Chapter 6
She woke up the next morning and came down the stairs early to meet her uncle before he went out for the day. She knew he would be drinking his morning coffee on the porch. She opened the screen door, and it made a squeaking sound.
“I really need to WD40 that damn thing, don’t I?” Chris gave a light chuckle.
“Well, that’s not hard. If you tell me where to find it, the girls and I can make it good as new.” She sat in the wooden rocking chair next to him.
“Nah, I’ll go grab what I need and do it before I leave today.” Chris stared out over his property with an air of melancholy surrounding him.
Claire had been his entire world. When he finished his military service, she was the one who pulled him back out of the dark. She was a ray of sun, shining on everyone, and life would just never be the same for any of them.
“I miss her, too.” Blythe paused and looked at Chris with tender eyes before asking her question.“Why was Justin a foster kid here?”
Chris sat his coffee down on the arm of his wooden chair.
“It seems like something I should at least know. If not all of it, the important parts.”
“That’s not my story to tell, Blythe.” He rarely said her name. He always called her Lythie.
“Oh, but it is,” she drawled. “He was just a boy when you brought him here. Why did he want to live at the bunkhouse? Why was it his job to clean out the barn and pick up my muddy boots?”
Chris let out a gut rumbling laugh. “Your muddy boots—god, I miss those days.” He paused. “For hell’s sake, Lythie, we weren’t hiding him. I’ll give you the damn spark notes. Claire and I struggled with infertility, you know that. Justin needed a home, and ours was open. Justin asked to live with the boys, so I let him live with the boys. Paid him like one, too. That's it.”
She wasn’t convinced, but she reached over and patted his knee. “There’s more reason than that, and you know it. But you have a good day. The girls and I have plans to ride the horses this afternoon. If you’d send one of the guys to help us saddle them up, we’d be grateful. We could do it on our own, I’m sure, but with help it will go a lot faster.”
She walked toward the screen door and went inside, letting it swing shut as it squeaked loudly behind her.
“Don’t fix it, uncle!” she called back through the screen. “I like it this way.”
JUSTIN
He’d apologized. He’d flat out said he was sorry, and she brushed it off like she didn’t believe him. He wasn’t her ex fiancé. He didn’t need to know everything that went down or why she left. Whatever it was, was enough to make her run. He could remember her as a child…maybe this shouldn’t have been such a surprise. He knew she liked to do things her own way. Except, now he felt challenged to prove something, and she had no idea she’d even done it.
“Hey, Justin…” Chris was tapping on the driver’s side window of his truck. How long had he been sitting there, lost in his thoughts? Apparently, little Lythie wasn’t the only one who drifted off into her own world. Justin smiled through the glass and reached for the window crank to roll it down.
“What can I do for ya?”
“All the girls are going riding today. I need someone to help saddle their horses, if you’re not too busy? I’ve got most of the other guys going out with me, and there’s no one I trust more than you, anyway.”
“Sure thing. I’ve only got a few feet to switch, and you’re my last stop. I started early.”
Chris patted his hand on the door, thanked him, and Justin got to work. Maybe he’d saddle himself a horse and go with them… Maybe he’d get a chance to set the record straight with a bratty redhead who wasn’t in a man trusting mood.
BLYTHE
“Is it time to ride the horses?”
Evie had been chomping at the bit all morning. Finishing the chores had been a chore itself.
“Yes, ma’am. Let’s go.” Blythe grabbed one hand on each of the girls, and they ran out through the front door and across the dirt towards the barn.
A sharp whistle came from behind them.
“Well, aren’t you ladies lookin’ mighty fine today.” The girls giggled as they continued toward the barn. Blythe rolled her eyes.
“Justin.” She turned and gave him a flat nod.
“You know, sugar, I don’t think you like me.” It was a statement, but Blythe knew he meant it as a question.
“Oh, I like you just fine, cowboy. Though, I don’t think calling me sugar is going to make me any sweeter on you.”
“We’ll see about that…sugar.” His eyes narrowed, challenging her.
“What are you doing out here, anyway?” She stuck her fist out and pushed his shoulder. Justin reached over and ninja grabbed her hand before she could pull it away. They all stopped walking.
“Do you prefer I call you a different name? Honey, perhaps? Or missy, or darlin’ ? I thought about prickly pear—you know, like those cacti down in Arizona, because you’re so…”
“You can call me Blythe, thank you very much.”
“I like sugar,” Evolette said with a smile.
“Me, too. I’m going to stick with that.” Justin grinned, grabbing one of Evie’s pigtails and wrapping her in a side hug.
