Easton’s gaze finds mine, unreadable in the half-light. “I figured I’d get acquainted with my horse,” he states simply.
I lift my chin smugly. “Well… Good for you.”
“Someone doesn’t like being last.” Knox laughs outright as Deacon shakes his head.
“We’re heading to the creek pasture,” Deacon informs me, mounting his horse. “A couple head drifted a little close to the boundary fence, and we need to bring them back in.”
They nudge their horses forward. All three of them. Without me. “Hey!” I call. “Wait up.”
Knox glances over his shoulder. “Better hurry, sis. Wouldn’t want the city boy to show you up on his first day.”
I shoot him a glare and turn on my heel, stomping toward the barn.Unbelievable.I shove through the stable doors harder than necessary, the familiar scent of hay and leather immediately surrounding me.
Daisy lifts her head as I approach, her ears pricked forward.
“I know,” I mutter, grabbing her halter. “I know.” I lead her out of the stall and hitch her to the post, moving fast to ready her. Embarrassment fuels my efficiency. I swing open the tack room door and reach for my saddle, a large hand closing over the horn before I get a chance to lift it.
Goosebumps prickle up my spine when I turn to find Easton beside me. He is close enough that I cansee the faint stubble running along his jaw and how the cold has reddened the tips of his ears.
He must have doubled back.
“Let me.”
“I am more than capable of doing this myself,” I snap.
His expression doesn’t falter. “I know.”
We stand in a stalemate for a moment, both holding the saddle before he lifts it smoothly from the rack like it weighs nothing. He carries it toward Daisy, and I follow, my arms crossed defensively across my chest. I huff my annoyance with each quick step as I struggle to keep up with his large strides.
“I said I could do that.”
“Mmhmm.”
He lifts the saddle when he reaches Daisy, and I blurt, “Make sure you?—”
I cut myself off when Easton adjusts the blanket covering her. He glances over his shoulder with an arrogant cocked brow, silently telling me he knows what he’s doing, then settles the saddle gently on her back. He moves with competent familiarity as I watch closely.
“You plannin’ on saying anything, or is brooding your whole personality?”
He exhales softly through his nose. “Depends. Youplannin’on being this hostile all day?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
The corner of his mouth lifts slightly. “Let me know when you do.” He reaches under Daisy’s belly to grab the girth and secure it. When he straightens, he looks at me—really looks at me—a smile spreading across his face. It’s nothing like the tight, polite one from last night. While reluctant at first, this one is real and cheeky. It transforms his face entirely, softening the lines of sadness and warming his dark brown eyes.
It disarms me for a second, throwing me off balance in a way I don’t like, and I can’t help but smile back at him. His only appears cockier in return, like he won this little battle. “Don’t read into it,” I grumble, taking Daisy’s reins from him.
“Thiscity boywouldn’t dream of it.”
We mount in silence and head toward the pasture that butts up to the creek running along the edge of our property. The ranch stretches wide and open around us, thousands of acres of responsibility and history. Pale golden light spills over the land as the sun begins to crest the horizon.
Easton’s posture is relaxed but controlled, and his horse, Ranger, responds to his subtle cues and barely visible shifts in weight. He rides well. Well enough to keep up with me as we head after my brothers.
When we finally catch up to them, Knox teases, “About time. You two stop for coffee?”
“Shut up,” I fire back.
He continues to give me crap for the rest of the ride, not stopping until we crest a small rise and spot a handful of stubborn steers near the tree line by the creek. Deacon lifts ahand, silently gesturing to round them up. “You two push them left,” Deacon instructs, pointing at Easton and me before gesturing between himself and Knox. “We’ll close the gap.”
