Page 27 of Christmas with the Cowboy
Trenna knew a peace offering when she saw it. “I’ll take it.”
“Wait here.”
He was a few steps away when she salved her pride by calling out, “To make sure I don’t take advantage of you?”
To her surprise, he smiled at her over his shoulder, then continued to the shop. Trenna dug her toe into the gravel in the same way Reed had. The hell of it was, she was tempted to do just that, and that option was officially off the table.
Chapter Six
Reed rolled hisshoulders, loosening tight muscles as he strode across the shop to the wire bin holding a random assortment of battery cables. He was amazed that he’d managed to keep his hands at his sides and not reach for Trenna when she’d tried to prove her control by ambling up to him and stopping inches away from him.
But touching her would have been a mistake of epic proportions, because he wasn’t certain that his brain could win a battle with his body once he did. He’d meant every word about burning bright, and he wasn’t about to light the flame.
He pulled out a nearly new cable and headed back to where Trenna waited, studying the ground as if it had the answer she wanted. When she heard his boots on the gravel, her head came up and she gave him a quick smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Fair enough.
“Thank you,” she said, taking the cable from him. “For both this and the talk. I get it.”
He wondered. He’d lost her once. He wasn’t going to be put into a situation where he lost her again. Keeping his life stable for Lex was his number one motivation, one he felt on an almost primal level. But his second motivation was not repeating the biggest heartbreak of his life.
“We’ve got this, Trenn.”
She looked like she wanted to believe him. Hell, he wanted to believe him. She took the cable from him, turned down his offer to put it on, and then got into her car.
“See you tomorrow,” she said.
“Not if I see you first.” A tired joke from when they’d been together and couldn’t wait to see one another the next day. He didn’t know why he’d said it, but Trenna didn’t seem to mind. She smiled before she got into her car, and he felt the impact to his toes.
He hoped she didn’t see him swallow dryly before he turned and headed to the shed behind Henry’s trailer, where the fencing tools were kept. When her car bumped over the cattle guard less than a minute later, Reed made himself continue walking without shooting a look after her. It was stupid that the ranch felt a little emptier now that she was driving away, because she didn’t belong on the ranch any more than she belonged in his life.
He’d loved her with all his heart when they’d been together, but he didn’t believe their relationship would have survived. They’d been heading in different directions—directions they’d been programmed for since childhood. If they hadn’t been, she would have fought to hold on to their relationship.
She’d loved him. He was certain of that. But sometimes, it seemed, love just wasn’t enough.
After loading the wire and fencing tools, his dad hailed him. Reed turned to see Daniel walking stiffly down the porch steps. Mornings seemed to be tough on him, but he limbered up during the day.
“What are your plans for today?” Daniel asked as they met near the barn. They had yet to set up a protocol for addressing ranch maintenance, but Reed fully intended to have a sit-down in the near future to map out responsibilities, thereby hopefully avoiding toe-stepping and potential clashes.
“I think that my time will be best spent beefing up the property line with the Hunt Ranch before snow.” Reed, for one, wasn’t taking chances on Carter Hunt deciding that other stretches of ground where his cattle had trespassed over the years were up for grabs.
“I agree.” Daniel pushed open the barn door, and Reed followed him inside. “Boomer needs salt.”
“I’ll get it.” Reed hefted a block off the stack of twenty and carried it to the side barn door, which Daniel opened for him. Once outside, he carried the salt to the corral that held the high-headed bay gelding, which his dad had bought to replace his longtime partner, Ralph, now retired due to a leg injury.
The colt blew through his nose as Reed dumped the block over the fence.
“Has he been touched at all?”
“Not a lot,” Daniel conceded. “This way he has no bad habits to break.”
“Hard to believe he’s related to Ralph.” The rare horse who didn’t freak out regardless of circumstances. Reed had once seen a calf run under the horse, trailing a rope, and the gelding had held steady because that was his job.
The horse eyeing them from across the corral did not telegraph the same message.
“Ralph had his moments as a colt. You were too busy with other things to be aware.”
Other things being Trenna and the occasional spot of trouble. Not that he didn’t do his part on the ranch. He’d farmed and worked cows and was there when his family needed him. But when they didn’t, well, like his dad said, he was busy with other things.
The colt snorted again, then began to trot along the periphery of the corral as if looking for a way out.
