Page 17 of Won’t Let You Get Away

“What did you say, bitc?—”

“Mack!” My voice rings out as I step between him and Bri. “You will watch how you talk to women on my property.”

His face is as red as a tomato. “But she?—”

“I don’t care. You will watch how you speak to her, end of story. Don’t like what she says? Walk away.”

He matches my stare, jaw and fists clenched. There’s an expectation in his eyes—he’s waiting for me to back down.

“Walk away.” I repeat calmly.

He curses under his breath, throws the clipboard onto the inventory pile and stomps off.

I suck in a deep breath and wait until he’s left the barn before turning to face Bri.

Damn, she’s pretty.

Her copper waves are pulled away from her face, draping down her back and blowing in the light breeze. Freckles dot her pink cheeks and nose, drawing my attention to the way her brown eyes shine while she glares in the direction that Mack left. She’s wearing painted-on blue jeans and a flowy blouse that dips down enough to tease me with a glimpse of her full breasts.

My memories did not do her justice. She shines brighter than any star in the sky, capturing my attention and making it impossible to look anywhere else.

Her gaze snaps in my direction.

During our short time together, there was a lightness about her that drew me in like a moth to a flame. It was so easy to just be in her presence, to just be in the moment and soak up her contagious happiness.

But now there’s a sharpness in her gaze and it’s directed at me.

“So I take it you’re in charge?” She breaks the growing silence, crossing her arms under her chest. If I was a better man, I would continue to hold her stare and refuse to succumb to the desire to look.

But I’m not a better man. At least not when it comes to my attraction to her.

Clearing my throat, I nod. “I am.”

“Fine, then tell me you have a solution for that?” She jerks a thumb over her shoulder.

Following the direction she’s pointing in, I spot Rosie slowly wandering closer to the barn entrance.

“That’s Rosie,” I state, reaching for some sugar cubes from the cabinet by the door.

“That’s a horse that was on my parents’ vineyard.” She retorts.

My focus returns to the mare, my hand slowly rising to stroke her neck. “She was up near the vines?”

Rosie usually sticks to the vicinity of the cabin and the apple trees. But if she’s ventured near the vines, she would pass a few peach trees that Tucker planted years ago.

That might explain her recent odd behavior.

“No, not when I found her.” Bri steps up beside me, her gaze on Rosie filled with concern. “She was at my front door when I was leaving for the winery. Nearly scared me half to death.”

Relief washes over me knowing she was back by the cabin. From the corner of my eye, I watch Bri’s fingers clench into fists, as if she’s struggling to keep them at her side.

“Then she wouldn’t stop following me! I tried to get her back through the broken fence but she just stared at me and wouldn’t move until I started walking over here.”

The mental image of Bri wrestling with a horse brings a smile to my face.

“Thought Tucker would’ve warned you.” I keep my voice neutral when saying his name, despite my jealousy. Watching him smile, joke, and touch Bri so casually stung more than it should have.

“Warned me? You mean wandering horses is a normal thing around here?” She takes a step back in surprise.

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