She narrowed her gaze at him. If he knew the guy stood her up, he wouldn’t be so worried about him. “No promises.”
He dropped his chin to his chest. As she stormed down the patio stairs, he called, “They’re my neighbors, Zoey. I want them to like me when you leave.”
Zoey grabbed Rooster, the horse Brandon had given her a couple years ago—her best endurance horse, who she’d saddled at a little before five-thirty—and headed out to the road off the driveway.
A few nights ago, Brandon had had the night off at the festival while Allie had worked the booth with Jo. Brandon had taken Zoey out riding and shown her around his property a little, including the trail that led over to the Westbrooks. Zoey hadn’t used the trail yet, because every time she’d gone to the Westbrooks, she’d taken all her horses, and it’d just seemed easier to put them in the trailer. But she was putting the trail to use tonight. Poor Rooster was going to get a ride, even if Hunter wasn’t taking her anywhere.
It took her a good ten to fifteen minutes to clear the tree line and have the Westbrooks’ ranch laid out in front of her like a panoramic in a Western. The time in the saddle calmed her head and cleared her senses. She began to wonder if something had happened to Hunter. Here she was, storming mad, and he could be lying in a ditch somewhere.
Movement off to the north caught her attention, and she squinted that direction. Three cows plodded along, their heads down like scolded children. Hunter rode behind them, tall in the saddle, his strong jaw set.
He was working?! She knew he was focused and dedicated, but forgetting their first date? Not even a phone call to postpone? Who did he think he was?
She rode up to him at a soft gait. While part of her wanted to let into him, the other part was so sad that what they had started would be over before it had a chance to begin.
His gaze fell on her, and his tired expression brightened. His blue-gray eyes went from dull and defeated to interested and hopeful. His eyes ran over her and her horse—not in a seductive way, but in interest, like he cared who she’d saddled and had questions. Like he wanted to get to know them both. Under normal circumstances, she’d have melted. But not tonight. Tonight, she wasn’t buying his suave cowboy ways. The guy knew he was caught. If he thought he could smooth-talk her into forgiving him, he had another thing coming.
She pulled her horse to a stop in front of his, making him quickly pull back on the reins. His horse stomped his feet and snorted. Her horse did the same and they pinned their ears back, sidestepping to get away from one another.
“What’s the deal?” she asked before her nerves got the better of her vocal cords. “Were you just messing with me? Teasing about going out tonight?”
“What?” He shoved his hat back on his head and stared at her, hard. The wheels in his brain turned fast as he tried to follow her accusations.
She needed to fill him in. Being angry at someone didn’t do either of you any good if the other party didn’t know why. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but standing me up? That was low.”
Hunter stood in his stirrups, gaining height and indignation all in one movement. “Now wait a minute—”
She held up a hand. “I waited forty-five minutes, Hunter! Not a text. Not a call. Nothing!” She’d looked forward to this date for days, really, and she’d been so excited. “I just wanted to let you know I’m not waiting anymore.”
“Don’t do that,” he said, his tone low.
“Don’t do what?” She stared him down, daring him to act like this was somehow all her fault. She’d dated jerks before—men who didn’t know how to treat a lady. They didn’t last long, because she knew she deserved better. No matter how much she wished Hunter wasthe guy,she wouldn’t settle.
“Cut me off and act like a martyr. I didn’t stand you up; the cows got out. I had to—”
“I called you,” she snapped. How dare he call her a martyr!
He pulled up beside her, speaking a little louder now. “Stop cutting me off. I didn’t stand you up. The cows broke through the fence and were headed for the highway. I ran out the door and forgot my phone.” He drew in a breath, though it didn’t do much to calm him down. “Not every day can be a lemon bar day. Sometimes the cows are in charge, especially if they can be hurt. I have a responsibility to the animals—one I take seriously.”
She pulled her chin back. Ouch. That was a pretty dang good excuse. Her mind suddenly wrapped around the implications of everything he’d just said. The cows were headed toward the road. These animals were like brick walls. If someone had run into one of them, neither the cow nor the driver was likely to survive.
Also, no one had ever talked to her like that before. Never called her out on anything. Hunter calling her out was irritating, yet … exhilarating. He treated her like an equal, and she’d bet her saddle that he’d expect her to pull her weight. She liked that. Liked it a lot.
Her brothers never got upset. In truth, they never gave her a job or responsibility that had big enough consequences if she failed. But she could besuch a princesssometimes—she’d stormed over here assuming the worst and let him have it. Like how she treated her brothers when she didn’t get her way.
She dropped her head to her hands. After a moment, she gazed through her fingers at his hard gaze and the sharp line of his lips. She’d ruined their evening and her shot with him. And she’d had such hope for those lips tonight.
She dropped her hands. “I’m sorry,” she said, surprising herself.
He pulled back. “What?”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.” She breathed deep and started to turn her horse. “Another night?”
“Wait, hold up,” he said. “Where are you going?”
She glanced over at him. “Home?”
“So you don’t want to… I mean, are you that mad that you don’t want to go anymore?” He pointed off toward the hills. “There’s still plenty of light.”