“Get over here, Adelaide. Where’s my good morning hug from you?”
The ten year old blushed and bounced over to him.
Justin’s eyes locked with hers, and he seemed to think for a minute, deciding on his next words. “For your information, I was here early to shoe a few more horses for Chris. It’s the chore that never ends.”
Blythe accepted his answer and shot back matter-of-factly, “Well, since you’re here, you can help us saddle these ones.” He was annoying, but he’d be useful to them. She didn’t see a bunkhouse boy hanging around anywhere, so they must’ve gotten busy.
“Anything for you, sugar.” He winked this time and strode into the building.
She felt a flame start inside of her. She knew it was irritation laced with a little anger, mostly at herself, because…she kind of liked it. There—she admitted it. She liked it when he called her sugar. Why did he have to be so freaking charming? And the way he swaggered when he walked out in front of her just now… Damn, it gave her butterflies. Butterflies like she’d never known with Max or anyone before him. Her emotions were giving her whiplash.
How did he not have a wife or a girlfriend? Was there something wrong with him? Was he missing a freaking testicle or something? A third nipple, maybe? There was no way in hell this guy was single by choice.
Blythe shook her head and noticed that Justin already had two horses saddled. Her intrusive thoughts had gotten the better of her. She was there to take care of the girls, not get caught up in Justin Forge.
“One more and you ladies will be on your way. Where are you riding out to?” He threw the saddle up onto the last horse and started buckling the straps.
“Oh, probably just the big meadow, or somewhere close around here,” Blythe answered. She really had no idea. She just figured they would ride wherever their hearts led them.
“The big meadow is pretty far off. Are you sure you want to go alone? I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that.” Justin furrowed his brow.
“Well…” she scoffed. “I don’t think it’s any of your business to be comfortable or not about where we choose to ride. I am perfectly capable and—” She was abruptly cut off.
“It very much is my business. These girls are just as much my family as they are yours.” She could tell he was angry. “We may not share blood, but we share a bond and a love that's even stronger than blood. Trust me, blood family isn’t always looking out for you. Sometimes, blood family leaves you beaten and scarred and showing up to school everyday with nothing in your belly, a bloodied nose, and bruises on your wrists. So, don’t ever tell me these girls aren’t my business ever again.”
Blythe dropped her gaze. She didn’t know what to say. He was clearly speaking on a personal level. She wasn’t completely sure, but somehow she knew he was talking about himself. Maybe that's why he came to Silo Springs?
“We know where to go, Justin,” Addie spoke gently. “We’ll be safe. Promise.” She slipped her little hand into his and squeezed.
“I—I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so defensive, I just…” Blythe wanted to tell him why she perpetually had her guard up, why she felt the need to assert her independence.
Screw Max, and screw everything he did to her.
“It’s alright. I was defensive, too. We all have skeletons, Blythe. I have mine as much as you have yours.” He paused. “That jackass in the city, whoever he is, doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air as you do.” He gripped the horses bridle as he spoke, "But if you keep giving him power over you, it'll destroy you. " His jaw flexed.
"I know what it's like to have someone hurt you, Blythe. I know what it's like to feel betrayed. I know what it's like to be haunted by a memory." Justin reached up and spun his ball cap backwards, then suddenly let go and started moving toward her.
Before she could protest, his hands were on either side of her cheeks, gripping her neck from behind and tilting her face up toward him. Her breath hitched as the look he gave her drilled itself into every fiber of her being. His voice dropped an octave as he spoke directly through the Blythe she was now and pinned the Blythe she used to be against a metaphorical wall.
“You need a real man who can erase that dipshit, whoever he is, out of your mind and soul forever.”
His mouth came down over hers and swallowed her gasp. She was frozen. The kiss consumed her, but it was fast. She didn’t even have time to think about reciprocating anything. It was over before she could fully grasp what was happening. But in the moment, she had forgotten. The only man she’d known for that split second was Justin.
He stepped back and stared down at her for a moment longer. His eyes were the deepest ocean blue, when they probably should’ve been brown. He was dark everywhere else, and it only made his gaze even more penetrating.
“I’m coming with you, and don’t argue,” he commanded, turning back around and sauntering back to where Addie and Evie were standing by the horses. He finished saddling two more, then grabbed each of the girls by the hips, supporting them as they mounted.
“This one is yours. You comin’?” He motioned his head, encouraging Blythe to come get on the horse he’d readied for her.
She smoothed her hair and walked over to where Justin was standing with the animal. He wrapped his fingers around her waist, his ocean eyes boring into hers. He nodded, then hoisted her up and into the saddle.