Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
OLIVIA
A huge rainstorm was brewing in the distance. The clouds in the sky above Charlie’s house were already dark gray and ominous. I doubted I would even hear it once it came over the ranch, though.
After grabbing a quick shower and brushing my teeth, I hopped in bed and I was convinced I was going to be out cold in less than five minutes. Even my bones felt tired tonight.
“Olivia!” Wyatt called suddenly from right outside my door. “Cody and I are here to save you if the house floods.”
“That’s funny,” Charlie said with dry amusement in his tone. “The house has never flooded before.”
Laughter bubbled out of me as I shook my head. I pushed back the covers and climbed out of bed to find out what those two were up to. As I crossed the room, I heard Cody speak up. It was amazing how fast I’d learned which voice belonged to who, and how quickly I was getting to know each brother for the individual he was.
“We’re staying over here tonight just in case you need our help. I’m right next door if you get scared. There’s going to be a lot of water soon.”
“I don’t think you’re here because of the water, but okay,” Charlie was saying.
I opened the door. He glanced at me, his gaze fleeting as he took me in wearing my pajama shorts and tank top. As fast as he looked away again, I’d seen the heat flickering in those eyes. Deep inside my belly, I felt that need for him building in response. Immediately, I started closing the door.
“Good night, boys. I’ll see you bright and early in the morning.” As it clicked shut, I let out a low groan, covered my face with my hands, stumbled back to bed, and felt a lot more awake now than I had just a couple minutes ago.
What is it with me and the cowboy? Why isn’t it going away?
I’d been trying my best to look at him and see just another guy, but I was failing miserably. Every second thing he said ticked me off, but when we were just speaking openly and with our defenses down like we had that first night and last night again in the creek, it was almost like I could feel the connection between us solidifying.
In those moments, during those conversations, our differences and all the harsh comments faded away and what remained was a fragile, but beautiful truce. Once we reached that, it felt like I could talk to him for hours and hours, expose my deepest secrets and vulnerabilities, somehow knowing they would be safe with him.
In turn, he’d opened up to me at the creek last night, talking passionately about their family history, the ranches, and why what they did here meant so much to him. It’d made me feel like I understood him. Like we’d reached a mutual understanding actually, and that understanding felt like a foundation. While it was certainly delicate and quickly buried once those moments had passed, I still felt it there whenever he looked at me.
Frustrated in more ways than one, I picked up my phone and called Lacey, switching off the light on my nightstand so I could watch the storm roll in outside. I heard the smile in her voice when she picked up.
“How’s my cowgirl doing?” she asked. “I was wondering when I was going to hear from you. Are you enjoying it so far?”
“I am,” I said honestly. “It’s been amazing. I love the animals and seeing the way the Andersons care for them. Being outside all the time is incredible. It’s physical and tough, but it’s a very different kind of challenge and that’s been pretty fun.”
“I can hear a ‘ but ’ coming.”
“But…” I chuckled. “I’m worried the rustic life isn’t for me. I’m overwhelmingly unequipped to perform the tasks I’m given and I’m having a hard time being so bad at everything.”
“You’re only there to experience life on the ranch for a few days, babe,” she said patiently. “It’s not actually going to become your life.”
“Fair enough.” I paused, wondering if I should even say this out loud. Ultimately, it wasn’t anything she didn’t already know. “I’m also worried about getting down and dirty with our biggest client, and that could impact my life for much longer than just a few days.”
“But you want to, right?”
“I want to.” I stared at the trees swaying in the wind outside. The skies hadn’t opened up yet, but I could smell the rain coming on the breeze. “The vibes are all there and they’re becoming impossible to ignore.”
She laughed softly. “Live a little then, Liv. Your dad will never know, and if he ever finds out, he’ll be so weirded out that he’ll pretend not to know.”
A soft giggle escaped me at the thought of Dad trying to pretend he didn’t know. “That’s probably true.”
“It’s definitely true,” she said confidently. “Go for it, and report back after. London and I are both dying to know what he’s like in bed.”
I groaned, trying my level best not to allow my mind to go there and desperately needing her to talk about something else. “How’re things at the office?”
“Ah. The not-so-subtle change of subject. Alright, I’ll bite.” She paused for a moment. “It’s all good. Nothing to worry about except that London might go to prison for murder if she’s ever put on a project with Liam.”
I sighed. “I have no idea what we’re going to do with those two.”
“Lock them in a room together and see if she comes out pregnant or if she doesn’t come out at all?” she suggested.
“That might not be the worst idea.”
“Of course, it’s not.” She laughed. “None of my ideas are.”
