​least   ​​​​​​​once   ​​​​​​​.   ​​​​​​​” 

"now, little lady, that might be the first time i ever heard those words strung together in a sentence. you normally used to dishing out compliments like they're apple pie on a hot summer's day like that?" not that he was going to mind if she did. hayes tipped his head in her direction and smiled widely, clearly accepting any compliment she'd want to give him. the man should have shown some self restraint, but he didn't think that anyone would blame him in this case. "then i'm your guy." unlike superman, he had no problem boasting about his strength on any given day and to anyone that would be willing to listen. "april's far too long for someone like you to still have something on her to-do list. i'll take care of that right away, miss, and you won't have to worry about it." hayes started to rub his hands together, eager to put them to work. he glanced over at lucy and then over to the stairs. "where do you need it moved to? another room or you're getting rid of it entirely?" he could do whatever she needed, but he just wanted to be sure.

"d'you normally confuse the word charming for dumb?" the bull rider scoffs and rolls his eyes. clearly, he thinks this is one big joke. although, hearing patrick laugh while calling him out does seem to calm any worry he could have had about actually being dumb. "now you're catching on. although i'm able to give back to the community here instead of being some a-list actor." hayes crosses his arms over his chest and shrugs his shoulders. as if he would have turned down an opportunity like that. "you make being my favorite neighbor sound like such a damn chore." his face scrunches up and he immediately shakes his head at the idea. "that ain't as fun as it sounds when i worry she's actually going to corner me somewhere. plus, she has too many cats for me to wonder around without clothes on. i can't risk being clawed to death."

not everyone could have handled him, sometimes he was a little too much for people, but he hoped that wasn't the case for the transplant. "scout's honor and all of that good stuff." it was clear that he was lying, but he was a harmless little joke. something that he didn't think was a bad thing. "here i was thinking you were going to say everything's bigger in the south." he snickered softly, also believing that statement to be true as well. "nothing like some good ol' southern hospitality to make you feel right at home." if hayes had anything to say about it, he was an expert at that. "now you're getting it. it would actually be rude to turn me away when i can help you finish setting your place up." he nodded over at taran, flashing him a warm smile. "i would love a drink, whatever you have is fine with me. thank you for thinking about keeping me hydrated." maybe city folk weren't so bad after all.