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Mason gestured toward her, flinging a hand in her direction. “This is the reason I’m never going back.”
“I’m sorry?” she shot back. “I’m the reason for what exactly?”
Mason exchanged a look with his brother, indicating that if he were smart, he’d stay out of this, too. But Wade wasn’t having any of it.
“Did you walk all the way here in the rain?” His brother pulled off his sheepskin jacket and moved toward her to drape it over her shoulders, but the stubborn woman held up both hands.
“No, thank you. I’m just here to find out what Mason wanted with my uncle.”
“What I wanted?” Mason let out a derisive bark of laughter. “I didn’t want anything. Your uncle asked me to stop by, and I’m already regretting it.”
Her eyes made it clear she didn’t believe him. Why was it so hard to tear his own gaze away from her? Just like before when he’d first met her, he found himself easily getting swept up in the beauty of those eyes.
Mason shook his head and turned slightly to face his brother. “I’m going to take her home, and when I get back, we’re going to finish this talk. I don’t think anyone else is going to be too keen on what you did.”
“I didn’t do anything.” His older brother smirked. “And you’ll find it real hard to convince anyone else to be on your side.”
Mason glared at the brother he thought he could trust above all else. What was family for if not to stick up for each other and look out for one another? How was Wade able to believe he’d done something out of the goodness of his heart when it could mean tearing their family apart?
He didn’t bother demanding an explanation. Wade wasn’t about to concede anything—not without a fight. So Mason spun toward Harley and took her elbow.
She jerked it out of his grasp. “I can walk on my own, thank you.”
Mason stopped and held out a hand to gesture toward his truck. “Ladies first.”
Harley rolled her eyes. They headed toward his vehicle, and the closer they got, the more irritated she seemed to become. By the time they were standing beside it, her face was flushed bright red. “No.”
“No?” he muttered. “What do you mean, no?”
“I’m not getting in that truck without my answers.”
“I’ll tell you anything you want to know when we get there.”
She snorted. “Do you really expect me to believe a word you say? I know you don’t want to take me home. You could very well just do a drive-by and shove me out an open truck door. Just humor me and tell me what my uncle wanted.”
“Just go ask him yourself. I doubt he’ll give you much pushback. He’s actually a decent guy.”
For the second time, she rolled her eyes. By this point, he nearly thought she might stomp a foot for good measure, though he ended up disappointed.
“You want to know what this was all about? It was a job offer.”
Out of everything she might have been expecting him to say, that one must have thrown her off more than anything else could. Her shoulders dropped, as did her jaw. “He did what? You want me to believe he’s offering you a job and you turned it down? Why?”
“What’s it to you?”
Harley didn’t respond right away. She shifted slightly, and then her whole body shivered. Her teeth started to chatter, and he let out a groan as he removed his own jacket.
Before she could refuse him, he shot her a dark look. “I’d rather you not catch your death. The last thing I need is for the town to think a Keagan contributed to the death of a lady.”
Harley lifted a single brow. “Lady? Seriously? Did I cross dimensions into another time period or something?” When he didn’t answer, she groaned. “Besides, it’s summer. I’ll be fine as soon as the sun comes out.”
“It’s summer in the mountains. The weather isn’t exactly the same as if you were in the city.”
“Whatever.” Her mumble died off the second the jacket was wrapped around her. While her teeth still chattered slightly, the rest of her body seemed to relax almost immediately. Her narrowed eyes locked with his. “I need to know because of the reason I’m in this forsaken place.”
Her statement didn’t make sense, and she probably already knew that because she continued.
“I’m not supposed to be here. I know. Shocker.” Harley adjusted the jacket enough for her to slip her arms inside. “Let’s just say my parents aren’t too proud of the young woman I’ve become. They want to teach me a lesson or something, and they thought sending me to a ranch would set me on the straight and narrow.” She rolled her eyes again. “Yeah, like that was ever going to happen. Now, my uncle has gotten it into his head that I need to help out around the ranch to earn my keep. Can you believe that? He actually thinks that I’m going to go along with every little chore he sends my way. Fat chance.”
