"I'm trying to forestall a riot."
"Jesus Christ." I scrub a hand down my face. "I need like ten more minutes."
"I'll make sure you get it." He saunters toward the door, then pauses, glancing back over at me. "And good morning. You look beautiful. I hope you slept well."
I show him my teeth. "Like a baby."
"I just bet you did." He pulls a piece of paper from his back pocket before unfolding it.
My stomach sinks. Crap.
"No grumps allowed," he reads. "This means you, Walker." One brow arches, his smirk downright deadly. "You tryin' toconvince me, or yourself that you don't want me in your space, Sunshine?"
"Put my sign back, Walker."
"Nah, I think I'll keep it."
"You're an asshole."
His laughter is as hot as it is infuriating…which is probably why, once everything is done and on trays, I make his plate for him. And I add extra salt to everything. Alotof it.
If he croaks at the breakfast table, I'm having a party.
Chapter Six
Walker
"Where the fuck isToby?" Blaze growls, stomping up to me, wiping sweat from his brow. "I've searched this entire goddamn ranch for him today."
"He's gone," I mutter, hammering a fence post into place.
"Gone?" Blaze blinks at me. "What do you mean, he's gone?"
"I mean, he left the ranch last night and won't be returning."
"Well, fuck me," Blaze mumbles. "Would have been nice had he let me know."
"It was a last-minute decision. Bishop." I wait for Bishop to stop pretending he isn't listening to every damn word Blaze and I just said. "This needs more wire."
"Yeah, on it," Bishop mutters, trying to hide a smile. He saunters toward the truck, chuckling.
"You fired him," Blaze says after a moment.
"No. I simply strongly suggested to Tanner that Toby find other employment." I saw the way he was looking at Letty last night. If I'd kept him around, he'd have been right back in that kitchen again today, and then tomorrow. That shit isn't happening. So I let Flint and Tanner know that he was going to be a problem for Letty. To no one's surprise, we found him heading to her place when we walked over to tell him to pack his shit.
Now, the problem is solved.
"Jesus Christ, Walker," Blaze growls before he throws his head back, laughing up at the sky. "You're one possessive asshole, you know that?"
"Why do you need Toby today?"
"We're supposed to be repairing a hole in the roof of the west barn."
"Shit." I pause what I'm doing, quickly trying to run through a list of where everyone is today. Our workload is heavy, and we're running short of bodies. "Take Bishop. I can finish this up by myself."
"You sure?" Blaze glances down the row of fence line that needs repairing. "You'll be out here all goddamn day if you're doing it alone."
"It's fine. I've got it. I can—" I break off when I see Letty stalking toward us across the field with a basket in her hands. She looks like a little kid trooping through the field, tripping on every goddamn hole and root in her path.
