Chapter 4 Katie
KATIE
Last night was pretty great, which isn’t something I thought I’d ever be saying about Wayne Riggs.
He wasn’t in the motel room when I woke up this morning, which was more of a blessing than a curse.
Sure, it stings for it to be so obvious that last night was nothing more than a hookup for him, but that’s all I wanted it to be.
I love Everett to death, but I have no desire to get involved in anything serious with his jerk of a son.
Speak of the devil. As I’m at work, Everett leans over the fence of the pen I’m in and waves me over. I pat the head of the calf I just finished checking, chuckling when it immediately dashes off to join the others. I head over to the fence with an easy grin.
“What can I do for you, boss man?” I ask.
“Think I could have you take a look at two more of the heifers before you leave?” Everett nods his head toward the back pasture, looking apologetic. “It’s their first season, and I forgot to ask you to check on them when you got here.”
Everett’s gotten a lot more verbose since he met Mary, slowly leaning away from his habit of grunting and single word sentences.
He actually even makes small talk nowadays.
I’ve known him for my entire residency. I’ve worked on the ranch since I was freshly out of high school and just starting college.
He and Jenny are practically family at this point.
“You got it,” I say, as I bend to slip between the slats of the fence. “You’re all I’ve got on the schedule until late afternoon, so it’s no trouble.”
I have to run out to check on a racehorse injury at around four this afternoon, but I try to keep my days at the ranch as open as I can. There’s always something going on when you’ve got this many animals, and I want to do what I can to help.
“You’re a lifesaver,” Everett says, as we wander together through the barn toward the back pastures.
“Hardly.” I chuckle.
We fall into comfortable silence. As we clear the barn and head down the worn dirt path, my mind starts wandering again. Every quiet moment I’ve had today has been like this, with thoughts of Wayne popping up and lingering until I find a way to distract myself again.
I’m sure it’s just because I work for Wayne’s dad.
My anxiety heightens at the thought of having to explain to Everett that I hooked up with his son, and every time I try to imagine how I’d do it, embarrassment flares bright in my gut.
I can’t decide if it’s better or worse that it was only one night that’s never going to be repeated.
I don’t want to insult Everett by implying that his son isn’t worth more than a night of my time, but… well, he’s not.
I’ve worked my ass off to get my degree, and I’m less than a year from finishing my bovine surgery practicum and am firmly on track to becoming a shareholder in the veterinary practice I work for. I helped my parents retire to Florida after they did everything in their power to help me.
I’ve got my shit together, in short. Sure, Wayne is a bigshot lawyer out in Billings, and he looks great on paper, but he’s just not the type to settle down with. I don’t have time for a playboy who doesn’t take his life — or the people in it — seriously.
Everett’s phone rings before we’re even out of sight of the barn, and he frowns down at his pocket even as he fishes his phone out. I’m grateful for the distraction.
He’s such a stereotypical old man when it comes to technology.
I’m pretty sure Jenny only convinced him to get a smartphone a year or two ago, and he barely seems to understand how to use it.
His face lights up when he reads the caller ID, and he uses his index finger to answer the call with a wide smile.
“Mary! How are you?”
I bite my lip to stifle an affectionate laugh.
I know for a fact it’s been less than an hour since they’ve seen each other, but Everett is doing his version of bouncing on the balls of his feet.
He’s not that expressive as a person, but I know him well enough to know that the twinkle in his eyes and the way his shoulders slump down in comfort is something that only happens when he’s around Mary.
They chat briefly, Everett as lively as I’ve ever seen him, and I ignore the twinge of loneliness in my chest.
It would be so nice to find something like they have — someone who will accept and treasure me for exactly the person I am. Maybe one day. After all, I’ve got plenty to keep me busy with work. I don’t need to get distracted by romance right now. Maybe I’ll give it a shot in a few years.
“The feed guys are here early,” Everett says after he hangs up. “I need to double check the bags before they unload. Can I meet you out at the pasture?”
“Sure thing,” I agree easily. “I’ve got a list of the heifers I wanted to check out anyway, so I’ll start with those.”
Everett heads back toward the front of the barn, a frankly adorable spring in his step…
or, well, as springy as a guy like him can get, anyway.
