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“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said. “You’re not Abrams’ niece, are you?”
Harley wrinkled her nose. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”
The cowboy stared at her without blinking.
She folded her arms and inched closer to him. “What are you doing here? Have you come to complain to my uncle? Are you seriously that upset that I stepped foot on your property? Because let me tell you something. My uncle could care less—”
“Nope.” The cowboy turned on his heel. “I ain’t got no time for this.”
Harley gaped after him for what felt like a full minute, then followed in his wake. “What do you mean, nope?”
He continued to mutter something as he strode quickly toward the house. He wasn’t especially tall, but the way he carried himself more than made up for it. His strides were long and firm. His gait quick and sure.
“Hey! I’m talking to you.” She reached for his upper arm to stop him, but he tore away from her.
“Look, ma’am.”
“It’s Harley.”
“Honestly? I don’t care. I can’t say that it’s been a pleasure, either. But if you don’t mind, I’m going to get into my truck over there and head on out. It was a mistake coming here.”
“What are you talking about?” Her eyes darted toward the house. “Did my uncle say something to you? He wasn’t trying to get you to marry me, was he?”
The cowboy’s brows shot up faster than fireworks during the Fourth of July. “Of course not.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t put it past him, though I don’t think my mother would approve. I mean, you look nice enough, but I’m pretty sure she’s got her sights set on a Yale graduate.”
He stared at her blankly, then shook his head. “Give your uncle my regards. I don’t think we’re going to be crossing paths any time soon.” He practically ran toward his truck. The tires spit the dirt and gravel into the air, spraying everything nearby and leaving Harley wondering what on earth had just transpired.
She glanced toward the house, and a set of curtains fluttered over the front window.
Her brows lowered as she faced the house fully. Whatever her uncle was up to wouldn’t stand. Not by her mother and certainly not by her. They’d already hashed out how this whole summer was going to go. She would stay here, mind her manners, and keep out of trouble. Then she could get her money and go wherever she wanted.
Granted, she hadn’t counted on her uncle trying to manipulate her into doing work. And she hadn’t planned on her electronic devices being taken away. She probably should have had a lawyer draft a document for her because, at this rate, by the end of the summer she wasn’t going to be any better than a country bumpkin who knew how to milk a cow and shoe a horse.
Harley knew better than to believe she could call on her mother for help. Seeing as this whole idea was hers to begin with, she’d probably just tell her daughter that Vern was only giving her a hard time and everything would settle the moment Harley accepted her fate.
Yeah, right.
Her uncle definitely wasn’t scared to boss her around. And from the looks of it, he wasn’t against playing matchmaker. Well, if he thought he was going to manipulate her into falling for a sweet young cowboy, then he had another thing coming.
Rather than return to her chores, she stormed off in the direction of that property line where she’d met the cowboy in the first place. It was her best shot at finding him. And if she had to wander all over his property just to get to the bottom of this whole thing, then so be it. Anything beats hanging around here and waiting for her uncle to put yet another chore on the growing list.
Harley made it to the fence that separated her uncle’s property from the cowboy’s. Of course he wasn’t there. Why would he be? She stared off in that direction and contemplated whether it was worth getting lost over there.
She looked up at the sky, noting the incoming summer storm. It wasn’t that she was afraid of a little rain. She just didn’t particularly like getting wet. The longer she stood on her side of the fence, the more antsy she became. She had so many questions and that cowboy hadn’t given her any clues during their brief run-in.
Harley let out a groan. She was going to regret this; she knew it deep down. Hoisting herself over the fence, she jumped onto the other side and started her trek. The cowboy had to be near enough that a horse could make the trip. It couldn’t be too bad.
* * *
Harley’s teeth chattered as another large drop of water splattered on her head. The sun had completely disappeared behind the dark clouds. Boy, she’d never seen a storm roll in so fast nor the temperature drop so much in just a couple hours. It felt like spring all over again.
Her boots were covered in a thick layer of mud, making her regret even packing them in the first place. Her clothes clung to her body from the rain, and even though it wasn’t raining as hard as it had been about five minutes ago, Harley considered turning back simply so she could get warmed up. The longer she walked, the longer it would take to get home.
This was one of those examples of why her mother said she was so stubborn. She’d set out this way, and she wasn’t going to turn back just because she was miserable and cold.
That cowboy owed her an explanation—mostly because she knew she wouldn’t get anything from her uncle, and she needed ammunition if she planned on having the upper hand.
