Page 18 of Wrangling a Wild Texan

Corbin had built her a gallery . . . for all her paintings no one wanted.

Chapter Seven

Reid woke with a nagging headache. He hoped a hot shower would help, but Sophie had used all the hot water. After his ice-cold shower, he couldn’t find a clean pair of underwear. He headed to the laundry room where he found his dirty clothes piled up on the floor in a heap. He tossed them all in the washer with a couple detergent pods and started it before he went to his room and scavenged around until he found a holey pair of underwear.

Once dressed, he went in search of Sophie. He found her sitting at the kitchen table, spooning cereal into her mouth as she scratched out math problems in a notebook. Since the day had started out so badly, he thought about just ignoring the laundry situation. But a good parent wouldn’t do that.

He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “Look, Soph, I know you’re mad at me for taking your phone, but that doesn’t mean you get to shirk your chores. We agreed that I’d clean the bathroom and vacuum and you would dust and do the laundry. So make sure you get those chores done when you get home from school.” He glanced down at the notebook. “After you finish all your homework. Homework shouldn’t be rushed through at breakfast.”

He wasn’t surprised she completely ignored him. She had been giving him the silent treatment since last night’s party. He didn’t know if it had to do with him refusing to give back her cellphone for two more weeks after finding out about her texting and driving or not letting her have a rabbit.

Probably both.

When she continued writing out equations, he sighed. “Finish up so I can get you to school.”

She continued the silent treatment on the way to school. Which left him to his own thoughts. Or one thought. One thought that had plagued him since the party.

He wanted Sunny Whitlock.

He wanted her in a bad way.

All she’d had to do was touch him and he’d ignited like dry prairie grass struck by lightning. He knew she had been trying to prove a point. He also knew she had felt the sexual attraction too. There had been a moment when he thought she was going to kiss him.

And he’d wanted her to.

Which was dangerous.

She was a seductress he needed to stay away from if he wanted to keep his job.

Although, last night, she hadn’t looked like a seductress. She’d looked like a sweet country girl in the modest yellow sundress that fell to her knees and cute little yellow sandals. Half of her strawberry-blond hair had been twisted up in a pile of curls and the rest fell around her shoulders in soft waves. The only makeup she’d worn was the softest pink lipstick he’d ever seen. He’d tossed and turned all night thinking about what he wanted to do to that soft pink mouth . . . what he wanted it to do to him.

Those weren’t the only thoughts that had plagued him.

He hadn’t followed the crowd upstairs to see the room Jesse had renovated for his sister. Instead, he had slipped outside to cool off. So he was there when the entire party had moved outside. Standing in the shadows, he’d been able to watch Sunny’s expression when she realized Corbin had renovated half the carriage house into a gallery for her. Her expression hadn’t been that of a woman overjoyed with a gift.

She had looked overwhelmingly sad before she’d pinned on a smile and squealed with happiness. Reid couldn’t figure out why. If someone gifted him a ranch, he would be . . . ticked off he hadn’t earned it himself.

And maybe that was why Sunny had looked so upset. Although that was doubtful. She hadn’t had to work for anything in her life and she wasn’t about to start now. She probably just didn’t think the gallery was big enough or the sign glitzy enough. And what was he doing wasting his time thinking about it? He didn’t need to be thinking about Sunny. He had other problems.

Mainly, the one sitting in the passenger seat.

He glanced over at Sophie and made another effort to end her silence. “So what did you think of the party? Pretty extravagant, huh? I mean who spends that much money on flowers and decorations that you’re just going to throw away?” He shook his head. “What a waste. No wonder Sunny is a spoiled brat. Her family, obviously, doesn’t understand the value of money.”

Faster than he could blink, Sophie whirled on him. “Decorations and flowers are never a waste! They make things pretty. But you wouldn’t know anything about that because you don’t like pretty things. Which is why you don’t like Sunny . . . and why you never liked my mama!”

Reid stared at her in shock. This was what he got for trying to talk to her. “I loved your mama. She was my sister.”

“No, you didn’t. If you had loved her, you would have helped her when she needed help.”

He tried to tamp down his temper, but it was impossible after everything he had done for Bree. “You don’t think I helped your mama? In case you don’t remember, I was the only one there helping the last few months of her life.”

“I’m not talking about you coming after she was already dying. You did that out of guilt—because you wouldn’t have been able to keep your holier-than-thou image if you hadn’t. But that’s not love. If you had loved her, you wouldn’t have let her leave home in the first place.”

“I was a kid when she left, Soph. There’s no way I could have stopped her.”

“Did you even try?”

When he didn’t reply quick enough, she snorted. “That’s what I thought. And news flash, you weren’t a kid when she got pregnant with me or when she was a young mother struggling to make ends meet. But you still didn’t call or come to see us once. Not once!”

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