My mouth goes dry at the sight. Wild-haired, flushed, and gasping for breath, is Rose. The girl I need to remind myself to look after the way my best friend asked.
“Never mind, I’m all set,” I mutter to Ginger before hanging up.
Her pink lips close as she looks up at me apologetically and swallows hard. “I am so sorry.”
Tearing my eyes off her face, I scan the rest of her. She’s in a long-sleeved shirt again—blue this time, and a pair of denim shorts. And the burgundy boots from yesterday.
Before I can form words, Rose holds her hands up. “Beforeyou yell, yes, I set an alarm—I swear I did. I thought I hit snooze, but apparently, I shut it off—I’ve been known to do that—plus I was out super late—”
“Rose,” I bark, holding up a hand to stop her. She takes a deep breath.
“What do you mean you were out late? Where did you go?”
She shrugs. “I took a power nap, got up, had a can of soup .?.?. and then later, when I couldn’t sleep, I took a walk.”
I cock my head. “How much later?”
“Eleven.”
I glare at her.
She frowns at me, placing her hands at her hips, still catching her breath. “Don’t look at me like that, I can take a walk whenever I want. Just because I’m staying on your grounds, doesn’t make it your business.”
A mix of frustration and something else I don’t want to name tightens my chest. “Rose, I’m not one to stop you from going out, but you don’t know your way around. Especially at night. You can’t be wandering around the ranch after dark. It’s not safe.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s not like I went out there looking for rattlesnakes and coyotes. I saw a bonfire over by the corral and figured it was a ranch thing. Bunch of nice boys were having beers and roasting marshmallows.” She shrugs innocently as if she had no choice. “Didn’t want to miss the party.”
I crack my neck. It’s not that I don’t allow bonfires on the ranch—especially when we’ve got the fire pits for it. But I don’t exactly love the idea of my best friend’s sister walking into one.
My jaw tightens. “You did what?”
She blinks at my tone, her smile faltering. “I joined them for a little while. It looked fun, and they didn’t mind. They all seemed really nice.”
“Rose,” I say firmly, stepping closer. “You can’t do that. I’ve got decent enough men on my staff, but some are still fairly new.I don’t know them all that well. Especially not what they’re like when they’re drinking.” Her eyes are wide but she still seems confused. “You’ve got to understand what I’m saying. Some of these guys are only here for a few weeks before they move on. Bottom line is, I don’t trust them all.”
She tugs on her bottom lip. “Right.”
Fisting a hand, I hold it against my mouth, fighting the urge to ask if she slept OK otherwise, because she looks like she could use another few hours. “Want some coffee?”
Green eyes light up, and it lifts something heavy off my chest. “Coffee?”
I point to my desk. “Your brother brought it by a few minutes ago. Said he didn’t see you at breakfast and figured you were hard at work.”
I take my seat and motion to the chair across the cluttered desk. “Let’s go over a few things on the agenda this week, then I’ll leave you to it.”
She crosses to my desk but doesn’t sit. “Wilder, I’m so sorry I held you back this morning.”
My gut twists at the unexpected tenderness. The man in me wants to tell her it’s all right and that maybe a good night’s sleep is what she needed. But the boss in me—and fine, maybe the protectiveness in me—wants to scowl and yell at her for spending a late evening with strange men. If that’s just her first night, what the hell kind of trouble do I have ahead of me?
She looks at me tentatively and continues, “If you could stop looking at me like that, I’d like to explain. It’s just I’m used to late hours because I have trouble falling a—”
“Rose. Sit down, drink your coffee and let’s get to work.”
I need to take a step back. A bossy step back. Because fuck how much time I’ve already lost this morning. I want to go find Landry or Jeff and make them tell me who was at the gathering last night and if anyone showed any level of disrespect towardRose.
She releases a breath and sits. “OK.” She pops the lid of the cup and takes a sip, releasing a moan. “Wes makes the best coffee.” She lifts her eyes to mine.
“Can we focus?” I shout, tossing down the stack of mail.