A knock sounded at my door and I frowned. “I’d better go. It looks like I’m about to have company.”
“Have fun with him,” she said a sing-song voice before she hung up.
I set my phone down and switched on the lamp, blinking against the sudden intrusion of light. Another knock came, a little more insistent this time, and Charlie’s voice called out with it.
“Come on, Liv. Wake up.”
“I’m coming!” I rolled my eyes but opened the door with my heart starting to beat faster in my chest.
As I looked up into those ice blues, I almost let out a happy little sigh at seeing them again so soon, but the tightness of his features told me this was not a happy visit. I felt the smile that had been spreading on my lips start to fade.
“What’s wrong?”
“The storm is coming,” he said, voice harsh and words clipped. “We need to get the rest of the horses into the stables. Let’s go, Cowgirl.”
Without waiting for me to respond, he descended the steps to the lower level two at a time and disappeared from sight. I cursed under my breath. “Alright, then. Just give me a minute to get dressed.”
Although I knew he couldn’t hear me, I said the words out loud anyway, then grabbed a light jacket and shoved my feet into my boots. I was seriously starting to wonder if he slept in his clothes or something.
How is it possible that he’s always just ready to go?
Still muttering under my breath, I left my room, jogged downstairs, and ran out into the sudden rain with him, grateful that it wasn’t absolutely pouring just yet. The downpour was coming. I could both see and hear it in the distance, but for now, it was a light drizzle.
We ran to his truck, tension pouring off him. He glanced up at the sky and tore out of his spot. “Cody only just told me that these animals are still in the paddocks. Fucking idiot. He could’ve said something when they got to the house. This should have been done hours ago.”
“You need to loosen up a bit,” I said lightly.
He turned his head to give me an incredulous look, his eyebrows raising. He held my gaze. “You need to a live a little more, City.”
“You need to get the stick out of your ass.”
He scoffed. “You need to turn the screens off.”
I shrugged. “You’re not wrong, but you should also really watch where you’re going.”
“I don’t need to.” He turned his head back to the farm road anyway, though. “I know this ranch like the back of my hand.”
“No doubt, but it’s still dangerous to be behind the wheel of a car on a dirt track while it’s raining without looking at where you’re going.”
He took one more turn before sliding to a stop next to one of the large paddocks near a building I assumed was the stables. Only a few horses were outside, none of them looking particularly bothered about the steadily increasing drizzle.
We climbed out of the truck. He raced over to a series of hooks on a pole next to the gate that led into the paddocks. What appeared to be bunches of knotted rope hung from the hooks, but as soon as he lifted it off, I realized they were lead ropes—and they weren’t knotted at all.
“Here,” he said. “Take this. Do you see that palomino mare over there?”
I glanced at the majestic creatures roaming around, two brown horses, a blackish one, and another almost golden horse that I assumed was what he’d called the palomino . “Yeah, I see her.”
“She’s feisty but sweet. You’re on her. Don’t worry,” he said quickly. “She won’t hurt you. She doesn’t scare easy.”
I swiped my tongue across my lips. Nerves fluttered around in my belly. “Okay. What’s her name?”
“Cutie.”
“Cutie?” I practically gawked at him, ignoring the immediate urgency of our task to demand answers. “Are you serious?”
“We’ll talk about this later,” he ground out, passing over one lead rope while clutching the others in his hand.
I took Cutie’s lead from him. He unlatched the gate and glanced at me. “Shut it behind you, in case any of them bolt.”
I struggled to link the metal chain around the nail on the outside of the paddock after following him in. It slid into place and I finally turned and started making my way through the rain to Cutie.
She saw me coming. I froze as I looked into her eyes. When she flicked her tail and went back to lazily watching the other horses, I finally exhaled. At least she knows I’m here. She’s not going to get a fright and trample me.
With the scent of rain, wet earth, and fresh poop in my nostrils, I started moving again, holding my hand out to show her I was coming in peace. To my surprise, she let me clip the lead rope onto her without making a fuss and happily followed me back to the gate, where Charlie was waiting with the other three horses.
“Took you long enough,” he muttered before he pushed the gate open, sending me an annoyed look. He started leading them out. “You do realize that wasn’t shut properly, right?”
“It was. I felt it slide into place.”
He sighed. “It clips in, Olivia.”
“You could’ve told me that before.” Frustration tightened my muscles, but I followed him out. The rain started seeping through my jacket. The drops clung to my hair before slowly running down my face.
Charlie was beginning to get drenched too as the rain picked up. “Just hurry. The storm is going to be here soon.”
