Page 2 of Wrangling Hearts
Savannah chewed on her bottom lip. “Yeah, I’ll do it. But if we get in trouble, I’m blaming it on you, bear.”
“You always do. But we won’t get in trouble.” At least not with our parents. The boys, though, would never let this go.
“It’s not that bad,” Emmett said, trying to get Colt to jump.
He groaned. “Fine.”
He went swinging, and we went running.
We were all laughs and shrieks as we ran to the riverbank, snatching up their clothes, leaving only their boots behind. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, my heart pounding against my chest. I loved this feeling, this rush of just being alive. The only other time I had felt this way was on the back of a horse, racing against the clock.
“Oh shit!” one of them yelled. “They got our clothes!”
“Faster!” Delilah screeched through a fit of laughter.
We raced away through the woods, dodging fallen branches and low-hanging limbs. The boys were shouting our names and curses, followed by the rush of water as they got out.
“They’re coming after us!” Anna yelled, grinning.
We broke through the clearing out into Circle M’s pasture since the McLeod’s land was bigger than ours. I was breathless from the run, but my face hurt from how hard I was smiling.
“Annabelle,” a stern voice stopped me in my tracks, and my attention snapped towards Anna’s father, sitting on his horse, scowling.
My stomach dropped.
“Hi, Daddy,” she squeaked, shoving a red t-shirt behind her back.
“Now just what exactly are you girls doin’?” He grimaced. “And why does it smell like pickles?”
“Nothing, Mr. McLeod,” I lied, taking a step towards him and hiding the jeans behind me. “Just playing.”
Mount’s eyes narrowed at me. “I wasn’t askin’ you, I’m talkin’ to my daughter.” My head reared back, not expecting him to speak to me like that. He was terrifying, yes, but never outright rude. It only made me more on edge.
The sound of horse hooves approached, and I looked over to see my dad. Oh God. Now we were really in trouble. I glanced at my sisters, who all looked as guilty as I knew I did.
“Claire, what the hell is going on here?”
“I was just askin’ the same thing,” Mount said, his voice like ice towards him.
I opened my mouth, but the words got stuck. Behind me, I could hear the boys laughing. I winced, knowing what they were about to walk into. They broke through the clearing in nothing but their boots, hands cupped over their junk to keep them covered. I looked at the ground quickly, hoping nobody noticed the flush in my cheeks.
Their laughter died once they saw we’d been busted.
“Ah, fuck,” Weston groaned.
“Ah fuck’s right, boy,” Mount scolded. “Now somebody better start talkin’.”
“The girls took our clothes,” Colt said, and I shot him a glare. Snitch. He looked at the ground, swallowing hard.
“The boys filled water guns with pickle juice and sprayed us!” Delilah said. “What were we supposed to do? Let them get away with it?”
“Only because y’all put horse shit in our boots yesterday…again,” Beau added with a scowl that mirrored Mount’s. I knew that would bite us in the ass, but it was Savannah’s idea, so we couldn’t not do it.
Water droplets rolled down his body, gathering at his joined hands that covered between his legs. I cleared my throat and looked away. “They’ve been messing with us all summer, Dad.”
“So this is what passes as parentin’ at Golden Bridle, Ben?” Mount asked. “Lettin’ your girls run wild and cause trouble on someone else’s land and ropin’ my Annabelle into it?”
Anna stepped forward, frowning. “Daddy—” He held his hand up, silencing her.
