Chapter 7
Kade
My phone lit up where it sat on my desk beside me, “Monroe” flashing on the screen. Even when I was trying to think of anything but Leah, someone else yanked my mind right back to her.
“Hey, got a minute?” he asked when I answered.
“Sure. What’s going on?” I leaned back in my chair, running a hand across a scruffy jaw. I’d been too tired and grumpy to shave today, or yesterday. I wasn’t optimistic about tomorrow, either.
“Just wanted to see how Leah is holding up. I can’t help but worry about her, even though she’s with you.” He sounded almost as worn down as me.
“She’s okay. Bit of a transition, but she’s fitting in well. The people around here all love her.”
If he’d seen her at the bunkhouse with the guys, he might wonder if she was getting too much love. I’d caught a glimpse through the window before I walked in. The guys had been shooting her looks like she was filet mignon and they hadn’t eaten in months. She’d come here in lieu of a prison sentence. This was not a dating service. Not to mention that she had a boyfriend, or at least appeared to in all the paparazzi photos. I remembered that but couldn’t quite be sure if she did.
“What about you two?” Monroe asked, his normally smooth voice still sounding out of sorts. “I know you aren’t getting along like you used to, but I hope it’s been okay?”
Okay ? Bringing her here was the worst mistake of my life, but there was no turning back. I’d almost kissed her last night. I hadn’t even been aware of what I was doing as I walked toward her, my body taking control, bringing me to what I wanted, which was to the soft fullness of her lips, pulling her up against me, and…
I had to stop this craving that was becoming all consuming. I had to stop thinking of her. Of course, Monroe didn’t need to know about any of this.
“It’s fine. We’re both so busy all day that we barely even see each other.” Unless I was stalking her in the bunkhouse and scaring off the men while pretending to be a warden.
She had to own up to some of that mess last night. She’d been hanging out in the bunkhouse with a damned beer. What had she expected from me? It hadn’t had anything to do with the men drooling all over her.
“I appreciate this more than you can imagine. If you hadn’t reached out, I’m not sure what would’ve happened,” Monroe said.
Those words hit like a hydrant in the face. If Leah ever found out my part in this? I’d lose any leverage she imagined I had. I’d be worse than a hog-tied calf.
“Except I didn’t reach out, remember?” Thankfully, he wasn’t on speaker. No one around here had any problems listening in, and I’d left the door cracked because it was unseasonably warm today.
“I know. Don’t worry. I’m not saying a word. Just know I will find a way to repay you.”
“All I want you to do is never mention it.”
Missy poked her head in the open door. “Kade, do you have a minute?”
“I gotta go,” I said to Monroe, and hung up. This was why I couldn’t have him talking about that shit. “What’s going on?” I said, waving her in. I leaned back in my chair, trying not to sigh. It was as much enthusiasm as I had in me. I had my limits, especially this morning after the lack of sleep.
“I have a bone to pick with you.” Her tone was pricklier than I’d ever heard.
I leaned back farther in my chair, getting more comfortable, as I had a feeling this was going to be a long one. This was the price I paid for leaving the door open for some fresh air. But it was Missy, who up until recently had seemed to brace herself to not run whenever she saw me. I couldn’t snap at her and tell her I wasn’t in the mood for whatever it was she wanted to tell me, even if I did want to tell her to get the hell out.
She walked right up to the other side of my desk, crossing her arms and glaring down at me. “You were out of line last night. She didn’t even want that beer. She told Adam that repeatedly. He put it there but she didn’t even touch it.”
I should let her get it off her chest so she’d leave faster, but that would imply guilt. I was not guilty.
“I realize that she might not have drunk, but she’s not allowed to be at a party. That looked like a party to me.”
I grabbed a file off my desk, flipping through some stats on the newest cutting horses making their way up the ranks. Perhaps she’d take the hint and leave.
“She came in to go to the bathroom and then we made her stay. What was she supposed to do? Pee in the bushes in the dark and not know if she’s getting poison ivy or bitten by something?” She was leaning forward, her voice getting louder, as if my reading affected my hearing.
