Okay, that’s not true, but maybe I’d be less tempted to bash his head against the side of the barn.
I can admit that our conversation on the way back from Bozeman hurt, but I have no interest in letting it linger. We’re both adults, and if he wants to continue acting like an irresponsible child instead of owning up to his actions, he’s welcome to do that.
As long as it’sawayfrom me.
I’m perfectly capable of ignoring my personal feelings and doing my job, but Lucas seems intent on crawling up my ass at every opportunity.
That carefree smile never wavers, a cheery wave and an even cheerier greeting sent my way whenever we run into each other.It makes my brain light up with anxiety and what I refuse to believe is excitement.
There’s absolutely zero reason for me to be getting excited over Lucas Cross.
Still, my mind is unwilling to let me forget him, even for a few moments. I can’t stop thinking about last weekend, the way he took charge and then held me so delicately. None of it means anything, but my traitorous heartwantsit to.
Today’s been exhausting, budget reports piling up and seemingly endless orders to be made. I spent six hours straight on the phone with different people, haggling prices and setting up shipments with a new feed company. The only thing sure to calm me down is a ride, and Ernie’s been terrorizing the other horses when he’s out to pasture. He could probably use a chance to wander around the property as much as I could.
I keep my mind carefully blank as I settle him in the crossties, focusing intently on the motions of brushing him down and getting all my tack set up. By the time I finish picking any caked in dirt out of his hooves, I’ve actually managed to forget about Lucas.
Which, of course, means that he comes wandering through the barn, leading the sweetest mare on the ranch straight toward me.
Just my fucking luck.
“Jenny!” he says, bright and friendly as ever. “Going for a ride?”
I scowl at him and turn my back without a word. It’s close to the end of the work day for the ranch hands, but with any luck, he’ll have things to do and won’t be able to hang around and bother me.
I should know better to jinx myself with thoughts like that.
“Mind if I join you?” Lucas asks, far too casual for the way I’m imagining throttling him right now.
Is this really the game he’s trying to play? He should know better than to think a little alone time is all it takes to get into my pants. Sure, I didn’t do a great job of making it hard on him the first time around, but I’m not foolish enough to repeat my mistakes. Last weekend was the last time Lucas and I willeverwind up in bed together.
I snort rudely at him, tossing a disparaging glance back his way. “Do what you want.”
He’s always been good at that, if nothing else.
Besides, the thought of him joining me on a trail ride is laughable. He could never settle in a saddle when we were younger, but I took to riding like a fish to water. I expect him to make an excuse, try to get himself out of the mess he stuck his foot in, but instead he just smiles wide. He pats the shoulder of the mare he was leading in, and I sneer in annoyance as I position the saddle on Ernie’s withers.
“Can you even stay upright on a horse these days?” I ask scathingly as I buckle the girth in and tighten it.
Lucas chuckles, infuriatingly easygoing. “Managed pretty alright for the past few months. Lyra here takes it easier on me than the horses you tried to make me ride when we were kids. Maybe I’ll be worse with you watching.”
I grimace at the reminder of Lucas’s continued presence here, as well as our past. This would all be easier if I could just pretend he was only visiting instead ofworking here, for some godforsaken reason. It would be even easier if I could forget him entirely—or, even better, if he’d fuck off entirely and go darken someone else’s doorway.
“I have no intention of watching anything but the trail,” I say, stone-cold.
“Guess I’ll have to ride in front of you so you can watch my back, then,” he says, apparently unwilling to let me freeze him out.
I make eye contact with Ernie as I feed the bit into his mouth, wishing there was some way for me to communicate to him just how cool I’d be if he decides to kick Lucas right in his annoying mouth. Ernie, unfortunately, just accepts the bit and holds still as I strap him into the rest of the bridle. So much for that.
“Like I said, do what you want,” I snap, not even looking at him. “Are you going to get Lyra saddled up, or are you planning on standing there like an idiot all night?”
If I didn’t think it’d end up with him cracking his skull open, I’d bully him into riding bareback. I’m not particularly averse to the concept of him going ass over tit, but I don’t want to explain a fatality to Dad later.
“What saddle does she use? One of the other guys usually gets the horses tacked up while I get the feed sorted in the mornings.”
I turn, blinking in shock at the sheerabsurdityof that statement. He can’t be serious. Is everyone around here babying him? Even after this long?
“You’ve never saddled your own horse?” I ask, lifting a brow incredulously.
