Page 20 of Broken Roads
All eyes turn to me. Dad glances up from his paper, Ruthie pauses mid-pour, and Hailey's smile fades like a light switched off. Only Beckett seems oblivious to the sudden tension.
Forcing my feet to move, I cross to the table. The chair next to Sawyer scrapes against the floor as I pull it out.
"Sleep well?" Dad asks, folding his newspaper precisely and setting it aside.
"Fine," I mutter, reaching for the platter of eggs.
Conversation resumes around me. Dad asks about the day's tasks, Ruthie comments on the weather, Beckett continues whatever story had Hailey so captivated before I arrived. I keep my head down, focused on my plate, but every cell in my body seems attuned to the sound of her voice.
Sawyer leans in close, his shoulder brushing mine as he reaches for the salt. "I ship Beckett and Hailey," he whispers, voice low enough that only I can hear, a mischievous grin playing at the corners of his mouth.
My hand immediately tightens around my coffee mug. The ceramic is hot enough to burn, but I barely feel it compared to the heat flooding my chest.
"Shut up," I growl through clenched teeth.
The asshole's grin only widens. "What? They'd make a cute couple, don’t ya think?"
I take a long swallow of coffee, scalding my tongue in the process. The pain is a welcome distraction from the sceneunfolding across the table, where Beckett is now pouring Hailey a fresh cup of coffee.
Her eyes flick up, meeting mine for just a second over the rim of her cup. Something passes between us, quick as summer lightning, but it’s gone again before I can blink. Cheeks slightly flushed, she looks away, returning her attention to Beckett.
A sudden, murderous feeling washes over me, so intense it's almost dizzying. I want to reach across the table, grab Beckett by his collar, and drag him away from her. Want to tell him that she's not going anywhere with him, that she's—
What? Mine? The thought is so absurd, so completely at odds with everything I've said and done since she arrived, that I nearly choke on my coffee.
I don't want her here. Don't want her going through our books, suggesting changes, looking at everything with those sharp hazel eyes. Don't want her making herself at home in my house, using my shower, leaving her scent lingering in the steam.
I sure as hell don't want her smiling at Beckett like he's offering her the moon instead of a trip to the feed store.
"If you grip that mug any harder, you're gonna need stitches," Sawyer murmurs, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Interesting reaction for someone who supposedly can't stand the sight of her."
I set the mug down with deliberate control, forcing my fingers to uncurl from the handle. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Sawyer just snorts. "Sure you don't, boss. Sure you don't."
Across the table, Hailey smiles again at something Beckett says. My chest tightens at the sight, at the realization that she hasn’t smiled like that around me. Never will, if I have anything to say about it.
And that's exactly how it should be. Exactly what I want.
So why does watching her give it to someone else so freely feel like a fist squeezing the air from my lungs?
Chapter 9
Hailey
Beckett's truck rumbles beneath me, the engine's steady vibration traveling up through the worn leather seat and into my bones. The windows are rolled down, and Montana air whips the strands that’ve escaped my braid across my face. Pushing them back, I steal a glance at my driver. Beckett hums along to some country song on the radio, one hand draped casually over the steering wheel, the other tapping out the rhythm on his thigh. Nothing like Bradley, whose every movement seems coiled with tension, whose dark eyes follow me like I'm an intruder he can't quite figure out how to remove.
"Thanks again for the ride," I tell him, raising my voice a little over the radio and wind.
Beckett's smile comes easy. "No problem at all. Beats feeding the horses alone.” He gives me a sideways glance. “First time on a working ranch?"
I nod, watching the landscape scroll past my window. Rolling hills dotted with cattle, the occasional cluster of trees, mountains rising in the distance like sentinels. It's beautiful ina raw, untamed way that makes the city’s carefully maintained parks feel artificial in comparison.
"It's overwhelming," I admit. "I keep thinking I'm going to step in something or break something or—"
"Piss off Bradley?" Beckett finishes with a chuckle.
Heat creeps up my neck. "That ship has sailed. Pretty sure he hated me before I even got out of my car."
