Page 64 of Spur of the Moment
The only way to find out was to ask him, but there was never a right time. Whether we were around people or busy working on the barn, I didn’t want to catch him off guard. That could ruin everything, and if things between us went south, I’d haveno choice but to leave again. I couldn’t stay in Bell Buckle and see him on this ranch everyday if we weren’t together, not since we’d clearly become much more than just childhood friends.
33
Lettie
After parking the truck, Brandy and I got out to unload the supplies we’d picked up in town. As we were bringing the bags of supplements, electrolytes, and grain into the barn, a familiar deep chuckle sounded from the Chevy parked by our storage shed. Swiveling in that direction, I saw one of our volunteers, Valerie, with her hand on Bailey’s arm as they both laughed together.
I audibly swallowed in an attempt to push away the pang of jealousy that was creeping in. She was just being friendly and making small talk while he helped her load the truck for the fundraising event tomorrow. There was no harm in that, right?
Brandy noticed me watching them and failed to hide her shit-eating grin. I ignored her and got back to work unloadingour truck, grabbing the last few bags of dewormer from the back seat.
With my hands full, I kicked the door shut with a little too much force. I turned around to find Valerie looking over at me. She waved, her white teeth flashing as she smiled.
I raised my hand in a poor attempt to wave, the plastic handles on the bags squeezing the life out of my palm. Brandy had to have grabbed more than just dewormer. It felt like these things were loaded down with horseshoes.
Realization dawned on me and I dared a peek inside, but right as I maneuvered one of the bags open slightly, Brandy swooped in and grabbed them out of my hand.
“Hey!”
“Poking your nose where it doesn’t belong, Lettie,” she said over her shoulder as she brought them into the barn.
“I know that’s not just dewormer!” I shouted after her.
There was only one man on this ranch that needed horseshoes, and if my guess on what was in those bags was correct, she’d be hearing it from me. I was sure Reed wasn’t the one to ask her to buy them, though. My dad tried to keep horseshoes on hand so Reed didn’t have to dip into his own stash when he worked on our personal horses. Reed never minded, but my dad insisted.
Bailey was loading a folded-up plastic table into the bed of the truck, but I knew Valerie was more than capable of loading the rest, seeing as Bailey already did all of the heavy lifting.
I debated going over there when I saw Beckham perched against the fence, watching the rescue horses graze. The horse he’d had us pick up was a few feet from the fence where he stood, content as he chewed.
I walked in Beck’s direction, coming up beside him. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he replied.
“Going to do anything with him?” I jerked my head in the direction of the bay.
He shook his head. “Nah. The guy deserves to retire, live out the rest of his days in a wide open field. He’s already put in more work than some horses do in their entire lives.”
He was right. The best thing we could give these horses was freedom and food.
I glanced behind me at Bailey and Valerie chatting.
“Why don’t you just go over there?”Beck asked.
“Huh?”
He faced me, keeping a hand on the fence. “I see you looking at him.”
“And? He’s just helping her.” But I knew he caught the slight bit of jealousy in my tone.
He turned away, looking back out at the field. “Won’t go anywhere if you don’t confront your feelings.” I hated that he was right.
He was one to talk, though. He’d hid his feelings from the one person in his life we all knew he felt something for, and now she was off the grid.
Knowing bringing her up wouldn’t do any good, I decided to listen to Beck. “Talk to you later?”
He nodded, the movement jostling his black cowboy hat slightly. I turned and headed in Bailey’s direction.
I came to a stop at the corner of the tailgate. “Hey. Can I borrow Bailey?”
