Page 41 of Spencer and the Younger Girl
Spencer
Why had he come back? Spencer’s mom showed up at Victoria’s asking him to come back to the ranch, but it was his first day with this new… truce, and he’d already been saddled with Hadley Gibson.
The girl who never stopped talking.
“So, what’s Gabe’s story?” The question was innocent enough, but he gritted his teeth.
“None of your business.” He’d known Gabe since he was a kid running around the family ranch. His mom was best friends with Spencer’s until they moved about the same time Spencer left. When he’d returned, he’d been surprised to find the seventeen year old living in the bunkhouse.
The bunkhouse consisted of four small rooms with a tiny living space. Once upon a time, it was occupied by seasoned hands who’d been with the Lees for many years. Now, they were all gone, leaving the ranch to be worked by college kids and GED-holding teenagers.
“He’s cute,” she said.
“And also trouble. Stay away from him.” He liked Gabe, considered him a brother, but there was a reason he was here instead of living with his parents across the country. Apparently, he’d gotten mixed up in something at home, and his parents sent him to live with their oldest friends.
“I like trouble.”
“I’ll bet you do,” he grumbled.
“So, what do you guys do at the ranch? Like, how do you make money?”
“By not talking and getting our work done.” His hands tightened on the reins.
“Point taken… and ignored. Come on, Spencey, enlighten a girl.”
He sighed. If he didn’t answer her incessant questions, she’d never stop asking them. “We own land. A lot of it. Most of the ranch’s income is from the rental of said land to farmers and cattle ranchers.”
“How come I didn’t know all of this was out here?” She lifted her hand to point at the patchwork fields in the distance.
“Because you never pull your head out of the beach club mentality in Gulf City?”
“Hey! That was mean. Sometimes I prefer the pool to the beach.”
He shook his head, an unwelcome grin coming to his lips. Hadley knew exactly what he thought of her. Heck, she probably knew what the world thought of people like her.
And she didn’t care. She embraced the stereotypes.
“In all seriousness, I like it out here.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
She tried to twist in the saddle so quickly she lost her balance. Spencer gripped her waist to steady her.
Throwing a scowl over her shoulder, she met his gaze. “You’re such a grump.”
“A grump?” How old was she? Seventy? No, seventeen. He had to remember that.
“Yes, a grump. Try lightening up a bit, dude. You’re allowed to smile.”
“I smile.”
“Uh huh. Sure you do.”
He twisted his lips into an unnatural smile, showing too much teeth.
Hadley laughed. “Keep your face just like that. It’s perfect.” She turned back around.
Letting the goofy expression fall, he pulled back on the reins. Toby slowed to a stop near the broken line of fence where a makeshift barrier worked to keep neighboring cattle off their property.