It’s good to see him like this, even though it was the last thing I expected from Mary when she showed up.
I thought the two of them would end up at each other’s throats.
I guess that’s kind of what happened, just not how I expected.
It’s kind of similar to what happened with Wayne and I, minus all the cute mushy feelings.
However, the thought of me ever feeling that way about Wayne is laughable.
Hell, even in high school, I only ever dared to fantasize about a make-out session or two with him.
I never envisioned a relationship. So why can’t I get him out of my head now?
I shake my head. My one-night-stand is not that important, and I need to stop thinking about it. I got my adolescent desire to have him out of my system as an adult, and now I can move on with my life.
I’m just hoping that I won’t continue running into him.
Windy River isn’t a big town, and considering how often I work on his family’s ranch, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to stumble across each other while he’s around.
I can only hope that whatever has him staying in a motel instead of his childhood bedroom will also keep him from hanging around the ranch while I’m working.
I should know better than to ask fate to be on my side.
“Katie!” calls out Wayne.
I close my eyes in annoyance, steady myself, and I then paste on as bland of a smile as I can manage as I turn to face Wayne.
He jogs down the path, looking entirely out of place in a crisp button-down and expensive jeans.
There will probably be scuffs on his fancy leather shoes just from walking around on the ranch.
I still unfortunately find him unreasonably attractive, but I chalk that up to not being blind.
He’s good looking, and now I know he’s good in bed, but that doesn’t mean that I want anything to do with him.
“Wayne,” I say. “Do you need something?”
Confusion flickers in his eyes, the sun catching them and turning the normal plain brown to a dazzling golden. I glance away before I have a chance to get wrapped up in how pretty he is.
“Need? No,” he says with a slow, liquid grin. “There’s something I want, though.”
I try to dredge up annoyance and disgust, but the statement unfortunately makes my blood go hot for a second.
That’s all it is, though. A second. I’m not going to give him more of my time just because he’s looking at me with heat and desire as he steps close enough for me to smell his woodsy cologne.
It would be so simple to fall right into the easy charm that he’s so obviously practiced over the years.
Even with the memories of how he treated me in high school, he’s easy to be around.
I could just write the past all off as us having been kids, but I’m not stupid enough to think he’s changed much.
He’s still just as smarmy. Phases of the self don’t matter much to people who peaked in high school, and Wayne? At his core, he hasn’t changed one bit.
“I had a great time last night.” He places a hand on my shoulder, warm and solid and familiar, but I shrug it off instantly. “How about we get some drinks tonight and do it again?”
Good god… is he being serious?
I cringe and let out an awkward laugh before I step back to put some space between us. It was fun, sure, but that’s all it was. It certainly wasn’t fun enough to warrant a repeat performance when something like that could put my job at risk.
My relationship with Everett and Jenny is more important to me than a fling with Wayne ever could be.
I may have been easy last night, but that’s because I wanted to be.
I’m not interested in being something disposable, and I’m not looking for something casual right now.
If I bother seeing someone more than once, I want them to be someone I can really see a future with.
Wayne isn’t that.
“Uh, yeah, thanks for the offer?” I say, shaking my head and scratching the nape of my neck awkwardly. “I’m good, though.”
I don’t bother explaining myself further, and it’s a little pathetic to see the genuine shock cross Wayne’s features.
His cocky certainty falters as his brows raise in surprise.
I half expect him to spit out a half-assed insult, maybe remind me of how much of an ugly duckling I was in high school, but I can’t help laughing at what he actually says.
“Wait, are you serious?”
He looks like he can’t even fathom the idea of being turned down, blinking at me in shock as his full lips drop open. My laugh isn’t cruel, more disbelieving that this is even happening.
God, if my high school self could see me now.
“Look, there’s plenty of desperate women at the bars if you’re looking for another one-night stand,” I reply, patting him on the shoulder in consolation.
“I was just looking to scratch an itch last night. Don’t get me wrong…
it was fun. I just don’t want to do it again, Wayne. Have a good day, all right?”
I turn on my heel before he has a chance to respond. I didn’t want to see him in the first place, and this conversation has gone on longer than I wanted it to.
I have work to do.
Wayne is just a distraction that I don’t need.