Page 29 of Unbroken (Poplar Springs #2)
TWENTY-SEVEN
FIONA
D espite the long hours spent in the saddle during the all-day trail ride with Eli, I felt lighter than I’d been in a while, which made me want to crack silly jokes and spread the joy by making the riders laugh.
Instead, I busied myself talking about the history of Poplar Springs and how the Caffertys were one of the early families to settle the area.
It always seemed to amaze riders that my family had lived on this same land for more than one hundred and fifty years.
If I thought about it long enough, I’d be amazed too.
It made all the pressure that Josh felt in terms of family legacy that more understandable.
No wonder my brother was always so stressed.
I was riding in the lead this time and making an effort to point out the highlights of the area, including the wild strawberries and feral apples, both of which were ripe for the picking.
When we stopped for lunch, I helped a few of the riders pick the delicious fruit, which we enjoyed with some cold, filtered spring water.
I’d been expecting Eli to chime in on the importance of drinking filtered water due to the proximity of our herd, but he’d been surprisingly silent.
I resisted the urge to ask if he was feeling well because water filtration along with irrigation were usually hot topics for the hot cowboy .
Instead, Eli had been cordial and a little distant throughout the ride.
Every time I glanced at him, he looked away.
It continued to unnerve me, even after all the guests had departed and we were alone in the barn putting the equipment away and getting the horses rubbed down and fed.
It was late enough that the other ranch hands had all left for the day, which gave us some privacy.
I worried that we still hadn’t talked about what went on at the fundraiser.
It was obvious there was something unsaid between us.
I still felt bad about my behavior. Not that I felt there was anything wrong about showing affection in public or having an adult conversation with other adults …
but I really hadn’t meant to make Eli uncomfortable.
It was supposed to be fun. I’d forgotten that Eli didn’t appreciate being the center of attention.
The smarter approach would’ve been to hold his hand and stick quietly by his side rather than encouraging everyone to look at us.
Even if I had, though, I had a feeling we still would have drawn attention.
No matter what he wanted, it wasn’t possible for Eli to blend into the background.
He attracted stares everywhere he went. He seemed to think it was because people couldn’t get past the old gossip about him and Charlotte, but I knew it was because he was an absolute snack, and all the single women wanted a shot with him.
That was never made more obvious than on the trail rides where even the married women would flirt with him.
It was cute, in a way. So long as they didn’t push the flirtations too far because … hello … consent.
Shit. Was I doing exactly what some of these riders did? No, I decided. Because we both agreed to this fake relationship, which meant he was down for some PDA, right?
If I were truthful with myself, I sort of couldn’t resist hanging all over him. Any excuse to feel those muscles under the flannel and—oh damn, how far past that line had I crossed?
Eli finally started talking to me as we brought the last two saddles to the tack room at the end of the day .
“Make any big decision yet?” he asked. “About Denver?”
“As a matter of fact, I have,” I said, leaning up against the little desk in the corner.
He rearranged the saddles on the wall rack with his back to me. “Are you going to tell me, or do you want me to beg?”
“No begging required.” I hopped up onto his desk. “I didn’t take the job.”
Eli froze in place and seemed to process what I’d just told him, then turned to me.
“So … you’re staying here.”
It wasn’t a question. And yet, he didn’t sound fully convinced, even as he said the words. It was as if he was learning a new language and he wasn’t sure what I’d said to him. A stillness fell over the small room, like all of the air had been sucked out of it.
“I am. For now,” I said slowly.
“Well. That’s … that’s good.”
Eli was staring at me in a way that unnerved me, like he was trying to figure me out.
Something was about to happen, and I wasn’t sure what it was.
I felt a little dizzy as I imagined the most obvious possibility.
Eli’s whole body shifted into a coiled readiness, and I gripped the edge of the desk like I was on a tilting boat.
He crossed the room in four steps and was inches away from me before I could ready myself. Then he simply stood in front of me, staring into my eyes and breathing hard. I felt adrenaline coursing through me.
I was about to say something to break the tension when he reached out, threaded his hand through my hair, and cupped the back of my neck, his hand practically burning my skin.
I swallowed hard, waiting to see what he would do next.
I needed him to make the move, because I’d overstepped with him at the fundraiser, and I wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.
The seconds ticked on agonizingly slow, and I felt a dull ache start to throb deep inside of me. Why was he torturing me?
His unwavering gaze started to make me squirm a little, trying to vent the heat kicking up between my legs.
The move seemed to wake Eli up, and he used his hips to bump my legs farther apart, so he could close the tiny gap that remained between us.
He wound up inches away from me, breathing, watching, waiting.
I didn’t move, afraid I might break the spell that was swirling around us.
His hand was still woven in my hair, and I felt him pulling me closer still, so slowly that it made me shiver with anticipation.
Then finally, finally, he placed his lips on mine.