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“It doesn’t matter, what does is the fact that you lied.”
“I haven’t lied about anything!” I stepped away from the mantel.
He threateningly stalked towards me, though remained collected in his cold demeanor. “I remember you saying you don’t fancy Cassidy.”
“I don’t!”
Weston stopped in front of me, looking down at me with his intense gaze. “But you went on a date with him last night.”
“First off, I didn’t know it was going to happen. Second, why do you care so much?” I jabbed a finger into his chest as he blinked, confused. The anger began to slowly slip away.
“Didn’t know?” he asked, tilting his head.
I sighed. “No. I got home from work exhausted, and your parents were already there with Cassidy.”
“You were set up.” He took a step back as I nodded in agreement.
“Weston, why do you care so much if I went on a date with Cassidy or not?” I asked again.
“I care that you lied to me. Well, didn’t lie, but that… Yeah,” he muttered, running a hand over the back of his neck.
“Weston, I haven’t had a chance to meet a lot of people since moving here. It’s been work from day one. Plus, with my dad, it’s just not in my cards. So the people I have met, the friendships I have made, I value to the extreme. You are my friend. Or at least I’d like to think we are friends, so I wouldn’t lie to you,” I replied, and he closed his eyes briefly, relief filling his features.
“So you really don’t have feelings for Cassidy?” he asked, and I shook my head. “Well, if they do change, just tell me. As your friend, I’d like to know what’s going on in your life, Miss Tenley.”
Weston stepped towards me as the tension left the air. I smiled at him. That confirmation that he valued me in his life the same way I valued him was so reassuring. It made me happy to know that I had a friend, that I had him. He returned my smile, soft and crooked, and his eyes sparkled. Part of me thought how nice it would be to have him as more than a friend.
The phone on the wall began to ring, its shrill screech breaking the soft cocoon we were in. He furrowed his dark brows and walked towards the phone, pulling it from the hook as I plopped down on the couch.
“What?” he said, grumpily.
He paused, and then spoke again. “You checked everywhere else?”
Another pause.
“Alright. When the storm breaks, let’s check again.”
A third pause, and then he thanked whoever it was and hung up the phone.
“So.” He turned to me and sat down on the same couch, throwing his arm over the back and spreading his legs for comfort. I tucked mine under me and faced him as he raised an amused brow at the way I was sitting. “That was Cassidy.”
“Everything okay?” I asked, and he shook his head.
“Cassidy went to check on the cattle before the storm hit too hard. He found a fresh pile of locoweed in with the older cows. The ones that you’re gonna help check tomorrow.”
“Didn’t you just move them there today?”
“Yeah, and normally I’d already have added in the younger, newly-pregnant heifers but we are a bit behind schedule.” He ran a hand over his mustache and frowned. “I have an odd thought that I’m not liking, Tenley.”
“Which would be?”
His eyes flew to the mantle, the wheels turning in his head for a moment before he spoke again. The chill upon his words iced me to my very core and held a threat that made even me a little frightened of him.
“Someone close to me is trying to kill my cattle. Trying to ruin me.”
Chapter 13
Iwatched Weston, his face pulled tight in determination. He wasn’t frustrated or angry because he wanted to hurt someone, but because someone was trying to hurt him and the things he cared for. This would ruin not just him, but his entire family too, if they were successful.
