I bite my tongue to stop myself from snapping at her. It’s not her fault I can’t sleep without being haunted by her. Well, it kind of is, actually, but I’m not going to admit it out loud.
“Bozeman,” I correct her. “Tony’s taking a few of the others to Billings. Everett asked me to do this one since the trip’s easier.”
She arches a brow, raking a judgemental gaze over me.
“Bet he didn’t figure you’d be having so much trouble before you even got on the road,” she muses.
What’s a guy have to do to get some sympathy around here?
I don’t respond, as much as I’d love to give her a piece of my mind. I’ve made my peace with having a strained professional relationship with her, and blurting out how desperate I am to kiss her again is definitely not the way to go about that. No, what I need to do right now is get the keys out, get in the truck, and get the hell away from here for the weekend.
Jenny snatches the keys out of my hand before they’re even fully out of my pocket, and I firmly donotthink about the bare inch of space that was between her fingers and my dick. She already has her back turned to me and is walking around the trailer by the time I recover from my shock.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
I gape at her as she twirls the keys around her finger and makes her way to the driver’s side door.
“Coming with you,” she says, turning to look at me scathingly before yanking the door open and hopping up.
I shake off my surprise and double-check the latch on the trailer as she starts the truck, but I don’t let her get any farther than that. She has zero reason to join me, and I’m not in the mood to torture myself with having her so close.
I snag the door just as she tries to pull it closed, refusing to let it budge.
“Jenny, get out of the fucking truck,” I snap. “You’re not?—”
“Please, you can’t even get him in the trailer on your own. What, are you going to ask our client to unload him at the rodeo? Help you get him back in after?” She sneers at me, andI flush in embarrassment. I didn’t think about getting him back into the trailer to bring home, but I probably wouldn’t be much more successful there than I am here. “I’m not letting you make a fool out of my family’s name. Get in the damn truck or don’t, Lucas. You’ve already put us behind schedule, I’m not feeling very inclined to wait for you.”
Like fuck am I staying behind.
Everett’s already doing me a favor by letting me work for him even though I’m damn near useless. I don’t need to rub my incompetence in his face by not even going after Jenny took over the simple task he gave me. That doesn’t mean I have any desire to get in the truck. Just seeing Jenny from across the ranch has been hard enough. A four-hour drive with the two of us cramped in my truck is the last thing I want to do right now.
I don’t have much of a choice, though, so I release the door and ignore Jenny’s look of triumph before rounding the truck and climbing into the passenger seat. My leg is still killing me, but I grit my teeth and refuse to limp in front of her. She’s already dug her claws in regarding my injury once, no need to give her any further ammunition.
She leans over to set her phone up in the clip on the dashboard. My eyes fall to her shoulder when her shirt shifts with the movement, and I’m greeted with the sight of fresh tan lines. I know this tan is from just the other day, because I saw her — and the memory of her sprawled out in the backyard to tan with Mary is beyond unhelpful right at this second. I’m pretty sure Mary wasn’t tanning, as she was relaxed against the house and reading a book in the shade, but Jenny had dragged an old lawn chair out and laid across it under the bright midday sun, covered by nothing but a miniscule bikini with watermelons printed all over it. I keenly remember thinking that her ass looked just as juicy as the fruit on her swimsuit. I also keenlyremember the way she caught me staring at least five separate times.
She knew damn well that she was tormenting me, and she seemed to enjoy it.
Her skin is perfectly gold now, freckles a little darker than usual on her face. I tear my eyes away from the tan line before I can let my thoughts wander any further.
I already have to spend four hours in the car with her. No need to make it any harder on myself. It’s a better idea all around to just face front and keep my mouth shut. Sitting still for four hours straight is going to be hell on my leg, but I have my pain meds with me, if worst comes to worst.
The familiar sights of my hometown slowly bleed into endless expanses of rolling prairies, bits and pieces of the Rockies coming into sight every so often.
Silence stretches between us, nothing but the murmur of Jenny’s playlist on the speakers to break it, but it’s not as strained as I expected it to be. I don’t really know what the feeling between us is right now, but I know it has me off kilter and unsure of myself. She’s so back and forth, hot and cold, and it feels like her mood switches on a dime. I don’t know what to make of her these days. After so long apart, it feels like I both know her and don’t.
Like she’s a stranger wearing the face of the girl I loved all those years back.
Every conversation I have with her gives me fucking whiplash, but I still find myself biting my tongue to stop myself from filling the silence between us. I’m not even uncomfortable with sitting in the quiet, I just want to hear her voice.
It’s a dangerous thing to admit, even to myself.
The quiet is better than anything that will come out of my mouth if I start talking right now, and I have no desire to give Jenny any reason to ditch me on the side of the highway. It’senough to just be here, stealing glances at her every so often and scolding myself for it immediately after.
I just can’t resist drinking in the sight of the sunshine on her golden skin, the way her lips move as she sings along to the music under her breath, her impossibly long legs bared by shorts so short they should be fucking illegal. It’s the same way it always is around her, frustrating and tantalizing and driving me to the brink of madness.
Christ, maybe I should’ve stayed behind. This is going to be a long fucking drive.
So much for my weekend alone.
