Page 48 of Tempting Wyatt

“Yeah. He said he was auctioning off some bulls, but there’s a rodeo and a fair that should be fun.”

He stares intently for so long that I start to wonder if I misunderstood Wyatt or if I said something wrong.

“Did he actually use the wordfun? Because I’ve got to tell you, I don’t think Wyatt would know fun if it smacked him square in the face these days.”

I shrug. “I’m not sure. But he said there was a fair and he thought I might enjoy it.”

Isaac’s gaze is intense for another moment, like he’s putting puzzle pieces together in his head.

“Okay then. Sounds like a plan.” He tips his cowboy hat. “Have a good night, city girl.”

Once he’s gone, I head inside and pull out my computer, and for the first time in nearly a year, I write until my vision blurs and my fingers ache.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

wyatt

IREGRET BRINGING IVY TO THE AUCTION before we even get there.

I thought she might enjoy the rodeo and the fair, but I am not enjoying how close Isaac is sitting to her in the truck.

We’re hauling my least favorite bull, Ballbuster, and Antonio is driving Hothead in the trailer behind us. I’m hoping to fetch a decent price for both of them to get some of the operations bills paid. I was also hoping Isaac would ride with Antonio.

No such luck.

Antonio brought two of the hands to help with the bulls, so Isaac jumped in with us.

I ignore the itchy feeling I get when my brother begins chatting Ivy up about him teaching her to drive the side-by-side. What I can’t ignore is the smooth stretch of her bare legs showing below an olive-colored wrap dress that brings out the green in her hazel eyes. She’s wearing the boots I bought her. The pride that swells in my chest at seeing something I paid for on her body fills me with the ridiculous desire toreplace her entire wardrobe. My eyes stray from the road so often that I hit a pothole and probably piss Ballbuster off a whole lot.

That makes two of us.

“Caleb is going to be here,” Isaac announces once we exit the highway. “I told him we’d try to catch up with him. Maybe grab some dinner.”

As if my blood pressure isn’t high enough.

“I didn’t know you’d been in touch with him recently.”

Isaac shoots me an odd look. “You haven’t?”

“Been busy,” is all I say.Busy cleaning up Caleb’s fucking mess.

There’s still over thirty grand owed to a team of attorneys that I have to figure out how to pay before they sue the shit out of us.

The ride isn’t long, but Ivy asks lots of questions—about the bulls, about the auction, and even about the rodeo. Isaac answers most of them before I can. I focus on driving. And the sound of her laughter in the enclosed space. And her honey and vanilla scent. And her legs. But mostly driving.

By the time we reach the fairgrounds, my knuckles are white, and I’m as agitated as Ballbuster.

Ivy watches from a safe distance as we retrieve the bulls from the trailers and lead them over to the barn designated for the auction.

Kent Wilder—a rancher from Canyon County that was friendly with my dad—and his oldest son Noah, stand with the auction coordinator. He steps over and shakes my hand, then Isaac’s, offering his condolences about our father before the coordinator interrupts by giving us an iPad to fill out the information on the bulls we’re submitting.

Isaac introduces Kent and Noah to Ivy while I roughly tapmy way through the entry forms. It’s a wonder I don’t crack the screen.

Once I’m finished, I do my best to avoid Ivy’s bright, excited eyes and the way my brother keeps making her laugh.

Isaac is the golden boy—always has been. Smooth, charming, exceptionally good at just about everything. I played high school baseball before a shoulder injury took me out. I was a decent pitcher but nothing special. Isaac was the quarterback of the football team and took them to state two years in a row. If it wasn’t for the skirt-chasing and the ranch, he could’ve played college ball, maybe gone pro. He’s practically a celebrity when we go into town even though he graduated almost a decade ago.

My fists clench as I pass Isaac and Ivy. I’m in a shit mood, so I say nothing. Just head toward the arena to watch the rodeo that’s about to begin. I don’t check if they follow. Isaac will probably take her to the fair and win her some ridiculously huge stuffed animal that will take up too much room in the truck.