Page 8 of Score to Settle (Oakwood Ranch #1)

FIVE

HARPER

MIA: Enjoying the riding at the ranch?

HARPER: They don’t have horses!

MIA: I didn’t mean that kind of riding.

HARPER: FML

Notes for feature: Sullivan sulks better than a toddler whose favorite toy just broke.

It’s hard not to laugh at Jake’s grumpiness as he strides two paces ahead of me on the trail.

Every so often he throws a look back my way like he’s checking I’m still here.

The scowl on his face tells me he’s hoping I’m not.

Or maybe he just doesn’t like Buck trotting obediently by my side, stopping every so often to sniff at the undergrowth before scampering to catch up.

Each time Jake looks at me I smile sweetly, like I did in the kitchen when he found me in my workout leggings and a sweatshirt, bag packed and boots laced, ready to go an hour earlier than we agreed last night.

Does he think I was born yesterday? Clearly, Jake’s used to women fawning over him instead of challenging him.

The morning air has a bite to it as we make our way up the winding trail to Golden Gate Canyon.

The sun has just begun to peek above the horizon, casting the first streaks of orange over the distant ridges of the mountains.

Frost shimmers on the grass. Fallen leaves crunch beneath my boots with every step.

The trail curves up the side of the canyon, following a small stream that trickles over rocks and fallen logs.

I pause, closing my eyes and inhaling the scent of pines and earth.

If it wasn’t for the fact my assignment is giving all the vibes of a sulky teen being forced to do homework, it would be the perfect hike.

Even with Jake’s mood, it beats the gym workouts I usually drag myself to on Saturday mornings, spinning then weights followed by Pilates for three hours with thirty other men and women, all of us sweating, all of us hating and loving it in equal measure.

At least my regular gym habit means I can easily keep up with Jake’s determined march.

He’s lost in thought and seems oblivious to the natural beauty around us.

Alone together on the trail, no escape, is the perfect time to get him talking.

I can practically feel Tim pinching the bridge of his nose at my hesitance, but I’m pretty sure any questions I ask Jake in his current mood will elicit little more than a growl.

For now, I’m content to enjoy the views of the canyon.

The path widens as we reach the ridge and I step beside Jake, glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

He towers over me, with broad shoulders filling out his long-sleeved hiking top.

His black hair is hidden beneath a Stormhawks baseball cap and his stubble is just short enough not to be considered a beard.

He looks manly and rugged and exactly the kind of bad boy fathers warn their daughters about.

He’s also not my type. Not since high school, anyway.

Considering the number of women who’ve thrown themselves at him in the years since, it’s no surprise he doesn’t remember me.

I’m more than happy for it to stay that way.

I was a different person in high school.

Big glasses and frizzy hair, a few extra pounds on me before I realized what healthy eating and exercise could do for my body.

Without a mom to teach me, I didn’t have the first clue about makeup or clothes.

It was only when I left for college that I realized it was up to me to take an interest. With Mia’s guidance, I tamed my brown locks and started making the most of my appearance.

In college, I veered away from jocks and focused my attention on clean-shaven, button-down shirt types.

Someone I could take home for dinner with my dad.

Someone who could keep up with his sparring on politics and current affairs, rather than someone I could really fall in love with.

That’s when I met Scott. He was a year ahead of me on my journalism course.

I took him home to meet my dad, hoping they’d hit it off.

I never expected for it to feel like my dad liked him better than he did me.

I quickly discovered that men like Scott, who see themselves as smart and focused, are also entitled pricks.

We broke up after a year, but not before my dad took Scott under his wing, helping him get his first job and then promotions along the way.

Something he never did for me. He saw helping his daughter as nepotism.

As if I cared. The only thing I’ve ever wanted from him is his love and his approval.

But it doesn’t mean I like the fact he’s still close to Scott.

Since then, I’ve pretty much avoided relationships.

Never letting things go beyond a handful of dates.

Never falling in love. Something Mia is desperate to change.

Jake steps ahead of me again as the trail winds around the curve of the ridge.

