Page 14 of Big Burly Foreman

“I’ll find you later,” I say again, pushing back from her and releasing her hand. I crouch down to grab her towel, but now it’s covered with hay, so I dust it off before getting up.

Her cheeks are flushed when she grabs the towel from my hands and looks around. Everyone suddenly looks away, most of them staring at the sky like it’s the most fascinating thing they’ve ever seen, like they don’t feel their faces melting beneath the harsh glare of the sun.

Ashley turns around just in time to catch Joseph and a stable hand walking in our direction with two horses.

“I have to go,” she says, but I grab her hand before she can leave.

“I don’t want him touching you, or he is dead!”

She snorts at my words. “What? I am not allowed to make out with a guy I met only last night and roll around with him in a field of dandelions?”

“Ashley,” I growl.

“I’m kidding.” She chuckles, flashing me a dimple. “You shouldn’t be so serious all the time. What happens if the wind changes direction, and you are stuck with that scowl for the rest of your life?”

With another laugh, she leaves to join the kid, and all I can do is watch as she rides away on a horse with another man, but to my relief, they don’t go beyond eyesight, and I can work while keeping an eye on them.

The thought of seeing her privately later in the evening pushes me to work harder. I ignore the protests of my muscles as we spend half the day moving not just the hay, but a good deal of farm equipment around the ranch.

Between ferrying farm equipment and working cattle, my muscles are singing by the time I let myself into the small farmhouse I share with Eric. Since most of the farm hands are locals, they commute from home, and the rest share the bunkhouse. As the junior foreman, I share this small house with only Eric.

My roommate is not around, giving me space to enjoy the solitude as I shower and wash away the day’s exhaustion, so I can go meet Ashley.

I’ve been thinking about this all day, and I know how risky it is going to be to break into the main house and access her room, but it’s a challenge I am willing to take.

Breaking into the house proves to be easier than I expected, and as I hoist myself up the balcony outside her bedroom, I am taken aback by the eerie silence. It’s a few minutes past nine and way too early for everyone in the house to be asleep.

I realize too soon the house is silent because no one is in it.

Ashley isn’t waiting for me.

Chapter Seven

Ashley

“My best days were spent in a remote temple in Cambodia. The place was calm and peaceful, you could almost hear the heavens whisper through the soft winds and . . .”

My phone starts ringing, and I can’t help but smile at the interruption. When Joseph invited my parents and me for dinner tonight, I had a feeling we’d be subjected to another one of his adventure stories, but the man has been talking non-stop for two and a half hours.

Not a single one of us has managed to get a word in, and my phone ringing is a welcome interruption even to my parents, who watch me with envy as I get up from the table.

“This is important,” I say as I leave our table and rush toward the bathrooms to answer the call.

I don’t even bother to look who is calling. It could be someone reminding me of my car’s extended warranty, and I wouldn’t care. Hell, I don’t even drive.

A scam call, even better. Those tend to last forever.

As it turns out, it’s neither. I smile when I see Luna’s name flash on my screen. We have been best friends since we were teens. Her parents are real estate moguls and our families tend to run in the same social circles, but I adore her.

“You just saved me from a boring dinner,” I say in way of greeting.

Her chuckle filters through the speaker. “Who was it this time?”

“You don’t even want to know,” I whisper sorrowfully. “Some guy my parents are trying to set me up with that won’t stop going on about his fake trips. At first, I was pretty fascinated by his stories, but at this point, he’s just making them up.”

“Those are the worst kind.”

“It’s okay, he’s probably trying to impress my parents. His family is new to the country club, and our dads have become close.”

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