Some Cowboys Brave the Flames (Keagans of Copper Creek #10)

Chapter 5

5

Ash

A sh: Up to hang this week? I don’t have any shifts.

Liam : Anytime. But not Fri. Wade wants us at an auction.

Ash stared at the message and smiled. He’d heard about the auction happening in town on Friday. Mason had mentioned it as well. Everyone in town would likely be in attendance, which meant that he had a good chance of spending time with Charlie alone.

Deep down, he knew it was a bad idea. She had a particular effect on him that was similar to what he thought drugs might be like. Whenever he got to see her—speak to her—he walked away with a high.

His crush on Charlie was supposed to be wrong, but how could it be when he felt so connected to her? It begged the question: what would he do when she inevitably fell in love with someone else—someone who wasn’t him?

Ash shoved that thought away, burying it like it was a dead body he had to hide. Out of sight, out of mind. He glanced down at the message, and the grin returned to his face. He’d make sure to stop in and hang out like he usually did.

Then he’d show up on Friday.

Ash: Sounds good, man.

The Keagan household looked empty without all the trucks that were usually parked out front. Ash shut off his engine and climbed out of his truck. He glanced toward the house as he shut the door with a soft thud.

His chest tightened unexpectedly as he wondered if he was making a mistake by allowing himself to become so attached to Charlie when she had no idea of his true feelings—nor would anything come of it. Ash could be setting himself up for failure.

Who was he kidding? He was setting himself up for failure.

Like all the times before, he rationalized his motives. He’d spent several years attempting to rid himself of the memory of her—of her scent, her touch, and the way she’d tasted on his lips. He’d made himself sick, wondering when he would suffer the consequences of his impulsive behavior.

Part of him had even hoped that she was involved with someone else when he’d decided to return to Copper Creek.

But as fate would have it, she was available.

Just not to him.

Ash raked a hand through his hair. He was already at the Keagan property. He might as well just see her, even if it was only for a few moments. Those few seconds of hearing her voice and seeing her eyes were worth the trouble.

Movement near the barn caught his attention when he’d nearly made it to the front entrance of the house. He turned, expecting to see someone who might work for the Keagans or perhaps one of the many brothers who might not have gone to the auction.

Nervous energy ripped through his body when he immediately recognized Charlie leading her horse from the barn. She was clad in a tan cowboy hat, a jeans jacket, form-fitted Levi’s, and a pair of black riding boots.

Initially, she didn’t notice him. She went so far as to climb into the saddle before her eyes shifted to his truck, then dragged across the yard to him. She stiffened, her gaze locking on him as if she expected him to turn into a beast and charge at her. Then he noted the way she took in a deep breath and turned the horse in his direction.

He pasted on his usual smile—the one that he used as a mask to keep others from paying too close attention to what he might be thinking. Ash shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled toward her, his eyes never leaving her face.

When they reached one another, she stared down her nose at him, two deep lines etched between her brows. “We didn’t have a lesson, did we?”

He shook his head. “Nope.”

“Well, my brothers aren’t here.”

Ash almost thought he heard a tremor in her voice, but that didn’t seem right. She wasn’t scared of him. If anything, she might be mad—though she hadn’t seemed to portray those emotions either. Playing along, he cocked his head slightly. “They’re not? I could have sworn Liam said that he was free this afternoon.”

She frowned. “There’s an auction in town.” She glanced toward the road as if she might see them from where she sat perched on the back of her horse. “Do you want me to call him?”

Ash shook his head. “Don’t bother him. I’m sure I just got my wires crossed.” He continued to study her, watching her, drinking her in. Five minutes of talking to her was worth the trip. If anyone knew his feelings on this matter, they’d say he had an unhealthy obsession. As far as he figured it, as long as he didn’t act on it, nothing was wrong.

She shifted in her seat. Her fingers fidgeted with the reins. It was clear she was waiting for him to say something more or to get up the nerve to tell him to leave. It would be for the best. The longer he stood there watching her, the higher the chance that she might catch on and cut off their lessons.

He cleared his throat and raked a hand through his hair, but before he could take his leave, she spoke.

“I’m… going on… a ride.”

The corners of his lips quirked upward and he bit back a laugh, his eyes tracing over her and then down to the horse. “Really? I would have never guessed,” he said wryly.

She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t hide the amusement buried in their depths. “What I’m trying to say is that you’re welcome to come along. Only if you’d like to, of course.”

He peered over to the barn through narrowed eyes, then swung his focus up to her once more. This was better than he could have ever hoped, but he couldn’t seem too eager. As nonchalantly as he could manage, he shrugged. “I could go for a ride.”

