Page 44 of His First Baby Rodeo

But Mac didn’t move from where he stood. He didn’t even look at her. And El felt a chill pass through her that had nothing to do with the temperature.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, concerned. “You still look upset about something. Jeff didn’t say anything to you, did he?”

She would call him and give him hell if he had. Warning her about potential romantic danger was one thing, but she was far too old for her big brother to be getting in the way of her romantic life, even if the guy in questionwasa friend of his. She wasn’t about to put up with that from him. And frankly, the whole idea was humiliating — just the thought that he might have done something like that, intervene by talking to Mac, made her feel like a little kid again. If that was what had happened, it was easy to understand why Mac was being so standoffish. She probably would have been the same if she’d been the target of that kind of talk.

“He didn’t say anything,” Mac said. “I’m just tired. It was kind of an exhausting day with those kids running around.”

“I honestly think they really liked you,” she said. “Brody especially. Did you see the way he looked at you? It was something like hero worship. He’s always looked up to Jeff, obviously, but to see someone like you — I mean, Jeff doesn’t do much of his own ranch work. But you’re arealrancher. It must have been amazing for Brody.”

“Oh, he just thinks I’m cool because of my boots,” Mac said, smiling — but his smile was a bit forced. It didn’t seem to reach his eyes.

El frowned. He really wasn’t acting like himself. It worried her, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

“Does your arm hurt?” she asked him.

He looked relieved. “A bit,” he said. “That’s what it is. My arm is bugging me.”

“We still have some of the painkillers. You should take them.” She started toward the cabinet where they’d been storing Mac’s painkillers. If he was in pain, it made sense that he was a little off.

“Mm, I don’t need to do that.” He turned away.

“Oh, don’t be a hero,” she said. “You should take painkillers if you’re in pain. That’s why they were prescribed.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to become dependent on something that’s not always going to be around.”

El’s heart dropped at his words. Had he chosen them to make some kind of point?

She hated the way things had become so fragile between them. Last night had been perfect. Today had been lovely. But with a simple turn of phrase, he had made her feel as if the world might send her spinning right off into space.

If he can make me feel like that, maybe he’s right. Maybe wearebecoming too dependent on something we won’t be able to keep.

She dried her hands on the dishtowel, her heart racing. She wished she could ignore this. “Should we talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

“Why you’re being weird.”

“I’m not being weird.”

“Mac, you are. I’ve been here long enough to notice when you’re not yourself, you know.”

“This just… wasn’t how I envisioned this day going,” he said. “It’s really nothing more than that.”

“What did you envision?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a useful thing to dwell on.”

Useful. He wasn’t talking about what he wanted anymore. He seemed to be actively avoiding talking about that. He was only talking — only thinking — about what was useful.

“Do you want to go to bed?” She thought she knew what the answer was going to be, but she hoped anyway.

But he turned away from her. “I think it’s probably best if we sleep separately tonight,” he said.

Desperation gripped her. She didn’t want to let him see how much his words had hurt, but… “Mac, Jeff isn’t going to come again tomorrow morning, you know. It won’t be like that again. Whatever you thought today was going to be… tomorrow can be that.”We can still have it.

“This is for the best,” Mac said. “I think I need some time on my own, El. I think you and I need to take some space.”

God, how she had dreaded hearing those words from him. And it felt as if she had known all along that they were coming.

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