Page 6 of Wild and Unruly (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #3)

stetson

“What the hell are you up to?” Dani’s voice is full of fire as my gaze tracks Bonnie all the way out of the arena and only turns to my cousin when I can no longer see her.

“What do you mean?” The innocent tone I use isn’t fooling anyone, least of all Dani.

She lifts a challenging eyebrow at me, clearly seeing what I’m not saying. “You know damn well what I mean. Bonnie is here to work, not get hit on. Let her be.”

I feel properly chastised for a moment, but then I let my shoulders drop. “I’m not hitting on her.”

“Sure seems like it to me.”

“I’m not.” I shake my head and shrug. “She’s just interesting, that’s all.”

“Interesting? Like Annmarie is interesting?” Dani reaches over, opening the gate for Logan as he comes through with his horse but keeping her gaze on me.

“Annmarie and I are just friends. ”

Logan and Dani pause their movements, staring at me for long moments before Dani frowns.

“Since when? I thought you were still obsessed.”

“Nope. We had a talk and decided it was better for us to just be friends.”

“Wow,” Logan says, lifting his eyebrows in shock. “I’m glad to hear that, man.”

I’m sure he was. He knew my little crush on his sister-in-law had been going on for a long time, but now he wouldn’t have to worry about one of his brothers trying to date Thea’s sister.

“It was time to move on.”

“Still, don’t latch on to a new target,” Dani says, helping Logan tie up the horse and start to help untack.

“I’m not,” I insist, infusing my frustration into my tone of voice. Since when was a little flirting so bad?

“Okay, good.”

But as we chat about her upcoming clients and the ranch work we need to get done before the blazing heat of summer sneaks up on us, my gaze finds Bonnie at the end of the alleyway, far enough away that we can’t make eye contact but close enough that I can see how the summer breeze is pushing her hair around her shoulders.

I can see her laughing where my niece, Lue, stands chatting with her, leaning on a shovel, and I watch as they engage in a very animated conversation.

I can’t help but watch her, wishing I was down there talking to her, wishing that I was more a part of this whole article nonsense than I am just so I can spend a little more time with her.

Shit . Maybe I was a little too into her than I should be.

Before long, Dani’s clients show up and pull Bonnie’s attention away from the rest of us, and CT shows up with a list of work that needs to be done.

It was for the best. She would be gone in a week, two tops.

I probably wouldn’t even see her that much.

Once a week, the Cashes, which included my two brothers who still lived here, my mom, my niece, and now Thea, plus the Trevors family, which was CT and Dani, plus his dad, his brother, and his brother’s family, would head to dinner.

It wasn’t mandatory. Sometimes people had to miss, but a couple of years ago, it had accidentally become a thing for everyone to show up and catch up.

My niece is giggling about something with CT’s step-niece, Alex, showing her some cute way to draw her name when Dani pipes up next to me. “Bonnie! Over here!”

Immediately, my eyes are drawn to the woman who just walked in the door. Coincidently, Annmarie is playing host tonight and waves her over to the table. I catch her eye, and she raises her eyebrow at me, giving me an exaggerated wink.

I shake my head at her but smile politely when Bonnie comes around to the table. Dani insists she sit and eat with us, and I can see the hesitation on her face.

Quickly and without any thought to my earlier insistence that I was so not flirting with her, I stand and go to the wall with extra chairs, grabbing one and shuffling it in between Dani and me, motioning for her to take a seat.

“Are you guys sure? I don’t want to intrude.” Her cheeks light with a blush as she bites her lip, and I have this urge to lift my finger to her chin and draw it back out .

An urge I definitely do not give into.

“Of course! Everyone, this is Bonnie.” Dani introduces everyone around, and Bonnie smiles politely, giving an extra grin to the now one-year-old, who is CT’s nephew.

Dang, the baby gets the extra grin.

Am I really jealous of a baby?

“So, what’s good here?” Bonnie asks, and I retake my seat, trying hard not to crowd her.

It’s a little cramped with everyone there, and since I’m not about to cuddle my brother, Mitch, who’s on my other side, I lean over to Bonnie. “You okay if I rest my arm on your chair, Bo?”

“Bo?” She looks at me, surprise on her face. “Oh, um, yeah, sure. That’s fine. Just don’t fondle me too much.”

At her words, a burst of laughter escapes me, and I rest my arm along the back of her chair, watching her open her menu. “I promise to keep the fondling to a minimum.”

“Good.”

For a few minutes, she peruses the menu, and I throw out some options as favorite foods that I like, talking with her like we’ve done this a million times.

Eventually, one of Thea’s waitresses comes around and takes everyone’s order, and I laugh a little when Bonnie orders a margarita, a hint of desperation in her voice.

“What?” she asks defensively.

“Nothing,” I reply, unable to keep the shit-eating grin off of my face. There was just something about her that was so intriguing to me, something that made everything she did seem fascinating.

“It’s been a long week,” she mutters, and before I can ask why, Quinn, CT’s sister-in-law, starts drilling her about her work as a writer.

I watch them interact with fascination, watching the way Bonnie talks with everyone around her like they’re her good friends and asks questions that make everyone receptive to talking. It must be what makes her so good at her job.

There may have been a little googling happening when I was off work earlier, and not only did I read a few of her really engaging articles, as a non-reader, it was entertaining as hell, but I found out a little something about Bonnie Helix that I found very interesting.

When the food arrives, and Bonnie and I are both a drink in, the conversation slows, and we start to eat. It’s about as long as I can handle waiting before bringing it up.

“So, you’ve won some stuff, huh?” Subtle. Very subtle.

Bonnie freezes for a moment and turns to look at me, capturing me with those eyes. “What?”

“You weren’t just into cutting. You won competitions.

