Page 29 of Make Me Whole
Chapter Fifteen
BRADLEY
"That look onyour face can only mean trouble."
Without taking my eyes off the woman sauntering away, I innocently asked, "What look?"
Beckett mimicked my stance by dropping his arms over the top railing and propping his foot on the bottom one. I could feel his stare burn a hole in the side of my head. "Ain't gonna bullshit a bullshitter. You like her."
When Hailey disappeared from view, I angled my head his way. "Sure, what's not to like."
His dark eyes narrowed. "You know what I mean. Youlikelike her."
A snort sounded through my nose as I tried to bite back the laugh that wanted out. "We back in school now, Beck?"
"Piss off." His gaze flicked toward the house before meeting mine again. "I've seen you with her every day for the past week."
"I'm teaching her to ride."
"Mmm Hmm." He pressed his lips into a thin line.Keep telling yourself thatwritten all over his features. "She know how you feel?"
My eyes flitted to the kitchen window. I knew she was in there; helping Mavis with the lunch preparations. More than once I'd wondered if she sneaked a peek my way after our sessions. If I lingered in her mind as often as she did in mine.
In total, she'd had five lessons over the span of a week. Five hours where it was just Hailey and I—and Max, of course.
Three hundred minutes during which I could seek answers to all the questions I'd had. Only, I never did. Instead, I spent those precious minutes taking in small details about her. Like the way she'd fiddle with her hair when she got nervous or whenever I praised her for getting something right.
Then there was the way her breath would catch when I purposefully stood too close. And how her tongue would skid along her bottom lip when I spoke low into her ear. But my favorite little detail had to be the way her green eyes lit up when she laughed.
They were big and bright, shining with unfiltered happiness. The kind that made you smile right along without even needing to think about it.
"I don't even know how I feel," I finally answered. Even though it was weird admitting this to Beckett since he and I rarely spoke about anything other than the ranch, every word of it was true.
I had no clue.
I knew the moments alone with her were the highlight of my day. That my heart would beat uncontrollably when she was in the vicinity. That I'd smiled more in the past seven days than I probably had in as many years.
To put a specific feeling to all of that? Yeah, I couldn't do it.
"Don't wait too long to figure it out, man. There's nothing worse than a missed opportunity." His wistful tone piqued my curiosity but before I could ask him about it, he straightened and smacked a palm against my shoulder. "I got the fences today."
Once a month, a few of us would get together at the creek. Drinks, music, good company…it all made for a fun night. Tonight, though, I wasn't feeling it at all. I watched the flames as they danced in the wind. My irritation building with each greedy lick to the sky. I'd been in a funky mood since my little chat with Beckett earlier in the day. So much so, that when the opportunity presented itself—and even though I really wanted to—I didn't invite Hailey along to the bonfire.
I brought my beer to my mouth and as I guzzled on it, I took in the scene before me. Beckett was perched on the edge of a giant rock; guitar balanced on his legs while he strummed out a tune. Completely oblivious to the two girls swooning over him. To his right, a few of the ranch hands were huddled in a circle, chatting and laughing. Next to me, Sawyer was having a heated debate over pineapple on pizza with my sister and her friend, Jessie.
Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. So why was my body riddled with so much tension? A smack to my chest had me sputtering out my beer faster than I could swallow. Raising my brows, I gave Sawyer my bestwhat-in-the-ever-loving-hell-was-thatglare.
Undeterred that he'd pissed me off, he rambled on, "Bradley, tell these women that pineapple does not belong on pizza. I mean, it's fruit for goodness sake."
I opened my mouth to tell him to go screw himself when the words coming from Talia stopped me short. "Oh, she came." She quickly jumped up and hurried toward the newcomer, completely blocking my view.
Not that I needed to see her to know it was Hailey. My senses were already on high alert. My pulse steadily picking up speed. Still, my eyes stayed glued to my sister, just waiting for her to step aside. The second she did, my lungs collapsed as the breath whooshed out of me.
She was…stunning.
That dark hair that I'd imagined tangling my fingers in, tumbled over her shoulders. A plain white tee clung to her chest in a way that had my fingers itching. Inches upon inches of creamy skin on display courtesy of the khaki shorts hugging her thighs.
I took another long pull from my beer bottle, but it did nothing to alleviate the dryness in my mouth. Like a hawk, I watched as Talia led her to the large cooler to Beckett's left. Hailey nervously looked around while my sister pulled two beers from the box.
