Page 20 of Take Me Away, Cowboy

The exit wound in the fence was towards the back, another gaping hole as big as the first. So, the bear looked gone at least. Trampling back to the bushes cost him some skin and time, but he was glad to know that much at least.

Well, shit, it looked like his riding plans were as dead as the blackberry bushes he’d just surveyed. He needed to get the fence repaired before the animal decided it had the run of the place and wreaked havoc on his corn the next time.

It was his only big concern in starting the farm, that a part of the barrier would be taken down, allowing the wildlife to take free rein on his first go at crops. He didn’t need the farm to survive between his payout from the military each month combined with what he got from the VA. Still, though, he didn’t want to fuck up his hard work by being complacent, or what was he doing there?

It only took one go at heaving the dead post out of the way to know this was a fool’s errand. He was strong, but damn it, he couldn’t lift these beams by himself and fit them back into place at the same time.

Before he registered what he was doing, he found himself in front of Paige’s door, sweaty, covered in dirt and scrapes from berry bushes, knocking so hard his knuckles hurt since the bell hung by its guts, as dead as his fence. His vision blurred red along the edges, a parting gift from the Marines.

Dammit.He tapped his foot impatiently.

“Coming!” he heard from the floor above him. When no one came to the door after a few seconds, he knocked harder, cursing the pain that shot up his arm.

“Jesus! I said I’m coming. Who the hell—” Paige said, throwing open the door. She stood there in a bathrobe that had seen better days, the right side of it cocked up higher than the left, the center open to reveal a Star Wars shirt with Chewy on it that read “Feed Me.” Her short hair stood up on end, giving the impression he’d shocked the hell out of her.

Owen would have laughed if anything about this morning was funny.

“You?” she spat. Her mouth twisted in a scowl, the bags under her eyes belying a night that couldn’t have been a fraction as restful as Owen’s.

He’d feel bad for her later. Right now, he had bigger fish—or bear, rather—to fry.

“I need you to call Brad and get him out here.” Okay, maybe that was a little terse, but if she saw the fence he was dealing with, she’d get it.

“Good morning to you, too. And, I don’tneedto do anything for you.” She started to shut the door on him, but he shoved his foot in, the weight of her crushing against the arch of his foot. He hollered, and she pulled back, her eyes big.

“I’m sorry, I just—” she started, her hands outstretched as if in explanation. He put up a hand to stop her and shook his head.

Damn, his whole body hurt. All he wanted was just for her to call her brother so he could get some help with his fence and save his crops before an angry black bear ravaged them. Again. Was that too much to ask?

“Your brother, please. Now.”

She nodded. He was grateful when she went into the house to retrieve her phone so he could wince in pain in relative privacy.

Any prior assumptions about how strong Paige was went out the window. She may have been small, but she had some force behind her.

Paige arrived back with the phone, dialed Brad’s number, and handed it over to Owen. She tapped her foot the way he had a few moments earlier, her lips pursed in a scowl that gave her forehead creases just above her nose. Not the most attractive look, but somehow, she pulled it off.

He took the phone and walked a few steps back towards his house. By now, the sun had risen fully over the horizon, and a few trickles of sweat trailed down his back.

Now that he had a moment of forced calm, he regretted walking out of the house sans shirt this morning. It was a rather uncompromising position to have to ask for help in. He looked like a lost member of the Chippendales who might have wandered off campus.

Tacky, Owen.

He turned towards Paige who looked away quickly. Did he just catch a hint of red creeping into her cheeks?

On the other line, Owen heard Brad’s husky voice.

“Jesus, Paige, did you look at the time before you hit dial? You’re not on the East Coast anymore.”

Owen cleared his throat.

“Um, well, sorry, Brad. This is Owen, actually.”

“Owen?” Brad asked, sounding more awake now. “Why are you calling from Paige’s phone?” Owen realized his mistake pretty damn quickly when the voice on the other end sounded confused, and frankly, a little judgmental.

“I didn’t get your number the other night, so I walked over,” Owen clarified. The last thing he wanted was one of the only guys in town his age thinking Owen was sleeping with his sister. Not that he hadn’t imagined it once or twice after their kiss last night…

“Oh. Okay,” Brad replied, still wary.

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