Chapter Eight
When Ryan returned to the barn, she was greeted by the earthy scent of hay and leather.
The morning light streamed through the high windows.
The barn stood empty except for the horses, who shuffled in their stalls, their occasional snorts breaking the stillness.
She glanced around, wondering where everyone had disappeared to.
She turned to walk outside when she heard her name called, the voice sharp and familiar. Sean was hobbling toward her across the floor. His designer jeans looked absurdly out of place against the rustic backdrop, and she had to bite back a grin at his obvious discomfort.
“Good morning, Sean. How are your feet?” she asked, noting the unnatural stiffness in his step.
“Sore as hell. I don’t know how anyone can wear these torture devices,” he grumbled, gesturing down at his boots, that still looked new.
“Mine don’t hurt my feet at all,” she said, glancing down at her own pair, the leather creased and molded perfectly to her feet after weeks of daily use.
“Why would you do that? You’ll never wear them again once you leave here,” Sean snarled, his face twisting with contempt.
“How would you know? I happen to like them.” The leather felt right against her skin now, like they belonged there.
Sean leaned close enough that she could smell his expensive cologne, out of place among the honest scents of the barn. “You’re just trying to impress Harrison. You already got him in bed, Ryan. You can let up now.” His voice was low, meant only for her ears.
“Fuck you, Sean.” The words felt clean and sharp on her tongue.
His perfectly groomed eyebrows shot up. “Nice mouth.”
“I hear it several times a day, so I guess I just picked it up.” Ryan shrugged.
“You only have, what? A week and a half left?” His eyes narrowed, calculating.
“Yes, why?” She crossed her arms defensively.
“Maybe we can drive back to Kalispell together and take the same flight.” His tone softened, attempting charm.
“No.” The word fell like a stone between them.
“Come on, Ryan. Can’t you just get over it?” He reached for her arm, but she stepped back.
“Get over it? I broke up with you. Not like you told Seth. I never knew you were such a liar, Sean. Oh, wait. Yes, I did. You lied to me every time you looked at me.” Her voice echoed slightly in the space.
“He told you I said that?” A flush crept up his neck.
“Yes, was it a secret?” She could feel her heart pounding against her ribs.
Sean’s head tilted, his expression hardening like cement. “You’ve changed, Ryan. This is not the life for you, no matter how many times you fuck him,” he snapped, his voice cutting through the barn’s peaceful atmosphere.
“You are such a pig,” she said as she walked around him, boots kicking up small clouds of dust.
“Drew isn’t going to like this.” The words hung in the air like a storm cloud.
Ryan faced him, then walked back, close enough to see the tiny beads of sweat forming at his hairline. “Are you threatening me?”
“Oh, it’s not a threat—” He stopped talking when he looked over her shoulder, his expression shifting instantly to something more guarded.
She turned to see Seth entering the barn, leading his horse by the reins.
His faded T-shirt was wet with sweat and clung to his broad shoulders and flat stomach, and there were bits of hay clinging to his worn jeans.
The morning sun caught the stubble on his jaw as he nodded at her, then looked at Sean with cool assessment.
“Are you ready, Mr. Hayes?” Seth’s voice was neutral but carried an undercurrent of authority that filled the space.
“Yes, if you are.” Sean straightened, attempting to be dignified.
“I have to saddle a horse for you. Just give me a few minutes.”
“Sure. Ryan can keep me company,” Sean said as he looked at Ryan with a gleam in his eye.
She saw Seth stop to look at them, his hands pausing mid-motion on the saddle. She slightly shook her head, trying to let him know with her eyes that she didn’t want Sean anywhere near her. The tension between them all hung in the air like the dust particles, suspended and waiting.
“I’d rather be alone. You both have a good day.” She walked away.
****
Seth looked at Hayes, noting his boots that had barely seen dirt. “I thought you said this wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Oh, it’s not a problem. We were talking about driving to Kalispell and getting a flight back together.” Hayes’s smile was too polished, too practiced.
“I see,” Seth said with a nod, the muscle in his jaw twitching. He didn’t believe him for a second. “Put your gloves on.”
Sean mounted the horse and grinned like he’d just accomplished the undoable and pulled on his gloves.
Seth put his foot in the stirrup and got into the saddle with the fluid motion of someone who’d done it ten thousand times.
He nudged Zephyr and rode out of the barn into the crisp morning air that smelled of pine and distant rain.