From the way Charlie remained stiff and her jaw tightened, he got the distinct feeling that she wasn’t prepared for him to take her up on her offer. Well, that was too bad. He wasn’t above accepting an invitation to spend time with her, even if it had only been offered as a form of country hospitality.

The ride was strained at first, their conversation stilted and awkward. A pair could only talk about the weather and the town gossip for so long before silence wrapped its claws around each of their throats.

He burned to ask her why she wasn’t dating anyone—or to confirm if his suspicions were correct. Heck, if it wouldn’t have made him sound like a psychopath, he would have asked her how many people she’d dated since that first kiss.

The pit in his stomach grew exponentially.

Ash couldn’t ask her those sorts of questions. He needed to start with something simpler—something to get her out of her shell and talking about things that made her happy. He wracked his brain for anything he could bring up, but nothing came to mind. They rode their horses through brush and foliage—farther and farther from her home.

He nearly brought up that one night again. The temptation was so strong that he wasn’t sure he could stop himself, but then she asked her own question, and his body sagged.

“How did you meet?”

He glanced at her. There was no need to ask her who she was speaking about. She wanted to know about his fake girlfriend. Ash scratched his neck, attempting to gather his thoughts. He needed to keep the story as close to something truthful as possible so he didn’t end up falling into a trap of lies—a web he could very well spin for himself. “She’s related to a good friend of mine.”

Did Charlie seem a little disappointed? He couldn’t tell from where they rode side by side without looking at her straight-on. “How long have you known her?”

He chuckled. “You seem awfully curious about my girlfriend.” He was avoiding answering the questions, but unfortunately his statement seemed to bolster her confidence. “I’m just curious. You’ve never talked about her with my brothers. How am I supposed to believe that you’re telling the truth?”

He laughed, his hand coming to his chest. “You have wounded me.”

She snorted.

“Do you actually think that I would lie about something like that? What would I have to gain?” He might gain Charlie; that was who. But she didn’t have to know that. Especially right now.

“Is she from Copper Creek?” That question was the most unexpected one yet. He’d told Liam about the girl when Charlie was present. She had to know the answer to that question already. But then it dawned on him that Charlie might actually be trying to get him to fess up to something he’d lied about.

He arched a brow and noted the way she squirmed beneath his scrutiny. “Yes.”

“Do I know her?”

Uh-oh. She was getting dangerously close to figuring out it was all a lie. Then she would cut him out of her life. That thought alone was enough to remind him to tread carefully. As much as he didn’t want to pile on to the current lies, he would have to do so right now or risk what he had going with the Keagan household. He swallowed audibly, then looked away. “She’s not local. But she grew up here. I have no clue if you knew her or not.”

Charlie opened her mouth to ask yet another question, but he cut her off.

“What’s with the third degree, huh? I thought we were friends.”

She gave him a side-eyed stare, then turned her attention to the trail ahead. “We are,” she murmured quietly.

More of that awkward silence—but he found he far preferred it to the interrogation. Why was she so interested in his dating life anyway? He shook off his concern, then glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “You’re not at the auction.” It wasn’t a question.

She sighed. “I didn’t want to go. I’d much rather ride than go to some stuffy auction.”

He chuckled. “I could see that. The view is something else.”

Charlie lifted a brow, then snickered. “Did you even spend that much time out here?”

Ash didn’t let his eyes leave hers, his expression dead serious. “I wasn’t talking about the landscape.”

Her face flushed deeply, and her eyes darted away.

What was wrong with him! Why couldn’t he keep those particular thoughts locked inside his head when he needed to? He wasn’t a flirt by nature. At least he hadn’t been one when he was a teenager.

And definitely not after he’d kissed her. He’d called it karma—to be so consumed by another girl back home who was untouchable.

Thankfully, Charlie’s blush was the only thing that indicated she had heard his comment for what it had been. She didn’t look at him for the remainder of the ride. When they returned home, she insisted that he head out. She was going to take care of the horses herself, and he didn’t need to stick around for that part.

Ash strolled away from Charlie, out of the barn, and toward his truck. He was torn between liking the way he’d made her blush and being terrified that she would kick him to the curb. There was the very real possibility that she thought he wasn’t being faithful to his pretend girlfriend. Then again, his statement could have been rationalized as being harmless.

A compliment was a compliment, right?

He’d have to be more careful from this point forward.

No goo-goo eyes.

No obvious smiles.

And no flirting.

That last one seemed all but impossible. Hopefully he’d be able to figure it out and keep it hidden in the dark recesses of his mind.

But only if he was lucky.