I’m not .?.?. ready to.
Chest tight, I turn back to Bruiser. “I appreciate the apology, Willow. But I need you to step outside the fence.”
She doesn’t move. “You’re still mad.”
“I’m standing in front of a twelve-hundred-pound bull. I literallycan’tbe mad right now,” I say calmly.
“Oh,” she sighs, eyes flicking to the animal. “You going to ride him?”
“No.” I step back to give him some space, eyes still locked on him. “Checking to see if he’s ready to be around others.”
“And?”
Bruiser huffs, drops his head, and steps back. A sign of submission.
You and me both, buddy.
I exhale, stepping back and muttering low. “And it’s about time I stop fightin’ it.”
I meet Willow at the fence and guide her out slowly. The moment we’re through the gate, she forces out a breath. “God, you’re stubborn.”
“I’m stubborn,” I say flatly. “You follow me into the bullpen for something that could have waited till later, butI’mstubborn.” I start toward the far end of the fence for my lasso.
She shrugs. “Not like I was in there alone. I trust you.”
I pause mid step, breath catching in my throat like she’d knocked the wind out of me. I turn back to her. “That just might be your biggest gamble yet, Sunset.”
She barely blinks. “I’ll take my chances.”
I shake my head, fighting the ache in my chest. The one begging me to do the same.
Like the kind of man she doesn’t need, I walk away. Grabbing the lasso off the hook, I swing it around my shoulder. “You’re a real handful, you know that?” A grin somehow works its way into my voice. I start the walk back to the shed uphill. “Back in a minute.”
I needed things from the equipment shed. I know I did. But for the life of me, I can’t remember what. I just know I need a minute.
I barely make it halfway before I hear her trying to keep up behind me, slightly out of breath. “I overreacted last night. I’m sorry. But you have to understand why I was so upset.”
I keep walking, jaw tight, her voice trailing behind me like a damn hook. “I get it, Willow. It’s why you broke up with your ex.”
“No. Well, yes. But I also want to be able to defend myself.”
“Which is what he said you couldn’t do, right?” I don’t stop. I don’t turn. I don’t understand what’s happening between us, but I know that the next time I look at her, I’ll be done for.
“Exactly,” she breathes. “I swear, I’m usually in control a lot more when I’m up there playing. I don’t know what got into me with that guy. But between Eric getting in my head, you intervening and me losing my job, I lost my .?.?.”
Behind me, her footsteps slow before stopping completely to catch her breath. “Can we .?.?. can we go back in the bullpen?”
That makes me stop. “Why?”
“Because .?.?. you can’t walk .?.?. away from me there.”
I turn and stare at her. Her hands are resting on her knees. She straightens slowly. “I’msorry, Dallas.”
“Stop saying that,” I mutter.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know what to do with that,” I snap.
