Page 17 of Ranch Life At Heart
Ray nods. “It’s still hard to let you go, even if we both knew it was temporary.”
Cedar’s gaze collides with mine. I do hope what we have isn’t temporary. My heart skips a beat when he gives me a sexy grin, as if the man can read my thoughts.
“You two remind me of myself and Carmilla. The way she would look at me when we were just married. No wonder you’re working here when your woman owns it.” Ray smirks while my cheeks heat.
To cover up my own reaction, I stand to get a refill. The coffee pot freezes above my mug when I hear Cedar bark out a laugh.
His voice still carries his laughter when he declares, “It’s not what you think, Ray. Rosy is her own woman, and you know me.”
You know me?What the hell does that mean?
I don’t have to guess for long when Ray replies with the statement, “Yes, you mentioned you’re not the marrying, settling down, or parenting type. Though, the look on your face just now showed quite the opposite.”
“I’m thinkin’ you need glasses, old man.” Cedar’s voice is close when he suddenly shoves his mug in my line of sight. “Can I have a refill too?”
Instead of filling my mug, I fill up his and place the pot back.
Rinsing my mug, I place it in the sink and tell them, “I have to prepare for another lesson. It was nice to meet you, Ray.”
He gives me a sad smile. “Nice to meet you too, Rosy. I do hope we meet again.”
I plaster a smile on my face and give the man a finger wave before I hightail out of there. Sadness mixed with a hint of anger seeps into my veins. I know what we have is just sex, and still his reaction along with his words hurt.
They shouldn’t. It’s me, my weird reaction, I know. Emotions start to close my throat and breathing gets harder. My eyes sting and the feeling of a gaping hole inside my chest returns. In one line I head straight for the stalls and take Freckles out of her stall. After saddling her up, I lead her out of the stable.
Ray and Cedar leave the house and I ignore both as I get on Freckles and ride off. Time to clear my head and remove the emotions clogging my veins.
CHAPTER TEN
– CEDAR –
A nagging feeling is filling up my gut. I should have responded differently when Ray mentioned the connection between me and Rosy. Dammit, I only have myself to blame for this fuck-up. Both by giving Rosy the attention she draws out of me in front of others, and letting my mouth get ahead of my mind.
The deal she put on the table, which I countered with a few added limits myself, might have been the perfect relationship for us. Yet, it is a relationship. Work and fuck, not love or getting attached.
I rub a hand over the back of my neck. Screw love, it’s way too soon for that. Even if I had a crush on her when we were teenagers. Hell, she’s the one woman who ticks off all the boxes if I’d wanted a woman long-term. Also, something I’ve never wanted; exactly like Ray mentioned.
Then why the hell do I feel like shit after I downplayed the chemistry between me and Rosy? Fuck. This shit is confusing. I release a deep sigh and head for the stables to check on Rosy. Her reaction after my statement to Ray was one I recognized instantly; hurt.
I glance around the stable and don’t see her, so I make sure to check every stall in case she’s with one of the horses. Freckles’ stall is empty and when I check the tack room I realize Rosy took her for a ride.
My mood turns sour, and I decide to get some work done. Nothing else left to do because it will be at least an hour untilRosy returns. I know she has a riding lesson scheduled with a girl who brings her own horse. It’s why I bring the other horses to the pasture and start to muck the outdoor arena before the stalls.
Rosy isn’t back when I’m done and I’m starting to get pissed. Okay, more worried, but angry as well. Remembering a discussion we had yesterday, about how long it’s been since they oiled the saddles, I start this task and am on the second saddle when I hear hooves.
I stalk outside and watch her tight ass dismount and the sight of her makes my cock twitch behind the zipper. A deep sigh rips from me. The woman threw me the ultimate curveball of life and makes me want things I never craved. Though, calling it quits is something I’ll never do.
Not when the sex, working on this ranch, and being in her presence on a daily basis lightens my fucking mood. Unless I put my foot in my mouth and feel like shit for hours. I want to make this right and it’s why I try to shove my anger and frustration down in an effort to talk to her.
It’s definitely better than yelling to call her out on the fact that she definitely ran off instead of talking to me. It’s not hard to guess she was just as thrown about what was said in the kitchen as I was.
“Rosy,” I rumble and step out of the stable. “We need to talk.”
A vehicle heads straight for us with a trailer behind it. Fuck. Her next riding lesson arrived.
“Yeah, sure,” she easily states and hands me Freckles’ reins. “Can you take care of Freckles for me? Jodi’s riding lesson is about to start, and we already pushed it back half an hour because she was running late. I also need to meet with Daphnelater tonight. We’ll talk after I get back or if I’m late, we’ll chat tomorrow morning, okay?”
Jodi jumps out of the vehicle and her voice is cheerful when she throws out a greeting and a wave. Rosy is already walking off to help her unload the damn horse while I’m standing here with Freckles.
