Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
Leo cinched the belt beneath his horse firmly and darted one more look in Kat’s direction.
She had her arms wrapped around herself as she stared out at the landscape before them.
The sun’s light glowed behind the mountains.
The sky was a brilliant red, bleeding into the clouds to make the whole sky look more like molten lava than a sunrise.
She was nervous and he wanted to revel in it.
But that niggling part of him that didn’t want to be this person held him back from accepting joy in the role he’d been taking while around her.
Last night, he’d barely gotten any sleep. His mind bounced from hating the woman to wanting her attention—the sort of attention she’d given him before she’d betrayed him and stuck him in that coop.
Kat was nothing if not a firecracker. She’d only been here a couple of days and already he couldn’t shake her. He couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Any time she came into view, it was all he could take not to take her in—every last inch of her. After her shopping spree with Hallie, she officially looked every part the cowgirl.
She was mesmerizing.
And the worst part?
Some of the other men had started to notice, too.
His hand clenched into a fist and the leather of his gloves creaked with the effort. Tripp had been the first to notice her beauty. And anytime he was within the same vicinity as Kat, he made it known exactly what he was thinking with one look.
If Leo wasn’t around, he’d easily win her over with his smiles and his charm. It was who he was. If Leo had anything to do about it, no one would win Kat over. She wasn’t going to be around long, and her presence didn’t need to be something that stuck with people.
He grabbed the reins for both of the horses he’d saddled.
One was his. He’d participated in a lot of the training over the last couple of years and there wasn’t a horse that was better trained.
Buck was a gentle giant of sorts. He could run with the best of them, but no one was sweeter or more mild-tempered.
If Leo was a better person, he would offer Kat his horse. As it was, Kat would be riding Viper.
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with Viper. The horse was hard-headed on his best days and a little skittish on his worst. He’d never thrown a rider, though, so he couldn’t be all bad. There was just enough uncertainty that Leo knew he’d be able to put Kat in her place.
She might be a princess in New York, but here? Leo was king.
Kat turned when he got closer, and he jerked his chin toward the black horse. “Do you need help getting up there? Or like everything else, are you already perfect at it?”
She narrowed her eyes then shook her head.
Without saying a word, she slipped her riding boot into the saddle.
The boots she wore were scuffed and worn—probably a pair that Hallie had loaned her.
Kat also wore a sheepskin jacket. He hadn’t seen her wearing it previously and he couldn’t be certain if she’d gotten it while she was here or if she was borrowing it as well.
He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d dropped nearly a thousand dollars on the new wardrobe she’d purchased. The woman probably didn’t know the meaning of budgeting.
It took Kat five attempts at jumping to get into a position where she could swing her leg over the saddle. All the while, Leo waited. He wasn’t about to put his hands on her.
Not again.
The other day when he’d had his hand at her waist, she’d been so intoxicating it had taken more will power than he wanted to admit to keep everything professional. Her scent alone seemed to have drugged him into a dizzying state.
Once Kat was in the saddle, she glowered down at him expectantly.
With a nod, he climbed into the saddle and nudged Buck forward.
“There’s a creek near a hunting cabin a couple miles out.
You’ll be able to see some of the town from a hill out that way.
Might be nice.” His voice was gruff and gave nothing away.
While he’d planned on torturing her today, he’d reconsidered. Maybe he was going soft. Already he was regretting letting her ride Viper and he sent a silent prayer heavenward that Viper would behave.
Yes, he was definitely going soft.
They rode in utter silence. The only sounds that reached them during their journey were that of critters scurrying through the brush, birds calling out in the branches of the evergreens, and the sound of wind through the tall grasses.
It had taken no time at all to get past the pastures that had been mostly cleared for the animal’s sake.
Now, they were reaching the more wooded areas.
Trees were thicker and the trails winding through them gave off an almost fairytale feel. In the shade of those trees, it was cooler. As it got later, they’d be able to see their breath, he was sure of it.
There was an eerie quality to the way the clouds thickened overhead.
An unnerving rumble of thunder warned of a storm to come.
Leo glanced up at the sky then and frowned.
The clouds hadn’t been nearly as menacing when they’d started out about an hour and a half ago.
If they wanted to get back before the storm hit, they’d need to give their horses a quick break at the creek and quickly turn around.
Luckily, the creek was just ahead.
Over his shoulder, he called out to Kat who looked surprisingly level-headed despite not being comfortable riding a horse. “The cabin is up through these trees. We’ll let the horses get a drink. There’s running water at the cabin, too.”
The only sign she’d heard him was a short nod of her head. Boy, they’d really done a number on each other. She didn’t trust him and he…
Well, he didn’t hate her. But he’d never tell her that. For now, he needed to keep his cards close to his chest.
A thin layer of dust coated most of the surfaces in the cabin.
Leo didn’t know how long it had been since anyone came out here, but it was at least a year.
He opened a few cupboards until he found some cups.
Then he moved to the sink. The water came from a well, but electricity came from the generator outside and there was no telling if there was any propane in it to power it on.
