Page 6 of The Rancher's Code

I got up from my seat, already heading towards the door. “Just a few steps ahead. That’s all.”

“Being a few steps ahead is enough to win a whole race, though!” Levi called out behind me.

“Then, I guess you better catch up.”

There he was again.

The wedding planner.

He was in my direct line of sight, walking up and down part of the property line. He was flanked by a few women who I recognized as being part of Amber’s wedding planning committee, each of them looking harried and stressed out. But if Dylan was stressed out, he was doing a damn good job of hiding it, confidence exuding from his every move.

The city boy.

He didn’t belong here. His blond hair was perfectly styled, like he’d spent time this morning in the mirror arranging every individual hair on his head. Even his blue eyes seemed out of place, seeming more at home on a beach or somewhere coastal. The way he dressed wasn’t helping things, either, nothing about him said cowboy or rugged or rustic. He was a clean dresser, his jeans probably designer, his shirt loose on his frame, obviously a stylistic choice?—

Wait.

What the hell?

Why was I still thinking about him? Hell, why was I stilllookingat him?

I hadn’t spoken to him since he’d first arrived. I knew he was staying on the property and did my best to stay as far away as possible, hoping against hope to not be roped into anything else involving Amber’s wedding. Even so, I couldn’t shake my bone-deep annoyance at his very existence. I couldn’t wait for Amber’s wedding to be done, so Dylan Reid could finally just leave?—

“Don’t be mad! Don’t be mad!” Amber was suddenly by my side, her hands on my back. “We just need you for five minutes!”

“What are you—No!” I felt Amber pushing me towards the wedding planner, towards the property line. “Amber, what is this?!”

“Just five minutes!”

I thought about digging my heels in, but realized that whatever she wanted, it was easier to just get through it. I still had a few phone calls to make about the McMillan deal, so the sooner we got done with this, the better.

“Dylan! We have an expert here!” Amber flagged Dylan down and he walked up to meet her. The expression on Dylan’s face twisted for a moment when he spotted me, but he quickly recovered.

Ha.

He’s just as annoyed by me as I am by him.

Good.

“What do you think of a fireworks show? For the reception?” Amber asked, her face hopeful. “Dylan is saying that he’s worried about pyrotechnics with all the nature out here?—”

“That sounds fine to me.” I shrugged.

“Really? A 15-minute firework show soundsfineto you?” Dylan quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t care about it maybe starting a fire? And what happens with all the noise? Don’t you run an animal farm? Or do cows and horses just respond better to loud noises?”

“Amber, a 15-minute firework show? Really?” I stared at her in disbelief. I then turned back to Dylan, more annoyance burning through my veins. “And just who the hell do you think you are? Talking to me like?—”

“Like I know what I’m doing? Like I do this for a living? Like it’sreal work?”

Our eyes locked and I was speechless. I wanted to say something to him, maybe evendosomething to him, but I had no idea what. It was like I was reaching to say something in a language I just didn’t speak.

“No 15-minute fireworks show,” I said to Amber. “Come on. You know better than that.”

“But Cole?—”

“Listen to the man you hired Amber. Maybe he’s good for something, after all.” It was the last thing I said as I walked away from them, my fingers slightly twitching at my side.

Dylan was sitting right nextto me at family dinner.

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