Chapter 5
brIAR
The buckskin I was on pranced beneath my feet. The cattle were shifting anxiously awaiting the announcement that it was time to move. Cassidy loped on by, still not speaking a word to me as he gave instructions to someone who looked like a younger version of the man I learned was named Cash. The red hair this boy sported was a dead ringer for the older and not half-bad looking man that was near the front of the herd.
But Cassidy…Ugh. My eyes tracked the man whose face was no longer clean-shaven as it had been the day we met. Dark stubble coated a jawline that was sharper than a knife, seemingly chiseled out of stone. And those dimples when he smiled, laughing at whatever the boy said, were perfection. Why was I being mean toward him, and where were these uncontrollable conflicting thoughts and actions about him coming from? That made no sense, even to me.
Even after days of watching his routine of such an annoyingly perfect life, I knew I shouldn’t feel this frustrated with him, but I couldn’t help it. Maybe it was a smidge of jealousy that everything about his world seemed to flow neatly as it should. His role on the ranch, the chores necessary, the cattle—even the scenery that existed where he lived—was as beautiful as he was.
My heart thumped loudly.
I hated how perfect Cassidy had to be. Every step of his gray horse rippled with the power that exuded him as he rode directly up to me. With those chaps clinging tightly to his powerful legs, and the way his hips swayed in the saddle, as if he was stitched to the leather.
Wait.
He was riding toward me. Why now?
I swallowed stiffly, coughing on some of the phlegm that didn’t quite slide as easily down my throat as it should’ve.
He raised a single dark brow, the amber flecks around his pupils as bright as the rays of the sun. The deep greens that ran in swirls with brown rivers in his eyes narrowed when he approached me, and that smile fell from his perfect face.
“You’re riding drag.” He looked around, connecting with a tanned cowboy who was sitting on his black horse at the back of the herd. “Tom, you can swap with her,” he called out.
“What? Why?!” I gasped, and Cassidy’s gaze snapped back to mine. There was frustration deepening the precise lines on his masculine face.
“You’re newer than he is.”
That was it. He didn’t say anything else as his large fingers smoothed out the wild rag tied around his neck. And he didn’t give me a chance to say anything as he trotted away, dust kicking up behind the hooves of his horse.
I stared at him in shock. My eyes were wide, the brim of my cowboy hat barely blocking out the bright sunlight drifting around the cotton-ball clouds in the sky.
I’d done something to tick him off a few nights ago. Said something… Which I shouldn’t be upset about or concerned over, but I was. Which also explained why he’d avoided me to his best ability since then.
He was doing what I needed him to do. He was protecting that horse. Protecting me, even if he didn’t really know it. Being here, off the grid, away from almost anyone else was the safest place for me. So, him giving me the cold shoulder shouldn’t bother me, but it was.
Besides, it wasn’t my fault that I’d said something that apparently hit closer to home than intended. Though, I knew it was a nice weapon I could use against him again when needed, an additional tool for my arsenal when things ultimately came to a head.
Why I said those things last night was a mystery to me. And tucking them away for a tool to use? That was such a horrible thing to do. What was going on with me?
A sharp whistle pierced the air. The signal from Cassidy that it was time to go. I blew out some air, resigned to the fact that by the end of the day, I was going to be covered in more than just dust, and off we went.
Despite the hazy sight in front of me caused by hundreds of cattle hooves kicking up dust, I found myself enjoying things. Hours of riding beneath the hot sun, whistles and hollering dancing through the air, changing the pace, keeping up or corralling a stray or two, I hadn’t done something like this in years.
The last time that I’d experienced an actual cattle drive, my father had been around. Though our herd had been a third of the size as this one, it felt familiar. Winding around some trees, birds chirping in the summer air, dreams of peace lingered within my fear-hardened soul. A time that I longed for. A moment in my life that I missed.
I missed him, mostly. That mountain of a man who taught me everything I knew. The one person who had given his all to care for me, something no one else had ever done—except for maybe Rooney once my father and him crossed paths two years ago.
This cattle drive would be an entirely different adventure if I was riding it with him. The best father in the world. And somehow, I’d ruined everything he’d built in a matter of six months. If Cassidy even caught wind of what had happened, he would tell me to get lost quicker than a badger going after a mouse.
The fresh scent of pine trees and the leaves of aspens and maples rustled in the gentle wind. I coughed, the wild rag around my nose doing very little to block out the dust, now that several hours had passed.
