“I said, I’m good,” she repeats, sharper now. “I’m just looking for Caison.” Her voice is tight.
“Oh, uh …” I nod toward the open doors. “His truck’s outside, so he’s gotta be somewhere around here. I can call him for you,” I say, pulling my phone from my pocket.
She snorts. “Jeez, I hadn’t thought of that.” She raises the phone in her hand and waves it in the air. “Straight to voicemail.”
Okay. So, we’re doing this.
I ignore the sarcasm. “Means he’s somewhere on the ranch where reception is bad. Signal drops all the time out past the north ridge.”
“Great.”
“Want me to grab one of the ATVs? We can—”
“No, thanks.” She huffs the words like she’s ticked I even offered.
I hesitate, then say, “Did I do something to offend you?”
She stops short.
Slowly, she turns back to me.
“No,” she says flatly.
I hold her gaze. “You sure? Because I’ve got a little bit of experience with pissed-off women, and you’re kinda giving off that vibe.”
Her mouth curls. “I bet you do.”
That one lands. Harder than she probably meant it to. Or maybe exactly as hard.
I open my mouth to respond, but she beats me to it.
“Leave my sister alone.”
“What?”
“I said, leave her alone.” Her eyes are blazing now, cheeks flushed, breath uneven. “You had your fun with her. You don’t get to just—”
Fun with her?
“Whoa,” I say, genuinely lost. “Matty, I don’t—”
She suddenly bends forward.
Hard.
“Oh no,” she mutters.
Then she’s running.
She bolts toward the open barn doors, one hand clamped over her mouth, the other gripping her stomach. Instinct kicks in, and I take off, following her at a jog.
She barely makes it past the threshold before she’s on her knees, retching violently onto the dirt just outside the barn.
“Hey, hey,” I say, crouching beside her. “Easy.”
She doesn’t hear me.
Her whole body convulses as she vomits again and again, harsh and uncontrolled. Her hat slips off her head and tumbles to the ground beside her.
