Page 143 of Pumpkin Spice Promises

Today it didn’t.

Near the end of the pasture, the fence dipped where the land sloped toward the creek. Carson stopped.

“This part needs replacing too, unfortunately.”

I checked it and agreed, it wasn’t safe, and I didn’t want her to have to do it. Three posts, maybe four needed to be replaced, it wouldn’t take longer than an hour or two.

“I’ll do it after lunch.”

She shook her head. “You’ve done so much, Beau.”

“We agreed on lunch as payment, remember?”

“One lunch.”

“I’m still hungry.” I wiggled my brows, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

She looked at me. “You’re taking advantage.”

“Absolutely.”

She laughed quietly. Then shifted her weight as the limp returned. I looked away before she caught me noticing.

Maybe she did anyway. Carson had become more aware of my attention, too. She always knew when I looked. Just like I knew when she noticed.

Everything between us had begun developing an extra layer. Things neither of us said out loud.

I rested my hands against the top rail and decided to stop being a coward.

“How’s your leg?”

She froze, green eyes widening in horror before sharpening into anger as she stared me down. “My leg?”

I kept my expression neutral. “You’ve been limping again.”

The air changed between us in one quick minute as the ice princess returned. Carson looked toward the pasture. “I’m fine.”

I nodded, accepting it, despite the alarm bells ringing in my mind. “Okay.”

She turned toward me quicker than I expected. “You’re not going to tell me to sit down?”

“No.”

“Take a break?”

“No.”

“Tell me I’m making it worse?”

“I don’t know what you’re making worse, sweetheart.”

That stopped her slew of questions. I knew she hurt sometimes. I knew she guarded why. And I knew I wasn’t entitled to know her truth, at least not yet. And with the way she guarded it, I wondered if she’d ever let me in.

Carson studied me for a long moment. Then something in her shoulders loosened. “You’re so perceptive.”

“So I’ve heard.”

We started walking back, neither of us continuing the conversation. The sun had climbed higher. Somewhere near the barn, Rosie yelled Jax’s name. He yelled something back.