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My mouth fell open. He wasn’t being serious right now, was he? All because of something I apparently said a few nights ago that still had me confused as to why it was such a big deal?

“You can’t just claim a certain part of the day even if I’m living in your house.” My knuckles whitened as I gripped the reins tighter.

“Then you can go sleep on the porch, so I don’t run into you until after I’ve eaten breakfast.”

“It’s not even finished being built yet!”

“Then sleep in the basement.”

“Um, that’s not finished either!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What happened to the lighthearted teasing that I hated?

He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, as long as I get some peace and quiet for the first thirty minutes of the day, I don’t care what you do.” And he rode away. Just like that.

I couldn’t believe what he’d just said. What had just happened. I hated that I needed him right now. I hated that smug look that he had right before he disappeared through the trees.

And I hated how he didn’t even glance at me when we stopped for lunch. Instead, he mingled with the hands as we all pulled our sandwiches from saddle bags.

Why was I doing this to myself?

“Hey, Cassidy!” Cash called out, and I glanced up from the much-needed food that I was shoveling into my mouth.

Cassidy stood up from the log he’d plopped himself on, stepping out from under the shade, and my skin prickled. The chaps only made everything on him look more powerful, the worn, square-toe boots peeking out from beneath the leather, and I watched, eagerly waiting for him to turn around just so I could get a glimpse of his butt in—

HOLD. UP.

Ripping my eyes away from that man, I stared at the grass below me as Cash spoke again. “How long are we going to stay for lunch? I’m seeing some clouds that have me concerned.”

“Yeah, I’ve been eyeing them too. Let’s round everyone up and get going; we could finish eating on the ride,” Cassidy answered, and I glanced up to the sky. The fluffy, pure white clouds no longer looked like puffs of cotton whispering across the sky. A gray heaviness clung to the bottom of them, threatening rain.

I forgot how quickly the weather could change in Montana. Maybe the heat that had been burning through my body, the extra moisture clinging to my sweat, had been a result of the impending storm and not the man that was annoying as crap.

Cassidy Duke was going to be the bane of my existence.

Chapter 6

CASSIDY

Despite everything that happened a few nights ago, despite the lingering frustration I felt, I couldn’t help but find myself doing everything possible to not laugh at her reactions and rather quick comebacks for my admittedly rude comments earlier.

It’d also taken everything in me to not look at her during lunch. I wanted to make sure she knew that she was not allowed to ask something like that or bring up anything remotely like that topic again. Besides, I was confused whether she hated me because I wasn’t like the picture Rooney painted or because I actually was?

But my conviction to not look at her was failing significantly at the moment. I don’t think she noticed me trailing along to the outside of her as we worked through the trees, guiding my horse around logs and through brush that smelled like threatening rain. Her ignorance to my presence was a blessing, because if she knew that I was admiring her, I’d probably get told to scram. I didn’t want to. Not just yet, anyway…

Glancing up at the sky, I clenched my jaw. I knew this drive had been going too smoothly. We hadn’t had a calf wander too far away, and nobody had done something stupid yet. So, of course a storm had to hit.

Nothing about cattle ranching ever went right. Not that I was complaining, but the constant whirlwind of things going wrong was definitely familiar. I chuckled to myself and finally rode away from the rather intriguing blonde.

I wanted to stick around, watch that beautiful woman a little longer. I wanted to figure out how she didn’t sit on her hair—even with it braided back—because of how long it was. I wanted to try and figure out what she seemed so afraid of, why she was so defensive and standoffish. But I needed to warn Cash and the others, see if we couldn’t pick up the pace before the storm hit, even though I knew it was fruitless.

I could smell the storm; I could feel it. My skin was slick all over from the gathering humidity, no longer dripping with the salty sweat that slipped from my pores.

And I tipped my head up to the sky, just as the first drop fell.

∞∞∞

“FASTER!” I shouted above the thundering rain that crashed down upon us. Mud slapped up behind the hooves as the hands drove the cattle through the gate. “HOLD THEM TIGHTER!”

Chaos.