Page 17 of Omega's Refuge

A muscle worked in his cheek, then he shrugged. “Fine. Seeing as you don’t care a bit about my feelings, I suppose I have no choice other than to give it a few more days.”

I rolled my eyes. “That isn’t what is happening, but thank you for agreeing to stay.”

He grunted. “You didn’t give me much choice.”

Even though he’d given in, my stomach churned with stress. I knew Steve well enough to know that, while he’d acquiesced, he wouldn’t bother hiding that he was unhappy about staying. I was proven right when he immediately began sulking.

It was hard not to resent him as he glowered at the hills, the cows, and the people, without speaking. If our positions had been reversed, I’d have done my best to try and at leastpretendI was having fun. Not Steve. He just traveled beside me in silence. Even when I tried to start a conversation with him, he ignored me. I tried not to let it bug me too much, but it was irksome that he was such a baby.

By the time our group reached the pasture where the cattle would stay, it was late afternoon.Once the cows were settled, Rex and the other ranch hands set out chairs for us, and brought out sandwiches and cold drinks. Steve sat beside me, his expression sulky. He remained as quiet as a monk, but I didn’t have the emotional energy to worry about it. I did notice, though, that Rex mostly kept his distance. He was polite and professional as he handed out the food and drinks, but he didn’t flirt with me anymore.

After we ate, Rex entertained us with some rope tricks to kill time until sunset, when the ranch planned to build a campfire for us. He demonstrated beginner tricks like the flat rope and the merry-go-round. He even let us try some tricks. None of us did very well, but we had a lot of fun trying—everyone except Steve, that is. He didn’t even join in, opting instead to sit in his chair, looking glum. He perked up briefly when Tony came over to talk to him, but otherwise, he just stewed.

Once the sun went down, and the fire was built, Rex pulled out the ingredients to make s’mores. We layered graham crackers, marshmallows, and chunks of chocolate and melted them over the campfire. Then the group bonded through laughter and gooey snacks as we sat around the fire.

Steve sat beside me, but he didn’t join in much. I didn’t care. I’d made up my mind that I wasn’t going to let him ruin the moment. I wasn’tdoing anything wrong by having fun. Besides, Steve was a big boy, and he’d have to work through whatever he was going through on his own. I didn’t have the inclination to babysit him.

At one point, Rex came over to me. “Tanner, you want to help me gather some more wood for the fire?”

Surprised he’d asked me to help, I stood awkwardly. I avoided looking at Steve, but I could feel him watching us. “Me?”

Rex smiled. “Sure. Joe helped me earlier, but we’re running low again. I like to spread the work around. I can ask Peter if you don’t want to help.”

“No, that’s okay. I’m happy to help.” As I followed Rex toward the trees, I met Steve’s sullen, suspicious gaze. I smiled at him, but he didn’t return the smile.

Baby.

When we entered the trees, I stayed near Rex. I didn’t know the area at all and felt safer near him. Eventually, I began to relax and wandered a little ways from Rex. The full moon made it easy to spot kindling scattered on the ground.

At one point, Rex neared me, his arms full of wood. “You good?”

“Yep. I’m finding lots of kindling.”

“That’s great.” He shifted his stance, adjusting the wood in his arms. “I heard a rumor your boyfriend wants to cut your vacation short.”

I was surprised he knew about Steve’s desire to leave. “How did you hear about that?”

“Mrs. Rodwell mentioned it to me.”

I frowned. “But, he only mentioned it to me on the ride out here.”

His gaze flickered. “Apparently he talked to her about it this morning, before we left for the cattle drive.”

Surprise and anger fluttered through me. “Seriously? Without talking to me first?”

He seemed to relax a bit. “I had a feeling you didn’t know.”

“No, I didn’t,” I murmured. Why hadn’t Steve run that idea past me before talking to Mrs. Rodwell? Going behind my back like that was disrespectful, if you asked me. “I don’t get it. This entire trip washisidea. I wanted to go to Hawaii.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah.” I grimaced. “But now that I’m here, I’m having a good time.”

“I’m glad,” he said quietly. “You fit in nicely.”

We held each other’s gaze for a moment. The trees kept most of the light out, but there was just enough to see his face. He looked emotionless, and his eyes glittered in the dark.

“Can I be honest with you?” he asked.

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