Page 30 of For Fillies and Monsters

“Uh, as soon as everyone gets here.”

“Everyone?” His bushy brows lift.

“My friend Dale. And maybe Nathan.” As the words tumble from my lips, his face grows impossibly darker; murderous even. “Do you know them?” I hate that I sound like a nervous schoolgirl. The morning is quiet around us, save for the occasional bawling of a far-off calf in the fields, and his horse shifting restlessly in the metal trailer. I don’t breathe. Gus seems to suck all the oxygen out of the air, anyway.

“No.” He bites out the single word and turns around, effectively ending the conversation.

I bristle; I will not be a scolded child in my own home. This is my fucking ranch, my job to offer, and he can’t stop being a dick long enough to act remotely interested.

“Why are you here?” I shouldn’t ask and just be grateful—remember, we can’t be beggars—but I’m past the point of caring.

He sighs, the air deflating from his lungs in a low whistle. Is he going to turn around and slap me?Will I like it?

What the fuck, Stetson. No!

“For the fucking job.”

He moves away from me, and I scramble to follow him, unsatisfied with his answer. I reach out, ready to grab his arm to make him turn around, but he sidesteps, as if sensing my hand hovering in the air between us.

“And to make sure you don’t run this dirt pile farther into the ground. I like to work with my hands and put in a full day’s worth of sweat. I like seeing my time and effort result in something.” He turns on me, his eyes onyx fires. “And this dump has nowhere to go but up. It’s the perfect project.”

His words land like the slap he intends them to be, and I flinch away. He goes a step further, fully baring his teeth at me in the most menacing smile I have ever seen—the same smile I saw in the darkness across a crowded bar. I stare, words arrestedin my constricting throat. Sensing his temporary win, he storms off toward his truck and trailer.

I know I can’t be picky—I’m out of options, not that I had any to begin with. But his hateful demeanor burns against my walls, making me question myself even more. It’s different from Nathan’s ignorant comments—Gus doesn’t act like he hates me because I don’t belong. He acts like he hates who I am, the sound of my voice, the way I move and breathe. It’s personal, and even if it’s completely irrational, it hurts more.

Why is he here?

I refuse to let tears fall, even as my lower lids grow impossibly heavy.Fuck him.

The rustle of metal and hooves pulls me from my thoughts, and a lean black horse with four white socks and a white blaze down her muzzle steps into view. The horse holds her head impossibly high, her mane and tail shiny and flashing. Her eyes, giant black pools, dart around the new space as she takes it all in, and her ears flick with equal parts curiosity and concern. She paws at the ground, snorting, but I know it is an act of impatience more than fear.

The mare looks wild and dark, just like the man who gracefully seats himself in the faded saddle in one feline motion. He looks how the lyrics of an old, raspy, country song sounds—fluid, but rough around the edges, and pleasing in every way that matters.A monster, poised and ready to ride into battle.

And then he does something I don’t expect. He leans over, patting the mare’s neck, cooing at her with words I strainand fail tomake out. His face splits into the smallest grin as he continues to whisper sweet nothings to the mare. I’m about to faint from the sight of it.Or crawl into his lap and hump him like an animal in heat.

It’s one thing to see a man smile; it’s another to see a man smile because of his love for an animal. I have an irrationalsoftness for men who become marshmallows for animals, and Gus is the embodiment of that. It’s better than porn, and I’m quickly becoming more parts horny than poised.

I’m a ticking time bomb, and Gus is the match. As much as I fucking hate it.

He sits up, his dark eyes finding mine. His small smile quickly melts into that permanent scowl, and I fight every instinct to stomp my foot like a disappointed child.

“I’m going to round up whatever cattle need brought in. What are we vaccinating today?” Annoyance laces every word, and I shift on my feet.

“Uh, the rest of the heifers from that field. But I should go with you. Just need to wait for Dale to get here so she isn’t looking for me.” I point to the left, toward the rolling golden grasses. He nods and turns the mare. “Wait, I have to wait for Dale.”

“And?”

He’s going to be the fucking death of me.

“And I’d like you to wait because you are new here and don’t know what we are doing, or exactly where we are going.”

“I think I can figure it out,Boss.” The last word hits me like a brick to the head, and my earlier horniness is instantly replaced with anger.

“I said, fucking wait.” I stomp toward Winston, where he’s already saddled and tied up.

“I don’t care.”

I swing a leg over the saddle, my body vibrating with coiling anger.He is such a prick!

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