I shot a warning look at Mal who was almost pissing himself from trying not to laugh.
I scowled and hissed, “Do. Not.”
“I’m sure you could teach him a few things, too,” Mal teased as soon as Tommy was out of hearing distance. “I bet he has dreams of you doing just that—”
“Jesus Christ!” I cut him off and kicked his ankle. “Stop it. It’s bad enough with…. Eugh!”
Before he had time to figure out a comeback, a familiar Jeep appeared on the road, headed our way.
“There he is.” Mal’s tone was neutral for my sake.
I took out my phone again and scoffed. “He’s an hour and twenty minutes late.”
Carter parked near us and got out. He rounded the vehicle.
“Hey guys, I’m so sorry—”
“Give me one good fucking reason why you’d disrespect our time like this?” I growled out, my body moving aggressively toward him without meaning to.
This wasn’t me at all, but for the time being, I didn’t care.
“Well that’s me out,” Mal said behind me and retreated inside the barn.
Carter, for his part, didn’t flinch. “Look, I’m here now—”
“Well good for you!” I felt like punching him. “You have any idea how much you’ve inconvenienced us? Mal could’ve been doing a dozen other things instead of waiting for you.”
His jaw tensed. “I did send you a message that I’d be late.”
“That’s something you do if you’re fifteen minutes late, Cahill! You were over an hour late. That’s unacceptable!”
He drew up to his full height and squared his shoulders, practically towering over me. He had to be well over half a foot taller than me.
That pissed me off even more.
“I would never be late like this without a good reason,” he ground out, his eyes making his annoyance obvious.
“And what is that ‘good reason?’” I made sure my tone let him know exactly what I thought of such things.
“I don’t know how you do things on this ranch, but where I come from, when you see a vehicle in a ditch, you stop and see if you can help. Then you call for help, and try to calm down the crying baby in the back seat while the mother is unconscious!” His hands were fists now, and I could feel the anger radiating from him in response to mine.
That… that was a good reason. I growled and whirled around, taking a few steps away from him.
I could hear him huff out a breath, and imagined him running his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“Look, like I said, I’m here now. Is there anyone who might have time for me?” he asked much more calmly.
It wasn’t enough. “No. And even if there was, I wouldn’t let you on a horse today.”
I turned back to see him frown.
“What? Why?”
I gestured at his body language. “Do you have any idea what it would do to a horse to be around you right now? With howfrustrated and tense you are? You’re not going near an animal right now.”
He snorted loudly. “How are you going to doyourjob, then?” He gestured right back at me.
I let out a little growl. “I’m going to see a donkey about some scratches.” Then I whirled around again and started to march toward the only creature on this ranch who didn’t give a fuck about anyone’s mood.
