Page 22 of Saving the Rain
A cold laugh escapes me. “Save your dumb ass? No. Didn’t do that for you, snowflake.” I scoff. This kid has always thought everything should revolve around him. Always wanting me to give him attention and to treat him like he was something, or someone, important to my life. When he and his mom were anything but. A giant fucking pain in my neck was all they were. A constant headache I didn’t need.
They have no idea what trouble they caused by showing up and sticking around.
Kayce folds his arms, a muscle in the side of his jaw flexing. “Sure seemed like you were ready to sprint over here real quick.” His stupidly blue eyes glint a more vivid turquoise color with the soft glow of lights strung out above us. “Looks like your date wasn’t prepared to stick around after a performance like that.”
Tipping my head to one side, that old familiar sense of being constantly infuriated with him—for no real reason other than himexisting—has boiled up. “Like I said, I didn’t do that for you. I did that forme,so I don’t have to haul your ass to a medical center at this time of night.” I step closer. “All because you’re too much of a loser to make good decisions.” With a click of my tongue, I take in the way his eyes narrow in response, his chest rising and falling faster now.
“Don’t fucking flatter yourself. I wouldn’t ask for your help if you were the last person on earth.” He spits the words out.
“You can’t even make a good choice while sober. Doubt anything’s changed. Like you’d know how to get through a single day without relying on everyone else to pick up the pieces for you.”
His face hardens. “Screw you. Prick.”
Tension hangs thick in the air between the two of us, with the fire cracking and popping to fill the momentary silence.
“Take your sorry ass home, Wilder.” I back up, shaking my head at him as I prepare to walk away. “Unless your goal is to come last thenext time you compete, then by all means, hang out here choking on a lungful of smoke. I bet Chaos will be laughing all the way to that next winner’s podium.”
I can’t be fucked with this guy, or this conversation any longer. He’s just gonna throw everything away all over again, and I certainly won’t give a shit if he ruins his life.
Turning away from his stupid, pouty expression and feeble excuses, I see the group of drunk girls still occupying the same corner as before. The redhead glances up at me from where she’s now surrounded by her friends. I don’t pause, striding back over there, and as I get closer, her eyes flicker up and down my frame appreciatively.
“Hey, you.” She twists her lips and swings around to lean over the back of her chair when I reach the group. There’s a chorus of feminine giggles and a couple of hiccups from one particular friend—presumably the birthday girl, judging by the glazed look in her eyes and the fact she’s swaying to her own beat.
“So, I heard a rumor you’re the cowboy to ask for a private tour at Sunset Skies Ranch?” She leans on one palm, staring up at me with a look that says she’s more than ready to leave, all I gotta do is give the word.
“Might be.” I cock my head to one side.
“I bet you know all the best places to explore after dark.”
Leaning down, I bend low enough for my mouth to graze the shell of her ear. “Let me buy you a drink and steal you away from your friends for a little bit first,hmm?” I whisper.
A little shiver roams through her frame, and she dips her chin while making a noise of agreement.
Lingering there for an extra second, my gaze drifts back to the spot where I was just a moment ago. Immediately, my eyes lock with Kayce’s. He glances up from typing on his phone, and I see his focus bounce from me, to the girl with flame-color hair as she hops up from her seat.
Fuck it. Drawing a scowl out of him shouldn’t feel this satisfying, but it does. When I walk into the bar with my palm guiding her by the small of her back, the whole way, I feel it.
Those wide eyes of his drill into the back of my head.
Turning to look over my shoulder, I give him a wink. And to my black-hearted satisfaction, the golden boy who oozes charm has been thoroughly ruffled.
I’m met with a thundercloud glare, rather than bright blues in return.
Chapter 9
Today has been a shit show.
Half of the cattle were out when I got down to their paddock to check on them and feed out. By the time I’d rounded up the last of them, made sure they were secured, and then fixed the broken fence post, my patience was just about worn through.
It’s fucking freezing today. Knifelike winds, straight off Devil’s Peak, slice across any bit of exposed skin. The kind of buffeting icy gale that leaves you aching down to the bone and exhausted from constantly fighting against it to do even the smallest of tasks.
My stomach is clawing at me, complaining loudly by the time I’ve finished looking after the horses, making sure they’re all fed, warm, and bedded down. Thick clouds have rolled in, making it seem way later in the day than it already is, but I’m about fucking over everything.
Except, nothing is ever goddamndonearound here.
I still have to restock the firewood supply up at the house, split kindling, and get ahead with chopping more logs ready to replace what I’ll use overnight.
As I slog my way through what is a very necessary and unavoidable chore up here, my body might be physically wiped out, but my mind keeps returning to last night. Maybe that’s been the added layer of chafinggoing on inside my skull—the coarse grit underlying how pissed off I’m feeling. No wonder this entire day feels as though it’s been sent to conspire against me.