Page 10
“No kidding. I seem to remember you saying you’d never have a flea-ridden, scroungy animal living in your house,” Maggie reminds me. Damn. I guess I really did say that at one time. Fuck me.
I need to end this call and reevaluate a few things. “I don’t have time to deal with you assholes. Since there’s no real business to attend to, I’m getting back to work.”
I punch the “End” button so hard I nearly break the computer. The call snaps dead, their voices chopped to nothing, screen going black with my thumb frozen on the trackpad.
Just like that, the room is silent except for the one question whirling around in my mind. What the fuck did happen to me? Oh, yeah. I met my gorgeous little soulmate and her adorable emotional distress animal.
Over the last two weeks, Inez has thrown herself fully into learning about horses. No shortcuts, no complaining. She’s relentless. I mean that. Outworks half the ranch hands and doesn’t flinch at shit most people would bolt from. Every fucking day, I watch her drag feed buckets across the barn, sweat soaking through her fancy T-shirts, hair all tangled and wild. She never gives up. Never whines. Most people would fold after an hour in that sun. Not Inez.
But it’s more than grit. It’s the way she looks at the animals. Like she actually sees them, not just as props for her show, but as something else. First time she met Dolly, it was like watching two strangers recognize each other across a crowded room. Soft voice, steady hands, that bright laugh when the horse’s nose bumped her palm. I caught her grinning at the horses in the pasture, talking to them under her breath, not some staged Hollywood shit, but real.
I didn’t stand a chance. Yeah, I fell for her the second I saw those green eyes, all fire and promise, but if I’m honest, it’s the way she softens around the horses that got me. Like she’s meant for this place, this work, and maybe for me. She’s a natural, through and through, and every day I want her more.
Fuck me. I’m in deep.
I scrub my hands over my face and let my head drop to the back of the chair. Out the window, the ranch runs bright and empty under the sun, herds moving slowly. Every night, she goes to her bedroom down the hall from mine, and I lie awake most of the night trying to figure out how to show her what I’m feeling.
Something clicks in my chest. Something that just feels right. No going back, so I need to get off my ass and stop fucking around. It’s time to make sure Inez feels the same way about me.
I find Inez in the main stable. While I took my weekly administration call with the dipshits, she came out early and got started on the day.
Dolly stands beside her, reins slack, tail swishing slow and lazy. “Good morning.” She smiles as I walk up and check the cinch one last time. Dolly’s easy, but even good horses can turn into assholes if you don’t respect the details.
“Morning, Hollywood.” I wink at her. “Let’s get this show on the road.” My own gelding, Barnaby, is already tacked, shuffling in place like he’s got somewhere more important to be. I swing up, boots settling in the stirrups, and nod at Inez.
She swings on smoothly, none of that flailing, half-dismount shit from when she first got here. She looks built for the saddle, every motion easy and right.
I watch her move and feel my pulse kick into overdrive. Fuck. She’s goddamn perfect.
I ride up next to her, catching the hint of vanilla off her skin and the wild notes of sweat and sun. “You ready for the real deal, Hollywood?”
She glances over, grinning wide. “Bring it. I’m practically a pro now.”
Damn right, she is. I let her take the lead, guiding Dolly past the big barn and out toward the far pasture. The ranch opens up and fence lines vanish. Ahead of us, the trail dips through white rock and low scrub. Out here, the ground is rough, scarred with old limestone, live oaks crowding up in tangled bursts, and prairie sage running riot in the wind.
We ride two by two, picking up a slow, rolling pace. I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on her form, but mostly I just stare at the way her hips move, loose and natural, matching Dolly stride for stride. She’s not gripping with her knees anymore. She lets the rhythm come up through her bones, letting it carry her.
“What’s that smell?” she calls back, wrinkling her nose like a kid.
“Sage on the breeze,” I tell her, nudging Barnaby closer. “Grows thick on the ridge after a rain. You get used to it.”
She nods, soaking it in. “Wish I could bottle this up and take it back to L.A.”
The reminder that she isn’t planning on staying sends a shaft of pain cutting right through my soul. Fucking hell.
We skirt a patch of prickly pear. In the brush, a rabbit bolts, causing Dolly to toss her head, half-spooked, but Inez just laughs and smooths a hand down the mare’s neck. “Easy, girl.”
My heart melts watching her.
For a while, all we do is ride. Then Inez glances over and smiles at me. “Tell me about your family.”
Her words hit harder than they should. My throat goes tight.
“You’re sure about that?” I lean in, a smile tugging at my mouth. “Alright. I’ve got one sister and three brothers, all annoying as hell in their own special ways. Our parents died in a plane crash when I was younger. Hudson, my oldest brother, stepped in to run things. Guy’s got a stick so far up his ass it must be tickling his tonsils, but he bleeds family. Every decision is about holding us together, keeping the Carrington name untouchable.”
Inez’s lashes sweep low. That soft curve of her jaw; the way she listens. My cock twitches just from the way she looks at me. I press on.
“Cole is the next one in line. He married his soulmate and moved to Montana to help her run her ranch.” I glance over at her and watch, satisfied, as her pulse thumps visibly at the hollow of her throat. “Then there’s Tanner. That’s the family smartass. If you ever hear rumors in town, odds are Tanner started ‘em.”
