Page 25 of Rough Ride with the Grumpy Cowboy
The fear in her voice is real, and I know it’s about to get worse. “What do you mean?”
“He struck again, this time at the record label, and it was bad. It’s a good thing you weren’t here.”
She’s talking about the stalker. Oh God, what now?
“What did he do?”
“I better not tell you—it’s better if you don’t know.”
“Lou...” I break off when I realize what she’s trying to tell me.
“Is Texas that bad? Can you put up with it? If not, I’ll make other arrangements, arrange a security team for you,” she suggests.
I groan and drop back onto the bed. “You know I hate bodyguards.”
“It’s the only other choice you have. The only reason I was okay with sending you to Iron Stallion without protection is because I know how heavily guarded that place is,” she replies.
“No kidding,” I mumble, recalling the security at the gate when we were coming in yesterday and the multiple security cameras around the property.
“It’s either that or bodyguards in another location,” she explains.
Bodyguards make me feel suffocated. They’re always in my space, and I never have freedom with them around. They’re necessary when we travel, but I’m on vacation now—I don’t need them around. But I understand that with the stalker still on the loose, they’re not optional, which leaves me with one alternative...
“Okay, fine, I’ll stay.”
“Are you sure?”
“No, but the other choice is worse.”
I can tell Lou isn’t pleased about this either, but we’re out of options.
“It’ll be over soon, sweetheart. Don’t worry,” she assures me.
“I hope so.”
I hang up feeling deeply disappointed when I realize that going back to LA is out of the question. I have to stay here, around Zane, who hates me.
Can my life get any worse?
10
ZANE
No matter how hard I try, I cannot get the pity look Ava had when she saw my scars off my mind. She gave me the same stare that makes me avoid people in the first place.
I was right to tell her off because from now on, anytime she looks at me, she will have the image of my scars in her mind and she’ll never look at me with another emotion other than pity.
I also don’t like the fact that she saw me so vulnerable. This gym is supposed to be my safe space. As much as I say it’s a secret, I know the rest of my family knows about it, but they don’t question me or dare come in here.
Miss Diva is the first one to do so, and I hate it.
After she left, I thought that if I kept working out, I’d be able to burn the image from my mind, but it didn’t work, so I gave up and decided to call it a day.
I run into my old man just as I’m headed for my cabin to shower and get some rest after this exhausting day. I wait for him to speak first as he must have a reason to seek me out.
He chooses to start by scolding me. “Duncan told me what happened with Miss Rowe. You didn’t have to be so cold to her, you know—she’s a paying customer.”
I shrug since I already did my part, which was to sell her the horses. After-sale activities like flirting are not part of my responsibilities as foreman.
