Chapter 5
Everyone’s been working sunup to sundown the last week, getting the ranch ready for Mr. Dupont and his team to arrive on Monday.
Daddy and I decided our summer kick-off barbecue would happen next Saturday, after Mr. Dupont and his team leave.
He insisted tonight I take everyone to the Copper Mule to let them have a night of fun before the work really begins.
I’m hoping to introduce them to some of my friends, too.
Shiloh moved to Great Falls at the beginning of the year to finish her residency so she can be a veterinarian, but she stays in Copper Creek on the weekends with the Smiths. It’ll be good to see her again. We video chat and text all the time, but I feel like I haven’t seen her or Bea in forever.
I don’t know what’s going on with Bea; she’s been quiet lately.
I know she lives with her boyfriend in Austin, but I haven’t gotten many updates.
Her social media hasn’t had much activity, and she only responds every so often in the group chat.
I miss my best friend, but I hope she’s so busy because she’s thriving.
I dust on a light coat of shiny pink lip gloss and check myself in the mirror. I don’t know why I felt the need to dress up tonight. It’s not like I’m trying to impress a certain grumpy blonde who makes my stomach flutter by being near her.
I’m totally trying to impress her.
Addison’s been slightly less grumpy toward me since my panic attack last week. On the drive home, after she ate her lunch, she even asked me a few questions. Mostly about the ranch and the horses, but I still consider it progress.
I still try to stay out of her way, but she sat next to me at Sunday dinner and asked me about work instead of ignoring my existence completely.
We were both working in the stalls one day when the lunch bell rang, and she asked if I was joining everyone.
I was so shocked I didn’t know what to say, but I agreed to go.
It was actually kind of fun to chat with the group and get to know them more.
I don’t know what to do with the new way Addison’s treating me. I should be trying to move past my crush, but instead, it’s developing into something more. Am I so pathetic that one ounce of kindness from a gorgeous woman makes me weak in the knees?
Maybe I need to get laid. Feel the touch of another person’s hands on me instead of wearing out my vibrator for the umpteenth time. The only problem with that is that my options are limited to people I’ve known my whole life or my coworkers.
Both would be messy.
As I smooth down the skirt of the pink sundress I’m wearing, I wonder if I should change again. I’ve already put on four different outfits, worried that if I try too hard, everyone will laugh at me for dressing up when the bar we’re going to is barely more than a dive.
It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. I like this dress. I want to wear it.
With a resolute nod to myself, I step out of the bathroom with the intention of slipping on my boots when there’s a knock on my door.
Every time someone knocks, my panic spikes a little.
Hardly anyone comes here, mostly because no one knows it exists.
This is my safe space. The only place on the ranch I can be totally myself.
Mama, Daddy, and Briar are the only people who ever visit, and they never knock.
I’m expecting it to be Mama, since she comes most often.
But when I open the door, it’s not her.
It’s Addison.
The breath is stolen from my lungs by the way her amber eyes glimmer in the evening sunlight.
Her hair, which I’ve only seen in a ponytail or braids, flows in glossy waves over her shoulders.
Gone are the T-shirts and well-worn wranglers she wears when she’s working; they’re replaced by a black crop top that shows a sliver of her toned stomach and dark wash jeans clinging to the muscles of her thighs.
“Hi,” I finally manage to say.
“Hey. We’re getting ready to head out, and we wanted to know if you wanted to ride with us in Briggs’s truck?”
“Oh, yeah. Thank you. Let me just slip on my boots.” I leave the door cracked as I step into my favorite boots: brown leather with little white flowers embroidered up the sides. I wear them any chance I get.
Addison stands halfway inside, her eyes roaming around my small space. I have arts supplies scattered everywhere, and my diary is surrounded by pens on the small coffee table in the living room. Luckily, everywhere else is neat and tidy since I only come here to sleep.
“Nice place,” she murmurs.
I can’t tell if the words are sarcastic, but I decide to take it as a compliment.
“Thank you. Daddy insisted I have my own place when I graduated from college and surprised me with it for my birthday. It’s nice to have a place away from the hustle and bustle of the ranch. Wait, how did you know where I was?”
Addison lifts one dainty shoulder in a shrug. “Your mom mentioned you had your own place when I asked why you never joined us for breakfast.”
My pulse picks up speed. She asked about me. What did Mama say? Oh Jesus. Did she tell her I used to eat breakfast at the big house every day before Addison started working here? That would be embarrassing as hell.
“Right. Well, now you know my secret.”
Addison’s face remains impassive despite my teasing. Okay then.
“We can go now,” I say.
We step out onto the small porch, and before I can step down, she grabs my elbow. Pesky lightning bolts shoot up my arm, causing the hair on them to raise and goose bumps to scatter across my skin.
“I know more than just one secret of yours, Juniper,” she whispers. “But I promise I’ll keep them for myself.”
What the hell was that?
I have so many questions, but she’s practically running away, and by the time I catch up to her, we’re at Briggs’ truck.
“Ladies, you’ll have to squeeze into the backseat,” Rusty says, opening the back door.
“Russet Bartholomew, surely you’re not suggestin’ that because we’re women we’re meant to be cramped in the back like sardines,” Oakley says, crossing her arms over her chest.
Rusty’s cheeks flush. One thing I’ve learned about Oakley is that she’ll tell you exactly what she’s thinking with no hesitation.
