Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
SIENNA
Just like I’d told August, the two-step didn’t begin until nearly nine—once everyone was already several drinks deep. It was just better that way.
The Sage and Thistle had passed out cheap cowboy hats for us to tip and lift as we followed the steps in a somewhat organised row of dancers.
I’d never have thought I’d find a pink, sparkly cowboy hat on a guy hot…
but here I was, unable to take my eyes off of August as his hands loosely gripped the edges of his belt, hips rocking forward as our line step-kicked to the right and then forward.
I’d lost my black velvet hat in an over-exuberant throw earlier and my hair kept getting in my face as we spun and laughed. I brushed it out of my eyes for the millionth time and then jolted when August dropped his pink hat on my head, effectively holding the hair back and contained.
The band played on and Haven waggled his brows from my other side, hooting loudly as he grinned at us. “You know what they say right?”
I expected August to laugh, to be clueless. He’d been trying to help me, not stake a claim. So when he smirked and leaned in close, I was surprised when he said, “Wear the hat, ride the cowboy.” His tone was low enough that my stomach dipped, desire coiling up my spine.
What the hell had they been teaching him on the ranch when I wasn’t there?
I kept my face cool, unaffected as I snorted. “Well, good thing you’re not a real cowboy then. Otherwise you might have to put your money where your mouth is.”
August grinned and the effect was devastating, snuffing out my ability to do anything but focus on his lips as he said, “I’ll put my mouth anywhere you want, sweetheart.”
I flushed and looked away as the band called out a goodnight, their set finishing to applause. The jostle of the crowd resumed as music came back on over the speakers and I shot the bartender a shrewd look as Got What You Wanted started to play.
“You guys ready to head out?” Haven looked between us and then cocked his head to the side as he listened. “Hey, isn’t this—”
“Yes,” I interrupted. “We’re ready to go.”
“Oh, I figured we’d walk back. Have a chance to talk,” August said and Haven waved him off.
“It’s no trouble. I don’t drink, and it’s a long walk in the dark. It seems silly when we’re all heading to the same place.”
August’s mouth opened and closed, like he was trying to find some way to argue, but in the end he nodded and we walked toward the exit.
The night air was refreshing after the sweaty dancing inside The Sage and Thistle and a shiver took hold of me as my temperature lowered. Haven was right, this was not the time of year to be walking to the ranch.
Our journey back was quiet, but I kept catching August’s eyes on me, like he had something to say but no idea how to say it. I let him stew. He’d come out with it when he was ready.
I’d returned our hat to the box by the door before we’d left the bar, but traces of pink glitter still glimmered on August’s cheekbones, catching the light as we pulled into the ranch and found Lilac’s lights were still on.
Haven turned off the ignition and tapped the wheel firmly as he watched us. “Well, I hope y’all had as good a time tonight as I did. But no worries if not, the night is young.” He nudged my arm, pushing me closer to August and I rolled my eyes. What was he, twelve?
We climbed out and said our goodnights before taking the trail back toward Pink.
Against my better judgement, I’d had a good time tonight and that had nothing to do with the drinks and music and more to do with the man walking by my side.
It was a troubling thought, because I didn’t want to end up hurt and disappointed again and I couldn’t see how that wouldn’t end up happening here.
But maybe I just had to accept that pain was part of life and avoiding August hadn’t helped, so maybe giving in, getting it out of our system…
I shook my head free of the direction my thoughts had headed. I’d had a few too many drinks to be making this kind of decision. I could rant to Louise about it, though.
Muffin came running to see us as soon as we opened the door, her little paws making soft thumps against the floor as she twined around my legs and then August’s.
“Thank you for tonight,” I said softly, my voice feeling too loud in the ultra quiet of the house. “It was fun.”
“I had a good time too,” he said and for a moment he just looked at me, stock-still like he was enraptured as I smiled. My palm pressed to his chest for leverage as I toed off my boots and I let it drop reluctantly when I was done.
I knew what he wanted, what we both wanted, but I didn’t want to be a little drunk when we did this. I had a feeling August would be worth remembering.