I threw the file down. “How was I supposed to know that? Look at it from my perspective. I walk in and she’s hanging out at what looks like a party with a beer.” This day was already bad, and it wasn’t even noon.
“Maybe ask next time before you humiliate her like that.”
“I didn’t humiliate her. She was fine.” It wasn’t like she ran off crying or something. She pushed right back.
“Oh, so it’s okay if you’re mean because she can take it?” Her face was scrunched up as she threw her hands in the air.
“I’m not mean . I have responsibilities. I signed a legal document guaranteeing I’d hold to certain rules.” Why was it that no one other than me could understand this?
“Rules? Now you’re such a rule follower?” she scoffed. “What about when you?—”
“I don’t need a list of what I’ve done in my life.” Or what I’d done just since Leah had come to the ranch. I wasn’t the one who was doing a sentence. “Now if you’re done, I’ve got things to do.” My eyes shot to the door, making my meaning clear to anyone with half a brain.
Missy had a very competent mind, but it was frequently overridden by a stubborn streak, like someone else I knew. This seemed to be another of those occasions.
“She’s highly likable. Everyone likes her. You’re just being a bully.” She wasn’t just insulting me now—she was pointing at me.
“You’re calling me a bully?” I blinked several times.
“Yep, that’s you. Bully boy Kade.” She tilted her head back, trying to increase her height superiority.
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I said, about to get to my feet and reclaim the higher ground, if only physically.
“She’s right,” Chuck said as he walked in the open door and over to a stack of files on the side table. “You’re being mighty mean.”
“You’re jumping on this bandwagon, too?” Of all people, Chuck was turning on me?
“There was a chat about it at breakfast. There was a vote on it,” he said, flipping through papers as if their condemning my moral fabric was nothing.
“You took a vote?” What the hell was going on around here?
“Just an informal raise of hands. We didn’t put it in writing, but man, you took a beating.” He shuffled through another stack of papers. “Ah, here it is.”
“You need to do better,” Missy said.
“Can you get out so I can get some work done, please?”
She nodded, but then didn’t walk out.
“What?” I snapped.
“I’m not in trouble for this, am I?” Missy asked, her voice growing softer now that she’d unloaded her grievances.
I gave her a hard stare, about done with the lecture. “No, as long as you get out now.”
Chuck watched Missy leave and then stood there staring at me.
“I’m not talking about it,” I said, knowing he wasn’t going to be scared away as easily.
As if on cue, he said, “That little girl of yours is?—”
“She’s not mine.”
“From the sounds of it, that’s not the way you acted last night. She wasn’t drinking. Missy said you knew because you picked up the full bottle. The guys all said you looked jealous. So what’s the real problem?”
“How was I supposed to know that? It might’ve been her second beer.”
“All I’m saying is that you seem a little unhinged around her, and you should probably think about that.”
As if I didn’t know that. As if that wasn’t why I was trying to avoid her.
He held up his file. “Okay, I’m off to go grab the new trailer. See you in a bit,” Chuck said, walking out as chipper as he walked in.
I got up and shut the door, locking it. I wasn’t taking chances on suffering through any more impromptu chats.
The phone rang as soon as I sat, Alec’s name flashing. He was one stubborn bastard when he wanted to get a hold of me. I either had to answer or turn my phone off.
“What’s up?” I asked, zero warmth in my voice.
“You sound like shit. What’s your problem?”
“Nothing. I have a long day. I need to get shit done, so tell me what you want or I have to go.” I wasn’t giving him an opening to dig into my situation.
“I heard about the vote.” He started laughing hard.
“How the hell did you hear about the vote?”
“I have to protect my sources. Not like it’s much of a secret anyway. You didn’t fare well, though. From what I heard, it was unanimous. Man, you must’ve acted like a real ass for them to call a vote and for you to not get a single one. Usually someone will feel bad enough to just throw you a pity vote.”
“I have work to do.” I hung up.
Leah was stirring up my entire ranch against me—even Missy, who didn’t used to want to catch my attention, was in here lecturing me. Now stories were leaking out to my brother, who didn’t even reside in the state. How was I ever going to make it through a year of this?