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“Winnie,what are you talking about? This is the chance of a lifetime—”
Oh, for…nowI’m seeing it. The whole picture is becoming crystal clear. This wasn’t Camilla. This wasCase. Of course Case went to his dad. Mr. I-can-fix-anything-with-a-bunch-of-money. Except this can’t be fixed with money. Heartache, frustration, flattery, anger all jockey inside of me, competing for attention. Anger wins.
“I’m talking aboutno, Case. As in N-O. I realize you don’t hear it often, but today you will. I appreciate what you were trying to do, but I’m not your girl.” I turn to his dad. “Mr. Michaels, I hope this doesn’t affect my current position with your ranch, and I truly am interested in training behind the scenes, for more pay, of course. However, while I appreciate the offer for sponsorship more than I can say, I’m not in a position to accept your generosity at this time.”
I lead Mab past the silent trio and wait until we’re safely out of ear shot before I allow any tears to slip out.
“Winnie!” Case yells from behind me. “Wait up!”
I swipe quickly at my face, clearing it of evidence. “Go away, Case.”
His long strides come nearer, eating up the distance. Hell. Can’t a girl cry in peace?
“Come on, talk to me! This is a huge opportunity, Winnie! You could do this.”
“I said no, Case. Please stop.”
“But—”
I reach for Mab and without warning, harness my adrenalineto swing my leg over her back and kick her into a gallop all the way back to the ranch.
Soon Camilla is there, and she takes Mab’s reins from me as I dismount. Sympathy oozes from her blue eyes, and I don’t much care for it, but I don’t have the energy to do anything about it either. “Let me finish for you today. Why don’t you head home?”
“I should brush—”
“Mab might not love me the way she does you, but we do all right. Case is headed back to try for a third time.”
“I can’t,” I whisper, the tears surging again. And what I mean is I can’t say no again. Doesn’t he realize it’s breaking me into pieces to say no?
But I still can’t say yes. I can’t leave them. Like our mom left us. I promised.
“I know, honey. Go on ahead. We’ll talk later about the rest.”
FifteenCASE
I’d have never anticipated Winnie’s junker of a car could spin gravel so hard, spitting dust and fury into the sunny spring afternoon. It’s the perfect visual representation of the verbal smackdown she unleashed on me. In her quiet way, she put me in my place, and I feel like the biggest fool on the planet.Of courseshe can’t do this. God, she can barely manage the work she does here at the ranch, and that’s within driving distance of her brother and sister.
I groan, thudding my head against the fence post. I recognize Winnie’s barn coat slung over the top and pull it off the rail. That’s just great.Andshe’s going to be cold. Way to go, Michaels, you fucking jerk.
Minutes later, I recognize Pax’s truck speeding up the long dirt drive, and I make my way over to him as he’s easing next to my SUV. He rolls down his window, and I lean against the door, Winnie’s coat still slung over my arm.
“Hey, man.”
“Hey, yourself,” he says, sounding amused. “You look likeshit. I was gonna ask if you wanted to grab some food with me, but—”
I’m already shaking my head. “I would, but I think I need to, uh, go.” I clear my throat, tugging on my ball cap with my free hand. “I have to chase after someone. I fucked up.”
He nods sagely. “Does this have anything to do with the way Winnie Sutton peeled out of here, Miranda Lambert screaming out her windows?”
I grimace. “Probably.”
“You sure you don’t want to let things settle down? I only saw her for a half second, but she looked—” He frowns. “I’m pretty sure she was crying.”
If possible, I feel even worse. “Yeah, I think that means Ihaveto go. And I shouldn’t wait.”
He nods, muttering, “Godspeed,” before brightening. “D’you know where she lives? I dropped her brother off last week. He’s still dating Chelsea, apparently.”
“Actually, no, I have no idea. That would be great. I was gonna…” I trail off because I have no idea what I was gonna do. I hadn’t gotten that far. I’m way out of my element, but I imagine stealing a look at her employment records for her address isn’t very ethical.