I take in the vast landscape stretching below us, bathed in the pumpkin-orange glow from the morning sun.

There was a time this past summer when I thought I’d never live down the humiliation of being fired from Insight .

When it would never stop being my first waking thought.

But it’s slowly gotten easier, thanks to Mia and my job at Sports Magazine , and maybe in part the novel I started as a way to distract myself, choosing something crazy and never expecting to fall a little bit in love with it.

Who knew vampire romances in ancient Egypt could be so much fun?

I’ve been back in Denver for four months and working at the magazine for the last three, but it’s only now—staring across the vast beauty of the landscape—that New York feels more like my past than my present.

“Wow,” I say. “This view is unbelievable.”

Jake is a step ahead and he turns, flashing me a roguish grin. “Checking out my ass, Harper?”

I roll my eyes and wave a hand to the endless forest below us. “Come on. You have to admit this is something special.”

He pauses, following my gaze. I take the opportunity to step up beside him, watching him drink in the view. His chest rises and falls like it’s the first breath he’s taken all morning. “Yeah,” he says. “It’s nice.”

“Nice? Is that all you’ve got? It’s spectacular.” I reach to rub Buck’s ear. He tilts his head and leans his warm body against my leg, tail thumping in the dirt.

Jake shoots the retriever a traitorous look before gazing once more to the landscape. “Sometimes I think this is as close to perfect as I’m ever gonna see. Other times nothing in the world can beat the feeling of standing in a stadium of cheering fans.”

The comment takes me by surprise. It’s the closest to a real thing he’s said to me since we met yesterday and I want to pull out my purple notebook tucked in my bag and write it down before firing a dozen more questions at him, but I heed Mama’s warning not to push Jake and decide to tread carefully instead.

“It’s a lot of pressure though, right?” I say, keeping my focus on stroking Buck, hoping Jake will open up.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” he replies.

For a moment it seems like Jake might say more, but then the scowl is back and he’s scooping up his bag. “We should get back,” he says.

“You want breakfast first?” I ask.

The first hint of a smile twitches on his lips. “You brought food?”

I take the pack from him and unclip the top, pulling out the two wrapped sandwiches I made with Mama last night.

“You didn’t? Looks like you’ll be going hungry then.” I smirk and take a bite.

He huffs, swiping the second sandwich from my hands. “Thanks.”

Jake takes a big bite, his jaw working, before he swallows and looks at me, a glint in his eye I don’t like the look of. “Not bad, sweetheart.”

“Wow, a compliment from the great Jake Sullivan. I’m truly honored.” My voice drips with sarcasm. “I’ll be sure to add sandwich-making to my résumé under special skills.”

He barks a laugh, more surprise than humor, the sound echoing across the canyon.

“You do that. Right under pain in the ass.” The way he grumbles the reply leaves me in no doubt he means it.

For a man who wants to prove he’s a decent guy at heart, he’s not exactly trying hard to convince me.

No doubt he thinks I’m the type to fall for his good looks and write a drooling, fluffy feature on how great he is.

Think again, Jake Sullivan!

“Funny, I was going to say the same about you,” I say, matching his tone. I take another bite of my sandwich, savoring the crisp lettuce and salty bacon, stopping myself saying anything more.

Buck looks up at me, his brown eyes wide and pleading. I sigh and give him the last bite before tucking the wrapper away.

After we’ve eaten, we set off down the trail, walking in frosty silence again.

By the time we’re back at the ranch, the sun has inched over the horizon, and despite it being November, I can feel the hint of warmth on my skin.

I need a shower and my hair straightener.

The air here is seriously bad for my kinks.

And then I need coffee and to pin Jake down to answer a few questions.

So far all I have to send to Tim next week is cheap perfume, toddler tantrums, and pages of me ranting about what kind of person Jake really is…

It’s late afternoon by the time I find Jake in the kitchen.

He’s showered and he’s wearing jeans and a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show off some impressive arm muscles.

I catch him giving my simple white tee and stone-washed jeans an appraising glance before he eyes the laptop tucked under my arm and makes a face.