Unless he’s rethinking it. Unless he’s already looking for a way out and just hasn’t found the words.
Except that’s not Wesley. If he didn’t want this, he wouldn’t have agreed to it.
So why does it feel like I imagined the whole thing?
Why does the silence feel like an answer I’m not ready to hear?
BythetimeIdrag myself up the porch steps, my body is aching with exhaustion. I didn’t even have a chance to take a lunch break, which means I haven’t seen Lydia yet. Probably for the best—she’d take one look at me and sense I’m keeping a secret from her.
Rule number one: Nobody can know. Not even my best friends.
Keeping a secret this big feels like my skin is tightening around me, hot and itchy. Suffocating.
I’m halfway up the stairs, almost to my room, when Heath calls my name. My stomach drops. A dozen catastrophic possibilities flood my brain—did Wesley tell him? Did he find out my father sent me here to run away from a salacious scandal? Did Lane retaliate and open his mouth about his suspicions?
I swallow the panic and step into the kitchen.
Heath stands at the island chopping carrots and potatoes, his grin wide as ever. The same as Emmett’s and impossible not to love.
“Perfect timing,” he says. “Wanted to run an idea by you.”
My heart vaults into my throat.
Is it finally happening? Is he going to let me lead solo trail rides? I’m desperate to get out of that fucking barn and have one day where I don’t have to scoop up piles of shit.
I brace myself, leaning against the counter. “Okay.”
“Your friends are still coming next week, right?”
Relief washes through me so hard my knees nearly give out.He doesn’t know.
“Yes. Emmett volunteered to drive us to the airport to pick them up.”
“Good,” Heath says, nodding. “A cabin opened up that weekend, so I blocked it off for you girls. Figured you’d all enjoy having your own space.”
My face lights up before I can stop it. “Seriously? Heath, that’s…Wow. Thank you.”
“The only catch is that you’ll be responsible for cleaning it up before the next guests.”
“Of course. Done. Thank you, Heath.”
He waves me off like it’s nothing. “Just a matter of good timing is all. Go and get cleaned up. Dinner’s in twenty.”
Approximately thirty seconds after I’ve stripped out of my jeans, a soft knock sounds at my door.Ugh. I was really hoping to use each and every one of those twenty minutes and stand under the hot water to relieve my aching muscles.
With a groan, I yank the blanket off my bed and wrap it around me, wearing only my bra and underwear beneath the knitted fabric—and the second I crack the door, Wesley slips inside, shutting it firmly behind him with his back.
“Are you insane?” I whisper, incredulous and breathless in the same moment. “What if Emmett—”
“He’s in the shower,” he says, cutting me off and leaning against the door. His damp hair clings to his forehead and the clean scent of his shampoo fills the room.
His eyes rake down my body, slow and purposeful. My skin sparks beneath the plush cover. “What’s with the blanket?”
“I was about to shower,” I mutter, clutching it tighter around me.
“So…” His brow lifts, lazy and lethal. “You’re naked under there?”
My heart thuds and I shake my head. “Not completely. I was…interrupted.”
