I’m The Worst
I’m The Worst
CASH
AUGUST
Icouldn’t stop thinking about that damn bartender.
Five days had passed and I was still just as fucking tied up about her as I was the night we met.
I was like a man obsessed. Which was pathetic, and not like me at all.
Between unwanted thoughts of her and my countless failed attempts at breaking up with Jacie Lynn, it was shaping up to be a shitty fucking week.
Dad’s Dually rumbled up the drive to the Odyssey Ranch while some old Country music played on the radio.
Hux had asked at the fundraiser if we’d known of any decent horses since he was looking to expand the barn, and after tracking down a few leads, I’d called him and he’d ask if my dad and I would meet him there and help him haul them back to the ranch if he ended up wanting any.
Hux stood outside the arena, his dog at his side as he talked to a couple men.
“There’s Charlie,” Dad said, pulling the truck up next to the black flatbed about twenty yards from the arena. “Let’s see if he’s got somethin’. Let me know if you notice anythin’ that stands out about the horses. I don’t want Hux gettin’ taken advantage of.”
“I thought Charlie’s a good guy.”
He and Dad had grown up together. But while Dad went on to rodeo, Charlie worked to become head cutting trainer here at the Odyssey, a multi-million dollar operation here.
Dad nodded. “He is. I ain’t so much concerned about that, more so if you got any feedback on the horses that Hux wouldn’t be able to notice.”
I couldn’t imagine doing any of this blind. It was impressive as hell. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do the shit he did, day in and day out, with such ease if I were in his shoes.
Dad and I made our way toward Hux and the group of men, greeting them all as we exchanged hellos and small talk for a few moments.
A horse knickered from off to my left and I glanced toward the sound. My heart clenched, my entire body going ramrod straight.
Well, I’ll be damned…
Leading a pretty bay from the barn, wearing tight black jeans that hugged her hips and a matching cut off tank top tied up in a knot to expose some of her midriff, was none other than my bartender.
Her long, dark hair was pulled back off her face into a loose braid, but strands framing her cheeks had already fallen out.
She wore a battered red ball cap with the word Coors in faded white letters on it, and her eyes were covered by her large, polarized sunglasses.
She had more tattoos than I’d noticed the other night.
One of her arms was entirely covered from her shoulder to her hand in black artwork, and I even spied two on either side of her hips, though I couldn’t make out what from the distance.
Holy fucking shit.
How the hell was she here? It’s like my damn thoughts had willed her into existence. I swear, she was a sexy little devil come to earth just to tempt me. And I was not a strong man. Not when she looked like that.
One of the guys blew out a low whistle, and I watched as everyone, including my dad, minus Hux, glanced in her direction. Apparently, she’d turned more than just my head. Something tight stirred in my chest.
“Can you guys just come already so we can break up this pathetic circle jerk? I thought I came here to ride horses, not make a deposit in your spank banks?” The little devil’s voice rang with confidence and a hint of boredom.
I couldn’t help but smile, I liked that she had a smart mouth and had no problems popping off. It’s like everything about her had been hand tailored to be my downfall.
Fuck me, man.
Hux coughed to hide a chuckle. “Yeah, y’all. Show some respect to the lady,” he grumbled out.
Charlie snapped out commands at his men, agreeing with Hux and sending them off to do their work. One of the men stayed—Charlie’s second, Charger.
I leaned into Hux, nudging him with my elbow. “Oh, look at you all high and mighty. I guarantee you’d be droolin’ right alongside us if you saw her.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I can’t then,” he chuckled.
“She with you?” I asked, trying to puzzle together why she was here. Was she one of Charlie’s hands? I’d come by here with Dad not too long ago and hadn’t seen her. But the thought of her being here with Hux made just as little sense in my brain.
“Quinn and I hired her as a hand after the fundraiser. She’s a good worker. A little green with the horses, but she’s catchin’ on quick.”
I rocked back. What a small fucking world. I couldn’t help but watch as she led the horse to the arena gate and opened it. I couldn’t stop myself. She demanded all of my attention, moving with a lethal grace that reminded me of some wild animal.
Nice to look at, but dangerous to try and touch.
“You know her?” Hux asked, snagging my attention.
“We met when I was gettin’ drinks at your party last weekend. We talked for a bit.”
Dad chuckled at my side. “Talked is puttin’ it mildly, dipshit.” He aimed his next words at Hux. “He got himself into some hot water with his girl over that one right there. Ain’t no wonder why.”
