Chapter 16
Sixteen
MAYBE HE'S JUST THAT GOOD AT SEDUCING WOMEN AND I’M AS DUMB AS THE NEXT GIRL.
KINSLEY
The barn's quiet except for the soft sounds of horses settling in for the evening, and I'm starting to unwind from another day of phone calls and political maneuvering.
The Forest Service’s attempt for a control burn was intense. Stopping it was a big win for me—for Stonegate Ranch, but the war is far from over. I need some time off tonight and facetimed Jess to keep me company while I groom my horse.
Rebel stands patient as a saint while I brush through the tangles in her mane.
"So," Jessica grins as she applies mascara in her bathroom mirror, "I drag you kicking and screaming into a tent in Cheyenne and you end up kissing the roughie? How does that work out? Not that I’m not happy for you—but the irony must be noted."
“Agreed.” I grin toward my phone.
“Is he treating you right?”
Heat creeps up my neck despite myself. "It's... complicated." I lean against Rebel's warm shoulder, her solid presence grounding me in a way nothing else can.
"Good complicated or weird complicated?"
"Both" I confess. “I haven’t seen him for a couple days and I weirdly miss him. Then there was a post of him with that girl we saw in Cheyenne.”
“RodeoBrittney? Saw it.” She flicks her hand like it means nothing.
“He says it’s not what it looks like.” It’s pathetic how badly I want to believe him. “But I can’t come up with an explanation for it that I’m okay with.” Nor can I figure out why I can’t let it go.
Jessica leans closer to her camera, staring at me. “How about—it happened before he kissed you, so you don’t obsess over it.”
“First—I’m not obsessing. It’s evidence of his character.”
She rolls her eyes. “Wyatt’s a public figure and his life is out there for the world to see—mistakes and all. It kind of sucks. If it was you or me, no one would have photographic evidence, and we’d be able to move on with our lives.”
I go back to brushing Rebel. “True.”
“Secondly—” She picks my point count. “You’re obsessing because you’re jealous of RodeoBrittney.”
“J-jealous?” I sputter.
“Yes, jealous.” She arches an eyebrow. “She throws her heart out to the world with full confidence that it’ll be caught.”
I scoff. “That’s just—.”
“Brave,” she finishes.
I scowl at her. “I was going to use another, more colorful word.”
“I know you were!” Jessica laughs. “Come on. Tell me you don’t want the man, and I’ll leave you alone.”
“Wanting Wyatt is like stepping off a cliff.”
"A hottie with a side of danger—me likie. How do you feel when you’re with him?”
I twist a section of Rebel's mane around my finger; the same way I've been twisting my thoughts around Wyatt all week. “When I’m with him, I feel incredible.” The memory of his mouth on mine still makes my pulse jump. It felt like I was more of what I was made to be in that moment. I’m not even sure how that works—like, is being with someone else supposed to make me feel more like myself?
“But the longer we’re apart, the more I—,” I smirk at the phone, “obsess.”
“Totally normal,” she quips.
“Not for me.”
She wags her head side to side as she considers this.
"Maybe he's just that good at seducing women and I’m as dumb as the next girl," I add, hating how small my voice sounds.
"Kinsley," she says my name like a warning.
"What? I'm being realistic. He's a top-level bull rider who has buckle bunnies throwing themselves at him in every town; and I'm the only single female within twenty miles who isn’t related to him."
The words taste like all my old fears, the ones that whisper that something inside me is fundamentally lacking and not even my own father thought I was worth sticking around for.
"Or," Jessica says pointedly, "you're overthinking this. Kinsley, loosen up a little and just have fun. Who cares if it’s a fling? There’s nothing wrong with that as long as you know it going in.”
I open my mouth to try to explain to her that this doesn’t feel like a fling. As smooth as Wyatt is, he also seems sincere. Either he’s playing me as easily as George Straight plays a guitar or he’s into me. I don’t know what’s more terrifying.
Oscar’s truck thunders past the open barn door. Rebel's head snaps up, ears back, and something cold slides down my spine. I step outside to see Oscar screech to a halt in front of the walker where his horse is tied and jump out. Wyatt jumps out the other side and slams the truck door.
I run back in and grab my phone. "Jess, something's wrong. I have to go."
"Everything okay?" she asks.
I end the call.
“Son of a —,” Wyatt’s cursing hard as he charges into the barn.
Whatever's driving him this hard, it's nothing good.
He sees me and comes up short.
"What’s wrong?" I look him over, and see straight through to the anger and frustration he’s swimming into the brokenness inside of him.
"Hey, beautiful,” he says but there’s a darkness brewing in his eyes. “Man, you make those jeans look good." He’s saying the right words but he’s not in the mood for romancing.
"What happened?" I move closer, the taste of worry sour on my tongue.
"Nothing." He reaches for a halter. There’s a slight wince when the movement pulls at his shoulder. "Just family drama."
Family drama that's got him coiled tighter than a rattle snake in a tin can.
He looks at me. "Thought I might go for a ride, but on second thought…” His gaze searches mine like he needs a soft place to land. “Want to get out of here?"