Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Kissing him would have been a mistake. Kissing him would have crossed a line that I wouldn’t have been able to come back from—a line between friendship and something more. Even though it was a line I so desperately wanted to cross, staying friends was the best course of action.
Staying friends was the best way to make sure no one got hurt.
CHAPTER THIRTY
hayden
PRESENT DAY
Nearly two weeks had passed since Sierra and I almost kissed on our drive back from Oregon. We didn’t go home, having to simply pass through on our way to North Dakota for another multi-day rodeo.
The week in North Dakota was even less eventful than Pendleton, with zero suspicious activity around our equipment, trailers, and vehicles, giving me the hope I needed that we were in the clear. I didn’t have to chase anyone down, and Sierra swept her events.
Luckily, we’d have two weeks before our final rodeo event in Billings, concluding the season until the NFR in December. Two weeks to breathe and hopefully get some well-earned relaxation.
“Morning,” I greeted Sierra as she walked out of her room, her hair pulled up into a messy bun and a slouchy T-shirt hanging off her shoulder.
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Why are you so cheery this morning?”
“It looks nice outside. Thought I’d see if you wanted to take Peanut and Lucky out for a ride?”
“Caffeine first,” she muttered as she beelined it for the kitchen. Little did she know, I’d already brewed a cup for her—adding all her fixings to it—when I heard her stir in her room, knowing she wasn’t much of a morning person. “Did you make this?”
“Yeah.” I shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I was already making my own, so I made you a cup too.”
“It’s like boiling hot,” she said with a deadpan expression. “What time did you get up?”
“About forty-five minutes ago.” I couldn’t lie to her, and she was already onto me as it was.
“You made me this cup, this piping cup of coffee, forty-five minutes ago?”
Rolling my eyes, I admitted the truth. “No, I made it when I heard you get up. You can be quite grumpy in the mornings, you know.”
Expecting her to fire back with some witty comment, I suppressed a grin, but she just mumbled something that sounded a lot like, “Well, thanks,” before grabbing the mug and joining me on the couch.
“Do you have any plans for the day?” I asked, flicking on the TV to a channel that was playing some old Western movie.
She shook her head, taking a small sip of coffee. “Not really, besides going riding now. I think it’d be good for Lucky.”
“I thought so, too. And you haven’t really had an opportunity to see much of the area, besides that one day we went fishing,” I added.
“Is there really that much to see?” she teased, evidently beginning to warm up after getting some caffeine in her system.
“You’d be surprised. It’s not Gulch County, but the landscape is pretty, even if it’s mostly flatland.”
She hummed in acknowledgment, downing the rest of her coffee before getting up to set the mug in the dishwasher.
Looking over her shoulder, she said, “Let me get changed, and then we can head out.”
I exercised as much willpower as I could to not watch her hips sway as she disappeared down the hall into her room.
When Sierra reemerged, her hair was tied back into a braid. She still had her oversized T-shirt on, but instead of shorts, she was wearing a pair of Kimes.
“What are you staring at?” She looked down at her shirt then back up. “Do I have coffee on my shirt or something?”
I shook my head, unable to help the smile pulling at my cheeks. “No, you’re perfect, Skip.”
