Page 18 of Tempting Wyatt (Triple Creek Ranch #1)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

wyatt

I’M WHISTLING AS I FINISH UP in the barn, which is odd. I mentally add it to the list of other odd shit I’ve been doing lately. Ivy’s infectious laugh, her bright smile, and those wild curls have haunted me since we finished up earlier.

Her words play on a loop in my head.

I suspect today is about the most fun you’ve had in a long time

She wasn’t wrong. She looked so damn beautiful smiling in the sunshine, hair blowing behind her while we chased Jasper.

I hadn’t expected to be excited about the auction tomorrow. I wasn’t even sure I was going to invite her. Somehow, I’d ended up in a trance while putting her boots on, and then the unexpected hug caught me off guard.

The next thing I knew, I was inviting her along, and she was grinning up at me like I’d invented Christmas.

But I could admit I was enjoying spending time with her. Not that I’d admit it to anyone but myself.

She never complained, even helped out with Jasper’s obnoxious ass.

The woman has some serious stamina, which I try not to think too much about.

Though by dinnertime, she’s sitting atop a rail of the livestock facility watching cowboys wrangle cattle pairs so Willow and her assistant can finish tagging them.

Judging from her eyes, she’s tired. But amused and enjoying herself.

I’ve got to call one of our processors about a pricing issue. One of my last-ditch efforts to earn additional income for the ranch has turned into a much less lucrative situation. It’s going to be an unpleasant conversation, so I leave Ivy with Antonio and Isaac.

I’m right about the call. It lasts half an hour, and at the end of it, I’m no better off than when it began. And now my blood pressure is elevated.

When I return to check on Willow’s progress, Ivy and Isaac are nowhere to be seen. I ignore the tension building in my chest as I look around for them.

She doesn’t belong to me. No reason for me to be agitated about them disappearing at the same time.

They might not even be together.

It could be a coincidence.

I find Antonio instructing a few hands on how to load the bulls we’ll be taking to auction tomorrow.

“Hey,” I greet him. “You seen Isaac? Or Ivy?”

He glances over his shoulder. “They tore out of here on the side-by-side a few minutes ago. Think he said something about giving her a driving lesson.”

I do my best to ignore the noticeable heat rising to my neck. I tend to run a little hot. It’s probably unrelated.

A driving lesson makes sense. She can learn to drive the side-by-side so she can get around the ranch without me. Question is, why does Isaac care? It’s not like he was asked to drive her around or show her the ranch.

I know my brother, and I know he doesn’t give a shit if Ivy learns to drive the side-by-side or has reliable transportation.

She’s beautiful, and he wanted an excuse to be alone with her.

It’s as simple as that.

What isn’t so simple is why the thought of them spending time alone together makes my heart hammer in my chest at an alarming rate.

I get Antonio to radio a few hands until I find out exactly where my brother has taken her.

I tell myself it’s just because I want to make sure she’s safe and not off getting hurt somewhere.

I busy myself gathering supplies for the bunkhouse roof repair while I’m waiting to hear back. I could check a few spots I know Isaac might have taken her, but then it would be obvious I’m looking for them.

My cell rings several times, and each time, it isn’t Antonio, like I want it to be.

The bank calls. I send it to voicemail.

Two creditors, asking for overdue payments. Voicemail.

A collection agency representative. Voicemail and block.

And then my favorite bar owner, Mick O’Malley, just checking in.

I need to go to The Stillery and catch up with my father’s oldest friend. But damn if I can find the time.

I answer Mick and tell him I’ll come by soon. An errant thought slips into my mind, running across it like Jasper’s crazy ass, without my permission.

I could take Ivy to The Stillery.

There’s live music on most nights. She could dance. We could dance.

I evict that idea before it takes hold. I don’t know what the hell I’m thinking. I don’t dance. It would be too much like a date, and I don’t date. I damn sure don’t date women from California who are leaving in less than two weeks.

Just as I’m trying to determine if I can repurpose the lumber from an old hay shed I was going to tear down anyway for the bunkhouse roof repairs, my walkie-talkie clicks twice. Then a burst of static.

Antonio’s voice blares over the line. “Boss?”

“What do you got, Antonio?”

Silence.

Then, “Your brother and your, uh, guest, are out near the northeast pasture. Checking fence line.”

Of course that’s where they are. The bull pasture. The one fucking place I never go.

A part of me wonders if Isaac took her there on purpose, knowing it’s the only place I wouldn’t interrupt him hitting on her. Then I remind myself that he checks the fence out there so that I don’t have to.

Because that’s where I was unfortunate enough to find my father’s body. I blink the image of his empty, lifeless eyes away.

He’d been gone for hours already by the time I arrived.

I pace the length of the bunkhouse exterior.

It’s been six months. I should suck it up and head out there. Doesn’t mean I’m checking up on Isaac and Ivy. I remind myself once again that she doesn’t belong to me. I don’t have any claim on her time here or a say in who she spends time with. She’s on vacation.

Hell, she probably came here intending to find a cowboy she could have some fun with. Isaac definitely fits the bill for that.

My throat tightens as I think about him making a move on her. My jaw flexes as my molars grind together.

I don’t have any right to feel possessive or territorial over this woman.

She’s no one to me.

I don’t get territorial over women, period. And I don’t fuck women who’ve slept with my brothers.

If Ivy decides a hookup with Isaac is what she wants, that’s fine by me. I have plenty more important things to worry about. Like not losing this fucking ranch. What my brother does with the Hollywood princess is none of my concern.

None of my concern at all.

As I grab my keys to the ranch truck, I repeat this to myself several times.

I’m still repeating it in my mind when I pick up Antonio and head out to the bull pasture.