You’re forgiven. I’m sorry I gave you a fake name.
What a dick I was. It was Anna who deserved my fire, not Tenley. No apologies necessary. Friends, then?
An olive branch? I like it. Friends it is.
Friends. I stare at the word in our text conversation, a heaviness settling in my limbs.
Good night.
I respond the same. Good night.
Across the distance, I watch as she gets up, pauses at the back door, then walks inside. The light turns off.
12
Tenley
“Thank you for breakfast,” I say to Juliette. It’s my third morning in a row having breakfast with her and Beau and Gramps while I wait for Warner to get back from taking his kids to school. Wyatt was here yesterday, but not today. Juliette told me Wes and Dakota join them on Sunday mornings, and Warner and the kids on the weekends when he has them.
From what I can tell, Warner has them the majority of the time. I’d love to ask, but I’m afraid I’d overstep a boundary. I’ll remain in the dark about Warner’s ex-wife until someone decides to turn the light on for me. It’s none of my business, but I’m curious.
Dakota went to the store for me two days ago and helped me fill Wyatt’s fridge. I can make scrambled eggs and bacon myself, but I like the company. Beau doesn’t talk much, but Gramps makes up for it. He has stories for days, and he’s eager to share them. Juliette doesn’t love small talk, but she’s happy to tell me about the ranch. I’m learning as much from her as I am from Warner and the cowboys. She’s promised me a lesson in making goat cheese, and while I’m positive that’s not in the movie, I don’t care because it sounds like it would be cool to learn.
Another thing I’ve picked up is to eat a huge breakfast. Ranch work goes for most of the day and lunch isn’t a priority. Mostly the cowboys eat whatever they’ve packed themselves. Shadowing Warner the past few days has been good, even fun at times, but it’s not easy to be around him. I’m so attracted to him that it’s distracting, and I make mistakes or forget what he tells me. He’s patient, and sometimes I feel helpful, but mostly I think I’m in the way.
Like yesterday, when we took the side-by-side out to mend some fences. First off, I had no idea what a side-by-side was, but I kept my mouth shut and waited to be shown instead of asking. Second, I can’t mend a fence to save my life, and I made more work for Warner than if he’d done it on his own.
We checked on the bulls on our way back, and he drove me around the property. Not all of it, because it’s too massive to ride around in an ATV, but what I saw was gorgeous. At one point we rode up onto a small bluff and he ran a flattened palm parallel to the horizon. “That’s all Hayden land. Everything, for as far as you can see.” I didn’t miss the hint of pride in his voice, and it reminded me of the words on the family crest above the fireplace mantel in the homestead. Legacy, Loyalty, Honor.
Warner walks into his parents’ place just as I finish drying the last breakfast dish. He finds me in the kitchen, a dish towel draped over my shoulder, on tiptoe with my arm outstretched as I try to slide the last clean plate onto the stack in the cabinet. He comes up behind me, reaching above my head to help, and even though his scent is intoxicating, it’s the care he takes not to touch me that really draws my attention. Bumping against me without thinking is one thing, but the deliberate action he’s taking to maintain distance says more. All the air in my lungs disappears, replaced with a longing I hardly know how to fight. Instead, I choose flight, sliding along the countertop until I’m out of his range completely.
“Thanks for the help,” I manage to say, despite the sudden shortness of breath. “All done in here.” I toss the dish towel on the counter beside the sink.
Warner crosses his arms in front of himself. “How do you feel about learning to ride today?” He tips his chin up a fraction and raises his eyebrows.
I wrinkle my nose. I’ve done some unenjoyable ranch tasks over the past few days, but learning to ride a horse has been high on the list of things I don’t want to do. I don’t have a fear of heights, per se, but horses are really far up off the ground.
My hands clasp in front of me, and I stretch them out. “Well… what else is there to do?” My tone is sunny and hopeful.
He gives me a knowing look. “You’re going to have to learn to ride sometime.”
“I will, just maybe not today? How about tomorrow?”
A rumbling chuckle fills the air. “You could charm the skin off a snake.”
“Ew.”
“What? You don’t have snakes in Hollywood?”
“We sure do. It’s a word we use to describe bad humans.”
Warner smirks. “Well, since you’re refusing to learn to ride today, how about I ease you in?”
“How so?”
“Ride with me.” Warner grabs two apples from a basket on the counter.
“Ride with you… on a horse?”
“No, on a tractor.” He gives me a look. “Yes, on a horse. We’ll go slow, I promise.”
My lips twist. I really don’t want to get on a horse, but I know I have to. It’s required for my role, unless I put my foot down and demand a double. I don’t want to be that person though. High maintenance. Plus, there’s the cost.
“Alright.”
Warner grins. Riding the horse might just be worth being on the receiving end of that grin.
“Come on then,” Warner says, motioning me out of the kitchen.
I point down at my feet. Sandals aren’t going to cut it. “I need to change shoes.”
Warner rubs his hands together excitedly. “Meet me at the barn.”
“Her name’s Priscilla,” Warner says, running his hand along the horse’s side.
Priscilla is tall, muscular, and beautiful. Her tail flicks as I look her over. Her muscles are taut and defined under her coat. Raw power emanates from her. Maybe it’s not the height that frightens me after all. Maybe it’s the fact that she is filled with potential. At any moment, she could rear back. Gallop. Do whatever it is that horses do. The point is, she could do it.
“Come stand next to me.” Warner motions me over with his head. “Say hello.”
I step up beside him. The earthy scent of hay mingles with Warner’s scent.
“Do what I do,” he murmurs. I mimic his flat palm, running in long strokes down Priscilla’s side.
“She’s so still.” I also copy his volume.
“She’s our gentlest mare. The kids both learned to ride on her.”
“Should be perfect for me then.”
Warner crooks a smile and looks down at me. “Just right.” I watch our nearness register with him. His jaw flexes under the shadow of his stubble, and his gaze travels over my face. I know I’m not imagining the tenderness, the longing, or the fear I see in his toffee eyes.
If he kissed me now, I wouldn’t stop him.
Priscilla whinnies, and it breaks the spell. Warner drops his gaze. He walks around to face the horse and feeds her one of the apples he brought from the homestead.
“Another day, Priscilla. Tenley is afraid of you.” Warner’s teasing voice sounds forced. We both know something just happened between us, and he’s trying to put everything back in its place.