I want to be like her.
“My name isn’t Russet Bartholomew,” he grumbles. “How many times do I have to tell you that? I was suggesting that you sit in the back because you two are shorter than everyone else, not because you’re women. But I’ll sit in the back. Addison, you can sit in the front.”
“I’m good,” Addison says. “Oakley can sit in the front if she wants.”
“Thank you.” Oakley smiles proudly. “Rusty, I might need a hand getting into this behemoth of a truck. Why is it so goddamned tall? You compensating for somethin’ Briggs?”
Briggs scoffs and shakes his head, but there’s a small tug of his lips that tells me he’s not bothered by Oakley’s teasing. Rusty assists Oakley with getting in before he enters on one side, and Addison opens the door to the other, sliding into the middle seat.
When I buckle my seatbelt, I accidentally graze her hip, muttering an apology as I do.
Rusty’s a big guy, and his long legs need room to spread.
I may be short, but I’ve got some curves on me, so my thigh squishes up against Addison’s, even though I’m trying to stay closer to the door.
Addison shifts closer to me, pressing her thigh more firmly into mine, and I get a little lightheaded.
Is she doing this on purpose? Or is she trying to give Rusty more room?
Either way, the casual, thoughtless motion sends my head spinning, and I have to stifle a whimper.
Yeah, I really need to get laid if her thigh is affecting me this much.
Even though Copper Mule is as familiar as the ranch, I’ve learned through trial and error that alcohol can increase my anxiety. Clint, the bartender, learned how to make Italian cream sodas a few years ago, so I can have some fun drinks when I’m out with friends.
Shiloh, Cillian, Clayton, and a few of the workers from Cillian and Clayton’s dad’s place, Reclamation Ranch, fill in the tables or play pool along with some of the locals in town.
Shiloh catches me up on her latest dating fiasco, and I try my best to pay attention.
Really, I do, but I can feel Addison’s watchful gaze on me.
It’s distracting.
I find myself fixating on whether the way I say things sounds cute or if my lips look funny when I talk. I’m keenly aware of the way this dress hugs my breast, and I wonder if she thinks I’m pretty. Obviously, she did at one point, but does she think I am now?
Every time I get the nerve to glance over at her, she’s already looking back. One time, she had just taken a sip of her old fashioned, and she held my gaze as she slowly licked the remnants of the alcohol from her lips.
I swear, Clint turned the heater on at that exact moment.
“What’s new with you, Juni?” Shiloh asks, bringing my attention back to her. “Any hot new escapades?”
“None as of late. You know how it is right before we open. So much to do, so little time.”
Shiloh rolls her eyes, flipping her dark hair over one shoulder. “So, you’re telling me you haven’t hooked up with the hot blonde who won’t stop staring at you?”
“Shiloh,” I say, my face heating. I hope Addison didn’t hear her.
Clayton perks up. “Oooh, Juniper’s banging an employee?”
“No! Well… not again. But she wasn’t an employee when we did.”
Shiloh’s jaw drops. She leans forward and whispers, “Tell me everything.”
God, I look over at Clayton, my eyes wide, silently pleading for him to stick up for me. I should know it’s in vain; he loves gossip more than the ladies down at the salon in town.
I turn to Cillian, Bea’s brother. “Did Daddy already get you on the schedule this summer?”
“Yep. But talking about that isn’t going to stop Shy from interrogating you, so you’d better tell her now.”
Damn him.
Shiloh taps her wrist like she’s tapping a watch. The clock is ticking.
“Ugh. Fine. Remember when I went to visit Briar in Vegas a few years ago, and I told you I went to the rodeo and had my first and only one-night stand?”
Shiloh gasps loudly, garnering the attention of a few tables next to us.
Addison’s included.
“The woman you told us made you wonder if you’ve ever orgasmed before? It’s her, isn’t it? Ooo, Juni’s getting a little messy this summer. I like it.” Shiloh holds her fist out for a bump that I ignore.
“No. Well… yes.” I did tell her that, didn’t I?
I wasn’t inexperienced when I met Addison the first time, but the things she did to me…
I’d never experienced pleasure quite like that, and it made me think I hadn’t truly felt the full force of an orgasm before.
“It’s her. I was plum shocked when she sauntered into the office the first day. ”
“And you two aren’t going to fuck again?” Cillian asks. “Seems like that has the makings of a good summer fling.”
I slap his shoulder. “I don’t fuck employees. Besides, she made it clear the day she arrived that she doesn’t want to remember me. We’re pretending nothing ever happened.”
They all give me varying degrees of pitying looks. I don’t want them to feel sorry for me.
Shiloh breaks the silence, “Do you want me to kick her ass? Oh! Or you can flirt with Cillian. Make her jealous.”
Cillian shoots her a glare.
“Or not. Jesus. Who peed in your Wheaties today?”
I don’t know why, but that makes me giggle, which makes Shiloh giggle, and pretty soon our little table is in fits over nothing, the conversation about Addison forgotten as we move on to other topics.
God, I missed my friends. Maybe I don’t need to get laid. All I needed was a night out with my closest friends and a good peach Italian cream soda.
My eyes flit to Addison again as she takes a swig of her drink. Her throat bobs as she swallows, and my mind is back in the gutter.
No, I definitely still need to get laid.