Something flickered across Ethan’s face. Recognition, maybe, or respect. I wasn’t sure. He glanced at the table, nodding solemnly. “This is exactly the kind of facility I want to support, and you are the kind of people I want to be helping.” With a heavy breath, he patted the table. “Count me in.”
Relief swelled so big in my chest I thought I might float out of my chair. I couldn’t wait to tell everyone. This was like catching a great white with a fishing rod from the dollar section. I grinned ear to ear, unable to hide it. “Thank you so much, Ethan. Really. You have no idea how much this means to me. To all of us at Golden Circle.”
His eyes twinkled with his smile. “It’s my pleasure. Transitioning veterans need purpose, and what you’re building here provides that. You’ve got a solid vision and more heart than most people I come across these days, Delilah. Don’t ever lose that.”
His words settled deep, and I took them to heart. I nodded, and we both stood once the waitress left with the check. “I’ll be in touch in a few days about numbers. Let me know when the building is finished, and I’ll come take a tour.”
“Sounds perfect,” I replied, following after him. “We’d be more than happy to have you.”
He extended his hand when we reached the valet. “It’s really been great to meet you, Delilah, and I look forward to working with you and your ranch.”
I could’ve sworn I was levitating when I shook his hand again. “You too, Ethan.”
The ride back to Golden Circle went by in a blink. I was buzzing with excitement as I floored the golf cart out to where Claire and Beau were overseeing construction of the new arenaand stables for the Cavendish show horses that would be bred and trained here. Both of them were scowling and nitpicking every single detail. It was so eldest sibling, control freak of them.
“You guys are gonna shit!” Some of the construction workers stopped what they were doing to give me a questioning glance. I ignored them and practically skipped over to Claire and Beau. “I got a sponsor!” I jostled Claire by her shoulders. My heart was racing, my skin tingling. I couldn’t believe thatIbagged him. Me. All on my own.
Claire’s expression went from amused to shocked confusion. She grabbed my wrists, taking my hands off her. “What? What do you mean a sponsor?”
“Ethan Carmichael. You know, the guy Richard Cavendish told you about. I just had lunch with him at the country club, and he’s in!” Just saying the words sent a satisfied, proud zing through me.
“You had a lunch meeting without us?” Beau frowned, placing his hands on his hips. He and Claire shared a look that made my stomach twist. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
My smile faltered, and I felt instantly defensive. This was my win, and I wasn’t about to let them take that away from me. “Yeah, and you paid for it.” His glower only deepened. “I didn’t know I needed your permission. You’re both busy overseeing all this.” I waved to the arena. “I thought I’d take something off your plates.”
Claire sighed in that disappointed maternal way that made my pride deflate like a balloon. Win effectively yanked away. She tucked some auburn hair behind her ear, taking a step towards me. “You shouldn’t have done that, Delilah. Ethan Carmichael isn’t just some donor—he’s a national name. If anything went wrong, it wouldn’t just reflect on you; it’d reflect on all of us. We should’ve been there to back you up.”
My lips parted, my brows furrowing, stunned. What the hell? They should’ve been thanking me! “You can’t be serious.” My eyes darted between them, and a slicing, burning pain raced through my chest. “Oh my God, you’re fucking serious.”
Beau’s expression cracked with something like remorse. “Del?—”
I flung a hand up. “Save it,” I snapped. “I just got us probably a multi-million dollar sponsorship, and you’re going toscoldme for not running it past Mommy and Daddy? No. Fuck that.” My chest ached as I backed away from them. “We’re supposed to be a team. Equal. All twelve of us. But you still don’t trust me. Still think I’ll screw it up.” My throat closed. “If that’s how it is…then what the hell am I even doing here?”
Claire called after me as I stormed off to the golf cart, but I ignored her. I couldn’t believe them. That after everything I’d done for them, for this ranch, they still didn’t trust me.
It hurt more than I thought it would. All my life, I’d been underestimated. I wasHurricane Delilah. The partier. The casual dater. No one had ever entrusted me with important things, thinking I’d ruin them. But I’d never even been given a real chance to try. I’d assumed—hoped—that Claire and Beau having me oversee Freedom Reins meant that had changed, and this was my chance.
But turns out, that was just a bunch of words. Bullshit. Meaningless.
8
Ch 7 - Emmett
Nine days had passed since Delilah held me. Since she kissed me like I mattered. Since she made me come so hard, I couldn’t think straight. Since she knocked my world off its axis.
I thought I’d be over it by now. I’d tried everything. Avoiding her, being a dick, I even downloaded Tinder to try to force it. I deleted it not even five minutes later. None of the women were right. None of them were her.
Every day I watched her. That wild laugh, her easy charm, and gorgeous smile—she lit up the whole damn ranch. Everyone noticed, stopping what they were doing just to soak up a bit of her light, and she knew it, too. I used to think she was cocky with unfounded arrogance. Now I knew better: she was confident, magnetic, and it was devastating to watch.
“Pay attention,” I snapped at Rhett, the newest ranch hand. He had the subtlety of a bomb with the way his attention lingered on Delilah. “This is important.” I was explaining the feed for the cattle. Different cattle needed different food and minerals to meet their needs. Give the wrong thing to the wrong one, and they could get sick.
“Sorry,” he stammered, coming closer. He ran a hand over his black beard, trying to focus, but his attention bounced between me and Delilah, who was talking to someone by her car. I forced myself not to eavesdrop and follow my own advice. It was my job as the ranch manager to train the ranch hands, so any mistakes that happened were on my shoulders.
But then I saw a flash of leg in my peripheral vision, and did a double-take. Delilah was in shorts designed to ruin me and a navy shirt cropped just enough to reveal a tiny sliver of her waist. She looked too damn good to be so off limits. But it was her hair that made my chest constrict. I was obsessed with it. A fascination I couldn’t shake, no matter how hard I’d tried.
Tearing my eyes from her, I continued my spiel, reminding Rhett that he couldn’t give too much protein to the bulls, or it’d mess with their kidneys and could make them aggressive.
“You said that already.”
