Page 26 of Wilder

My hands twitched at my sides, a familiar itch working them into fists as his messy hair fell into his eyes.

Really need to get him to wear that damn bandana.

“Oh,” he murmured, his voice quiet. His breath curled in the cold air between us. Then, a beat later, he seemed to catch himself. His posture relaxed just a fraction, a lopsided, almost sheepish smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” I said, leaning to the side until my shoulder caught the doorframe. “Didn’t expect to see you up this way so early.”

My words weren’t meant to be a dig. Far from it, actually. Asher was as hard working as they came; something I wanted to keep encouraging without my blatant favoritism over him showing too much.

Truth be told, that was a hard thing to do when all I wanted was to praise him to the high heavens like he deserved. However, if I started treating him differently—if I started handing out compliments a little too freely, if I started making it obvious just how much I noticed him—others would pick up on it. And so would he.

That was the last thing either of us needed.

He blew out a long breath, the exhale curling white in the cold air. “Actually, I was coming up to talk to you.”

Unfairly, my heart stuttered.

There was no reason for it—none at all. Just a simple statement; nothing weighted, nothing unusual. But still, something about the way he said it had my pulse jumping before I could school my reaction.

I straightened just slightly from where I was leaning. “Something wrong?”

Asher hesitated. And that was what made my stomach tighten.

Because Asher didn’t hesitate.

He didn’t waver when it came to what he wanted. He never danced around a subject or played a game of cat-and-mouse, expecting others to guess what was on his mind. That just wasn’t who he was. Instead, he was honest—always open, always upfront.

So the moment his gaze darted away from mine, his hand lifting to rub at the back of his neck, I knew something was off.

“No? Not really, I guess. I don’t know.”

I didn’t like the sound of that.

Not one bit.

His words were too uncertain, too unlike him. Something was bothering him. Something that had driven him all the way up here when he should’ve been back at the arena with the rest of the ranch hands or still down by the stables, killing time until dinner.

I tilted my head slightly. “You don’t know?”

He huffed out another breath, this one carrying a little more frustration, which seemed to be directed more at himself than anything. “So, I had a conversation with my brother yesterday.”

Well.

That sounded ominous as hell.

“And how is he?” I asked.

“Fine.”

I waited for him to continue.

When he didn’t, I bent back just enough to grab a hold of the handle to the door and swing it shut behind me before making my way over to him. His eyes snapped up to meet with mine the second I got close, slightly wide like he hadn’t been expecting me to actually move toward him.

His lips parted slightly, the tip of his tongue darting out just enough to wet his bottom lip⁠—

And fuck.

I noticed.