Chapter 30
Over two weeks have passed since our disastrous stargazing night, and I still can’t decide if I want to fry Doodle up for the reopening, or if I should thank the little hellion for interrupting us before we made another mistake.
He got me good across the back of my neck with his talons right as I was about to kiss Belle.
What was a magical moment, where everything felt right, and I couldn’t care less about keeping things friendly because the universe was telling me “this is it”, turned into a fiasco of me warding off rooster attacks while Belle laughed and apologized for her jealous boyfriend.
Still can’t figure out how the hell he got all the way out there with us. He must’ve stowed away in the truck. Either that, or he’s magic, which would explain all his other escapades. I told August he needs to put a bell collar on him so at least he won’t be able to sneak up on me again.
“You excited about the new hires?” August asks from across the kitchen table, where he’s sipping coffee and casually scrolling on his phone. He’ll deny it, but I’d bet money he’s reading the comments on the latest video Belle posted featuring him.
“Hmm, don’t know if excited is the right word.” If I’m being honest with myself, I’m nervous as hell. We have two new ranch hands starting today, along with Dutch’s replacement, who he’ll be getting up to speed before he moves away.
“Tentatively optimistic?” August offers, and I nod. His phone buzzes with an incoming text, and a weird combination of a smile and a frown that I didn’t know was possible crosses his face.
“Who’s texting you this early?”
August doesn’t look up, typing out a reply. “Rhett. Says he got here a little early because he wanted to make a good impression.” He lets out a little huff of amusement at whatever reply he gets and then sets the phone down. “Thanks again for doing this. It means a lot.”
The “this” August is referring to is me hiring his much younger cousin Rhett—who has zero experience—on as a ranch hand. Apparently he’s tired of doing traveling gigs and wants a place to settle for a spell.
While the last thing I need is someone who needs his hand held through the simplest tasks, there’s no scenario where I’d tell my best friend, who never asks me for favors, and who insisted on us using his nest egg for the renovations, no.
“Quit thanking me. He’s your family, which means he might as well be mine.”
August grins. “Going soft on me, Callan?”
I toss the burnt crust of my toast at him, hating when he calls me by my full name, and he chuckles. “I love you too, brother.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumble, secretly enjoying it. August may annoy me, but he’s truly my brother in everything but blood. There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not thankful for him.
“So…” August steeples his fingers. “You ever going to tell me what happened with Belle?”
I lied. I’m not thankful for him anymore. “Nothing to tell.” I take a swig of coffee, hoping it hides the way I instinctively grow hot when the topic of Belle comes up.
“Bullshit,” August scoffs. “You’ve been weird and jumpy since you came back from looking at the stars covered in rooster scratches. And don’t think I haven’t noticed how tense you two are whenever you’re in the same room.”
I scowl at him, though he’s absolutely right.
I’ve tried to act normal around Belle, but it’s impossible.
Every time I look into her eyes, I remember the way the starlight sparkled in them as her body pressed closer.
The way her breath hitched when she felt the clear evidence of my desire for her.
The lingering moment where nothing else mattered but the thrumming need and heat and rightness of holding her.
“We went up to the storage shed by the mountain cabins. We ate and looked at the stars. Doodle clawed the shit out of me, and we left. That’s it. There’s no salacious story to tell, no matter how many times you ask me.”
August rolls his eyes. “I’m only asking because I’m worried about the both of you. Something is going on, and I’m 99% certain I know what that something is.”
“There is no ‘something’. There can’t be. So drop it.” My tone is too sharp, laced with frustration that I shouldn’t be directing toward him. “Please,” I add, softer.
I hate the concerned, sympathetic look he gives me. “Alright. Consider it dropped.”
We finish breakfast and clean up. August chatters about various things in an attempt to lighten my mood, but I’ve still got a storm cloud over my head when I make my way to the stables, where the new hires are gathering for their orientation.
It only gets worse when a familiar feathered pain in my ass walks out into the middle of the road. I hit my brakes, a tiny, terrible part of me wishing I hadn’t seen him in time, because that’d solve a lot of my problems with this damn bird.
I honk at him, but he stares me down, unmoving.
“I’ve had just about enough of your shit, Doodle,” I yell out my window, and honk again.
His feathers puff up a bit, and he crows back at me.
I throw my truck into park and cut the engine, grabbing the jacket Belle left on my passenger seat that I keep “forgetting” to give back to her. I hop out of the truck and slam the car door behind me.
“What did I ever do to you? Why are you determined to make my life hell?”
Doodle glares at me, unimpressed by my shouting.
I approach, holding the jacket out and preparing to grab him in it to avoid getting scratched.
He crows again and tries to fly away as I lunge toward him, but I snag him in the jacket, bundling it tight around him so he can’t use his wings or feet.
Still, he tries his darnedest to peck me, and there’s a part of me that respects his sheer ferocity.
“Stop it!” I bundle him tighter and glare down at the angry rooster. “I’m not your enemy! I know you miss Dawn, but it’s not my fault that she’s gone, so quit acting like it. I miss her too.”
For some godforsaken reason, I get choked up as I talk to him, grief hitting hard.
My voice softens and I risk bringing Doodle closer so I can hold him against my chest like I used to watch Dawn do. “Sometimes people leave us. That doesn’t mean we get to take out our anger on others. So calm the hell down, alright?”
