My heartbeat races when he strokes my arm and then laces his fingers with mine. He’s going to kiss me. I lick my lips in anticipation.
“Hello?” someone calls from downstairs.
When Aaron walks to the door, I miss him. He turns back, and I almost think he’s as upset as I am about the interruption. “Sorry. Lora is here for a meeting. Can we continue this later?”
What is it he wants to continue exactly? Our discussion about the pillows or the kiss that almost happened? I can’t speak so all I do is nod.
His smile before he leaves the room is brilliant. “And the towels? Really nice. Thanks.”
Chapter Thirteen
Aaron
Maddox rides up on Doc, his favorite horse. “Aaron?”
“Whoa, boy.” I pull Reuben to a stop.
“I called to you ten times.”
“Didn’t hear you.” I’d been lost in thoughts of Devyn. I’ve never spent as much time in the shower as I have over the past week. I can’t even think about her without getting hard. And the other day when we almost kissed—
He chuckles. “I remember a time when I was oblivious to the world, too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s Devyn, isn’t it? She’s all up in your head.”
“She works for me, Maddox. Or the ranch, anyway. I’m pretty much her boss. It wouldn’t be right.”
He shrugs. “I’ve never signed a paycheck, so technically—”
“Semantics. She works for me, and we both know it.”
“Who cares? Look at Andie and me. She worked at the ranch long before we got together.”
“That’s different.”
“How so?”
“If Devyn and I hook up and things go south, she’d have nowhere to go.”
“What’s her story?”
“I have no idea. She’s super private. Never talks about herself. I get the idea she doesn’t want someone to find her.”
“Bad breakup?”
“Maybe. Or worse.”
“You think someone hurt her?”
“Like I said, I have no idea. A relationship is probably the last thing she wants.”
“Relationship?” He cocks his head in surprise. “This is a whole new you, Aaron. I wasn’t sure that word was even in your vocabulary. What if you get with her and then decide she’s like every other girl? What then?”
“Two seconds ago, you were encouraging this.”
“That was when I thought you were talking something casual.”
I shake my head. “She’s different. Not like the others.”
“But you barely know her.”
“She’s not easy to get to know.”
“Bring her by the house for supper. We’ll invite Christina and Tara. With those two and Andie, they’re bound to get some details.”
“I’m not tricking her into getting grilled by your wife and her friends.”
“It won’t be like that. I promise to tell Andie to go easy.”
“She might not come. She doesn’t seem the social type.”
“You’ll never know until you ask.”
“I don’t know. I’ll see how things go.”
“Andie showed me a picture of the pillows and towels. She’s great with a sewing machine. An unusual talent for someone her age.”
“I told you, she’s not like the others.”
He laughs.
“What?”
“Cousin, you’ve got it bad.”
“Fuck off.” I click my tongue and squeeze Reuben with my legs, and we take off.
“Friday night?” he calls after me.
I flip him off without turning.
Back at the lodge, I water Reuben, tie him up, and go inside.
Yesterday, when I asked Devyn about learning to ride again, she seemed unsure. She’s reading a book in the living room. Not her electronic book thing, but an actual paperback. I step closer. It’s a book about constellations. “Studying up on the stars?”
“Thought I could use a hobby.”
“You mean besides sewing?”
“Sewing isn’t a hobby.”
“Then how did you learn—”
“Did you know there are eighty-eight official constellations, and the word constellation means ‘set with stars’?”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Living on a ranch, you might be interested in this fact: farmers were the first to use constellations. In some areas of the world, the changing of the seasons is so subtle that they depended on the stars to know when it was time to plant and harvest.”
“Is that so? I guess you’re becoming an astronomy expert.”
“Ha! Hardly.” She puts the book on the table.
“Can you come outside?”
“Why?”
“I was hoping we could go for a ride.”
“In your truck?”
“No.”
She sighs. “I’m a little nervous about getting on a horse.”
“We’ll ride together. Reuben is strong, and we should both fit in the saddle I put on him.”
She’s still hesitating.
“You live on a ranch now, Devyn. Horses come with the territory. Besides, you said you needed a hobby. Maybe now you can have two: stars and horses.”
“What if they hate me?”
“Horses don’t hate anyone.”
After a moment, she says, “I’ll get my hat.”
Out front, I untie Reuben and mount up. When she appears, I hold my hand out and pull her up in front of me. We fit in the saddle, but it’s snug. I slip my arms around her and pick up the reins. It’s as close as we’ve ever been. My chest is pressed against her back, and when Reuben starts walking, the friction between us causes an unintentional reaction.
“Keep your legs slack, otherwise it will confuse Reuben.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
We go slow. I don’t want to put undue stress on the horse. We head away from the ridge and onto the airstrip.
“Wow,” she says. “It’s even more overgrown than I remember. I walked past here last month on my way to the lodge, but it didn’t really hit me how dilapidated it was. Do you think anyone will ever make use of it again?”
“We don’t have much use for it. The airport is only forty minutes away. This was built way back.”
“But wouldn’t it be cool if your guests could fly directly here? Like have VIP plane service from the airport and then get on horses to the lodge? It would add to the overall experience. And as long as we’re dreaming, you know what else would be great? Helicopter tours. Think about it. You do horseback rides, but the ranch is so big, there’s no way for them to see it all. I’ll bet it looks amazing from the air.”
“It does. I’ve seen it. The ridges to the east of the lodge are what this place is named after.”
“The devil’s horns. I’d love to see them.”
“I’d love to show you. You got a few extra million lying around to fix the runway and add a helipad? Not to mention we’d need a pilot, or do you want to add that to your list of hobbies?”