Chapter 15 #2
With the scent of rain, wet earth, and fresh poop in my nostrils, I started moving again, holding my hand out to show her I was coming in peace.
To my surprise, she let me clip the lead rope onto her without making a fuss and happily followed me back to the gate, where Charlie was waiting with the other three horses.
“Took you long enough,” he muttered before he pushed the gate open, sending me an annoyed look. He started leading them out. “You do realize that wasn’t shut properly, right?”
“It was. I felt it slide into place.”
He sighed. “It clips in, Olivia.”
“You could’ve told me that before.” Frustration tightened my muscles, but I followed him out. The rain started seeping through my jacket. The drops clung to my hair before slowly running down my face.
Charlie was beginning to get drenched too as the rain picked up. “Just hurry. The storm is going to be here soon.”
Unable to resist, I stuck my tongue out behind his back and took Cutie to the stall he pointed me to.
Once she was securely put away, I turned back to him.
“You do know that it’s not my fault we’re out here right now, don’t you?
If you’d told me to clip it into place, I would’ve done it, but was I supposed to smell that it was a click and not a slide? ”
He huffed out a breath. “It’s common sense, Liv. Do you have any idea how strong a horse is? How smart? If we just slid latches into place, it wouldn’t take them long to figure out all they needed to do is apply some pressure to push the gates open.”
The last remaining horse turned and started trotting out of the stables and I frowned after it. “Is he supposed to be doing that?”
“She,” Charlie snapped as he slid the latch into place behind the second horse. “What are you—”
As he was asking the question, he’d started turning and he must’ve seen what I had been talking about. A string of curses fell from his lips. His eyes widened when he spun back to me. “Well? Are you going to go catch it?”
“Me?” I wrinkled my nose. “Fine. I’ll go, but then I’m definitely posting the cow pic.”
I flicked the soaked hood of my equally soaked and useless jacket off and ran back out into the rain. I hadn’t been expecting Charlie to join me, but the next thing I knew, he was about ten feet ahead, motioning to me to stay where I was while he took the other side.
Together, we chased the animal and tried to bring it back, but between the mud and the fact that the rain was now coming down in sheets, I ended up crashing into something hard. As I fell over, I felt it collapsing beside me and I started laughing when I saw Charlie’s face in the mud next to mine.
He was scowling. His wet hair was plastered over his forehead and his arms were coated with mud. I knew I probably looked even worse but I found myself flopping back on the drenched ground. Cracking up, I stared at the rain coming down.
Charlie finally started laughing too. “This is ridiculous.”
“It really is,” I agreed between chuckles, rolling to face him. I tried to catch my breath. “I think there’s something wrong with us.”
A furrow appeared on his brow. Droplets ran down his forehead, temples, and cheeks. He rolled to me and reached over to move a strand of wet hair off my face. He looked deep into my eyes as if not even the storm existed to him anymore, and he slowly shook his head.
“There’s nothing wrong with us, Liv. We’re just trying to chart unfamiliar territory.” He cradled my face in his hand and pressed his lips to mine without any hesitation or warning.
Sparks went off in my body. My skin tingled.
I kissed him back with much the same kind of abandon.
My lips parted for him as if kissing this man was the most natural thing in the world.
Somehow, I wasn’t surprised by the kiss at all.
It felt almost like he was coming home, but as I lifted my arms to wrap them around his neck, he pulled away.
My heart hammered against my ribs. Everything in me wanted more, but obviously, he didn’t. In fact, he wasn’t even looking at me right then. He simply glanced up at the sky again and then stood, walked away, and left me panting and confused.
A couple minutes later, he reappeared with our escapee, which at least explained where he’d gone, but I still didn’t understand what had just happened.
Finally, when he emerged from the stables, I realized our work here was done.
I sat up before slowly getting to my feet, careful that I didn’t slip in the mud again.
“Let’s go,” he called from the truck.
I shook my head. “I think I’ll walk. Thanks, though.”
He scoffed. “You’re not walking, Olivia. This is a big ranch and you’re not familiar with it. Sudden storms like this can be treacherous to navigate if you’ve never experienced it before. Just get in the truck.”
Since I had to pass it in order to get to the main farm road anyway, I walked toward it, but I had no intention of getting in. “I understand that you’re a strong and capable man who thinks he’s not going to take no for an answer, but I can make it on my own.”
“Maybe you can,” he said. “We’re not going to take that chance, though. Get in the truck, Liv.”
I glared at him, hurt and confusion insisting that I make my own way home, but my brain won the argument. All I wanted was to get away from him, but I would be able to do it dry and warm much faster if I took him up on the ride.
Finally making up my mind, I marched over to his truck. The seat squelched under my wet ass when I settled in. My boots, clothes, and skin were covered in mud, but I wasn’t even sorry for getting it all over his interior. He was one who’d insisted that I get in. This wasn’t on me.
Charlie drove us back to his house without saying a word and I didn’t break the silence either. I was too busy stewing.
When he pulled up to his front door, I climbed out before the truck had even come to a complete stop and I trudged upstairs without saying goodnight. Another shower. Dry clothes. My bed.
That was what I wanted. In that order.
Charlie could go screw himself. He’d told me the night we’d met that he was nothing like those city boys I was used to. I didn’t believe him at the time, but I sure did now. Except that now, I knew that he was even worse.
Those city boys I was used to? At least they knew what they were. They were proud of it, even. Being fuckboys, or players, or whatever they chose to call it was part of their identities.
Charlie, however, thought he was a gentleman, but he was just as much of a player as those city boys. He simply hadn’t accepted it yet.