I bristled at the memory.
Jacie and I had gotten into it, and I’d tried like hell to break it off that night at the hotel, but it’s like she knew what I was planning and wouldn’t give me that satisfaction.
She blamed herself. Her lack of experience, her being so innocent and boring, and then she’d started crying, and by the end I felt so guilty that the idea of breaking up with her felt cruel.
I’d tried two more times this week to end things with similar results. It didn’t make sense why she was hanging on so tight, and as much of a piece of shit I was, I didn’t like seeing her cry. Didn’t like it even more that I was the reason for her tears.
My attention drifted back to the little she-devil as she closed the gate and led the horse into the center of the large arena.
I drifted closer to the arena’s edge, drawn to her like a fucking magnet.
After doing a quick inspection of the mare’s tack, she checked the cinch a final time and hoisted herself up into the saddle.
I hardly even noticed Hux and his dog, or my dad, Charlie and his second, approach the fence beside me.
“Did she check the cinch?” Hux asked, splaying his arms over the top wrung of the arena fencing. “She still forgets sometimes.”
“Yeah, she did.” My lips tugged up at the note of concern in his voice. He sounded like a dad fussing over his kid. I wondered how long til him and Quinn had a little one of their own. It seemed all my friends were getting together and having babies nowadays.
Charlie chimed in, rattling off things about the horse, but I might as well not even have been there. All I could focus on was Ollie.
Hux was right, she was a bit green, but if she was working as a hand now, she’d get plenty of practice.
She was nervous as hell, though. I could sense it all the way from here, which meant the mare she rode sure as hell felt it.
It didn’t take long for them both to start getting frustrated.
Nothing Ollie seemed unable to handle, mostly just some prancing and head tossing from the mare, but if she didn’t stop giving her mixed cues, there was a potential for a problem.
I broke off from the group, moving closer to where she worked in the arena. “Hey, what’s up?” I asked as she trotted in a circle toward me.
Her gaze flicked to me for a moment and I felt the weight of her annoyed stare even with her sunglasses on. “Nothing, I'm riding. What the fuck does it look like I’m doing?” she growled out through gritted teeth.
“You sure about that?” I know I should’ve asked what was wrong, but something told me she’d see that as me coddling her. Besides, I think she needed the distraction. She was too in her head, too worried about what she was doing, giving the horse mixed signals and shit.
Sometimes the best thing you could do was stop thinking and just do the damn thing. Or find a new thing to focus on.
“Oh, so you can do better?” she snapped.
My lips drew up into a confident smirk and I dipped my head in a nod. “Well…yeah.” I shrugged. “I’m a fuckin’ cowboy.”
“Fuck off.” But there was a teasing note hidden under some of her anger. Good, maybe if I distracted her enough she’d calm down. “And just because you wear a hat, boots, and buckle doesn’t make you a real cowboy.”
I laughed, climbing up the rungs of fencing to sit on the top. I didn’t miss the way her assessing gaze flickered over every inch of me. I grabbed my belt buckle and shifted it in the sunlight. “This here is real gold, sugar. You can’t just buy this from the store. I won it.”
She scoffed, her head cocking to the side. “What event?”
I glanced down once more to look at the buckle. “This one was from a rodeo in Fort Worth last year for bareback bronc ridin’.”
She pursed those pretty lips of hers a moment. And while her words were condescending and full of fight, her posture had relaxed, her muscles unclenching. It was working. “So you got a buckle for getting bucked off, big whoop, sugar.”
If I expected her to be impressed, I’d have been sorely disappointed. But I’d anticipated her dismissal. A trickle of excitement stirred something within me. I liked a good challenge, and this girl…shit, I’d not been met with a challenge like her in a long fucking time.
Laughter bubbled out of me, excitement thrumming through my veins with each pump of my heart.
Most women fawned over me. Jacie Lynn fawned over me.
But not Ollie. And as much as I loved being adored, I liked her biting words.
Her disdain. Her complete and utter dismissal of me.
It was fuel to a fire I hadn’t even known burned inside of me.
Everything about this girl was a red flag. She was feisty, fiery, and I had a girlfriend, but even as she waved that flag through the air like a matador, I was the fucking bull, ready to chase her down.
“Here, hop off a minute.” I gestured for her to get down.
She scowled, drawing to a stop. A really nice stop. “What? Why?”