“Aunt Kyla,” Stetson whisper shouted. “Poppyloveshorses!”
I chuckled, pushing Poppy’s dark hair back, leaving her room with the light click of the bedroom door, only to find myself facing Kyla, who looked like she couldn’t tell if she wanted to kill me or hug me. Her mouth dropped to say something, but I stopped her.
“Don’t worry.” I raised my hands. “I had her safely on my chest while I walked Rusty around. But she was completely taken by him.”
“No shit. She’s a Hartwell.” Rhett smiled, his hand running along Kyla’s shoulders.
Kyla’s face softened. “You didn’t have heronthe horse?”
“No, Kyla, I didn’t have her on the horse. And…she’s not walking.”
Kyla scrunched her nose. “Sorry to be a buzzkill.”
“Not at all, just being a good mama.” I gave her a quick side hug before turning to my brother. “What score did you get?” I asked him, watching Kyla sneak into her daughter’s room.
Rhett grinned, waggling his eyebrows with pride. “Seven point two.”
“You were supposed to let the other guys win.” I smiled at my brother. “And Cash?”
“Scored a ninety-three.”
“Damn.” I raised a brow.
“Wyatt,” Kyla whisper-yelled as she came back into the living room. “She’s dead asleep. How!? She won’t fall asleep for me…only Rhett.”
I gave my brother a look and shrugged my shoulders like it was no big deal. “I’m the Poppy whisperer.” I gave her a wink. “Hey, Stet.” I reached out for my nephew, grabbing onto his shoulder. “Let’s get you back home. It’s late.”
Kyla pulled me in for a hug, thanking me for babysitting one last time. I let her know Marsh attempted to eat her, but she was, all in all, a good baby, didn’t even fuss once. Kyla made a comment on how I was now the designated babysitter, and I gave her a quick grin and thumbs up, pushing Stetson out the door.
Stetson recounted the entire night on the walk back. Once we got to the main house, I had to hear the story for a third time as he told Cash and Abi, only stopping when Cash pushed him up the stairs to get him into his own bed, giving me a quick thanks before he disappeared upstairs, grumbling, “Okay, okay. You have school tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Abi sighed, following me to the front door. “I saw Trevor there.”
Trevor was the head of a rodeo committee in Idaho, close friends with the guy I punched. I bit the inside of my lip and kept any thoughts of that night away.
“Oh yeah…how did that go?” I asked, my hand on the doorknob, my other reaching up to rub the back of my neck.
“Good, I guess.” She shrugged her shoulder. “Told me to tell you to call him.”
I gave her a nod, pulling her in for a side hug. “I will, I will,” I assured her, knowing damn well I wouldn’t. “Enjoy your night, sis.”
“Night, Wyatt. Thank you again.”
She shut the door behind me, and I heard it lock. I stuck my hands in my coat pocket and started towards the bunkhouse, stopping only when I saw a familiar truck pull up. The ground crunched as Quinn pulled to a stop, jumping from the cab the moment the engine was cut. She slammed her door and stomped—literally stomped—to the trailer.
Narrowing my eyes, I slowly approached. I thought she would be back tomorrow, not close to ten on a Sunday night.
“You’re back early,” I said once I knew I was close enough, keeping my pace slow.
Quinn shot her gaze towards me, her ponytail whipping around her shoulders. “Don’t.”
I raised a brow in question. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t say anything tonight. I’m getting my horses in their stalls, and then I’m going home, and I don’t want to hear it from you tonight.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything. Need help?”
She dropped her arms, a loud groan escaping her as she looked up to the sky. “No, Wyatt. No. I don’t need help. I can take care of my own horses. Please just…” She sighed and looked back at me. “Just leave me alone.”
