Cull’s eyes were sympathetic. “I’m sorry.”
“Why should you be? You’re not the prick.”
Once Pearl was ready, Ryan swung her leg over the saddle, feeling the soft creak of leather. Cull vaulted into his own saddle without stirrups, landing with perfect balance. Ryan smiled at the display, she’d seen Seth do it, too. and imagined her own graceless attempt.
“Your horse is beautiful, Cull,” she said, admiring the big Appaloosa. His coat was completely white with black spots all over it. He looked like a big Dalmatian dog, she thought with a smile.
“Thanks.” Cull nodded to her to follow.
“What’s his name?”
Cull glanced at her with a grin. “Spots.”
Ryan burst out laughing as they rode from the barn into the sunlit pasture, the horses’ hooves stirring dew from the grass. Together they made their way to the corn, its stalks just coming from the dirt as they reached for the sky.
As Cull walked along, checking the stalks, Ryan snapped photos. She glanced at the mountains in the distance. Montana was, without a doubt, beautiful.
That evening, the sky painted in lavender and rose, Ryan called her mother from her cabin. Ryan missed her so much, but she also knew that her parents were out on one of their road trips.
“How’s the trip?” Ryan asked, brushing loose strands of hair from her face.
“We’re in Wyoming now. Not too far from you. We might make Montana our next stop,” her mother said excitedly.
“I’d love to see you both. I miss you, but I won’t be here too much longer. We’ll get together once we’re all home.”
“We miss you too honey. Oh, we’re pulling into a rest stop. I have to visit the lady’s room. Talk soon. We love you.”
After the call, Ryan sank into a warm, lavender-scented bath, water swirling around her like a gentle hug. Still, every time she closed her eyes, Seth’s cold stare flashed before her. She climbed into bed under the soft quilt, heart pounding, and fell into a light, restless sleep.
The following morning, Ryan entered the barn to see Seth strolling toward her. Since their words yesterday, she knew Seth wasn’t talking to her, but she was going to make the first move.
“Are you taking me out to the fields today, or do you have other work calling your name?” she asked, her voice soft but edged with frustration.
He braced his broad shoulders against the barn’s rough-hewn plank wall. “I always have work to do,” he growled.
Ryan’s lips thinned. “You don’t need to bite my head off. I only asked because you keep passing me off to someone else. Mr. Beckett asked you to show me around so I could get photos, remember?”
His jaw clenched, the muscles in his neck standing out. “I told Ash I’d help where I could, but I’ve got horses to train. I can’t drop everything just to babysit you.”
“Babysitme?” Her eyes flashed. “I’d rather go with anyone else than you, you—” She cut herself off, but the word hung between them anyway.
They stared at each other in silence, the dusty morning light filtering through cracks overhead. Seth inhaled, turned, and marched from the barn. Dust puffed around his scuffed cowboy boots with each determined stride.
Ryan tried to count to ten, one… two… three, before she stormed out, following him across the yard. She watched him vanish inside his house, the door slamming so hard; she was sure the windows rattled.
“Oh, no you don’t,” she muttered, climbing the stairs two at a time. She rapped sharply on the door. When it swung open, she shoved past him into the kitchen.
“I didn’t invite you in,” he growled.
“Enough of this,” she snapped, planting her hands on her hips. “I am tired of you treating me like shit. I have a job to do whether you like it or not, and I’m doing—”
“Well, Idon’tfucking like it,” he snarled, pivoting toward the door and opening it. He nodded his head, a silent command for her to leave.
Ryan crossed her arms. As soon as he took his hand off the knob, she reached over and slammed the door and turned to him. “We’re sorting this out right now.”
He scoffed. “I need a shower. Unlike you, I’ve been working since five this morning, and I have paperwork to do. Get out.” His tone was icy, final.
She advanced. “No. I want to know why you hate me so much.”