I was hoping that before we broke through the shade of the trees around us, Cassidy would call for a rest, which would give me time to brush off and reset. Plus, I hated to admit that my backside was getting a little sore. It really had been way too long since I’d ridden for this many consecutive hours.
My dad would be so disappointed in me. That stallion was my last attempt at proving to him and the world around me that everything he’d sacrificed had been worth it. If I could just make sure that the horse got a better life, then I might be given enough time to prove that I deserved a second chance too.
And maybe, I’d be able to catch him, put him away for all of the lies and secrets and abuse he’d dealt to innocent creatures. I was tired, and I hadn’t even been running for more than a few days.
And I’d just been given hours of silence left to my deprecating thoughts.
The gelding below me seemed unhindered by the exertion of the trek. He was happily looking around, his ears dancing between all of the exciting sounds and sights around us. The black hooves of the angus weaving through the brush in front of me were a constant, even when I lost sight of other riders every now and then.
A couple of branches snapping next to me sounded, and I glanced away from the cattle. Cassidy emerged from around a tree, seamlessly bringing his horse down from a lope and matching my pace. He didn’t say a word as we rode side by side for several minutes.
The sweat running down my back pooling even deeper with each passing tick of the clock.
Should I say something?
Was he going to say something?
What did he want anyway?
The bubbling of a creek near us gurgled, splitting the silence that had my skin warm, and he finally spoke, his voice low and crackled, dust coating his throat. “You need to get up a half hour later.”
“Wh—” I gasped, sucking in some of my wild rag unintentionally. I coughed, sputtered, and tugged it down. “What? Why would I do that?”
“Because I said so,” he grumbled, his fingers casually sliding up and down the split leather reins. My mouth ran dry, my skin even warmer than usual as I watched the movement. My heart pattered heavily, drumming in my ears as everything else around me became mute.
“Hello?” Cassidy snapped a second later.
I blinked, tearing my gaze away from veiny hands I shouldn’t have been staring at. Why did everything about him have to look that good? Now was my chance to apologize for that night. For the accusation of things that I had no right to accuse. I confused myself with my own back-and-forth dilemma of hating that he was perfect but also hating that he was flawed. What was worse was that I was the one thinking it and then taking it out on him. How did that even make sense?
“No,” I snarled, lifting my chin. What the crap, Briar?
“It’s my favorite part of the day, so you’ll get up later.”
“Well, it’s my favorite part of the day too.”
“I don’t care, you’re living in my house.” We ducked under some trees, and I glanced at his profile. His jaw knotted. “So, you can find a new favorite part of the day.”
My mouth fell open. He wasn’t being serious right now, was he? All because of something I apparently said a few nights ago that still had me confused as to why it was such a big deal?
“You can’t just claim a certain part of the day even if I’m living in your house.” My knuckles whitened as I gripped the reins tighter.
“Then you can go sleep on the porch, so I don’t run into you until after I’ve eaten breakfast.”
“It’s not even finished being built yet!”
“Then sleep in the basement.”
“Um, that’s not finished either!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What happened to the lighthearted teasing that I hated?
He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, as long as I get some peace and quiet for the first thirty minutes of the day, I don’t care what you do.” And he rode away. Just like that.
I couldn’t believe what he’d just said. What had just happened. I hated that I needed him right now. I hated that smug look that he had right before he disappeared through the trees.
And I hated how he didn’t even glance at me when we stopped for lunch. Instead, he mingled with the hands as we all pulled our sandwiches from saddle bags.
Why was I doing this to myself?
“Hey, Cassidy!” Cash called out, and I glanced up from the much-needed food that I was shoveling into my mouth.
Cassidy stood up from the log he’d plopped himself on, stepping out from under the shade, and my skin prickled. The chaps only made everything on him look more powerful, the worn, square-toe boots peeking out from beneath the leather, and I watched, eagerly waiting for him to turn around just so I could get a glimpse of his butt in—
HOLD. UP.
Ripping my eyes away from that man, I stared at the grass below me as Cash spoke again. “How long are we going to stay for lunch? I’m seeing some clouds that have me concerned.”
“Yeah, I’ve been eyeing them too. Let’s round everyone up and get going; we could finish eating on the ride,” Cassidy answered, and I glanced up to the sky. The fluffy, pure white clouds no longer looked like puffs of cotton whispering across the sky. A gray heaviness clung to the bottom of them, threatening rain.
I forgot how quickly the weather could change in Montana. Maybe the heat that had been burning through my body, the extra moisture clinging to my sweat, had been a result of the impending storm and not the man that was annoying as crap.
Cassidy Duke was going to be the bane of my existence.