Page 89 of Love, Hate, Love

Everyone was on light duty today, but there were still things that had to get done, so I forced myself out of bed.

I was almost out of his room when I spotted it on top of his bureau, tucked near the base of a lamp. Almost completely hidden was a tiny horseshoe in copper.

Was it possible it was a different one? I hadn’t seen it in so many years, and maybe my memory was faulty. But as I got closer, I could see the name I’d hand-etched into the metal.Hawk Ranch.

Maybe he’d kept it because his dreams had always been wrapped up in this ranch. It might have nothing to do with the fact that I’d given it to him. I couldn’t start making more of this situation than there was. I’d be here for a year, and if I let myself start building daydreams, it would be really hard when they fell apart after the year was up.

I made my way into the kitchen, where Kade had left me a note saying he’d gone into town to meet with a supplier and would bring back donuts. He wasn’t helping the daydreaming issue. I tossed the note in the garbage so no one else could happen upon it and got dressed for work. I needed to be out of here before he got back.

I walked back into the living room as Alec came in wearing the same suit he’d had on last night, just a little worse for wear.

“Hey. You have a good night?” I asked.

“I did. Greg? Probably not,” he said, smiling.

“You spent last night with Lucia?” I wasn’t always a fan of Alec’s playboy ways, but I had to give him props for this one.

“Lucia? I thought her name was Lisa?” he said, running a hand through his hair. He shrugged. “I gotta go grab my stuff. My flight is leaving at noon. This place can go back to you and the beast in the grand castle.” He winked at me.

“I’m too old for fairytales. You’d better get going.”

He took off, and I ran out before Kade could get back.

It was after six,and there wasn’t a single thing that needed to be done left, so I sat in the bunkhouse doing a puzzle with Missy. I would’ve mucked out some more stalls if it kept me away from Kade. Problem was that I didn’t trust myself not to sleep with him again. I couldn’t even stop replaying it in my head.

“I love puzzles,” Missy said, pulling out some more edge pieces.

“Yeah, they’re good sometimes.” Especially moments like now, when I couldn’t trust my attention span.

“I have to be honest, I didn’t think I was going to like you so much.”

“Because I was living in New York?” I asked, fitting another piece in. It was a cute little cottage scene. Missy had good taste in puzzles.

She paused with her lips open, as if she realized she’d just opened up a topic that she didn’t want to.

“Yeah,” she said.

Missy was officially going on record as the worst liar in creation.

“Seriously, what was it? Why did you think you wouldn’t like me? Was it the conviction?” It was crazy that just a few weeks ago, I dreaded even mentioning that word. Now it slipped out like I was ordering a coffee.

“Well, thatdidmake me a little nervous.” She giggled.

“But that wasn’t it, was it?” I asked. “I’m just curious. Not trying to make you uncomfortable. Whatever it is, it’s okay. I’ve had to get a thick skin lately. Just tell me or it’ll drive me crazy wondering, and I know there’ssomething.” Had it been the way I’d dressed? I’d been so scrambled that what I’d thrown on those first days had been an afterthought.

“It was the big warning conversation, wasn’t it?” Adam said as he strolled out of one of the bunkhouse bedrooms.

“Warning conversation?” What the hell was he talking about? Had they been warned about me? And by whom?

I was already getting a sinking feeling in my gut.

“It’s not a big deal. Kade just said you were coming for some sort of work detail,” Missy said, but she was shooting Adam a harsh glare.

“A talk?” So Kade had warned them about me.

“I mean, it wasn’t a formal talk,” Missy said, trying to clean up the bomb Adam had dropped.

“No, not formal at all,” Adam said. “He came and said that you might not work hard, be difficult to be around, and yeah, that you were also a lying felon. He wanted us to tell him if you so much as looked at anyone the wrong way because he’d have your ass thrown in prison.” Adam laughed loudly after he finished.

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