Page 31 of Rope Me In

He chuckles. “Right. I guess we’ll be spending a lot more time together.” His eyes rove over my body like they had that first night outside of Night Hawk until they land on my sneakers. “You sure you’re up to this job, Presley?” he asks, popping the P of my name.

I fight the urge to hide my body from his gaze and push my shoulders back a bit. I’m not sure that I can handle this job, but I’m also not going to let Kade make me squirm. If he wants to be a jerk, then I’m going to be a jerk back.

I turn to Blake, and her lips tip up as if she’s encouraging me to say yes. I take in a breath and meet Kade’s hazel eyes again. That boyish glint I saw last night before the whole Cricket situation is back.

“I am,Kade.” I make sure I punctuate the K and D of his name.

He rocks on the balls of his feet and hums. “I guess we’ll see about that. Chores start at five-thirty tomorrow.”

I try not to flinch at the time. I’ve never been a morning person, and I feel like he knows that. It’s going to suck when I work at Night Hawk in the evenings. I guess I’m going to have to say goodbye to sleep most nights. But if Kade and Gavin can do it, I can, too, right?

“You don’t have to get up that early, Presley,” Blake interjects. “Kade is just yanking your chain.”

He smirks. “I wasn’t, actually. Nobody gets special treatment around here.” The way he says it makes me think it carries a double meaning.

“Kade,” Blake tries again, frustration building in her voice.

“It’s okay, really,” I say, not wanting to see another fight in front of me. I’ve witnessed enough of Kade’s hot-and-cold antics already. “I can wake up then.”

Kade looks like a fox in the henhouse. “Make sure you set at least three alarms.” He tips his hat. “See you later, Lemon.” Then he walks out the door, whistling what sounds like “Hurricane” by Luke Combs.

When I’m pretty sure he’s gone, Blake takes a step toward me. “I’m so sorry, Presley. I don’t—I’m not sure why he was like that. Kade must’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” She tries to be playful, but there’s worry behind her words.

I try my best to comfort her. “It’s alright.”

She closes her eyes and lets out a long sigh. It reminds me of when I’m trying to stop an anxiety attack. Whatever just happened between her and Kade has done a number on her.

After another few breaths, she opens her eyes and attempts a smile. “Are you sure you want to work here after that?” Her tone is semi-teasing, but I know she’s afraid I’ll say no.

“If you’ll have me. I still don’t know if I’ll be good at it, but—” I scan the room, taking a closer look. The living room isn’t that large, but the sage-painted walls and beige couches and chairs give it a homey sort of feel. I haven’t seen the bedroom yet, but I’m sure it’s fine. A bed is a bed as far as I’m concerned. “I think I’d like to try.”

Blake claps her hands together excitedly. “That’s great, Presley! I know you’re going to do just fine here. I mean, you can handle Kade. If you can do that, you can do anything.” She laughs.

I want to tell her I’m not sure I can, but I hold my tongue because regardless of if I want to be around Kade or not, I do need a place to live. “I’ll sure try.”

Her brown eyes light up, and she holds out her hand. “Welcome to the Montgomery Family Ranch, Presley. I hope you’ll stay awhile.”

Before the words can really sink in, I’m shaking her hand again. But this time, I find that it’s not as awkward.

Chapter 11

Kade

The old musty barnloft is quiet as I stare out at the dusty plains lit by the warm glow of the setting sun. My mind races with a million thoughts as usual, thoughts that plague me every time I’m not distracted and sometimes even when I am. I exhale a long sigh as I grip the splintered wooden railing.

Why is it that a day can’t just be normal around here anymore? Before Dad died, we’d wake up, I’d fetch some eggs from the coop for Momma or Gran to fix up, then we’d sit at the table for an early “shovel down” as we liked to call it. We’d devour our eggs, bacon, and toast, then we’d head out for work.

That included mucking, feeding, and moving cattle. Then of course tending to the crops and fixing anything else that needed fixing. If we didn’t have school, we’d usually have a lunch of sandwiches, then in the evening, we’d all sit back down together for dinner and figure out what needed to be done the next day. After that, Gavin would usually go off and hang out with his friends, and I ended up with Dad on the porch where he’d sneak me some whiskey after Momma and Gran went to bed.

It always seemed fucked up to me that I had just turned twenty-one when he died. I could finally drink legally with him, and that night, we went to Night Hawk to celebrate with Gavin, Jake, and his Pops. Dad even rode the mechanical bull. Old man didn’t stay on that long, but we all had a good laugh about it. It was shortly after that, the night before he died, that he divulged to me that he planned to change his will. That he was going toleave the family ranch to me. At first, I felt guilty, like I should’ve asked him to leave it to both me and Gavin, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted it all to myself.

Some may think that’s selfish, but it wasn’t. We all knew if Gavin had the option, he would leave Randall. While I know he loves this place, our land, our home—he isn’t meant for a small town, and I mean that in the best way possible. Despite my differences with him, Gavin is larger than life. He may be the silent type unless someone gets him talking or when he’s up onstage, but he’s always deserved better than a town of five thousand people. He’s smart and charismatic, and he excels in everything he does. If Dad hadn’t guilted him to stay home and go to a community college, he would probably be working at some fancy job right now or traveling the world like he always wanted.

But when you live in a place like this and you grow up in a family of ranchers that know nothing else but a hard life, dreams are stupid. Not only were mine crushed that day when I missed the reining competition deadline, but I also had a front seat to Dad breaking Gavin. I watched how he slowly squeezed every dream he had out of his head till he was all work and no play.

That’s why when Dad said he’d leave me the ranch, in a way, I felt and still feel like it would’ve been his greatest gift to Gavin, for him to be free from this place. There was also a small, tiny part of me that wondered if I could at least turn the Montgomery Family Ranch into a shadow of what I had dreamed. While I wouldn’t have been a reining champion, I could have implemented some of my ideas, none of which would’ve included turning it into a tourist attraction.

But like I said, dreams are stupid here. And I didn’t know how badly Dad left the ranch in debt, either. So while a dude ranch isn’t what I wanted, I’ve honestly tried to be okay with it. At the end of the day, this is still my home. It’s still the place I love, the place I never planned to leave outside of death. Though with everything that’s happened over the last six months, I’mnot so sure anymore. I can’t help but feel like a fish out of water now.

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