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Wild gets you killed.
That thought has a hard sort of agony calcifying in my chest.
“You know you’re going after her,” Wyatt drawls, coming to stand beside me.
We both watch as Ruby hurries up the road to the cottage. She’s fast, already halfway back by now.
I inhale deep to calm my racing heart. Letting her run off doesn’t sit right with me. “Yeah.” I run a hand through my hair. My Stetson’s on the ground next to the barn. “Any advice?”
Wyatt shrugs. “Be yourself, man.”
“That’s what they say when you start kindergarten.”
“Who says you’re not?”
Scowling, I take a step forward, then pause. On the ground, buried in the dirt, is a small circle of silver. I pick it up and brush it off. Ruby’s bracelet. I noticed her playing with it at The Corner Store. Blue opals on each end make it look like it holds the orbs of the universe.
I slide the bracelet in my back pocket and storm across the ranch, realizing Ruby’s right.
Everything about today—it’s my own damn fault. I was too busy being pissed off to teach her about the ranch. Christ, I told her every horse was as gentle as a kitten. She offered to help with chores and I shit all over that. That, in and of itself, is impressive. Half the guests on the ranch have to be sweet-talked to pick up a fucking shovel.
If I had taken the time to show her, if I weren’t so clouded by my past, she wouldn’t have been in this mess.
My stomach twists.
Shit. What if she’s hurt?
I was too busy screaming at her to even check and see if she was okay.
Feeling like I’m approaching the firing squad, I inhale a breath when I reach her cottage and hammer on the door.
The door whips open. My gaze travels down.
Ruby stands there, rose-gold hair slung over one slender shoulder, one hand on the doorknob like she’s readying herself to fling it closed.
“What do you want?” Stunning, angry blue eyes stare up at me. “Come to yell at me some more?”
“No, I ...” My eyes can’t help but catch the inside of the cottage. On the kitchenette counter is a small vase of wildflowers, along with small packets of tea and a Runaway Ranch mug purchased from the gift shop. She’s set the kitchen table up as a workstation, and country music plays softly from the radio. From my vantage point, I can see her bedroom and the open suitcase resting on the bed.
She’s settled in. Made this place a temporary home.
And now she’s going to leave.
But go where? And stay with who?
A brick settles in my stomach.
Ruby sends me a withering glare. “If you’re looking for something to say, it’s called an apology, Charlie. Do you own a dictionary? Look it up.”
A smile tugs at my lips. Seeing the sweetheart turn to a spitfire is goddamn adorable.
Squaring her shoulders, she says, “I’m good at my job, and if you don’t want me here, I’ll go. But I’m not leaving Resurrection. I’ll sling beers at Nowhere and you can stay the hell away if it’s so unsafe. But I won’t stay here and get yelled at or scolded or—”
“Look, you’re right,” I growl.
She’s silent, but her blue eyes still flash fire.
I lower my voice and hold out my hands. “I yelled because this is a ranch and that’s what we do when there’s trouble. It was a close call, and it scared me. But I overreacted. I shouldn’t have yelled. I won’t do it again.”
