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What is it about this woman that has me all tied up in knots?
While Nathan talks to her animatedly about the guest house, something he’s made sure to clean out a little more since he knew she was coming, I carefully make my way up the porch steps. He’s grabbing her bags when I spin around to face them, smiling at her as he leads her across the lawn and to the guest house. I’m not sure why she even needs to stay there, I’m sure one of the smaller houses in the north pasture would be perfectly fine for her.
Her being so close to me, yet so far away, is unnerving. I push through the front door with a shake of my head, hating that I’m thinking about her right now, and head into the kitchen. Maybe if I focus on something else I’ll be able to get her out of my head.
I have to admit though, the jeans she’s wearing this time really bring out the curves that were hiding during her previous visit. There’s a chill in the air that wasn’t here last time, but it seems as though she was prepared with the coat she had on.
God, I’m supposed to be getting her out of my head — not thinking about her even more. Just as I’m getting meat out for dinner, Nathan comes barging through the door with a narrowed gaze pointed in my direction. “Would it kill you to be nice?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
The more he pulls actions like that, the more I can’t help but see what other people see. I’m so used to his mother’s carefree personality that I haven’t really bothered to pay attention to his features, choosing instead to bask in the familiarity of Renee. Nathan’s definitely got my large frame though, along with the same full lips that I sport.
If I were his age again, I’m sure we’d look like twins. I’m sure I have pictures of me at his age stashed somewhere in this house, especially since my mother was big on keeping things like that. There’s a photo for every occasion because she didn’t want to go through life not documenting everything that happened.
Our first amusement park trip, birthdays, concerts, and every homecoming that I ever went to. It’s all photographed and put up, just waiting for a moment like this when I want to reminisce with Nathan.
I sigh and run a hand over my face. “Yeah, Nathan.”
“Did she do something to you that I don’t know about?”
Other than make me think about her constantly when no other woman has been able to catch my attention that way? No. It’s infuriating, knowing that she can get under my skin so easily and I’ve barely spoken a single word to her. There’s this confidence about her that calls to me, the way she holds herself as she walks around the property.
“No,” I mutter, tearing my gaze away from him before he can dig deep into my mind with his stare. I’d rather not deal with the questions right now. “I’ll do better, I’m just cranky.”
After a few moments of silence, I glance over my shoulder and find Nathan’s eyes on me. His eyebrows are drawn tightly and he’s surveying me with a frown, as if he doesn’t quite believe what I’m saying to him, but he eventually nods before heading back out of the house. Since I’m able to do smaller things around the ranch, I let the meat sit in the sink and slip my shoes on before following him outside.
He turns around when the door shuts aggressively behind me, waiting for me with his hands in his pockets and a gaze darting around the property on high alert. This is around the time when we get visits from wildlife, wanting to steal some of our animal food, so it’s important to make sure we have cameras plastered around the area.
The worst of it is when the snow starts falling and the animals grow more agitated, since most of their food supply dwindles down with the snow. We still have about two more months before we get anything major on the ground, but that doesn’t stop the wildlife from starting to mark their territory now.
“What can I do?” I finally manage to ask Nathan, tearing his gaze away from the far pastures. If there’s anything out there, he’s not going to see it from here, or be able to get to it in time before it wreaks havoc on the land.
“I’ll start you out with something smaller for now, maybe stacking firewood that I have cut behind the shed?” He says it as a question, but instead of asking if that’s what he wants me to do, I immediately make my way over to the shed. It might not be what I usually would’ve done around here, but I’m happy that I can at least help him in some way.
When I round the corner of the shed, I jerk in surprise when I catch sight of the blonde hair under a large oak tree. My breath hitching has her darting her gaze up to mine, only tightening the blanket she has around her shoulders. I try not to spare her another glance as I use the crutches I’m still required to sport and push my way through the shed.
Just like Nathan said, there are a few large piles of wood that need to be taken across the lawn and sent down the shoot that leads to our basement. I’m thankful for the house my parents built together because it doesn’t require us to have to purchase oil. There’s not only a fire furnace, but we also have a gas one.
The guest house, on the other hand, only has the fireplace, which is in the living room, and it makes me wonder if Sydney has the wood for it. Will she end up being cold while she stays here? My blood boils at the thought of it and instead of carrying the pieces of wood to my house, I turn in the opposite direction and head toward the guest house.
“Hey,” Sydney says, her feet crunching against the fallen leaves as she follows after me. “What are you doing?”
I sigh and roll my eyes. “Carrying wood.”
Her glare is immediate. “I mean what are you doing with the wood, asshole?”
There’s something comforting about her calling me outside of my name, something that no one does often, and I find my lips tipping up into a smirk but I quickly push it away. “Do you want to be cold while you’re here? Because I can arrange that.” Even though my leg is already starting to kill me, I’d still carry this back to the shed just to prove a point.
My gaze catches onto the movement as she tucks a strand of her beautifully soft hair behind her ear, something that I find myself wishing I could do. I’m itching to reach out, let it fall between my fingers, but I keep my hands clenched at my sides as she follows me into her house.
Before I can do something stupid like slam my lips to hers, since that’s all I can think about right now at the sight of her bright pink mouth, I grunt at her and head toward her front door. “Try not to use it all too quickly, the rest goes into my house.” I could easily let her have some more, considering there’s nothing but trees surrounding the outskirts of the ranch, but I’d rather not think about that.
She doesn’t say anything in response as I hobble out of her house, my skin lighting up at the gaze she has pinned on me. I can think of something else I’d like pinned against me, but I shake that thought away immediately. It would be best if I could get my mind under control, or else I’m in for a very long week.
* * *
Nathan walks through the dining room as soon as I’ve cleared my plate and he sighs in response. “Sorry, was trying to get the horses situated in the other stable and lost track of time.” He slips the cowboy hat off his head and hangs it over the chair he pulls out, flopping onto it with exhaustion. “It’s been a rough day, but I’m ready to fill myself up.”
I lift from my spot at the table and point toward the bowls sitting in the center. “Well, there’s plenty left. I’m sure whatever you don’t eat will only be tossed out.” After resting my leg for a few hours, it’s about time for me to head to the gym and get some of my own physical therapy in. “I’ll be out in the barn.”
