Page 11 of Roping Reba

“Does Mac know you are sitting here offering me a job?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yeah.”

“No, but he wouldn’t have sent me here just for horses. You know Mac. He would have just called you and made arrangements for them to be brought to us. Instead, he sent me and Jax here to be with you.”

Her eyes flashed with something I couldn’t quite place, but before I could push further, she was already unbuckling her seatbelt and opening the door. “Let’s just eat, Johnny.”

I sighed as she slammed the door behind her and took off to the entrance.

Though it was rather late for lunch, the cafeteria was still offering a spread of sandwiches, chips, and fresh fruit along with several warm options to choose from for anyone who was hungry. Reba grabbed a tray, staying well ahead of me in the line making her selections as I filled mine.

The silence stretched between us as we ate, only the clinking of silverware and the conversations of those around us breaking the quiet. I needed to figure out how to get her to listen—really listen. I needed her to come back with me. I’d fucked things up with us in the past and I knew that, but it had been years and there was something about Reba that I just couldn’t shake. She was amazing with Jax and I always shrugged my feelings toward her off because of that. When Jax’s mom left us, I’d relied on Reba too much and felt guilty over it. But now Jax was older and the few times a year Reba came by the ranch just felt different. It’s been my home forever, but when she was with us, things just felt right.

Finally, I set my sandwich down and looked up at her. “Why won’t you consider it?”

“Because settling down somewhere isn’t in the cards for me.”

“Why not?”

“Because that’s not who I am.”

I leaned back in my chair, studying her. “This is not who you used to be.”

Her fingers tensed around her fork. “And you think I should change? Or that the changes I made in my life were wrong?”

“No,” I said carefully. “I think you might have already changed, and maybe every once in a while you miss being settled down.”

Her breath caught, but she masked it with a quick sip of her drink before looking at me with all the hatred in the world. “You see me a few times a year. You’ve been here for two days and you think you know everything about me? You’re right, Johnny, I have changed and for good reason. I like who I am and what my life is now.”

“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it. This life isn’t what you used to want. So why now?”

She broke eye contact and stared off into the distance. If we weren’t sitting here with a room full of people, she would probably slap me, so I decided to go for broke. “That night after the rodeo?—”

Her fork clattered onto her plate. “Don’t.”

I clenched my jaw. “We never talked about it.”

“Because it wasn’t worth talking about,” she said, standing abruptly.

I stood too, frustration boiling over. “Maybe not to you.”

Her gaze snapped to mine, something raw flashing in those deep brown eyes before she turned away. “I’ll see you this afternoon with the horses.”

And just like that, she was gone, leaving me there with a half-eaten sandwich and a whole lot of unresolved history. I ran a hand through my hair, exhaling slowly. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.

CHAPTER 5

Reba

Ten Years Ago

“Fuck, Reba, tell me we aren’t making a mistake.”

Johnny’s voice sent a chill through me as my legs wrapped around his waist and he hoisted me up against the wall of his trailer.

“Not a mistake,” I quickly said between kisses. His mouth crashed against mine in desperate need as I ignored my racing heart. This was happening. It was really happening.

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