“Go to bed. I’ll clean this up.” He stands there looking at me.
“Only if you come with me,” he says. My eyes roam the room as I look at the mess. “You can clean that up later.”
“How about I sleep on the couch?” I say, hoping he goes to sleep in his own bed.
“Fine.” He turns to walk away. I clean up as fast as I can and then turn on the little light over the stove. Walking over to the couch, I stop when I see him standing there with a pillow under his arm. “Get in.” I just look at him. “I have to sleep on the edge.”
“You don’t have to sleep on the couch with me.” Shaking my head, I walk over to the couch, then lie on my side with my back to the cushions. He puts a pillow next to the one my head is lying on, then covers us both with the blanket.
“Night, darlin’.” He turns his head and kisses my lips.
“Night, cowboy,” I say, putting my head close to his. I don’t know how fast it takes me to fall asleep, but the next time I open my eyes, the sun is slowly creeping in. I look over and see that Casey is trying to get up without disturbing me.
“What time is it?” I whisper, and he looks over his shoulder at me.
“Six fifteen.” He gets up. “Go back to sleep. I’m late.” He walks to his bedroom.
“How are you late for anything?” I ask him as the sound of his laughter comes from his bedroom.
“I’m up at five usually and in the barn by five thirty.” He comes out with his Levi’s on while he slips into his white T-shirt. “I’ll be back at seven, and we can walk over for breakfast.” He brushes back his hair with his hands. “Think you’ll be ready?”
“I’m ready now,” I say. Tossing the covers back, I get off the couch. I don’t notice that my shorts have risen, showing off my long legs. I’ve been told I have great legs, and they go on for miles. It’s why Victoria’s Secret took me. He looks at me up and down. “I mean, I can be ready in ten minutes.” Running to the bedroom, I slip on my blue capri yoga pants and a sports bra with a midriff black shirt. I grab my sneakers and walk out to see him putting on his boots.
“You have a sweater?” he asks, and I look over at him in a T-shirt.
“Why? It’s warm out.” Sitting on the steps, I put on my socks, then slip on my shoes. “I’m fine.”
“Darlin’.” He stands up, and I just look at him. “You are walking into a barn with your skin showing.”
“Ankles are not pieces of the body, cowboy.” I shake my head at him. “It’s just ankles. You know, in some countries, the ankles are considered the sexiest part of a woman’s body,” I say, tying up my hair, but my shirt rises, and he looks at me, shaking his head. “They are all covered from head to toe, but they keep their ankles out.”
“You don’t say?” he says from beside me. Our hands graze while we walk, and his pinky reaches out to hold mine. The rest of the walk to the barn is quiet. I listen to the sounds of birds in the distance, and I swear it’s the calmest place in the world.
When we get to the barn, he opens the doors. “Welcome to my office,” he says. Walking into the barn, I see it looks almost new. I follow him as he walks into the little kitchen to start the coffee. “Want to see Lady Princess?” he asks, and I nod as we walk to the first stall. The horse sticks her head out.
“Well, hello there, pretty girl,” I say, rubbing the front of her nose. She blows out, and her tail wags. “Aren’t you a beauty?”
“Do you ride?” I look over at him. Something about Casey is that I can’t keep my secrets from him. It’s almost as if I know it’s safe with him.
“I did when I was younger, and then it got in the way of other things.” I leave it at that. I don’t say that it got in the way of my pageant training, and the one time I came in second place, she sold my horse and refused to let me ride anymore. “I used to love it.”
He walks away from me, but I continue petting the horse. When he comes back out, he is holding two cups in his hand. He hands me one of the cups. “Come sit in the office.” I follow him in the office, and I don’t know why I’m expecting to see a dusty office with papers all over the desk, but what is there is a brown desk with four huge monitors on it. Then another desk on the side with six monitors as it flashes to different parts of the farm.
“You really have it all wired up,” I say, motioning to the screens. He nods while he drinks his coffee. Sitting in the chair, he reads something on the computer. I look at the pictures on the wall. Stepping closer, I see one of Casey all dressed up in a suit while he accepts some award. He’s shaking hands with someone while holding another award in his hand in another picture. Then an old picture in the middle of all of them has him dressed in chaps and a white shirt that is covered in dirt. He has a cut on his cheek, and he’s wearing gloves. His look is of pure anger, but he has a little smirk as he holds up his hand with the number one.
“What is this?” I turn to him, and he looks up.
“That was the last time I was on the circuit,” he says. “It was a do or die situation, and that picture”—he points with his finger—“captures the after.”
“Why?” I ask him. When he leans back in the chair, I shake my head, feeling I overstepped. “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“It’s just ancient history,” he says, and I don’t say anything else. I don’t know why it bothers me that he doesn’t tell me. Taking a sip of coffee, I decide to go back to the house.
“I’ll leave you to work,” I say and duck my head down. I turn to walk out of the room, trying not to let it get to me. Trying not to let it hurt that he hasn’t let me in. Why would he? Why should he? As soon as this is over, I’ll be just another memory for him.
Chapter Fourteen
Casey
“I’ll leave you to work,” she says, trying to sound like she’s okay. She walks out, leaving me wanting to kick myself. I just wasn’t ready to answer any of those questions. My stomach burns with the thought of her walking back to the house without me, and I’m out of my chair before she makes it to the barn door.
“Olivia.” I call her name, and when she turns back, I hate myself for the look on her face. The look that she did something wrong when she did nothing wrong. “Come with me.” I hold out my hand, but I’m expecting her to tell me to fuck off. I would have told me to fuck off. “Please. I want to show you something.”
She walks back to me, and I see that her shield is up now as her eyes are a dark blue. “I didn’t mean to pry.” She straightens her shoulders. “You don’t owe me any explanations, cowboy.” I hate that she pretends with me. I hate that I made her feel like she has to pretend.
“Will you come with me?” I ask, pointing over at the golf cart that I keep beside the barn. “I want to show you something.” She shakes her head and looks down, so I step into her space and put my finger under her chin. “Please.” She blinks away the tears without saying anything, but she nods her head. I hold her hand as we walk to the golf cart. She gets in, and I drive it away from the barn. “All this was my father’s,” I say, pointing at the fence we are driving toward. “On that part,” I say as we go through a small opening to the other side of the fence. “This was his best friend’s land.”