Page 10 of Waiting for the Rancher
He dismounted and leaned against the split rail post.
She still didn’t look at him and instead scratched the foal behind both ears.
Was this her way of telling him she intended to follow through on her declaration earlier not to interact with him? Well, he didn’t like it one bit. Especially not with her. Not when she’d always looked up to him.
“Blast it all, Hazel.” He couldn’t keep the irritation from edging his voice.
She paused and straightened, turning a wide-eyed gaze upon him. In the bright midday sunlight, the bronze of her eyes had turned from brown to gold. A bucketload of uncertainty was etched into her features.
“Is this what you’re aiming to do? Punish me by ignoring me every time I come near?”
“No.” The word came out hastily. “I mean, yes.” Her lashes fell, and she bit her lip as her cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink.
Had he ever seen her flushed before? If so, he couldn’t remember it, and he would have remembered her looking like this... so sweet and fresh and... and what? Fascinating? Enticing?
As though realizing that her cheeks were turning color, she pressed her hands to them, then began to shed her duster, clearly trying to blame her condition on being hot rather than embarrassed.
He had half a mind to tease her like old times. But he stifled the banter, knowing he had to iron out the ruffles between them first.
She tossed her coat on the rail beside him, then stretched toward the foal. As she did so, her blouse and skirt hugged herfigure—a very womanly figure with generous curves in all the right places.
Again, he paused to take in her profile, this time starting with her Stetson and making a trail from her perfect forehead, elegantly shaped cheeks and nose, pretty, pert lips, and down to her neckline and the swell of her bust showing. His gaze almost got stuck there, but he forced it to her slender ribs, to her waist, and then to her curved hips and backside.
When had Hazel turned into such a mighty fine-looking woman? Course, she’d been pretty at the wedding on Sunday. And she’d looked pretty plenty of other times.
But today, at this moment, there was something about her that was different. Something that blared all too loudly that she was off-limits, that she was someone he could never have, even if he wanted her. Which he didn’t. Because, obviously, she was his best friend’s little sister.
He and Sterling had long ago agreed they’d never cross a line and show interest in each other’s younger sisters. It was part of the pact of honor and respect they’d developed. And it had been easy to abide by since their sisters had been far younger and treated them like older brothers.
He supposed he’d grown closer to Hazel over the past years that she’d been helping out with their horses. They both had the love of horses in common, and they’d worked together a lot, deciding upon the mares to breed and all that entailed. He’d also tried to be present for each of the foalings, even though Hazel was capable of handling it all by herself.
The plain truth was, he counted her as one of his closest friends. He’d already lost one friendship and didn’t want to lose another.
With an inward sigh, Maverick gave himself a mental shake. He didn’t want to do anything else to jeopardize his relationship with her, including taking notice of how womanly she was. Thereason he was viewing her differently today was because she was acting differently by ignoring him instead of admiring him. That was all.
“C’mon now, Hazel. If you’re gonna keep working here, you can’t ignore me.” He tried to focus on her face, but his gaze dropped again, this time to her slender arms, her dainty wrists, and her long fingers combing through the foal’s mane.
She paused and glanced at him sideways, her eyes especially big and beautiful. “So if I ignore you, you’ll fire me?”
At the worry in her expression, his immediate denial got stuck in his throat. Was she afraid, after everything that had happened, he wouldn’t want her here? It wasn’t true. He’d realized yesterday when she hadn’t shown up just how much the ranch relied upon her for so many things.
“I’m sorry, Maverick.” She straightened, and again her blouse hugged her body too tightly. “I don’t want to lose my job. It’s just that I promised Sterling I would come here and do my work and wouldn’t talk to you any more than I have to.”
So, Sterling hadn’t wanted Hazel to come back, had tried to talk her out of it. The news shouldn’t have surprised him. But it was harsh. And it told him all he needed to know—that Sterling really did hate him and probably wouldn’t ever forgive him.
The despair he’d been trying to avoid shot through his chest with such force that he had to grip the rail tighter to keep from slamming his fist into something. He shifted his gaze to the Tenmile Range to the west just beyond their log home and the barns. The peaks rose with grandeur, the slopes still snow-covered in places.
He lived in the most beautiful place on earth, their river valley and their land surrounded on all sides by the wild mountains. He loved their ranch with a passion that none of his brothers had felt. And he loved the horses more than anyone else, except for maybe Hazel.
But after all that had happened with Sterling, Maverick had been ready to give it all up a dozen different times in order to go back and relive that day. In fact, he’d give it all up if he could have his friend back again. It meant nothing to him without the people he cared about.
“Maverick?” Hazel’s voice was tentative.
He could sense what she was about to ask even before she formulated the words. And he wouldn’t stop her. Even though he knew he deserved the punishment from Sterling, he wanted the chance to explain to someone all that had happened. Would Hazel listen? Or would she rush to judge him too?
She was quiet for a long moment, as if debating whether to bring up the painful subject. Finally she spoke in almost a whisper. “Why did you kiss Violet?”
He kept his focus on the rocky peaks, hoping to gain just a little bit of their strength. “It was a stupid, rash decision, one I’d do anything to change.” After all, it hadn’t saved Sterling any heartache. Maybe it had even made his pain worse.