” It should have been something I knew or realized, but I was young enough when we went to those horse shows to support Dani, CT, and Logan that I didn’t pay any attention.

She was also younger than them and just novice enough not to be in the same category as my family.

“I won a couple.”

“You and your brother did,” I say, keeping my voice quiet. When I’d looked her up, I found the articles of her brother too and barely skimmed them because I remembered the accident. It was headline news there for a while, and then it felt like the whole thing just disappeared.

“What do you know about that?” There’s a tone in her voice I don’t fully understand, but I press forward gently .

“I know that he was injured bad enough he never went back.” Which was a vague explanation of what happened, the explanation of someone who wasn’t close enough to the situation to have any real feelings toward it.

Bonnie pauses her chewing. “That’s true.” Her voice is quiet, and her eyes won’t meet mine.

I chance a nudge against her shoulder. “I’m sorry that happened to him, Bo.”

Her hand reaches out, circling her drink tightly before bringing it to her lips and taking a healthy sip.

The others around us continue their conversations, and I feel like a jerk for bringing him up, reading from her body language and the tension radiating off of her that it’s obviously a sore spot.

“Thank you.” Her whisper is quiet enough that I bend low to hear her, and my eyes catch Logan’s from across the table, where he lifts a brow at me. I guide my attention back to her, ignoring the questioning look. “It’s not something I talk about much.”

I lean back enough that I can see her face and am once again struck by the color of her eyes.

My arm stays on the back of her chair, and all the sounds around us fade to background noise: the scrap of a chair as someone stands, the speakers playing the newest country tune, the sound of clinking drinks as people celebrate the end of the day. It’s all there but muted.

I open my mouth to say something, anything, to pull me out of the moment when my family starts rising around me.

Frowning, I see that everyone but me and Bonnie have finished their dinners, and I was so caught up in talking to her, getting to know this person who just dropped into my life, that I barely touched my food.

“Well.” Bonnie stands abruptly, patting her stomach. “As good as that was, I better head back to The Lodge before the bathroom break becomes an emergency.”

I smirk at her comment and watch as heat rolls over her cheeks. Dani and Thea make a joke that eases her embarrassment, and she shakes her head as I stand, handing over her purse that was hanging on the back of the chair.

“We’re going to pretend I didn’t say that.” Her eyes briefly meet mine, and I can tell she’s begging me to let it go. And I’d like to, but that’s just not who I am.

I start to move quickly, getting her ushered out of the bar and throwing out goodbyes. Bonnie yelps as I pull on her hand and protests, “I didn’t get to pay yet!”

“Thea, add it to my tab!” I yell to my sister-in-law, who’s laughing at my antics.

We burst out of the bar into the cool summer air, and Bonnie, who’s been holding back this whole time, starts to laugh. It’s quite possibly the best sound I’ve ever heard. “Come on, Bo! No time to waste. The bathroom is still a good fifteen-minute drive.”

“Stetson!” She yelps when suddenly I turn her around and drop my shoulder into her stomach, hoisting her over my shoulder. “Are you serious?”

“I’m helping,” I tell her, going down Main Street to look for her truck. Finally spotting it in front of Belle’s Bakery, I jog over there, readjusting her just as I make it to her truck and set her down gently.

She tries to give me an unimpressed stare, but her hair has fallen all over her face, making the seriousness of her expression just seem goofy.

“Whew, we made it to the truck. You better hustle.” I gesture to the truck, holding back a grin as I see her face redden .

Without warning, she throws a jab into my stomach. “What was that!”

“I’m helping you. You said you had to hurry.” I grab the hand that jabbed me and rub my stomach with my other, keeping our hands clasped.

Her cheeks are bright red, but there’s a lift to her cheeks, giving away her attempt to hide a smile. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Oh, come on. You just say what everyone else is thinking.”

“That’s not always a good thing.” She bites her lip before glancing down and realizing our hands are still clasped. Almost reluctantly, she pulls away, giving me one quick glance before she does so.

“This truck is super fucking nice, by the way.”

She smirks and gives me an eye roll before searching out her keys in her bag. “You said that the last time you saw it.”

I take in the dark, almost burnt-red color. “I meant it. It had to have cost a pretty penny.” Certainly nothing I could afford on a horse trainer’s salary. We do well at the ranch but not quite this well.

“I had to save for a long time. But I had my eye on it for years before I was able to afford it.” She looks at the truck, a twitch to her lips. “It was like a rebellion sign.”

“Oh, there it is. You’re a little rebel, aren’t you?” I grin at her, and she keeps her eyes on me while taking in a deep breath before answering.

“Just to my dad. He thinks women shouldn’t drive trucks, that they’re supposed to be for men. That they’re too much power for a woman.”

I scrutinize her for a moment, taking in the fact that her dad is obviously a male chauvinist. “Well, that’s just plain stupid. ”

Bonnie smiles and nods her head, dropping her hand from where it was brushing out her hair. “Yeah, right? I love my truck. Doesn’t mean I can’t be a lady, too.”

“That’s overrated anyway.” I shrug my shoulder, tucking my thumbs into the front pockets of my jeans. “I like a woman who can keep up with me.”

She looks away, obviously sensing my flirting, and grabs her key again, clicking it to unlock the truck.

“Speaking of keeping up, when are you going to show me your skills on a horse?”

The question makes her pause, and I wonder for a moment if I went just a little too far. I’m standing right at the opening of her door, and she sidles up closer to it, her hand resting on the handle, and she looks up at me under her eyelashes.

“Never,” she says, but then she smirks. “I wouldn’t want to embarrass you.”

My smile pulls wide, and she climbs into the truck without another word and starts it up while I take a few steps back, staring at this woman who just laid down a challenge.

I’d get her on a horse while she was here. She just made sure of it.