Chapter 5
Katie
Iwasn’t sure what I thought over the last few days, but no matter what I forced my mind to think about, Zeb wasn’t too far away. And let me tell you, that was downright annoying.
Especially when he and I seemed to be at odds.
So, yeah, I thought I’d apologize, but that didn’t go over so well.
And now I’m stuck here, standing outside the barn, watching him with the horses and the kids, three days later, and he looks right at home.
Comfortable.
Sweet.
Playful.
All traits I hadn’t gotten to see but I knew were there, had to be there, given his job. But I guess he didn’t show it around too many adults. Or maybe it was just me.
It was also nice to see Tiffany take so well into this life. As a mother, I was proud of her. But as a woman, I was jealous because though I loved the area and the people, I hadn’t quite found my footing. And in part, that had to do with this man.
He had thrown me off my game and I couldn’t find my way back.
Mind you, I didn’t like it one bit.
“Mom,” Tiffany said, making me smile.
“Hey baby, having fun?”
“I am, the horses are so sweet and playful. One stole an apple right out of my hand before I had time to even give it to her. But she fluttered her eyes and I couldn’t stay mad.”
“I’m happy to hear that.”
It was upsetting that her dad didn’t get to see her like this.
“Do you want to stay and pet some?”
“No, honey, you have fun. I’m just here to take some pictures of the land then I got to work. Maybe we can go grab a shake tonight.”
“Sounds cool, Mom.” She waved as she walked back to her horse and I looked around, seeing the kids having fun and then catching Zeb, who was watching the whole exchange. His head was tilted slightly, as if he seemed confused over something, but I couldn’t phantom what.
I gave him a small wave before walking to the barn door, stopping as my phone rang. I snatched it out of my pocket and groaned at the caller id. I didn’t want to take this call, but I knew if I didn’t, he wouldn’t leave me alone.
“What?” I muttered, not even giving him a greeting. He didn’t deserve one in my book.
“I want to see Tiffany.”
I snorted at that, reaching up to rub the back of my neck. Dealing with this man always gave me a tension headache and lately it worked its way down to my neck. I’d kill for a solid massage right now.
From a pair of strong hands. Hands that had been handling both kids and beasts.
Woah, not going there.
“You don’t want to see Tiffany. You want to make life hell. We just got settled here; I’m not sending her back yet. And currently, she doesn’t want to see you.”
“You can’t keep my child from me, Katie.”
“Can’t I? The last time I checked the courts, I had full custody because you were so busy with your latest fling, you couldn’t even bother to show up to court to fight me.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a breath. “I’m not going back there, no matter what you ask of me.”
“I’m going to take your ass back to court and you’ll be drowning in legal fees! You can’t take my daughter across the state line!”
I dropped my head back, willing myself to not yell or scream, because I was on the verge of doing just that. And though Tiffany didn’t have a great relationship with her dad, I still tried my best not to bitch about him in front of her.
“Is this all you want, Todd? To bully me into submission?”
“If I thought submission would make you a better woman, I would have done it ages ago.”
I straightened my spine, trying my hardest to ignore the jab. Todd was good at hitting me where it hurt and it wasn’t fair.
“The answer is no. I will think about it before school and see if she wants to go. In the meantime, stick with your flings, or girlfriend, or whatever she is and just leave me alone.”
I hung up the call and let my head fall forward, feeling the beating against my temple. Being out in the sun right now was not going to help this, but I made a promise and I wasn’t going to back out of it.
I jumped as a hand landed on my hip from behind, the other landing on my shoulder, the fingers pushing in.
“Trust me?”
“I’m not sure,” I whispered, and that was the truth. The chuckle in return shot a spike down my down spine that I wasn’t ready for.
“Fair enough. Close your eyes.”
I did as he said, then felt his fingers at my temple, a gentle pressure easing the beating.
“Helping?”
“Sure, man of many words.”
Once more, there was that chuckle and yet another zing down my back. That was not cool.
“Not a pleasant phone call.”
“Ex husband,” I muttered, feeling the last of the pain fade away. “He tends to bring on headaches.”
“Is that why you got away?”
His hands left the side of my face, and I turned around to look at him, a brow raised.
“Part of it. He also decided that I wasn’t good enough for him and living in a small town, I tend to see him with younger, gorgeous women all the time. It was a bruise to the ego that I was tired of living.”
“Huh,” he said, making my bows snap together.
“Huh, what?”
“That man must have lost his mind.”
“Why do you say that, Zeb?”
“I might have issues with city folk, Katie, but I ain’t blind. You’re gorgeous, and I can’t see how you can be Tiffany’s mom when you don’t look to be older than twenty-seven.”
“Try thirty-four, but I appreciate it.”
I didn’t want to blush in front of him, but that comment just warmed me up from the inside out, and I didn’t know how to feel about that.