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He sighed, his shoulders sagging as he shook his head. “Three years ago, when Tenley, Weston’s wife, showed up, our cattle were poisoned with locoweed. And before you say anything, we take that very seriously and clear it out, so yes, we knew it was deliberate.”

“Tenley’s your ex?” I asked.

“Is she blonde?” He blinked at me like I was stupid, and I rolled my eyes.

“You’re annoying.”

That ever-present smirk lifted the corners of his lips. “Anyway, a girl I took on one single date, ended up trying to ruin the ranch’s cattle business in an attempt to get me to work off of the mountain and closer to her. Apparently, I was her true love or something.” He shook his head and looked out over the horizon, which indicated it was quite late in the afternoon. “What I’m saying is, I knew something was off about her during that first date. Did I know that she was an actual crazy loon? No, but there’s a reason only one date happened. I’m really good at reading people. And animals. So, again, I know you’re hiding stuff, and I’m not going to be played out to be a fool this time.”

My heart hammered loudly, but slowly. Telling him would get a huge weight off my chest. And my reasons were not insane like that chick’s reasons were. But that meant admitting that I technically did something wrong. That meant bringing someone else into this insanity, where I only had a gut feeling and no proof.

“First off, the relation between both of us being blondes—rude,” I finally started, and Cassidy chuckled.

“Don’t worry, Goldie. I ain’t ever met a blonde like you,” he whispered, his voice a little lower than usual. My stomach swam.

I opened my mouth to speak, but a complete sentence did not come to mind. “I—There—Any—” was all that came out.

Cassidy smiled through the silence. “You were saying?”

That’s all it took for the haze in my mind to clear up. “Anyway, butthead,” I muttered, and his eyes sparkled. “Second, the dude I stole the horse from is who’s chasing me and—”

“I put that together on my own,” Cassidy cut me off.

“Well, jeez. I can just assume that you know everything if you’re going to sass me like that,” I responded, narrowing my eyes. He merely raised a brow and slipped his tongue across his lips. My eyes darted briefly down to his mouth, reminding me of the velvet passion that had been briefly shared. Hold on, no. Snap out of it Briar.

Quickly shaking the thought from my head, I returned to the conversation at hand. “Anyway, I was going to finish by saying that since it’s just one guy chasing me, I doubt today is related.” I paused and watched as his tawny eyes studied mine, full of that familiar mischievousness. He may have figured me out, but there was still much about him that I didn’t know. “Now, get going, or we will lose daylight before finding Bud,” I snipped. As I gestured to have him start tracking again, I pulled my lips between my teeth.

He left his leg crossed around the saddle horn and bumped the horse forward; his eyes lingered on me. We once again began making slow progress as Cassidy followed Bud’s trail that I still couldn’t see. Eventually, he let out some air and dropped his leg back over the side of the horse. His breath washed over my face, bringing a burning sensation to my cheeks.

His scent… The taste of his tongue against my own…

So desperate… So needy…

“I get you being hesitant to tell me things, but you realize once we are back to the main ranch, if Cash or Weston haven’t called the livestock agents and police, I will. And you’re a criminal, regardless of your reasons,” Cassidy stated, his voice startling me, and I blinked, returning my focus to him. His eyes were trained on the forest floor.

“You saw the marks on the stallion’s body! How can you call me the criminal when—”

“That won’t matter, Briar. You took property that isn’t yours and still have it with you. Regardless of the abuse that I know happened, that’s much harder to prove since the horse is with you,” he explained. He wasn’t wrong, and I hated that.

“My dad called the authorities on Wayde so many times, and nothing happened! I just need time to find proof that he’s done more than just abuse his animals, that’s all,” I explained, praying that Cassidy didn’t see me any differently. I knew stealing the horse had been wrong, but sometimes the right thing comes by doing the wrong thing first. Right?

Cassidy sighed and pulled the horse to a stop again. “Why is it always a Wayde?” he muttered and suddenly plopped to the ground with a jingle of his spurs. “Take the reins. The dirt here is really compact; I can’t see hoofprints. I gotta look for some other signs, and it’d be easier on foot.”

Pulling myself over the back of the saddle, I settled into the leather seat and slipped the reins between my fingers. It felt nice and refreshing to be back in control, and I wrapped my legs gently around Cowboy’s sides.

“What else do you think this Wayde did?” Cassidy mindlessly asked, walking forward. He stooped down beside some brush that looked scattered, but not out of place.

“Killed our entire herd of cattle,” I answered, and Cassidy’s fingers stopped moving. They hovered over a few leaves, and then slowly, very slowly, he lifted his gaze to mine.

“All of them?”

I nodded.

The wheels began spinning in his mind, evident by the twitching of his brows and the distant look that glazed over his eyes.

“How did your dad die, Briar?” Cassidy whispered, looking back down at the leaves that had been stomped into the ground. My stomach plummeted to the ground, swallowed up by a question I had certainly not expected him to ask.

“Car accident, why?” I answered and then couldn’t stop my mouth from falling open as it hit me. “What are…What are you suggesting?”