Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
When I woke up, Brody was gone, which was a good thing. I'd only had to remind myself of that a dozen times between the bed, the shower, and the barn.
There was plenty of shit to do—quite literally—and I didn't need a keeper. Maybe when the foreman of this operation pulled his head out of Tink's ass, he could give me a little more instruction. Til then, I got to work feeding the horses and cleaning out the stalls.
A throat cleared behind me and I looked over my shoulder to see the pixie herself, arms crossed and glaring.
This coulda gone down one of two ways: I could have kept up my shitty keep-everyone-at-a-distance attitude and goaded her into a fight. Coulda thrown what Brody accidentally let slip in her face and ensured she never dared to verbally spar with me again.
But something about her puffy, red-rimmed eyes had my bad-bitch exterior cracking.
So I went with option two.
"Hey." I rose from where I'd been shoveling hay and leaned the fork against the barn wall. "Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot," I began. After I wiped my hands on the thighs of my jeans, I extended one her way. "I'm Calvin. It's nice to meet you…"
The question was implied. This was the part where you shook a hand and introduced yourself back. But she just looked at me—really fucking looked—and her shrewd gaze had me squirming. Wildly out of character for me, but whatever. This pixie was kind of scary.
I liked her.
I dropped my hand from where it had hovered between us. She still said nothing, so we stared. It was unnerving as fuck, but if this was what she needed to deal with me here—to glare me into discomfort—so be it.
After what felt like a small eternity, she finally threw me a bone. "I'm Sassy. Technically, Cassandra, but if you call me that, I will pinch you in the tit."
Couldn't help the startled laugh that came out of me if I tried. "Careful, Sassy. I might like that." I gave her a little wink and was rewarded with a smirk. I, sadly, wasn't into women, but if I was, Tink would be my type.
At the very least, I could see us being friends.
Whoa. I didn't do friends, so that thought came out of left field. Didn't hate it though. Didn't hate much about Montana or Wild Acre Ranch thus far.
More often than not, the moment I woke up in a new town, I was itching to get gone. But, two sleeps in a row still hadn't cured me of Larkspur.
Must have been those damn roots, reaching out of the ground and trying to hold me hostage.
I'd have to take an axe to 'em sooner or later.
Until then, a friend might be a nice change of pace.
"I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't know what I was walkin' into here. I would have been more… discreet had I known."
"It's not your fault." Her brows slammed together and all traces of the smirk vanished as her mouth turned down. "Brody fucking Lancaster needs to take a long walk off a short pier."
I snorted. "Tell me how ya really feel, Tink."
Her tiny little nose wrinkled. "Still not sure I like that nickname."
"It'll grow on ya. Like mold."
Just like that, that frown turned upside down.
"Damn it. I really didn't want to like you. Since we're, ya know, timber sisters." Couldn't miss that wince if your eyesight was worse than a bat's.
"Timber sisters?" I asked.
"Yeah, like… sharin' the same wood."
I barked out a laugh and shrugged. "Meh, not exactly."
She held up a hand. "Really, I don't need to know. Let's just… pretend it didn't happen."
"You got it, Tink."
Before our conversation could go any further, two soaking wet cowboys moseyed on into the barn. "How nice of you to show up," I drawled, eyes on Rhett. It took all of my very limited willpower not to glance toward the beautiful blonde boy scout next to him, but I managed.
After my tentative truce with Sassy, I was bound and determined not to fuck up this interaction. It was best that I just focused on the work and left them all to their drama.
Rhett cleared his throat. "Sorry. We just had a couple… horse things to talk about."
This time, Sassy snorted. "Horse things? You're a terrible fucking liar, Rhett Calloway. Go dry off so you can show this one"—she tossed a thumb in my direction—"the ropes."
The smile he shot her way was so warm, so full of genuine affection. If what Brody had said was true, I was sure Rhett was just happy to see her not cryin'—especially after he'd caught her in the barn with the viper.
"Yes, ma'am." He tipped his Stetson her way and a pretty pink flush crept up her chest into her cheeks. So interesting.
"See, some ladies like being called ma'am," the boy scout tossed out.
Yes, the boy scout. Because he wasn't mine.
"Sure," I said without looking at him. "I'm just not one of 'em."
The words dropped like dead weight in the middle of the barn. Soft nickers from the stalls behind me were the only sound that accompanied the shuffling of our feet. My eyes darted between Sassy and Brody who were doing their best to look anywhere but at each other.
The tension on this fucking ranch was going to give me an ulcer.
Finally, Brody announced his departure. "Alrighty, well, I'll leave y'all to it."
Then, he was gone—which, I reminded myself again, was a good thing.
"Well, shit." Rhett's deep voice had me jumpin' in my boots. "Not sure what ropes you need shown. Looks like you already know your way around."
I was busy mucking the outdoor paddocks when the foreman finally made his way back out. Apparently, Sassy had gone up to the house not long ago to get his ass in gear. Wasn't sure what her role on this ranch was, but it seemed like keeping the men in line was a full-time job.
"What Brody didn't show me yesterday"—I stuck the pitchfork tip-down in the dirt, propping myself up—"the cowboys have been kind enough to fill me in on this morning."
"Good, good. Been a little… dramatic 'round here lately, but I can assure you, usually I'm more on top of things. Gotta be with the way shit's been goin'."
"Trouble in paradise?" I batted my lashes and Rhett leveled me with a look. He might be more fun to fuck with than the boy scout, but in a poke-your-big-brother-in-the-cheek-til-he-shouts kinda way.
The long-suffering sigh he let out plus the hands-on-the-hips posture he assumed had me grinning. Ah, fuck. These cowboys were too easy.
I threw my hands up. "Sorry, sorry. I'm here to work, boss. Put me to it."
He palmed the top of his black hat and pulled it off just long enough to run a hand through the still-wet strands of his long dark hair.
Rhett and Brody were about as opposite in the looks department as two cowboys could get. Clearly, Sassy didn't have a type. I did. And usually, they looked just like Rhett. Except it wasn't Rhett's face, hands, ass that my brain had been conjuring up as I worked through morning chores.
Nope.
Dirty blonde hair long enough to grab and pull but not too long it looked sloppy. Square jaw stubbled with hair a shade or two darker. Vibrant green eyes. Big hands. Bubble butt.
Ugh. Brody was too damn pretty. Too damn distracting.
If I was lucky, he wouldn't be around much. Certainly being the best damn farrier in the county meant he'd be busy. But I had to know.
"Will, uh, Brody be around much?"
It was Rhett's turn to smirk. "Miss him already, honey?"
"Oh, do not honey me, cowboy." I rolled my eyes and returned to my work.
Rhett simply chuckled behind me and grabbed a pitchfork of his own, working alongside me as he spoke.
"We probably won't see him again until later in the week. Unless you go to The BP."
"He work at the gas station, too?"
"Nah, that's The Bar."
"The BP is the bar? Or the gas station?"
"The gas station is The Bar. The BP is the bar."
I stood and faced him. He mirrored my position.
"Say that again?"
His laugh was accompanied by a big grin this time.
"The Blue Pony—or, The BP—is the bar Brody lives above. I assume you're familiar?"
Ah, shit. My face felt a little hot but we were standing in the shade of the barn. "I am."
"Mhm. The one and only local gas station is called The Bar."
"You're shittin' me."
"I shit you not, Calvin." He tipped his Stetson toward me. "Welcome to Larkspur, Montana."