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His sister was the voice of reason much of the time. She insisted he needed to make the first move because Becca was likely far too busy to be the one to start their long-distance friendship.
Well, he wasn’t going to let her know that while her logic sounded great… Her logic was just about as sound as anything else she might have said.
Ethan scooped up another load off the horse stall floor and dumped it in a bucket nearby. He scooped up another load, shook it free of most of the straw he’d gathered, too, and added it to the bucket.
Mucking out the stalls wasn’tterrible. Surprisingly, there were a lot of chores he disliked more than scooping up what the horses left behind—jobs that required him to be social with anyone and everyone he worked with, for example. Lately, he’d do most anything to avoid seeing or speaking with any of the Reese family.
Katrina and Simon were in their own little love bubble, but it was only a matter of time before it would pop and they’d start asking questions. So far, he’d avoided the most awkward of conversations with the men of the Reese household—something he was grateful for. It would be hard to discuss Becca and not have that frustration and disappointment return.
The strange thing was that he was so hung up on her. How many women had he taken out and walked away from? Out of all of them, Becca was the one who had stuck. It wasn’t fair.
There was only one good thing about her leaving. With Becca gone, he could finally stop pretending that he had a girlfriend. His uncle stopped insisting that he take time off and he was finally able to really get some work done.
At least Bo seemed to appreciate that he had a steady employee again. Every time they passed each other on the way to or from a task, he’d give Ethan that nod. It was respectable. He didn’t need a woman in his life to be happy. His hands were full as it was trying to get that property lined up for his mother, sister, and himself.
Ethan’s muscles tensed as he dug in deeper, worked harder.
Beads of sweat dotted his brow. Becca was great and all, but she was already in the rearview. He needed to focus on the future.
Even as he told himself this, his mind inevitably drifted right back to when she’d been in Rocky Ridge. All he could think about was her smile, the way her hand had felt when he’d laced his fingers between hers. Even the memory of her voice was enough to set his heart on fire.
He stopped shoveling and leaned against the wall, shutting his eyes. As much as he had hated Tina being here, her words were the only thing that had kept him from making any stupid decisions. She’d said herself that Becca was never going to choose him over her career because no man could ever live up to the fantasy that romance authors created in their stories. Certainly he would never meet those expectations.
Becca was that author. Her fantasies could all be played out with the touch of her fingertips to the keyboard on her laptop.
Ethan groaned just as the horse in the stall next to him knocked his hat to the ground. He turned around just in time to avoid having his hair nibbled on. He scowled at the horse and sighed. She didn’t know any better. For all he knew, she was trying to improve his spirits.
He rubbed her nose apologetically. As much as he continued to tell himself that he was headed down the right path, he didn’t believe himself. Never before in his life had his head and his heart gone in such different directions.
At this point, he didn’t have much to lose. Maybe it was time to take a leap. His misery couldn’t get much worse.
Female voices drifted into the barn along with the sound of boots hitting the pavement. Ethan nearly stepped out of the stall to make his presence known, but then he heard Becca’s name and he immediately ducked down so he couldn’t be seen.
“She’s really letting you read the book before it comes out?” Gabby asked.
“Yeah. It’s awesome. Megan is beside herself, what with her love of reading and her bookstore.” Katrina laughed. “But I’m guessing Becca isn’t ready for the whole world to know her real identity.”
“So she writes under a pen name?”
The women entered a stall across the aisle from where Ethan crouched. The horse overhead ducked down and sniffed at his hair. He attempted to wave her off, but she persisted.
“Yeah,” Katrina continued. “Her pen name is Rebecca Haven. And this most recent one is a slow burn. I’m over halfway through and they haven’t even kissed, but the tension is just to die for.”
“Really? Isn’t romance supposed to be heaving bosoms or something?”
Katrina laughed. “You’ll have to read it.”
He hadn’t thought she’d be back yet since he hadn’t seen Simon anywhere, but it was possible they’d gotten in late last night. Ethan shifted uncomfortably on the floor, thankful that the horse had stopped pestering him for attention and he could really listen in on their conversation.
“There’s this really cute scene where the cowboy brings the dancer character coffee in the morning at her studio. He wasn’tsure what she liked, so he brought her three different drinks. Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.”
Gabby’s disbelieving voice cut in. “That doesn’t sound all that romantic.”
“But it is!” Katrina insisted. “I don’t know, you’ll just have to read it. It’s not what he does that’s romantic, it’s the why and the how. This cowboy character is so sweet and thoughtful… gosh! It makes me think about when I was falling in love with Simon, you know?”
“I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”
Still hidden, Ethan strained to hear their voices as they started growing softer. They must have grabbed a couple horses for an early-morning ride. He peered over the door to the stall, but they were already out of the barn and no longer visible.
