Chapter Nine
Jovie
I tossed and turned for about two hours before I finally gave up.
Yes, I preach the importance of good sleep habits, but it’s more of a do as I say, not as I do situation. Because being a college student with a full-time job and four roommates does nothing for balancing your circadian rhythm.
I’m a night owl by nature.
So, I did what I did every night back at school. I grabbed an ice-cold soda and headed outside with my phone and a book.
I didn’t expect to find company.
Axle leans against the doorframe of his cabin.
Hair rumpled. A pair of gray jogging pants ride low on his hips. His chest is bare.
I swallow.
Hard.
“Nope.”
His mouth twitches.
“Me neither,” I say as I settle onto the wooden railing.
Then he pushes away from the doorway and steps forward. Straight into the moonlight.
Good grief.
The man looks like he belongs on the cover of a Western romance novel. Broad shoulders. Strong arms. All rough and rugged, but with long lashes and sexy dimples.
It’s annoying.
It’s the middle of the night, for crying out loud. Nobody should be allowed to look that good at almost three in the morning.
I take a sip of soda.
Mostly to give myself something to do besides stare. Though I fail spectacularly. With his ripped abs shamelessly on display like that, what am I supposed to look at?
So, I let myself drink him in. The privacy of the dark deck feels oddly protective. Safe. He can’t possibly know what I’m thinking. At least, I hope not.
He reaches the railing and braces his hands against it.
The moon highlights the hard lines of his shoulders. The strong angle of his jaw. The faint shadow of stubble.
My pulse does something strange.
His gaze drops to the can in my hand.
A grin appears.
“I don’t think the caffeine is gonna help.”
I laugh softly and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “It won’t hurt.”
He raises an eyebrow. “No?”
“Nope.”
I take another drink. “Caffeine doesn’t really affect me.”
“Ah. You’re one of those people?”
“And you’re one of those people.” I nod toward the bottle sitting by his door.
He looks over his shoulder. “It does help,” he says before bringing his eyes back to me. “Sometimes.”
“Not tonight?”
He shakes his head.
“Something in particular keeping you up?” he asks.
“No, I’m just a night owl.”
His expression softens. “Yeah.”
“You too?”
His eyes drift toward the mountains. “Always have been. I can usually fall asleep around ten or eleven. Especially if I’ve had a particularly physical evening, but then sometime between one and two in the morning, I’m wide awake again.”
A shiver runs down my spine as I imagine what exactly that physical activity could be.
He notices.
His eyes flash, and I thank God for the cover of darkness because I can feel the heat creep up my neck.
“You?”
I swallow hard and then manage to squeak out, “Same. I mean, not all the physical stuff. But the waking up for no reason stuff.”
He stands and turns, leaning his back against the railing, and looks down at me.
“It’s fine though,” I continue while not meeting his eyes. I pick my textbook up and wave it in the air. “I like the night better anyway. It’s quiet. Less chaotic. I can focus.”
“When everybody else is asleep,” he says, “things get calm.”
I smile. “You like the calm?”
That earns me a confused look.
“Yes.”
I laugh, and his brow furrows.
“What?”
I gesture vaguely toward him. “You don’t exactly seem like a calm person.”
“Me? I’m cool as a cucumber.”
I giggle, and he raises a brow in question.
“You kind of embody chaos, Axle Trust.”
He lets out a deep laugh.
The sound rolls through the night air.
“Chaos?”
“Absolutely.”
He leans down and bumps me with his shoulder. “I think I’m offended, Doc.”
Doc?
He straightens and crosses his arms over his chest. The movement somehow makes him look even larger. “Some of my favorite activities happen at night.”
I choke on my soda. Coughing and embarrassing myself.
His grin widens.
“You’re teasing me,” I finally manage to sputter out.
A second later, he leans closer.
Close enough that I can smell the soap on his skin. Close enough that my pulse instantly doubles.
His voice drops low. “I was talking about rodeos.”
My eyes widen, and he looks entirely too pleased with himself.
“What were you thinking about, dirty girl?”
My jaw drops, and heat explodes across my face.
