Page 38 of Here With Me

The oldest boys of the family are the twins, Wilder and Waylon. There are six years between us, but you wouldn’t know it by how immature they act. Waylon is usually the reasonable one, but they still feed off each other and act like fools most of the time. They live in one of the duplexes at the ranch hand quarters where they throw parties almost every weekend. If they weren’t so good at guiding the trail horse rides and staying on top of their ranch duties, our parents would’ve already booted them, especially after the whole receptionist thing.

“Aren’t ya too old to be gettin’ flustered over a hot guy?” Wilder continues, stepping up on the fence post and giving me a better view of his smug-ass expression.

“Who said it was over a hot guy?”

“Ruby.”

Ugh, I’m gonna kill her.

“Shewas the flustered one,” I argue, then internally chastise myself for that stupid response. “What do you want anyway besides to annoy me?”

“I heard thehot guyis Jase’s dad?”

“He’s thefarrier,” I drawl out. “No one said he was hot.”

I put on my best deadpan expression so he doesn’t see right through my lie.

“That mean your lover boy is gonna come ’round again?” he asks in a cruel, taunting voice. Wilder’s never been a fan of Jase for no other reason than he was my boyfriend.

Not like my playboy brother has room to talk. At twenty-eight, he’s dated most of Sugarland Creek’s eligible women and some of the not-so-single older women.

“What’re ya, twelve?” I glare at him, and he barks out a laugh. “We’re just friends. Don’t you have work to do?”

“I’m waitin’ on Landen to come with the hay trailer so we can stock up the loft.”

“Go wait somewhere else.”

He chuckles as he hops off the fence. I watch as he makes his way into the barn. He’s talking so loudly, I can hear him from all the way inside.

Thirty minutes later, Fisher tells me he’s ready for Shelby, so I walk her down and clip her into place. My mind hasn’t stopped thinking about him and thealmost-kiss. Or at least, I could’ve sworn that was about to happen before I blurted out the real reason I ghosted him.

My brain says we need to stay away from each other. But my heart says fuck that.

We shared something I’ve never experienced that night. If it weren’t for the no fraternizing policy and him being Jase’s dad, there’d be no reason we couldn’t be together.

That alone makes me want him even more.

Even if the consequences could be life-changing.

Now that Miss Swift is back in her stall, I text Mallory to come over so she’s not anxious while Shelby’s gone. Since Mallory has only been around horses for a couple of years, we don’t let her ride alone. She helps with the grooming and getting the saddle on, but I’m always a few feet away when she’s on her back.

Landen arrives with the trailer, and when he and Tripp hop out, I know shit’s about to get rowdy.

It always does when all four boys are together.

“Hey, sis,” Landen says, coming toward me and making a show of sniffing me. “Thank God you showered. Heard you—”

“Shush your mouth before I push you in a pile of steamin’ horse shit.”

He snickers, elbowing my arm. “Been there, done that. No, thank you.”

“You gonna come help?” Tripp asks as he approaches.

I grab Miss Swift’s lead rope and enter her stall. “That’s not my job. I’m doin’ mine, so go do yours.”

Then I bring Mallory’s horse to the grooming station and clip her in so she’s ready. “You can grab me her saddle, though.”

“Nice try.” Tripp snorts. “Where are the twins?”