Page 16 of Ember Meadow
“Don’t mind him,” Parker smiles. “He’s just gotten senile in his old age. He used to be a lot more fun, trust me. Now, I’m the only fun one around here.” Miles mumbles something under his breath as he rolls his eyes.
“Good to know,” I say.
“What exactly are you up to out here?” Parker asks. Miles adjusts the cowboy hat on his head, turning to look somewhere off in the distance.
“Well, my company bought this cabin so I’m renovating it to turn it into a vacation rental,” I explain, unsure how much Parker has heard about the sale. Miles hadn’t heard anything apparently. “Today is actually my first official day of work on the cabin. Tomorrow my crew will arrive and we’ll start on some of the major projects.”
“Oh right on,” Parker says, “Miles told me about that. Sounds like it’s gonna be quite the project.”
“The hope is we’ll get it done by the end of the summer, ready for guests in the fall and early ski season,” I say. “Although it might be a few days longer now that half of the fence is down.” I tilt my head towards the destroyed fence in the back. Both men turn to get a look at the fence, then share a look for a few seconds before meeting my gaze again.
“Yeah, Walter mentioned that. He said to let you know Miles is going to fix the fence for you while the rest of us are branding cows this month,” Parker says, looking amused.
“Did he now?” I try to keep my polite smile on, but I can feel it slip just a bit. Now he’s going to fix the fence? Hopefully it’s an easy repair.
“Speaking of branding, I better get back. We’ve got the first group all ready to go. The guys will kill me if I flake,” Parker says, tipping his hat down at me. What is it with all of these cowboys being so tall? “It was a pleasure to meet you, miss. Hope I see you around.”
I find myself alone with Miles again once Parker rides off with the cattle dog, back towards the ranch. He’s looking at the ground like he’s trying to figure out what to say, shifting his boots in the gravel.
“So,” I make an attempt at a conversation, “Did you have fun in town last night?”
“No,” he says, meeting my gaze. I expect him to continue, but he doesn’t. His stare hardens as we stand in a faceoff.
“Oh I’m sorry to hear that. I thought Alpine Rose was pretty cool. I’ve never been to a bar so big before. And everyone is so nice up here,” I say with a smile.
“I don’t know if I’d call the guys you were with nice,” he grumbles. “Those guys come up here every couple of months to hit on stupid tourists and leave.”
“Are you insinuating I’m a stupid tourist?” I tease, trying desperately to lighten the mood. His frown remains strictly in place.
“No,” he starts, looking down again. “Just saying is all. If you’re looking for a hookup, I’d avoid those assholes.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. Mood officially killed. “What makes you think I’m looking for a hookup?”
“You left with one of them,” he says, arms crossed so tightly his veins start to pop out a bit. His jaw ticks.
“So, what? How is it any of your concern? Why do you care what I do anyway?” I say, voice raising.
“I don’t care!” Miles exclaims. His whole face is turning red now. My body is confused, torn between anger and attraction. That frustrates me even more.
“Seems like you did last night. And now too, apparently.” I stand my ground, arms crossed, mirroring Miles.
“Well, I didn’t. I mean don’t. I still don’t. You can do whatever you want. I’m going to get started on the fence,” Miles declares, walking away. “I’ll have to leave Claro tied up out front.”
As if she understands, Miles’s chestnut horse blinks once, turning her head towards me.
I’m frozen where I’m standing, once again working on catching my breath as he trails off to the back of the house to look at the fence. Air rushes out of my lungs, cold like the morning mountain air.
I don’t know what’s going on with Miles, but it sure seems like he’s mad about something and taking it out on me. There’s no reason for him to be upset with me over something so inconsequential. He was way out of line. Unless he really is just an asshole. He’d better be ready to apologize next time he wants to talk to me.
I’m no stranger to random outbursts of anger. It happens a lot when you have a family like mine. But I’m determined not to let Miles get under my skin. If he wants to insult me and try to get my goat, so be it. I won’t participate.
I don’t have the extra brainpower to fight with my neighbor right now, even if we kind of know each other. Okay fine, we know each other enough. But it’s not like we were in a relationship or anything. It was one night.
A really amazing night, but still just a night.
Not wanting to waste any more precious time before my crew arrives, I fish my laptop out of my bag and get right to work. I don’t have time to think about Miles right now, that will have to wait until later when I’m relaxing with a glass of wine reading a book. The corner of my mouth twitches up at the thought of having a tiny cabin all to myself at last.
Chapter 6