The last thing he wanted to do was spend the day with Hayes, whose cologne was already giving him a headache.
Ryan was leaving soon, and he hated thinking about it.
The hollow feeling in his chest expanded every time he pictured the ranch without her laughter echoing across the fields.
He was going to be miserable without her, but he didn’t know what he could do.
He knew she’d never trade her sleek downtown apartment and gallery openings for his place and the isolation of Montana winters.
As they rode along the fence line where brown grass moved in the breeze, Sean asked him questions about the feed and Seth answered him, but his mind was elsewhere, watching the shadows of clouds drift across the distant mountains.
The thought of never seeing her again was making his gut ache like he’d been kicked by a horse.
He wished he knew what to do about her. Hell, maybe she didn’t want to be with him, and he was just something different to her, a rough-handed novelty in a world of manicured men.
He was nothing like the men she dated. He didn’t wear suits unless he was going to a funeral or a wedding, and even then, the collar choked him like a noose.
His entire wardrobe was jeans worn soft on the knees, T-shirts faded from sun and washing, flannel shirts for the cold mornings, and one good suit that hung forgotten in the back of his closet.
Seth was convinced she just wanted to get with a cowboy, a story to tell her friends back home.
He looked over his shoulder to see Hayes behind him, glancing around at the scenery with the detached interest of a tourist and clenched his jaw until his teeth ached.
Seth and Hayes were night and day. Complete opposites, city and country, polished and weathered, but Ryan had sex with both. He shook his head. Damn it.
Seth wasn’t upset about that as much as he was that she wouldn’t stay with him even if he asked, her delicate hands not made for the calluses his life would give them.
That was something he refused to do. He didn’t need to hear her tell him no, to see the pity in those blue eyes.
Besides, she could change her mind once she got home and realized that was where she needed to be, though the thought rang hollow as the wind whispered through the tall grass around them.
****
Ryan entered the barn the next afternoon and saw Sean walking toward her and she couldn’t stop the grin.
“What’s so funny now, Ryan?” he asked as he tipped his cowboy hat back with his thumb and she just about lost it.
“You. I hate to break it to you, but you’re no cowboy.”
“Fuck you, Ryan. Oh, wait. I have.” He smirked.
“Oh, very mature, but then you always did act like a child,” she said.
Sean lashed out, yanking her arm. Pain shot up her shoulder.
“I’d let go of her if I were you,” came Seth’s low, controlled voice, as Micky and Red stepped up behind him.
Ryan tore free and stared at Sean. “Do not, ever, touch me again.”
She met his gaze fiercely and saw Seth’s jaw clench. “Mr. Hayes, you’ve got enough from me about the feed. You can get your ass off my property.”
Sean sneered. “Sure. You bet I’ve got enough.”
“Good, and if I see anything about me in that article that shouldn’t be there, I will make a trip to California to kick your ass.”
“You’re not so nice now, are you, Harrison?”
“Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness. I’ll put you down in a heartbeat. Touch her again, and I’ll make you regret it.”
Sean glared at Ryan. “You’re just leading Harrison on. He’s not what you want in a man. You just wanted to fuck a cowboy. I knew you were a cu—.”
At that, Seth’s fist shot out. The sound as Sean went down echoed in the barn.
“I warned you. You’d better think really hard before getting up because if you do, I’ll put you right back down,” Seth snarled as he stood over him, fists clenched.
Cull came running in, concern etched on his face.
“Get him out of here, Cull. Micky, Red, you two make sure he leaves.”
Cull seized Sean by the elbow and hauled him to his feet, half-dragging him toward the open doors with Micky and Red following him. A spray of dust settled in their wake.
Ryan watched as Sean drove away and hoped she would never see him again.
Seth turned to Ryan. “Are you all right?”
Her chest heaved. “Yes. Thank you.” She brushed her hand through her hair.
“You’re welcome.” Seth shook his hand. “Prick.”
“Oh, my God, Seth! Your hand. Are you alright?”
“It hurts, but it’ll heal.” He looked at it, flexed his fingers and winced.
She squared her shoulders. “I’m telling Doris about this, too.”
Seth’s gaze softened. “Good. You should.” He looked back at Ryan, earnest. “I wanted to punch him when he grabbed you.”
Ryan managed a shaky smile. “So did I.”
“Go ahead and leave. Soak some of that tension away. I’ll see you tomorrow.” His tone was gentle but firm.
“Will you?”
Seth hesitated but shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said, then walked from the barn.