Page 27 of Slow Burn

“Cactus Jackass?“

“Yeah, you know the way you convince everybody you’re fine on your own, you pretend to be prickly so nobody wants to help you?”

“I’m letting you help me aren’t I?“

“Not enthusiastically,” I say. “I’m not convinced you aren’t just doing this as a favour to Austin.”

“Maybe.” He’s cut off by the sound of his phone ringing from his back pocket. When he answers, his face falls and turns grim. “Be right there,” he says before hanging up.

“Everything ok?”

“My dad,” he says, shaking his head. “He needs my help back at the house. I… fuck. I don’t have the time. I told Sutton I’d meet her to vaccinate the new calves.”

“I’ll go,” I offer. “We can do the full tour another day.”

Beck studies my face in that intense way of his. “Are you sure? You really don’t have to.”

“Of course,” I say. “I’m happy to.” It’ll give me a chance to win a bit more favour with Beck. I don’t need to win it with Wade. “Your dad’s a really neat guy. You could learn a thing or two from him about being… agreeable.”

I throw Beck a wink, before turning Willow around and heading in the direction of the house. To my surprise and relief, she takes me home without protest.

Chapter 12

Beck

The whole plan was to keep Lyla at arms length, to not get personal. I knew spending one on one time with her like that would be a mistake. It would blur lines, get messy. But all I can think about when I look at Lyla is that sixteen year old girl who got broken up with at a house party.

She was a mess that night, and I could tell something was wrong by the tone of Austin’s voice when he called and asked if I’d make sure she was okay. I did whatever I had to do just to get to her–including cutting my own date short.

Fuck, was I angry. Not at having to ditch my date, not at having to trek through town to find her because the address Austin texted me after we got off the phone was all garbled. It was the way Lyla was crying when I found her, black tears streaking her face, and the fact that it was some little prick’s fault.

Since coming home, I’ve caught moments where she has that same look of rejection and unworthiness as she did then, all those years ago. Like the way her eyes cast downward when she talked about her dating life, or how the corners of her mouth turned down when I asked about her job.

As if reading my thoughts, my dad interrupts them.

“How was your day?” he asks, putting another bite of food in his mouth. Nash and Skye are here for our weekly family dinner, a tradition that hasn’t gone anywhere since we were kids.

“Fine,” I say, trying not to reveal too much. I don’t want Nash getting any ideas about my relationship with Lyla and having it get back to Austin. They work together a lot on the ranch, and I’m sure they talk about more than cattle prices.

“She is a lovely girl, that Lyla,” he continues. “She really helped me out today. Did she have any good advice about the ranch?”

Nash and Skye exchange a glance over the table, it’s loaded with questions and confusion.

“Lyla’s helping with the ranch?” Skye asks.

Nash cuts in. “The better question is, Beck is letting someone help with the ranch?”

“Dad basically hired her before I had a say,” I answer, and luckily Dad has a mouthful of food so he can’t argue and tell them the truth. That I’ve been desperate, that the situation is dire enough that yes, I need help.

I shelter my siblings as much as possible, and shoulder as much of the responsibility as I can. They’ve been through enough, between Mom leaving and Dad only being present as a father in the last few years. I think he’s finally woken up and realized how many years of our lives he missed out on being so caught up with his work, and stepped up out of guilt.

“Beck… I told you if you needed it you could use some of my winnings from last weekend.”

Skye approached me at the bar when she caught me sulking the other night after losing the steer roping event. I refused her offer and my answer would be the same now. I’m not taking the money she worked so hard for.

I don’t want her to be tied to this place. She has opportunities that I never did to make something of herself.

“That’s a good idea,” my dad pipes up, and Skye nods in agreement. Of course he thinks it’s a good idea. Sometimes I feel like the ranch is the only thing that has ever mattered to him. I’ve given a lot of myself to Wild Sage, and he has happily taken. But I’m not letting him take from Skye, too. She would bleed herself dry for him.