Chapter 6
My phone buzzed and jolted me awake. I groaned, rolling over and regretting that last glass of wine with the girls last night.
But I’d needed it to drown out the guilt I felt every time I saw them now.
Reaching behind me blindly, I grabbed my buzzing phone and brought it to my ear.
“Hello?” My voice was dry and thick with sleep.
I sat up, reaching for my water bottle Claire left on my nightstand after dropping me off.
“Delilah?” A woman said on the other end of the line. Her voice was familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
“Yes?” I scrubbed the sleep from my eyes and gulped half of my water.
“Hi! This is Macy Johnson from EquiPath, not sure if you remember me,” she chuckled.
The lightbulb went off. I did my training with her five years ago down in San Antonio. “Oh my God, hey! How are you?”
“Good, good.” She exhaled heavily. “Sorry to call so early, but I just wanted to let you know that some guy called me asking about you yesterday? It was kinda weird.”
My brows bunched together. “Who?” I started running down the list of men I’d scorned over the years, and it was…lengthy. But people do background checks all the time for all kinds of reasons. It was probably nothing, just someone doing their due diligence.
“He didn’t give his name. But he asked about your boundaries with clients, your credentials, how you handled horse safety. Super direct and persistent.”
My head reared back, confused. “What the hell?”
“Yeah…that’s what I thought, too, so I figured I’d try calling to give you a heads up.”
I glanced around my room, thinking. “Well, I am opening a veteran program…maybe he was a potential patient doing research?” Some of the vets I’d been around over the years were very methodical like that, so it wasn’t entirely out of the question. But still odd, nonetheless.
“Maybe.” I gnawed on my bottom lip, wondering who else would go to that kind of trouble. “Well, anyway, I gotta run, but it was nice talking to you. If you’re ever down here again, we should grab a drink!”
“Yeah, for sure,” I replied, half listening. “Talk to you later, Macy.”
The phone slid from my ear, and I zoned out on my comforter, my mind racing with possibilities of who it could’ve been. But I didn’t have time to sit here and dwell on it; I had to get to the ranch before my meeting later.
“Shit!” I grabbed the bottom of my foot, hopping on one leg while staring daggers at the hair clip I just stepped on while getting out of bed.
I hobbled into the shower, cursing myself for being a slob. The water was scalding on my skin. I let it beat down on my back, my mind drifting to the one place it shouldn’t but always did.
The memory of Emmett holding me after he brought Willow home was so fresh that I could still feel the way his arms felt around me, supporting me in the air.
And the fact that he spent the majority of the day looking for her…
I shook my head. I couldn’t let myself read into it.
He was just being nice because I was his sisters’ friend and business partner.
That’s it. It had nothing to do with the sex.
The amazing, perfect sex that I’d been thinking about for the last three days.
The shower hissed, and so did I. My mind replayed every stupid thing I’d said to him, each one louder under the spray.
“Just this once. And then we pretend it never happened.” God, why had I said that?
And then, after, his face when I’d brushed him off about showering together—it had been like I’d gutted him.
I stomped like a child throwing a fit, but the anger wasn’t at him. It was at me. Always me.
I was in a foul mood by the time I got out of the shower, and was now glaring at my closet.
I had to wear real clothes today since I was having a lunch meeting with a potential donor for Freedom Reins.
Ethan Carmichael, an Army colonel turned businessman.
He was passionate about supporting veterans and was known for writing massive checks for the cause, something I admired him for.
I grabbed a dark green pantsuit and a black blouse with matching heels and slipped them on after doing my hair and makeup.
“God, you’re hot.” I smoothed my hands along my sides, checking myself out in my full-length mirror.
I was a firm believer in affirmations, and mine included hyping myself up at any given chance.
Except those affirmations didn’t mean shit when I pulled in at the ranch and saw Emmett in the main corral, breaking a colt he and Claire had been working with for weeks.
He was sweat-slicked and focused—so sexy I couldn’t help but watch.
The horse bucked and kicked, churning up dust, and yet Emmett stayed on, refusing to give up.
If only he had that same determination with his mental health.
I got out of my car and leaned against the corral railing, the wood rough on my skin, and watched, transfixed by the way his body moved to absorb the wild movements. Warmth spread through me as I thought about the way that gorgeous body had moved over me just three days ago.
