“I’m fine to wait,” she says, grabbing the medical supply kit from the ground as Beau dismounts his horse and comes over. “I’ll just put this in the truck.”
The sun is just behind her, and I can’t help but stare when she turns back to the pickup. All that blond hair, legs for days, and tight leggings now dusted with dirt and little splinters of fencing. Put-together Wren is hot as hell, but seeing her wrangling a calf, getting her hands dirty, not worrying about her clothes getting ruined, and with her hair shoved up in a lopsided top knot is a whole other level of attraction.
A low rumble of laughter sounds from behind me, and I turn to see Chief Lewis smirking and Beau grinning at me like a moron.
“You wanna get started on this, or enjoy the show a little longer, boss?” he asks, cocking a brow at me.
I shoot him a look and grab the halter from him. He laughs.
“Shut up.” I turn my head to hide the smirk I can’t seem to wipe away. “Go get what we need to fix this fence,” I say.
Beau gives me a salute and takes off for the truck.
“Looks like time hasn’t done much to keep you two apart,” the chief says with a wry grin.
I cut a glance his way and give him a nod before moving a thoughtful gaze to where Wren stands and talks to Beau, who’s rummaging through the back of the truck.
“Yeah, guess not.”
I thank him again for the heads up about the calf and he gets in his pickup and leaves. After thirty minutes, we’ve got the wood reattached and a section of fencing strung across the gap.
Once we’re in the truck and headed back, Wren checks her phone. “Finn left my purse at the ranch. She wasn’t sure how long we’d be. Remind me to grab it after we check on Apollo, ok?”
“Sure,” I say, grateful for more time with this woman, who seems to increasingly consume more of my thoughts by the minute.
I remember it being like this back then, too. I’d wanted to spend every waking minute with her from that first day I saw her in that tiny red bikini out behind her grandparents’ place. And the rest of that summer we’d done nothing but get to know one another. Or in my case, fall completely in love with her. I can’t help but wonder—as I had countless times over the years—what the rest of her life had been like.
I glance at her now, and she’s reading what looks like an email. Her head is bowed over her phone, while her index finger and thumb pick at the skin of her bottom lip anxiously as she scrolls with her other thumb. Her shoulders are tense, and I feel a shift in the atmosphere in the cab. I don’t want to pry but she looks upset, and we did call a cease-fire. What with all the kissing and groping, right?
“Everything ok?” I ask. Shifting so that my left hand is on the wheel, I toss my hat onto the dashboard.
She looks startled to remember I’m in the cab with her and her eyes find mine. I can’t tell if it's pain I see there, or anger—maybe a little of both. Whatever it is, I know it’s got her rattled.
“Everything is fine. Great,” she says, blowing her cheeks out on a breath, and I detect a bit of a shake in her speech. Something is definitely off. The way she swipes away from the message she was reading and mashes her thumb against the lock button on her phone with shaky hands tells me things are not fine.
We ride in silence for a few more minutes and she sighs. She brings her hand to her forehead and starts rubbing her fingers across it.
“Headache?”
“I’m ok,” she says and drops her hand, turning a falsely bright smile on me.
I guffaw. “Yeah, you look it,” I say and swing the truck onto the gravel road to the ranch.
“It’s just work stuff,” she says and sighs again.
“Well, if your job is anything like mine, leaving even for a day or two can be enough for shit to hit the fan.”
“You have no idea,” she whispers as she looks out the window.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
wrenley
“You want to talk about it?”Hank's eyes find mine as we head inside to get my purse.
I shrug.
I’d actually love to talk about it, but I haven’t exactly mentioned that I just got out of a three-year relationship. Not to mention that, up until very recently, I was engaged. It might not be the best idea to bring up with the man I most recently made out with.