Unable to resist, I stuck my tongue out behind his back and took Cutie to the stall he pointed me to. Once she was securely put away, I turned back to him. “You do know that it’s not my fault we’re out here right now, don’t you? If you’d told me to clip it into place, I would’ve done it, but was I supposed to smell that it was a click and not a slide?”
He huffed out a breath. “It’s common sense, Liv. Do you have any idea how strong a horse is? How smart? If we just slid latches into place, it wouldn’t take them long to figure out all they needed to do is apply some pressure to push the gates open.”
The last remaining horse turned and started trotting out of the stables and I frowned after it. “Is he supposed to be doing that?”
“ She ,” Charlie snapped as he slid the latch into place behind the second horse. “What are you?—”
As he was asking the question, he’d started turning and he must’ve seen what I had been talking about. A string of curses fell from his lips. His eyes widened when he spun back to me. “Well? Are you going to go catch it?”
“ Me ?” I wrinkled my nose. “Fine. I’ll go, but then I’m definitely posting the cow pic.”
I flicked the soaked hood of my equally soaked and useless jacket off and ran back out into the rain. I hadn’t been expecting Charlie to join me, but the next thing I knew, he was about ten feet ahead, motioning to me to stay where I was while he took the other side.
Together, we chased the animal and tried to bring it back, but between the mud and the fact that the rain was now coming down in sheets, I ended up crashing into something hard. As I fell over, I felt it collapsing beside me and I started laughing when I saw Charlie’s face in the mud next to mine.
He was scowling. His wet hair was plastered over his forehead and his arms were coated with mud. I knew I probably looked even worse but I found myself flopping back on the drenched ground. Cracking up, I stared at the rain coming down.
Charlie finally started laughing too. “This is ridiculous.”
“It really is,” I agreed between chuckles, rolling to face him. I tried to catch my breath. “I think there’s something wrong with us.”
A furrow appeared on his brow. Droplets ran down his forehead, temples, and cheeks. He rolled to me and reached over to move a strand of wet hair off my face. He looked deep into my eyes as if not even the storm existed to him anymore, and he slowly shook his head.
“There’s nothing wrong with us, Liv. We’re just trying to chart unfamiliar territory.” He cradled my face in his hand and pressed his lips to mine without any hesitation or warning.
Sparks went off in my body. My skin tingled. I kissed him back with much the same kind of abandon. My lips parted for him as if kissing this man was the most natural thing in the world. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised by the kiss at all. It felt almost like he was coming home, but as I lifted my arms to wrap them around his neck, he pulled away.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Everything in me wanted more, but obviously, he didn’t. In fact, he wasn’t even looking at me right then. He simply glanced up at the sky again and then stood, walked away, and left me panting and confused.
A couple minutes later, he reappeared with our escapee, which at least explained where he’d gone, but I still didn’t understand what had just happened. Finally, when he emerged from the stables, I realized our work here was done. I sat up before slowly getting to my feet, careful that I didn’t slip in the mud again.
“Let’s go,” he called from the truck.
I shook my head. “I think I’ll walk. Thanks, though.”
He scoffed. “You’re not walking, Olivia. This is a big ranch and you’re not familiar with it. Sudden storms like this can be treacherous to navigate if you’ve never experienced it before. Just get in the truck.”
Since I had to pass it in order to get to the main farm road anyway, I walked toward it, but I had no intention of getting in. “I understand that you’re a strong and capable man who thinks he’s not going to take no for an answer, but I can make it on my own.”
“Maybe you can,” he said. “We’re not going to take that chance, though. Get in the truck, Liv.”
I glared at him, hurt and confusion insisting that I make my own way home, but my brain won the argument. All I wanted was to get away from him, but I would be able to do it dry and warm much faster if I took him up on the ride.
Finally making up my mind, I marched over to his truck. The seat squelched under my wet ass when I settled in. My boots, clothes, and skin were covered in mud, but I wasn’t even sorry for getting it all over his interior. He was one who’d insisted that I get in. This wasn’t on me.
Charlie drove us back to his house without saying a word and I didn’t break the silence either. I was too busy stewing.
When he pulled up to his front door, I climbed out before the truck had even come to a complete stop and I trudged upstairs without saying goodnight. Another shower. Dry clothes. My bed.
That was what I wanted. In that order.
Charlie could go screw himself. He’d told me the night we’d met that he was nothing like those city boys I was used to. I didn’t believe him at the time, but I sure did now. Except that now, I knew that he was even worse.
Those city boys I was used to? At least they knew what they were. They were proud of it, even. Being fuckboys, or players, or whatever they chose to call it was part of their identities.
Charlie, however, thought he was a gentleman, but he was just as much of a player as those city boys. He simply hadn’t accepted it yet.