The colt finally gave in, both he and Emmett breathing heavily. “About time,” Emmett murmured, running a hand down the horse’s neck with a few loving pats.
He glanced in my direction, doing a double-take when he noticed me.
I could practically feel the slow glide of his gaze along my body as he rode over, but resisted the urge to fidget.
He looked like every bad-boy cowboy fantasy in existence—sweat, dust, and that stubborn set to his jaw.
My heart stuttered in my chest when his attention settled on my face, taking in every detail as if he hadn’t seen me in years, despite seeing me yesterday.
It was intense, a way he’d never looked at me before until last week in my office.
“Thought someone was watching.” He wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his wrist. The colt shifted by the fence, black coat shining in the sunlight. He smelled like hard work and man, and I was utterly mesmerized.
He shifted in the saddle, his gaze flicking to my chest. My shirt’s neckline was appropriate, but I had a feeling he could see straight down it while on top of the horse.
I smirked. “My eyes are up here in case you’ve forgotten.
” I should’ve left it alone, but pre-Emmett-sex Delilah wouldn’t have, so I wasn’t going to.
The faster we could get back to how we were, the better for all involved.
“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered under his breath. He worked the leather rein between his thumb and fingers. If he rubbed it any harder, it’d probably disintegrate. “What are you all dressed up for?”
“I have a lunch meeting with a potential sponsor for Freedom Reins.” I held a hand over my eyes, blocking the sunlight. “Do you want to come? It’s in an hour, so you’d have time to clean up. He’s a retired colonel, a connection from Cavendish Academy. You could help me with all the military talk.”
For half a heartbeat, his eyes softened, dark and full of something that made my breath hitch. But then it was gone so fast, I wondered if I imagined it. He sat straighter in the saddle, gaze skimming the far pasture like I wasn’t even there.
“Don’t think that’s a good idea,” he admitted, voice tight. He looked like a man holding a door shut against a storm, and I was the storm.
My hope wilted. “What? Why?”
He let out a bitter laugh. “I’m not cut out for that kind of thing, Delilah. You know that.” He clicked his heels on the horse’s side and steered the horse away from me. “I’ve got shit to do here, anyway.” And they sauntered off without another word.
I scowled at his back as he went. “Dickhead,” I murmured under my breath, and went to my Jeep. And here I was, worried he’d treat me differently after we had sex. Guess when he hunted Willow down and accidentally called me sugar yesterday was just a fluke.
I flung my car door open, climbing inside. If he wasn’t going to come, then I’d just leave now for the country club where I was meeting Ethan for lunch. I could use the time to go over my notes and do a shot to settle my nerves.
Totally joking…maybe.
The country club was what I expected it to be—bougie.
But it was the nicest place to have a lunch meeting in Wild Creek.
Levi and Savannah said they used it all the time for important client lunches and dinners, so I figured if it’s good enough for the lawyers in the family, then it’d be good enough for me.
I followed the hostess to my table, running over numbers in my head in case Ethan asked.
While Cavendish Academy covered most of our overhead, this sponsorship from Ethan would give us the resources to set ourselves apart from other inpatient facilities.
I pulled out my portfolio and ordered a sweet tea, briefly wondering if this was too much when it came in a crystal highball glass.
About thirty minutes later, I was scanning through my proposal packet, sipping on tea, when I heard a low, male voice. “Delilah Chase?”
A stocky, late-forties man stood before me in a slate gray suit. His light brown hair was short on the sides, slightly longer on the top. It reminded me of Emmett’s hair when he first came home—that military order haircut they all had.
I stood. “Yes, hi. You must be Mr. Carmichael.” I extended my hand. “It’s so nice to meet you. I appreciate you coming out.”
His hazel eyes squinted when he smiled at me, shaking my hand. It was firm, no-nonsense. “Please, call me Ethan.”
We sat down, and after he ordered his drink, he got straight to business. Leaning forward, he clasped his hands on the table. “So, tell me why I should invest in Freedom Reins.”
“Because we’re the best inpatient facility in the state of Texas,” I replied easily. I didn’t need false confidence or forced bravado to utter those words. I knew it to be true.
He blinked. Once. Twice. Then a loud laugh shot out of him. “Is that right?”