Page 19 of Burn the Wild

I narrow my eyes, trying to fight off the Old Reese. I picture the cowboy pinned beneath a tractor, or better yet, his throat in my hands. The image is only semi-satisfying, and I can only fight my impulses for so long. So, I give in.

I grab the glass of water and splash it in his face.

There’s a collective gasp from the guests in the lodge, then…silence.

I stare at him, and he stares at me. His gaze sharpens, as if he’s deciding whether to choose violence, then he drags a hand down his water-soaked face.

Satisfied with my recklessness, I turn on my heel and storm out of the lodge.

I stand in the late afternoon sun, chest heaving. Worry rising.

Grady was wrong. I don’t need this ranch. I don’t need anyone. Let alone a cowboy with anger management issues. I’ll get back in my car, find a map, and head somewhere else. Figure out what to do next.

There’s only one problem.

My car.

There’s smoke rising from the hood. Karma, I suppose for taking up multiple parking spots.

Panic swarms me, that tight familiar feeling of suffocation.

“Oh shit.” I fan my hands over the hood, heat seeping into my fingertips. “Shit, shit, shit.” My high-heeled boots wobble across the gravel as I hover around the car, pushing at the smoke like I can make it all go away.

Like that black spot isn’t hanging over my shoulder laughing at me.

It can’t get any worse.

“That ain’t gonna help you, honey.” The sharp southern drawl sinks into my stomach and pools there like warm butter.

I grit my teeth and close my eyes. “Leave me alone.”

The crunch of gravel tells me he’s circling me. Like a vulture. “I’d love to. But I promised my little brother I’d give you a place to stay and since big brotherly duty frowns on reneging on promises…looks like you’re stuck with me.”

Ugh. Of course, this broody cowboy is Grady’s brother.

I cock an eye to find the man staring at me with a furrowed brow. My breath hitches. In the sunlight, those serious amber eyes are accompanied by faint crinkles at the corners. It’s unfairly sexy.

“Not you,” I say, horrified. “You’re the last person I want to be stuck with.”

He heaves an annoyed sigh, looming over me as he places a disarmingly big hand on the engine hood. “Believe me, I feel the same way about you.”

I draw back at the way he says it—at the look on his face. It’s an expression I know all too well. Loathing combined with a tinge of amusement.

Fantastic.

The cowboy slaps greasy hands on the thighs of his jeans. “Whether or not you wanna get away, you won’t get far with this car. You got a leaky radiator.”

I blink. “Since when?”

A vein pulses in his temple. “Since I looked at it.”

The hope I had mere moments ago disintegrates.

“It started making a noise back in Illinois.” My tongue prods at the inside of my cheek. “I just kept going.”

“Yeah, you would do that, wouldn’t you?”

Heat darkens my cheeks. “How long will it take to fix?”

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