“I … I … wasn’t thinking about anything.”
His eyes sparkle.
Another shiver.
Damn it. What is wrong with me tonight?
I open my mouth to defend myself. Then immediately close it. Because I’m not falling into this trap.
Axle notices, and his laugh echoes across the mountains. “You absolutely were.”
“I wasn’t.” I glare.
It only makes him laugh harder.
“You blush awfully easy, Doc. You’d better grow a thicker skin if you plan to join the Pbr medical team, or the cowboys are gonna chew you up for sport.”
“I’m not blushing.”
How can he tell?
He reaches over and brushes his knuckles over the apple of my cheek. “Then why is your skin pink?”
“Because I’m hot.”
His eyes slide down to my legs, which are swinging over the edge. And back to mine.
“That’s fair.”
I duck my head as I feel the heat hit my face again.
He hops up onto the railing. Facing the opposite direction. Close enough that our shoulders nearly touch. Close enough that I become intensely aware of his presence.
The wood creaks beneath his weight.
Then silence settles between us again. A comfortable silence, and it surprises me. I’ve never felt that at ease around Axle. He’s always been Cabe’s intimidating older brother—the surly one. Either barking orders at us or ignoring us altogether.
It seemed like my presence always annoyed him, but now he appears to be perfectly happy, just sitting with me and watching the stars.
For a while, that’s exactly what we do. The mountains rest beneath the blanket of silver light. A coyote howls somewhere in the distance. The sound drifts in the air around us.
Without looking at me, Axle speaks. “You missing Colorado?”
The question catches me off guard.
I think about it. Then shrug. “I prefer it here.”
His head tilts slightly. “You do?”
I stare at the mountains. “Yeah, Wildhaven is home.” I smile softly. “My family is here.”
His gaze shifts toward me.
Something warm flickers in his eyes.
“And Cabe.”
“And Cabe,” I repeat.
He nods.
We drift back into silence, and time slips by, unnoticed. The way it does when you’re enjoying someone’s company.
At some point, our hands end up resting near each other on the railing.
Not touching, but close enough that I notice. Close enough that I wonder if he notices too.
Then his pinkie brushes mine. The contact is accidental. Just a tiny touch. Nothing more.
Yet a shiver races down my spine.
That’s number three.
Beside me, Axle remains perfectly still. Which somehow makes it worse. Because now I’m wondering if he felt it, too, or if I just imagined it.
Hours pass. Or maybe it’s only a few minutes.
Eventually, a rooster crows somewhere in the distance.
I blink. “No way.”
Axle glances toward the horizon.
The faintest hint of gold appears beyond the mountains.
“Good morning, Doc.”
“We sat here all night? Is that even possible?” I ask.
I slide off the railing. I grab my phone that lies discarded next to my book and tap the screen—4:00 a.m.
“Shit. It’s four o’clock. I should probably go try to sleep for a couple of hours.” I glance up at him.
“Yeah, we don’t need our doctor falling asleep on the job.”
“You know I’m not a doctor, right? I’m assisting Dr. Seth.”
He shrugs. “You will be.”
“No. I’ll be a doctor of physical therapy. Not a medical doctor. So, you can just call me Jovie.”
“Okay.”
He jumps down from the railing and stands at the gap between our cabins, raising his arms over his head in a stretch.
It’s a glorious sight.
For a moment, neither of us speaks.
The air feels strangely charged.
“Night, Doc.”
I start to protest again, but it dies on my tongue. The endearment shouldn’t affect me, but it does.
“Night, cowboy.”
His laugh follows me all the way to my cabin door.
“Oh, for future reference, you’ll know when I’m teasing you,” he calls after me.
I don’t respond. Instead, I hurry inside and shut the door.
Oh my God.
Was Axle Trust flirting with me?
Was I flirting with him?
I shake my head.
No, he wouldn’t. All he’s ever seen me as is Cabe’s annoying tagalong.
He was just teasing his little brother’s friend because he could.
Minutes later, lying awake under my blankets and listening to the ranch come alive, I realize something that should probably concern me.
Until tonight, I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed being unable to sleep.