Chapter Six
Walker
"Where the fuck is Toby?" Blaze growls, stomping up to me, wiping sweat from his brow. "I've searched this entire goddamn ranch for him today."
"He's gone," I mutter, hammering a fence post into place.
"Gone?" Blaze blinks at me. "What do you mean, he's gone?"
"I mean, he left the ranch last night and won't be returning."
"Well, fuck me," Blaze mumbles. "Would have been nice had he let me know."
"It was a last-minute decision. Bishop." I wait for Bishop to stop pretending he isn't listening to every damn word Blaze and I just said. "This needs more wire."
"Yeah, on it," Bishop mutters, trying to hide a smile. He saunters toward the truck, chuckling.
"You fired him," Blaze says after a moment.
"No. I simply strongly suggested to Tanner that Toby find other employment.
" I saw the way he was looking at Letty last night.
If I'd kept him around, he'd have been right back in that kitchen again today, and then tomorrow.
That shit isn't happening. So I let Flint and Tanner know that he was going to be a problem for Letty.
To no one's surprise, we found him heading to her place when we walked over to tell him to pack his shit.
Now, the problem is solved.
"Jesus Christ, Walker," Blaze growls before he throws his head back, laughing up at the sky. "You're one possessive asshole, you know that?"
"Why do you need Toby today?"
"We're supposed to be repairing a hole in the roof of the west barn."
"Shit." I pause what I'm doing, quickly trying to run through a list of where everyone is today. Our workload is heavy, and we're running short of bodies. "Take Bishop. I can finish this up by myself."
"You sure?" Blaze glances down the row of fence line that needs repairing. "You'll be out here all goddamn day if you're doing it alone."
"It's fine. I've got it. I can—" I break off when I see Letty stalking toward us across the field with a basket in her hands. She looks like a little kid trooping through the field, tripping on every goddamn hole and root in her path.
"Is she singing?" Blaze asks when he sees her coming.
"I believe she's cursing," I mutter, chuckling.
We fall silent, watching as she stumbles and trips her way the last few yards to us. She arrives, red in the face and out of breath. "This ranch needs sidewalks," she mutters. "I almost died five times."
"The cows would love that," Blaze says dryly.
"Only five times?" I cock a brow at her. "Sunshine, it looked to me like you damn near died with every step you took." I glance down at her feet. "You need boots if you're goin' to be out here."
"Yeah, well, I have flats and heels. And I think I owned a pair of tennis shoes five years ago." She shrugs, holding out the basket toward me. "I came to deliver this."
"What is it?"
"Sandwiches and cookies."
"Oh, shit." Blaze grabs the basket before I can, flipping back the lid to peer inside. "Homemade bread and cookies? You're fucking with me."
"You made us lunch?" I ask, my voice soft.
"I made lunch for everyone," she mutters.
I don't think she realizes our last cook slapped bologna on store-bought bread at breakfast and sent it with us.
He damn sure didn't hand-deliver it fresh with homemade bread and cookies in the middle of the day.
"Tanner and his brothers are delivering baskets to everyone else. "
"Holy shit!" Bishop booms from the back of the truck, finally noticing that we're not alone. "Did she bring us food?"
"No, you fucker. She brought me food," Blaze says, flipping him off. "She said you have to help me repair the roof before you're allowed to eat."
"What the fuck?" Bishop rumbles, hopping out of the bed of the truck with a spool of wire hefted over one arm.
"I did not say that," Letty protests.
"Trust me, Sunshine, it'll save you so much energy if you just let them argue it out," I murmur, gently nudging her out of the way as Bishop stomps over and then drops the spool of wire. He doesn't even spare her a glance before he lunges for the basket.
He's bigger than Blaze, but Blaze is a helluva lot faster. He darts out of the way, already shoving a chocolate chip cookie in his mouth.
Letty watches them chase each other around like toddlers, smiling softly. "I guess it's true what they say," she murmurs when she notices me watching her.
"What's that?"
"Boys never really grow up. They just get bigger."
I rumble laughter, glancing at Blaze and Bishop. Truthfully, they're two of the best we've got. "Bishop found his way here by accident and just never left. He could fight a goddamn bull and win. Blaze fucks with people like it's his job," I say, grinning. "He drives everyone up the fuckin' wall."
"I can see why," Letty laughs, watching as Blaze shoves another cookie in his mouth before pelting Bishop in the head with a wrapped sandwich. Bishop dives for him, managing to grab the basket.
Blaze just shrugs, scoops up the sandwich he lobbed at Bishop's head, and tears the cellophane off before taking a massive bite.
"Are you going to eat?" Letty asks me.
"Depends."
Her eyes narrow on my face in question.
"Does mine contain excessive amounts of hot sauce? Salt? Did you add sardines? Swap the lettuce for cilantro? Use horseradish instead of mayo?"
Her lips twitch. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Uh-huh, I just bet you don't."
"Damn, Walker," Blaze yells. "No wonder you fired Toby. If she keeps feeding us like this, I might start showing up in her kitchen too."
She freezes, her lips parting in shock. "Fired? Toby was fired for coming into the kitchen last night?"
Fuck.
"Letty, I—"
"I need to get back to the kitchen," she mutters, not even meeting my gaze now. "Um, enjoy your lunch."
"Letty, dammit. Wait."
She bolts like her ass is on fire.
Fucking hell.
By the time I make it to the kitchen, Letty is nowhere to be found.
I go to her place next, determined to explain, but she isn't there, either.
I snatch another sign off her door, though.
I can't even laugh about it this time, because I'm too fucking worried that she's actually serious about banishing me from the property.
I damn near tear the ranch apart looking for her, desperate to explain why we let Toby go, but I can't fucking find her anywhere.
"Tanner," I growl into the phone, worried as fuck. "Have you seen Letty?"
"Not lately. Why?"
"Blaze let it slip that we let Toby go last night. She ran off, and no one has seen her since."
"Shit. Is her truck still out there?"
"Yeah, her truck is still here."
"I'll check around the main house. When I saw her this morning, she mentioned the ponds. Check there," he growls into the phone. "And call me back if you find her."
"Will do." I disconnect, shoving my phone into my pocket.
"You find her?" Blaze asks, shielding his eyes from the sun as I stomp past the west barn.
"No."
"Fuck. I'm sorry, Walker. I didn't mean—"
"Not your fault," I mutter, tossing a hand up to halt him. He doesn't owe me an apology. I should have told her this morning. Instead, I just kept it under wraps like that'd keep her from realizing that he was no longer on the property.
I'm an asshole. I walked into her house the other day and promptly lost my mind. It's the only excuse I've got for the way I've been acting. And I don't think she's interested in accepting it.
I need to get my shit together and learn to handle this like a goddamn big boy.
She needs soft and sweet, not a raging, jealous asshole.
If I can't figure out how to be that for her, the only thing I'm going to do is guarantee that she'll never give me the chance I desperately want.
And just so we're clear, I desperately want a chance with her.
So much so that seeing Toby standing in that kitchen, knowing that any one of the hands might sweep her off her feet before she softens toward me, realizing that she'll be here every day, surrounded by other men, is making me fucking rabid.
I'm halfway to the pond when I hear a growl, followed by a whimper that makes my blood run cold.
"Please don't eat me," Letty says, her voice shaking. "Please, please, don't eat me."
I stop moving, trying to pinpoint exactly where she is…and then I see it.
"Fuck," I breathe, my heart in my throat. She's hemmed up against a fence beside an old well, with a bobcat blocking her only path out.
There's nowhere for her to go.