It doesn’t escape me that my words reflect how I’ve behaved since Dawn passed. But I’d like to think I’ve come a long way from that angry, defensive cow man that tried to scare Belle away.
Against all odds, Doodle doesn’t try to peck my eyes out. I know he doesn’t understand what I’m saying, but I think the change in my tone and him smelling Belle on her jacket is helping calm him down.
Doodle lets out a series of soft clucks in response, and I laugh, the sound watery as a tear rolls down my face. “Yeah, I know. But trust me, life is a lot better when you’re not angry all the time.”
A sigh shudders out of me, and I’m glad no one is around to see me crying while talking to a chicken. “Besides, we have Belle now. I know it’s not the same, but she’s lovely. She cares about you so much.”
My heart swells as I think about all the times I’ve seen her holding Doodle, laughing at something he does, and the bond they’ve formed.
I carry him over to the side of the road and carefully deposit him on the ground, stepping back quickly before he’s loose.
Just because he’s settled a little doesn’t mean he likes me, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
I wave to him as I get back into the truck and drive off, wiping away my tears before I pull up to the stable.
A small group has gathered inside, and my pulse leaps when I spot Belle among them, laughing at something a muscular cow man is saying.
His back is turned toward me, but that must be Rhett, since the other new hires are humans.
I take a deep breath before approaching the group, tamping down that annoying spike of possessiveness I get whenever I see Belle with another guy.
She flushes a little when she notices me and waves. “Oh, hey!” The trio gathered around her and Dutch turn around in unison to look at me. “This is Cal, the ranch manager. You’ve probably already spoken with him, so I don’t know why I’m introducing him, but…”
Her voice fades into the background as I take in the face of the minotaur standing before me.
There’s no way.
I’m having a nightmare. Any second now, I’ll wake up and laugh about how weird my brain is.
But no, the cow man whose face lights up in recognition and reaches out to shake my hand, is very real.
“Hey! I’m Rhett.”
I gape at him, unable to formulate words as I automatically take his offered hand.
When I let go, he chuckles. “It’s nice to meet you properly, Cal. Belle and I were laughing about what a small world it is.”
I struggle to keep my composure, forcing a chuckle. Because apparently, August’s cousin, whose work involved too much traveling for his liking, is the stripper who grinded on Belle while dressed as a cowboy.
“August didn’t mention that…” I trail off, my focus darting over to Belle, who I now realize wasn’t flushing because of me.
“I worked as part of The Rodeo?” Rhett finishes, winking conspiratorially.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat awkwardly, even though August’s cousin doesn’t seem at all put off by the fact that I’ve watched him dance half-naked. If anything, he seems delighted. “Anyway, nice to have you here.”
Rhett smiles, the expression turning a hint sly as he looks back at Belle. “Delighted to be here.”
I go through the motions of introductions, pointedly ignoring whenever Rhett flirts with Belle and she giggles and flushes.
It’s none of my business.
Would I prefer she didn’t seem interested in August’s hunky stripper cousin? No shit. But he’s attractive and seems nice. Maybe this is for the best. Maybe it’ll be easier to move on once I know that she’s not thinking about me, too.
Wylie and Remy show up to take the new hires on the tour, and Dutch helps saddle the horses, leaving me alone with Belle.
There’s a moment of awkward silence, and she crosses her arms over her chest. “Don’t say anything, okay?”
I frown. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on. I saw you scowling at Rhett any time he talked to me.”
“I wasn’t scowling,” I huff. I definitely was scowling.
“Whatever. But if you say one thing about me being inappropriate, I’ll strangle you.”
I hold my hands up in appeasement. “Whoa, I wasn’t going to say anything. I told you I wouldn’t do that again, and I won’t.”
I should leave it there, but words keep coming out. “If you want to flirt with him, go for it. You two clearly have chemistry and he seems to like you already.”
Belle’s scowl deepens. “I don’t want to flirt with him! Yes, we had a laugh about him dancing on me, but it meant nothing.”
I shrug, attempting to be a friend, not someone who can’t stop thinking about kissing her. We need to move on from whatever is between us, and this could be a path there. “It’s okay if it does. Really. I’m fine with it if you want to pursue something with him.”
“Well, I’m not! I don’t want Rhett. I barely know him.” She steps closer, pointing an accusatory finger at my chest. “Stop being so damn weird. He’s not what I want, and you know it.”
“Do I?” I ask, heat flooding my body at her nearness and the implication of her words.
“Oh, fuck off, Cal.” She goes to turn away, but I don’t let her, grabbing her hand and pulling her flush against me. The gasp she lets out has my cock swelling to life.
I glance around, making sure everyone is gone, before backing her up into a clean, unused stall. Her eyes flare with heat as I pin her against the barn wall.
“What are you doing?” she asks, chest heaving.
“Tell me who you want, Belle.” My words are so deep and raspy I barely recognize them.
“You know,” she scoffs, even as she grips the collar of my shirt to hold me closer.
I press closer. “Say it, darlin’.”
“I want you, asshole,” she spits out. “But we decided not to—”
My mouth is on hers before she can finish.
Fuck what we decided. I can’t hold back anymore.