Page 25 of Take a Chance (Blue Creek Ranch #1)

“He’s your horse, though. You made the connection with him,” Crew insisted.

“Jesus fucking Christ, Crew. You can’t keep buying me horses!

” I exclaimed, keeping my voice to a low hiss so I wouldn’t freak out the horse.

“What the fuck do you think this is?” I gestured at him and then myself angrily.

“Do you have feelings for me or something? Because that’s not okay.

This ”—I gestured at the colt—“is not okay.”

Crew looked like a deer in the headlights. “I can’t lie and say I’m not attracted to you—”

“That’s not the point!” I ground out. “Being attracted is fine. It’s buying fucking horses for your employee you’re attracted to that’s the issue. The power imbalance alone, Crew! You’re my boss!”

Before he had time to reply, I grabbed the front of his flannel, pushed him across the aisle against the closed stall door, and kissed him.

The grunt-moan that Crew let out went directly into my long neglected balls. He opened his mouth and I deepened the kiss right until I heard Juanpablo in the distance. It meant someone was on the move, and I could guess why.

I wrenched myself away from Crew and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Christ.

“You can work for Hawk,” he said behind me.

I whirled around. “What?”

“You can work for Hawk. Then I’m not your boss. The training is separate. Still part of the ranch, yes. But it’s his purview, his baby. You’d still be a Blue Creek Ranch employee, but the chain is completely different. You wouldn’t report to me at all.”

I rubbed my hand over my face and paced on the aisle. “You’re suggesting what? That I only work for Hawk’s barn so I’m not your employee anymore and we can… what? Fuck around and find out if this… this madness is worth of risking everything for?”

The corner of Crew’s mouth twitched at my phrasing, but he got serious again. “Would that be so bad?”

“I just got my son settled. He loves everyone here. He loves that motherfucking loud as all hell donkey, too.” I gestured wildly toward the door where we could hear Juanpablo even over the sound of an approaching UTV.

“I understand.” He saw my glare and showed me his palms like I was a scared horse.

“Not like a parent does, I don’t mean that.

But I get that it’s been a lot lately and…

.” He looked away from me and sighed, his shoulders dropping.

“Whatever happens or doesn’t between us, nothing would ever jeopardize your place here on the ranch. ”

I snorted. “Yeah, because living in a cabin where I can see yours wouldn’t be fucked up if we got together and then fell apart.”

“We would find you a place in town if you wanted to move—”

“No. No. Stop throwing money at me like I’m a problem.”

“That’s not—”

The UTV’s rumble made him swallow back whatever words he wanted to say.

I wiped my mouth again and turned to look at Not-Bob who was listening while munching on the hay.

“Hey, what did you find?” Hawk asked as he walked in, followed by Emery.

“I’m here as his doctor,” Emery deadpanned.

I chuckled. They were such siblings. I was so fucking envious.

“I bought Mal another horse,” Crew said, smirking evilly at me. Before I could object, he snorted and amended his statement. “Well, Mal saw him and made a connection, then I talked to the owner who was such a sleaze I couldn’t leave him there.”

Hawk was assessing the colt through the bars. “May I?” he asked, looking at me.

“Yeah, he’s not mine. No need to ask.”

I avoided Crew’s knowing expression.

Hawk opened the door and moved into the stall a bit gingerly in a way that told me he was in pain.

“His name is Bob.” Crew’s expression was disgusted, as was mine.

“Oh that’s no good,” Emery said, looking judgy as hell, for a good reason.

“You’re no Bob, are you boy,” Hawk murmured and did a quick very surface level check up on the colt. “He’ll be great. We’ll call Matigan in the morning.”

Crew nodded. “He’s probably coming in for the mares anyway, but we should check.”

Emery took a couple of steps away. “Time for dinner. We’ll meet you at the house.”

Hawk came out of the stall, and they moved to the little utility space by the door to make sure their shoes and hands were clean. I appreciated that sort of thing. The fact that they took quarantine this seriously told me a lot about their character, not that I’d questioned it to begin with.

Crew followed his brothers, and only when he was done did I go and clean up. He’d unhooked the trailer and left it neatly in a parking spot near the barn.

I hopped into the truck only because it would’ve been too spiteful not to.

As we drove to the main house, he opened his mouth but then closed it without saying anything. Good. I didn’t want to talk to him.

When we went inside the house, Pay was looking a bit droopy. He’d had a nice day and Jenn said he’d had dinner a bit earlier.

“Thank you,” I told her while Pay was gathering his stuff.

“You sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” She gave me that worried mom look I loved and hated in equal measure.

“No. It’s okay. I have stuff at the cabin.” I ruffled Pay’s hair and smiled. “As long as this one has been fed, I’m good.”

“Here, I made you a plate,” Gemma came over with a covered plate.

She’d taken one look at me and Crew and read into… whatever. The way Jenn looked proud of her daughter in that moment made me miss my own mom like crazy.

“Thanks,” I told Gemma and took the plate.

“I’ll see everyone in the morning.”

“No you won’t,” Hawk said firmly. “It’s your day off.”

“Oh sh—crap, so it is.” I had completely forgotten. “Well, I’ll guess I’ll see y’all at some point tomorrow.”

After a lot of goodbyes and hugs—the latter from Pay to half of the family—I shouldered Pay’s bag and we started the walk to our cabins.

“What kind of a horse did you get, Daddy?” he asked, swinging Mr. Raven with the hand that wasn’t clutching mine.

“Crew bought a colt.”

“Oh, a boy horse!”

“Yes, a young stallion.”

“That means he can have babies. Ooh, can he have babies with Jaina?”

I chuckled. “No, bud. He’s going to be gelded as soon as he’s feeling a bit better.”

Pay nodded seriously. “That’s when you do the snip-snip so they can’t have babies anymore, because there are enough horses already.”

“That’s right. Unless there’s a breeding program like Crew has in his barn.”

“Okay!” We’d gotten close enough to the cabins that he could run the rest of the way.

I watched him go and smiled. My life was the most organized mess right now, but two things were for sure: I had the best kid and didn’t own a new horse.

Not-Bob was all Crew’s. Dammit.