His sister looked surprised. “I didn’t say you do and I sure didn’t say you were a perv. But you have to admit, you do like pretty women.”
“Name me one straight, single guy who doesn’t. Hell, name me one straight guy who doesn’t.”
“Point taken. You’re being a little touchy, aren’t you?”
“No,” he said, wishing she’d leave.
“Did you overdo it again?” she asked, sounding concerned. “Honestly, Chase, you can’t act like nothing’s wrong.”
“No, I didn’t overdo it. As for acting like nothing’s wrong, I’m wearing the damn sling, aren’t I? I haven’t even been on a horse in weeks now. Don’t lecture me.”
“You should take a pain pill.”
“Damaris. Get out.”
“I’m going. Don’t forget to call about the air conditioner.”
Just because his shoulder ached like a son of a bitch didn’t mean he needed a prescription pain pill. Instead he took three aspirin and hoped it would help.
*
Just my luck, Ella thought as she finished loading up her belongings before driving back to Whiskey River. She’d hoped to get away without seeing Phil again, but he was home for a change and must have been watching for her.
“I can’t believe you quit,” he said, watching her load up the last few things. “You’re making a mistake.”
“Believe it. I quit weeks ago. You’re behind the times.” She looked him up and down. “You’d have known if you’d ever bothered to call home.”
He ignored that. “Won’t you consider staying? I know my father doesn’t want to lose you.”
“No.” Tall, blond, good-looking Phil wasn’t a terrible person. He was simply a rodeo cowboy. Well, and totally self-centered. She’d never come first or even second to the rodeo with Phil. He’d never acknowledged her point. He’d always implied the fault was hers for not accepting his work. But it wasn’t so much not accepting it as finally realizing it wasn’t the life for her. Playing third fiddle to the rodeo wasn’t her idea of an idyllic life. Or even a decent life.
“You don’t have to leave, Ella.”
“Yes, I do. It’s time. Have a nice life, Phil.”
“You hate me, don’t you?”
“No. But I sure don’t love you anymore either.” And that was absolutely true, she realized. She whistled for Dawn, opened the door to her truck for her to jump in.
“Goodbye, Phil.” She climbed into the truck, closed the door in Phil’s face, cranked it and put it in drive. The drive back to Whiskey River would take a while, especially since she was driving her fully loaded truck and pulling the horse trailer with Midnight in it. But she’d packed snacks and a cooler filled with water and a couple of Cokes, so aside from a long stop to take Midnight out of the trailer for his break, she’d only have to stop once or twice to pee, let Dawn do her business, and to stretch her legs.
She admitted she was excited. A new job with a chance to prove that she knew what she was doing. And be paid for doing all the work she did rather than a salary that wasn’t enough considering she’d taken on many of the manager’s duties too. It had been her own fault, as much as anyone’s. She hadn’t stood up for herself. Just as she hadn’t valued herself with Phil. Fortunately, the boss—not the manager but the rancher himself, Phil’s father—gave her a fantastic recommendation. He said he was sorry to see her go, but he understood her need to move on. Neither of them mentioned Phil but he was no fool and had seen the writing on the wall when the two of them broke up.
So here she was, on her way to a new life. The main thing she was worried about, of course, was Chase. She still wondered how she’d wound up spending the night with him, having crazy, wild sex. Talk about totally out of character. But she’d been lonely, depressed, unsure when or even if she would find a new job. And he’d appealed to her ego, she had to admit. Her ego had taken a beating—first, when Phil cheated on her. Then when she realized she would never be anywhere near as important to him as the rodeo.
A vignette from the night with Chase popped into her mind.
“Why are you smiling?” she asked Chase once when they’d been lying in bed, sated, for the moment at least.
“Because I’m a lucky guy.”
She smiled and asked, “Why is that?”
“You are a gorgeous woman and I’m lucky enough to be here in bed with you. Naked,” he added with a grin.
Stop thinking about that!she lectured herself. But she couldn’t seem to help it. Bits and pieces from that night kept returning no matter how many times she told herself she had to forget it. “Fine,” she said aloud. “You can think about it for the drive but once you hit an hour out, that’s it. No more remembering.”
Dawn, riding shotgun, whimpered and lay on the console to nose her arm. “How did you know what I was thinking about? You couldn’t possibly have understood that,” she said to the dog. “I know, I promised myself I wouldn’t beat myself up anymore.” Dawn nudged her again and Ella patted her head, then scratched it the way the dog loved.
Anyway, her poor, trampled ego had been part of the reason she’d behaved so uncharacteristically spontaneously. Chase himself was another. He’d gone to bat for her before he even knew her, saving her a whole lot of trouble if the thief had gotten away with her purse. And, call her shallow, but he was a pleasure to look at. Then he’d kissed her and that had been all she wrote.
It was amazing what a man like him could do with only one good arm.