“Goodnight, August,” I said quietly and when he smiled, I was taken aback by the look on his face.
Not disappointment. Anticipation.
“Sleep well, Sienna.”
DAY 25
The next morning, August was already gone by the time I rolled out of bed. It felt disconcerting to wake up and realize the other side of the bed was cold and that his presence there was only in my dreams.
Great, I thought as I brushed my teeth. Can’t get him out of my head during the day and now he’s haunting me at night.
Today. I would rip off the band aid and tell him what I wanted. Or, what I thought I could handle. Him. Me. Naked.
My cheeks were pink when I looked back up into the mirror above the sink.
I wanted it to be fun, no strings attached — or as little strings as was possible when you were already living together.
Anything I could do to minimize my inevitable heartbreak when he left would be ideal.
The clothes I’d brought with me were mostly still in my suitcase, so I set about pulling them all out and putting them away inside the large closet and dresser before picking my outfit for the day.
At which point, I noticed my bedspread was uneven and spent some time straightening the sheets until they wouldn’t have looked out of place in an interior design catalog.
I procrastinated for another hour, tidying things that were already clean, playing with Muffin’s favourite toy on a stick… I stopped only when I began rummaging through the cupboards to begin stress baking.
“Stop being a coward,” I muttered to myself as I placed the eggs back on the counter. “Just go talk to the man.”
My boots slipped on with ease and my coat zipper didn’t catch on my scarf the way it normally did and I frowned. See? Even the universe wants you to get out there and fuck the football player.
The door closed softly behind me and Muffin watched from the window as I set off through the trees.
August had adapted to ranch life surprisingly well.
I couldn’t tell if he thought he needed to work while he was here, to earn his keep or something, or if he just liked to be busy.
But he’d probably mucked out more stalls than I had in just the short time we’d been here.
And I knew Ryder had been helping August learn to ride a horse.
It was a friendship I hadn’t expected him to strike up and I liked it more than I should, as if him making friends would stop him from going when the time came.
I shivered as a wind kicked up but had to shield my eyes against the brightness of the sunshine. It was what some people would call fresh, but all I knew was that my eyes were watering so badly I probably looked like a madwoman, weeping in the fields.
Joe was walking with her head down in the distance, two long braids trailing down her front as she pulled along a cart full of something like mulch, and I raised my hand when she glanced up. Her wide smile was big enough that I could see it from twenty feet away.
She disappeared inside the barn next to Lilac and I followed her in, a few minutes behind.
“Morning,” I called and she yelled back at me from the back of the barn, popping her head around a large stack of cleaning equipment. “Have you seen August?”
Something flashed in her eyes for a moment before she hid her smile. “Can’t miss him. He’s with Ryder and the horses.”
Why was she acting so… sly?
“Okay,” I said slowly and her lips twitched. “I’ll see you later then?”
“Sure,” she said and I had already turned around when her final words reached me, smug as anything. “If you can pull yourself away for long enough.”
What the hell did that mean?
Joe was hardly a malicious person, so I could only assume she knew something I didn’t.
I discovered exactly what she was talking about approximately five minutes later when I walked past the outdoor paddock and glanced to my left, only to freeze.
August grunted as he lifted a hay bale, skin slick from exertion, jeans slung low on his hips and cupping his ass in a way that made my eyes widen when he crouched down to pick up a bottle of water from the ground.
As if it wasn’t distracting enough that he was walking around shirtless with his taut stomach and broad shoulders on display, Ryder had apparently loaned him something else.
A cowboy hat.
It was a dark brown that complemented his brown-red hair, shielding his eyes from the sun. It was a far cry from the pink costume he’d been wearing the night before but, unfortunately for me, just as damn hot.
Maybe he felt the weight of my stare while I ogled him, enjoying the way his muscles bunched and strained when he reached for a rake of some kind and began to tidy the loose hay, because he looked up and found me instantly.
His smile was more smug than Joe’s and I knew whatever I was thinking had to be written on my face as plain as day. “Hey,” he said, and even that one word was knowing.