“I’m Shelly,” Mom says, inserting herself.
I crook the corner of my mouth and let her have her moment. My cheeks are hot from the sun and the lack of sunscreen I put on today. I’ll be burnt by tonight, but I can’t find it in me to be annoyed by that. Not when I’m here with Mom, as frustrating as she can be sometimes.
“I remember. Your daughter would talk about you all the time, back when I’d find her hiding out in the stables to steal a few too many secret rides. It’s nice to see you again,” Otis says, amping up the charm.
The wedding ring on my mother’s hand doesn’t leave him a chance in hell, but it’s fun to watch him try.
“Oh, those secret nights that weren’t secret at all. Her brother tattled on her every time.”
“What?” I blurt, whipping my head toward her.
Otis’s deep laugh follows my question, and Mom simply waves me off before saying, “It was years ago, sweetheart.”
The old man shoots me a wink. “There’s no need for secret rides now. Not with you on the payroll.”
“Goodie,” I mutter under my breath.
I’m going to lose my mind here. There’s no question about it. I just have to decide if that’s going to be the worst or best thing for me.
14
ROWE
Leaning backagainst the stable wall, I stare out at the sun that’s well past the horizon.
I’ve been up and waiting here for half an hour, tapping my toe against the dirt and rolling my jaw enough times that it’s already sore. I count the sixty seconds in every minute as I force myself to stay put. Being late on the first day at a new job wouldn’t happen with most people. Tilly’s not most people, though, and I’d bet my winnings from the rodeo last weekend that she’s doing it out of spite.
I swallow my chuckle. She’s not the only one who can be spiteful, and she’ll remember that by the time I’m done with her.
There’s a whinny from inside the stable that carries over the roll of the wheelbarrow Brock’s pushing up and down the aisle. He’s scooping shit again this morning, and I’m almost pissed off enough that I consider telling him to ditch his task entirely just so I could have Tilly finish it.
A truck engine growls behind me before cutting off, drawing my attention. The woman watching me through the windshieldis sitting beside Tanner, and I can’t leash myself tight enough not to speak the moment he gets out.
“The fuck are you doing?”
He slows his steps, registering my tone. “Bringing her to work. There was no horse up there this morning.”
The passenger door opens, and Tilly hops out. She sets her hat on her head and swings her hip against the door, slamming it shut. The fake innocence on her face grates on me like nothing else. My lack of sleep doesn’t make it any easier not to just storm toward her and press her face into the window while swatting at her ass. Maybe she’d fucking drop the act then.
“Tanner was sweet enough to come get me when I called the house this morning. Unfortunately, waiting for a ride had me a few minutes late,” she says, approaching me.
I jam my hands into my pockets when I get a full unrestricted view of what she’s wearing. Gone is the shirt with the fuckingCowboy Pillowswritten on it. I’m one more sassy sway of her hips from demanding she go put that one back on just so I don’t have to see the new words written across her tits today.
Save A Horse Ride A Cowboy.
One inhale. One exhale.
I lower my gaze only to get smacked upside the head with the sight of her in another pair of tiny shorts. They’re so high on her thighs that I can see the two-inch horseshoe tattoo she got on her eighteenth birthday. The entire point of getting it so high up on her leg was so she could hide it from her dad.
There’s a pulse in my chest when I drag my eyes from the dirty boots on her feet up the long, bare expanse of her legs before they get snagged on the patch of bare skin above her belt buckle. It’s tight, the subtle lines of her abdominal muscles peeking through before disappearing beneath the lifted hem of her tight shirt. The fabric pulls across her torso, leaving nothing to the imagination as I notice the outline of a belly button ring.
She shifts beneath the weight of my gaze, chest nudging forward like she’s baiting me. I clock the way her shirt snags on two tight peaks beneath the words stamped across her tits. It doesn’t take a genius to realize what she’s hiding. I curl my fingers tighter in my pockets.
Tanner chooses this moment to talk. The sound of his voice scratches my eardrums.
“I figured I could spare the few minutes it took. I’m on my way to see Sawyer up at the arena now.”
I run my tongue across the teeth. “Yeah, you go do that. You’re not paid to be a chauffeur. Make sure Sawyer knows that he’s not either because he gets tricked into the job.”
