Riley walked out of the tack room carrying a lead rope for Misty, but stopped short when Crew and Brody rounded the corner of the stables. She'd been fortunate not to have to cross paths with the other ranch hands very often. When she did, Zane, Jake, or Daniel were usually nearby, so the two wannabe cowboys stayed on their best behavior.
That didn't stop her stomach from sinking and her heart from racing every time their gazes raked over her like she was a juicy steak.
"Whooee!" Crew took off his cowboy hat and fanned himself. "Today's our lucky day, Brody. We get to work with the babe."
Riley's skin crawled, and excess saliva filled her mouth. She schooled her features the best she could despite the turmoil raging inside her. "Work with me?" She forced a laugh and shook her head. "As if you could keep up with me." Refusing to be intimidated, she pushed her way between the two men.
Daniel rounded the corner of the stables just then, and she wanted to run into his arms to let him shield her, but she held her head high and walked toward the corral where Jake checked over one of the horses.
"Playing hard to get, huh?" Crew's words followed her. "I'll play any game you want, darlin'."
"Leave her alone." Tension filled Daniel's sharp voice.
Riley looked back in time to see Daniel bump Crew’s shoulder as he passed.
"Being possessive, huh, Slim?" Crew laughed. "Can't say I blame you, but the girl needs to know she has options." He raised his voice. "Come on, sexy cowgirl, I'll take you for a ride you'll never forget."
Furious, Riley spun on her heel, intent on lashing out at Crew, but Daniel beat her to him.
He grabbed Crew by the front of his shirt and slammed him up against the stables. "Watch your mouth!"
"Daniel!" Both Riley and Jake shouted at the same time.
Jake sprang into action, however, whereas Riley simply stared, stunned. He darted to the fence, stepped on the bottom pole, and vaulted himself up and over like a lithe teenager. He pulled Daniel off Crew and shoved him away. "Go cool off."
Crew sneered and started laughing. "Yeah, man, chill ou?—"
His words were cut off by Jake slamming him up against the wall even harder than Daniel had. "Don't you ever talk to my sister like that again. One more crude and inappropriate word out of your mouth and I'll call your case worker. I'm sure he'd love to hear how you lost this job too."
Jake pulled Crew away from the wall and shoved him toward the front of the stables. "Now, go get the stalls cleaned out so we can start the real work." He shot Brody a glare next, daring him to argue.
As soon as Crew and Brody were out of sight, Jake turned to Daniel, who fingered his new eight-month, black and gold sobriety chip. "You okay?"
"I'm fine." The words were little more than a grunt.
"They're not worth it." Jake put his hand on Daniel's shoulder and gave him a shake.
"Did you hear what they said to Riley?" Daniel's voice turned defensive.
"It's called posturing. He doesn't have the social skills to realizeRiley's not impressed by that garbage. She's smarter than that. And so are you." Jake wrapped his fist around Daniel's hand that held the chip. "Don't let a couple blow-hards ruin what you've worked so hard for."
When Daniel nodded his head and slipped his chip back into his pocket, Jake released his shoulder. "You two get your horses saddled. We've got to get the herd separated."
After Jake walked away, Riley stepped up beside Daniel. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes." He nodded but he didn't meet her gaze, and the muscle in his jaw ticked.
She thought about asking him if he wanted a hug, but she figured he was too proud for that. Instead, she stepped in front of him, rocked up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
He startled and stared at her, wide-eyed.
"Thanks for coming to my rescue." She squeezed his hand. "But Jake's right. We—and I mean me more than you—need to not let stupid things like that bother us."
"You can shake it off just like that?" Daniel caught her hand as she was about to let go.
"No, not just like that. But I'm trying to choose not to let what happened to me control my life."
Daniel sighed. "Right, because our thoughts and actions are the only things we can control."
