Why I was being a dick, I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t like this with new people, but something about her just rubbed me wrong. I was trying to give her the benefit, but everything about her right now was telling me not to.
“Oh, believe me, we’re not city slickers.”
“You ain’t from here, you’re a city slicker.”
“I see,” she muttered, finally glancing down at her daughter. “Why not go to talk to the girl you were with yesterday? I think I see her over there. I’ll just talk to Mr. Happy Pants over here.”
My lips twitched at that, but I wasn’t going to laugh.
“Have fun, Mom,” Tiffany said, waving as she ran off.
“Right, now then, did I do something to offend you Zeb, because you’re being very rude and I’m not sure why.”
She was right on that account, but I wasn’t about to dive into all the answers.
Instead, I left her with a simple few words, “don’t like nor trust city folk and I don’t believe in moving teenagers and uprooting their life.”
Chapter 3
Katie
Istormed into my house, my anger bubbling like crazy. I had left my home because of one asshole, I sure as hell didn’t need another. I tried to be nice to that kid, but who the hell did he think he was, treating me like that.
Some damn counselor he was, being a prick to me in front of my own kid with nothing to really say about why he was that way.
If the ranch wasn’t so good, and the reviews and owners so great, I’d find some place for Tiffany to hang out this summer, but she had her heart set on it, and I wasn’t going to deny her that.
I grabbed my camera, hating myself for agreeing to take pictures for the owners. They really were awesome and I loved them from the start. And when they asked if I could help themby taking pictures and writing about the place, I didn’t have the heart to say no.
However, I hadn’t met Zeb, and now, I was wishing I could turn back time.
But none of his actions made sense to me. He didn’t even give me a chance to explain that we weren’t like city folks. That where we came from was a town not much bigger than the ranch itself.
Honestly, I couldn’t understand why I was letting him get to me. It’s not that I liked him or liked the way he looked in those jeans or the way his eyes danced under his cowboy hat.
“Stop it, Katie,” I muttered to myself, taking my laptop, my phone, my camera, and setting them all in the cab of my truck. “Ignore him, that simple,” I coached myself, taking some deep breaths as I made my way back over.
I parked in the main area and then made my way to the barn, smiling as Lucinda walked over to me, giving me a hug.
“I can’t thank you enough for doing this. Getting to more eyes is so important.”
“It’s my pleasure, Lucinda.”
“And everyone around here is so nice and friendly, they won’t have any problems talking to you, I’m sure.”
I snorted at that, the image of Zeb coming to mind and she frowned.
“What’s that for, honey?”
“Oh, I…,” I trailed off, not wanting to talk bad about someone on her staff. But she was looking at me honestly, and I didn’t want to lie. “I dropped Tiffany off with Zeb this morning and he was far from friendly. In fact, he was rude and cold.”
“Zeb? The young cowboy? That’s not like him at all.”
“I’m sorry, Lucinda. Maybe it was just me. But he was not happy with me or my daughter.”
“I’ve seen him with Tiffany, he’s all smiles with her. Come along, let’s go find him and settle this.”
“Oh no, no, I’m okay. Not everyone likes everyone.”
