CHAPTER 18
I want to blame the coyote attack for what just happened, but I know better. I want Elena De Luca. History and present be damned.
I want her body, her mouth; I want her snark and her bite. I want her.
But the fucking lies are stopping me.
Letting them go isn’t an option, even if the lies are to her own detriment.
The lies about her pain, the lies about her jealousy.
These are small, but they fall too easily for her.
How the fuck am I supposed to trust her?
Trust her word in helping me get Carter Cattle Ranch back to where it belongs?
Trust that she won’t stab me in the back like her father stabbed my own father.
The humid air presses down onto me as I head to the paddock where Everly has Ralph harnessed as she dresses his wounds caused by the coyotes. I’ll never tell her in case it fuels her incessant need to baby this bull, but from where I stood it did look like Ralph was trying to protect Elena.
He doesn’t appear happy where he is, not with the heavy breaths he’s puffing out of his nose.
“Is he good?” I ask, hopping the fence to get a better look.
“For what he went through?” Everly says, “He’s perfect. The lacerations weren’t as deep as they looked. Once they’re healed up, he’ll be as good as new.”
“Good,” I push my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “That’s good.”
“Is he being a pain again?” Everly rights herself to stand now that she’s finished and looks at me directly. “Is that why you have him in isolation?”
“Nothing we haven’t dealt with before.” I tell her, “We’ll move him back with the herd once we complete the drive at the end of the week.”
“That makes sense,” She says softly, stepping around Ralph to release him from his harness. We don’t stick around to see what kind of mood he is in, and both hop the fence to remove ourselves from his orbit. He’s hurting and pissed, and that’s a deal combination.
“I’m sorry this happened,” Everly reaches out and runs her hand down my arm. “It appears even the wildlife around here are becoming a little desperate.”
I turn my body so her hand drops away, “Not the first time, certainly won’t be the last.”
“No, of course,” She agrees, “And your friend?”
It’s no secret that Everly has been flirting with me for years.
She’s tried it on every time she’s come out here to tend to the animals on this ranch but I’ve never been interested and even if I was, the wedding ring that conveniently goes missing every time she steps foot on my property would certainly be a deterrent.
“Elena is fine,” I cross my arms, “Shaken.”
She was definitely shaking when I left her pressed up against that wall, knees wobbling, pulse racing…
“Understandable,” Everly sighs. “She’s a friend, huh?”
“Mmhmm.”
A sudden burst of laughter erupts from the vet. “Oh shit! I’m so sorry, please excuse my outfit! You caught me at the gym, and I didn’t even think before I came here.”
Kill. Me.
“No worries.” I keep my eyes on her face, “Didn’t even notice.”
Her face drops.
“Well, if that’s all,” I say as I make a path for her to get to her car, “Just email me the invoice for his treatment.”
She blinks a few times before she shakes her head as if to clear it, “Right, of course.”
I walk at her side, leaving a good six-foot space between us, and stop at the hood of her car. She pauses at the side of her pickup and turns to me, “Listen, if you ever want to get a drink or something down at the dive or maybe go for a walk…”
“Good night, Everly,” I dismiss her invite.
Her cheeks heat as she dips her head and climbs behind the wheel of the pickup. She is relentless.
Watching the lights fade down the long drive until she disappears off my property, I then turn back to Ralph, giving him a last check over.
His foul mood has returned, which tells me he’s over the attack already, so I leave him to his sulking and walk back to the house.
The night shift will be extra vigilant now we’ve had such a close call, and the dogs will remain on alert.
Inside, Elena is nowhere to be found, and a wave of disappointment comes over me.
Surely I didn’t expect her to wait for me or to be in the same spot I left her when I walked away.
I can hear the floorboards above my head creaking under her weight.
We got the bed into the bedroom across from mine a couple of days ago, so she’s been sleeping across the hall for the past two nights.
I’ve never really had a problem sleeping until I knew she was so damn close. Perhaps it’s the fear of not knowing whether she’ll kill me or kiss me. She’s certainly capable of both.
Running my hand down my face, my body sags with fatigue.
The course of the evening has drained every ounce of energy from me, and I need to shower and get some damn sleep.
While we won’t be herding the cattle up the mountain for another couple of days, it’ll be fucking exhausting, so I need to make sure I’m getting my rest now.
It’ll be a grueling couple of days, and yet excitement buzzes under my skin for it.
It makes me feel alive, hungry for the time when this was as common as dinner in the mess hall with the hands.
Being in nature, with my horse, the trees and the mountains, it’s what filled my lungs and drove me forward. I lived for it.
I click my door closed behind me and head through to the bathroom, pushing the button to turn on the shower.
The pipes creak as the hot water pushes through, and it makes me wince.
The plumbing in this place is severely outdated, and honestly, it should have packed in years ago.
I do the repairs where I can, the guys lending a hand and their knowledge when they can, and we’ve managed to patch it up enough to keep it working.
But I don’t have the money to keep this place up to date or in working order.
Before it all went to shit, I had so many plans for this house — an extension on the back, a whole new porch and brand-new office — but those were cancelled as quickly as they were made. Now it’s just falling apart.
I wash away the day’s grime from my hair and skin, turning my face to the hot water to let it drain the aches and pains from my muscles. Only when the water starts to run cold do I switch it off and get out, wrapping a towel around my hips.
Stepping into the bedroom, I tune my ears to the sounds of Elena on the other side of the hall.
She’s pacing by the sounds of it, the floorboards whining with every step, but she doesn’t care as she goes back and forth over the same spot.
I can tell by the pitch of the squeak, she’s at the foot of the bed.
There’s a single floorboard there that, no matter how much I tighten or replace it, it always fucking squeaks.
I leave her to it, grabbing fresh boxers from the drawer to slip up my legs and then climb into the bed, a breath leaving me as I hit the pillows.
But despite the exhaustion, sleep doesn’t fucking claim me. Not when I hear her finally cease her pacing or the squeak of the bed as she climbs into it. Not when silence settles like a lead weight on the house. She is fucking haunting me, and I’m not sure even an exorcism will get her out.