Another rumble of thunder had his heart lurching. Kat noticed it, too and she glanced toward him but she didn’t say anything.
He held out a cup of water. “We should be fine if we leave within the hour. The storm’s not close enough to worry about.”
She accepted the cup and traced her finger along the brim.
“You okay?” he asked.
Her head snapped up and she frowned. “Yeah. Fine,” she clipped.
“The ride wasn’t too bad, was it?”
This time she sighed. “It was wonderful, actually.”
That made him smile. Despite Viper’s less than ideal disposition, Kat had enjoyed herself and for some reason that set off a warm feeling in his chest.
She caught him smiling and her own smile brightened her features.
“I would have thought you of all people would have ridden before.”
Kat snorted. It was far from ladylike, and it made his smile widen. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.
He shrugged, taking a sip of his water. “Your dad’s one of the wealthiest men in America.”
She lifted a brow. “Don’t tell me you Googled him.”
Leo shrugged again. “I might have.” He would die before he admitted to doing the same about her.
This time, Kat laughed. “Yeah, well, just because you have money doesn’t mean you have experiences to go with it.
My dad was far too busy to concern himself with stuff like that.
I was the kid who did debate and math club—not anything equestrian.
I wasn’t exactly the belle of the ball if you know what I mean.
I didn’t go to school dances. I hardly ever dated.
” Her soft smile shifted to something more triumphant.
“I guess I was right. You don’t know as much as you think you do. ”
For some reason her statement set him off. His thoughts immediately shifted to her life back home. More specifically, he couldn’t get Chaz’s face out of his head.
Why now? Why him?
He hated that man for no other reason than the fact that he was clearly interested in Kat.
Chaz. His lip curled, causing Kat to stiffen in front of him.
“Geez, Leo. What is your problem?”
His eyes snapped to meet hers and she was pinning him with a steely stare. “What?” he snapped. “I didn’t say anything.” It didn’t matter that he hadn’t done anything wrong. Just having her look at him like that had him putting up his defenses.
“You didn’t have to. It’s written all over your face.”
He slammed his cup onto the counter and the water sloshed over the rim. “And what, pray tell, is written all over my face?”
She huffed. “You tell me.”
Leo still couldn’t get the thought of Chaz out of his head for some reason.
And it only got worse as he continued to stare at her.
At her beautiful eyes, her alluring lips, her petite frame.
He couldn’t get the image of Chaz pulling her into his arms and kissing her like they were meant to be together.
It wasn’t logical. And at the same time it made him completely sick to his stomach.
Kat placed her cup on the counter, folding her arms as she continued to glower at him. “Why do you hate me? What did I ever do to cause such animosity from you?” There was a hint of pain her voice. Clearly this woman cared what others thought of her.
But then he’d already known that.
This woman couldn’t stand it if one hair was out of place. The way she carried herself, how she regarded her abilities—all of it came wrapped in a perfect little package. Heaven forbid she disappoint anyone.
“Oh, Princess,” he murmured derisively, “in order to hate you, I’d have to care about you.
” He smirked at the way her mouth fell open.
“You’re not worth caring about.” The second the words left his lips, he wanted to lasso them back, erase them from the thick tension hanging in the air.
He needed to apologize, to tell her that the opposite was true—that she meant something to him.
But he couldn’t. His breath seized and all he could do was watch as she let out a strangled sound of fury before she stomped her way to the door.
Kat flung the door open then slammed it shut behind her, rattling the old windows in the cabin.
He could see through the panes of glass that she’d stormed off down one of the well-used hunting trails.
As long as she stayed on that path, she’d find her way back.
And if she didn’t come back in twenty minutes, he’d have to go out there and retrieve her so they could leave before they were stuck in the cabin overnight.
As if acknowledging his train of thought, the thunder boomed outside. Leo could feel the shudder in the air.
Or maybe it was he who shuddered.
Leo cursed. He’d really done it now. He’d targeted Kat in a way that would allow zero chance for redemption. Even if she was willing to overlook what he’d said, it would stick with her.
He cursed again, then grabbed his cup and threw it. The water splashed against the wall as the plastic cup bounced against the surface.
Twenty minutes. He’d let her cool off for twenty minutes. Then he’d go get her.
But twenty minutes later, she wasn’t back.
Leo gave her another twenty before the lightning outside the cabin spurred him to head out.
She had to have seen it. The lighting was too close for comfort.
And they needed to get moving. There was only one bed in the cabin.
It wasn’t meant for a family. Usually only one or two men went camping at a time.
Leo gathered the horses and tied them to a bar beneath the shelter of the lean-to.
If it started to rain before he got back, at least they would be covered.
The path was muddy from the rain earlier last week.
He could see Kat’s footsteps and at first, he wasn’t concerned.
It wasn’t until her steps veered off onto a more rugged path that he got worried.
Then, at the first drop of rain, Leo knew time was up.
There would be no going back. Not in the rain that was bound to be coming down by the time he found her.