Page 7 of Untamed

“No.” I’m not ready to go down that road, and I don’t know if I ever will be. I think the time for him to apologize has passed. He should’ve reached out to me before I left or while I was gone. But I never heard from him, so it just feels a little forced at this point. Like he’s only apologizing because there’s no escaping me.

“I’d like to apologize, River.”

“I don’t want your apology, Hayes.”

“God, you’re just as stubborn. That sure as shit hasn’t changed.”

That gets a laugh out of me.

“No, it has not.” I shake my head slowly, smiling down at Betty because I refuse to give him any more of my happiness.

“I missed that, you know.”

“My stubbornness?” I ask, lifting my face to his.

“Your smile.”

“God, Hayes.” I groan, but I can’t help that it makes my smile grow even wider. He’s such a little shit. Always flirting where he has no business doing so. “You’re so annoying.”

“Because I make you smile?” His face is scrunched up in mock confusion. “Normally, that’s seen as a good thing, Riv.”

“God, fuck off,” I tease him, shoving his thigh with my boot. “Your flirting will get you nowhere with me.”

“I’m not flirting.”

“Yes, you are. I’d recognize it anywhere.”

“River,” he says, his voice low as he leans in toward me. His arms are crossed, and I don’t like the way my eyes trail down to his bulging biceps. “When I flirt with you, you’ll know it.”

He knows exactly how to throw me off my game, making me hot and uncomfortable at the same time. I stare at him for a second, and he relishes in it, putting on his best sexy smile.

“Shouldn’t you be getting back to work?” I avoid his eye contact by watching Betty scoot even closer to Hayes when I try to pet her. “Especially with Rhett being…unavailable? Because you’re messing up my bonding time. She seems to be liking you more than me.”

“Yeah.” He chuckles. “She’s a good girl. I spend a lot of time in here playing guitar and chatting with Poppy while she waits for Rhett to finish up at the end of the day.”

“Still the slacker?” I ask him.

He grunts, and his demeanor changes.

“I’m not a slacker, Riv. I’m just tired of not being able to do what I want with my life. Hell, you know how it is. You were livin’ it up in the big city, having fun and doing what you wanted. Only to come back here because your mom needed you?” He shakes his head and twirls Betty’s ear between his fingers. “Shit sucks.”

“Still wanting to play your music?”

“Don’t care about makin’ it big or even leaving the ranch. But with Dean out of commission, we’re left strapped for help.”

“How long’s he been gone?”

“I think the easier question is how long he’s actually been around. But even then, when he was here, he wasn’t here. Dean hasn’t been here since we were teenagers.”

“I’m sorry, Hayes.” I feel for this whole damn family and the shit that Dean has put them through. I know it’s been tough on all of them.

“Yeah.” He shrugs. “Rhett won’t come out with how bad things are actually lookin’, but I know he’s stressed. Hiring Poppy on wasn’t even his idea. Pops forced his hand on it.”

“So you spending less time working on the ranch is out of the question.”

He clicks his tongue. “Bingo.”

I’m going to regret this, but fuck if I’m not a sucker for this man being sad. He’s already been through enough, and maybe sitting here with him for a couple of hours a day won’t be all bad. Betty seems to like him well enough; maybe he can help me gain her trust and love.

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