A sharp, profoundly unhealthy-sounding screech yanked her out of her thoughts. She snapped back to awareness to find that she had swayed off her line and had gone almost half a yard directly to the right. She stopped the tractor immediately. She stared at the readings, then at the pasture ahead of her, then at the harvest behind her. When she thought it was safe, started up again. It was silent, save for the low hum that it always emitted. She heaved a sigh of relief and pressed the gas pedal.
The screech returned.
“Oh, God,” she moaned.
By the time she looked up again, she could see Everett running toward her. His loose hair bouncing on either side of his face, his plaid shirt blowing behind him in the wind. She climbed out of the tractor and prepared her story.
“Jesus, Prescott. What did you do now?” he demanded as soon as he was within earshot. He took one look at the painfully crooked, obviously ill-formed path of harvested hay and groaned. “I literally gave you the easiest job I could have thought up, and you still managed to do something wrong.”
She ducked her head in disbelief. “This was not the easiest job,” she argued.
“No, Paige it is. It’s not that hard. But I guess someone like you can never understand.”
She crossed her arms, peering down at him as he knelt to assess the damage to the tractor. “This was far from the easiest thing you could have given me to do,” she continued. She could feel it again, those poisonous words welling up in the pit of her stomach and begging to come out of her mouth.
“Oh? You think so?” he sneered as he pulled a knife from his pocket and began to cut down the hay that had been caught somewhere between the ground and the bine.
“No. The easiest thing I could have done would be to load the truck, like everyone else is doing. Like you are doing. But you don’t want me to load a truck.” She felt herself gaining confidence. With each new, perfectly executed word, she took another step toward him. “Because you know I already know how to load a truck. You stuck me on this thing because it was the most complicated task you could find.”
He liberated the bushel from the bine, then rolled it to where it was next to the tractor. He lifted his right foot, resting it on top of the tractor, then met her gaze. “I stuck you on that tractor because I know for a fact, you couldn’t lift one of these things to save your life.”
She ignored the sting in her eyes and the anger in her heart. “Why? Because I’m a city slicker?” she sneered.
He shook his head. “Because the heaviest thing you’ve probably ever lifted is half a liter of Absolut Vodka.” He stepped closer to her. “Because you were forced to come down here. I know you were. Because I can see the disdain in your eyes when you look at a pile of manure. You’re not made for this, Paige. You’re wasting my time.”
A flood of blood rushed to her cheeks and she bit her bottom lip to stop it from quivering. “You don’t know a thing about me.”
Everett raised an eyebrow. “No?”
“No,” she asserted. “Don’t pretend to understand me, because it’s obvious you don’t.”
“And how is that?”
She chuckled dryly. “How?” She raised her hands in bravado. “I’m still here. That’s how.”
“Not sure if I follow.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at the way that he feigned ignorance. “You threw me on the most volatile horse you own . . . to teach me how to ride. Then, on my second day, you made me herd over a hundred head of cattle.”
“You accomplished nothing before you fell off.”
“An action you would expect from a rider on her second day!” she cried. “Just admit it! You’re trying to run me out of here.” She could already feel herself gathering strength. The tears, which had previously threatened to overflow at any moment, had been absorbed. “I can’t tell if it’s just because you’re lazy, or because you already don’t like me, but either way, it makes you look like a pretty daft person.”
She stared, her chest dramatically rising and falling with her heavy breaths, into his eyes. Her anger and frustration melted right away. She had no words for what was happening, for the way that her knees went weak, or the goosebumps on her skin despite the ninety-degree weather, or the speed of her heart pounding against her chest. “The fact of the matter is that I’m not going anywhere, at least not before my three months are up,” she continued, but stopped to prevent her voice from trailing off. Her eyes wandered to his chest, and she almost instinctively reached out to touch it. Thinking better of it, she folded all of her fingers but one. “So,” she continued, jabbing her finger into his chest, “we should probably just get along.” She gulped, digging her finger into his chest.
As if awakening from a trance, he grasped her hands, lowering his mouth to inches from hers. She flinched at his touch. It was like the first sip of water after an eight-mile run.
He stepped away from her. “We don’t have to get along,” he muttered, refusing to meet her gaze. He gestured at the tractor. “I fixed it. You can get back on now.”
She shook her head. “I obviously am not equipped to handle something as state of the art as this. We can switch.”
He shook his head and opened his mouth as if to protest, but she wouldn’t let so much as a syllable escape from his lips before she swept the bushel off the ground and heaved it onto her back. To be honest, it was extremely heavy—almost too heavy—but she had trained at gyms religiously for almost ten years, so she could manage, at least until she got to the truck. She took in steady breaths as she began the long trek. Although every inch of her body ached, from her pinky toe to her head, she couldn’t help but smile at this small triumph.
***
Paige awoke to the scent of frying bacon and eggs in a skillet. She smiled and immediately climbed out of bed. Yet, as soon as her feet touched base with the aged wood of her floor, she winced. Her calves hurt more than she ever remembered them hurting in her life, and her shoulder ached so much that she feared her arms might just fall off. Nevertheless, she stood up, instead of falling back asleep as she had customarily done.
She stepped up to the mirror in front of her dresser and stared into it, frowning at the tired, tanned woman that stared back at her. Her frizzy, humidity-ridden hair seemed to glow in the soft, crimson light of the rising sun; her skin, which she feared might dry out from all the exposure to the sun, had, on the contrary, brightened. She found it ironic that even though she felt terrible on the inside, she looked better on the outside than she ever had.
Having learned to forgo her morning shower, because—as was artfully pointed out by Connor—morning showers were for city slickers; she simply pulled out her top drawer for a clean shirt, her bottom drawer for the same pair of jeans she had worn almost every day and had washed at least five times since she arrived in Canton County, and her middle drawer for a fresh bra. After dressing, she navigated the long and complicated hallways and a flight of stairs until she finally emerged in the kitchen.
A smile almost instinctively spread across her face at the sight of Ellie hopping back and forth between the island counter and the stove, her red hair flying around her head and her eyes wide with the excitement of making a meal for what seemed like a hundred people.
Paige opened her mouth to greet her, but just as the words were about to slip out, someone grabbed her shoulders from behind. She winced, her muscles going rigid where she stood. “Good morning, honey bee.”
She released a sigh of relief at the sound of Ian’s unappealing slur. She flashed him a weak smile before wriggling out of his grip.
“I know you did not just call her ‘honey bee’,” Ellie teased in a harsh voice as she turned off the gas and swept up two plates from the counter.
“What’s wrong with ‘honey bee’?” he asked as he followed her into the breakfast room.
Not knowing what else to do, Paige followed the two of them. Ian pushed open a set of double doors, and there it was: a breakfast room filled with the groggy morning chatter
of the ranch hands, with a wall made entirely of windows, a long dining table of white wood with dark-brown details, and five faces staring at her . . . including Everett’s.
Aunt Jana, her hair fashioned in a high updo she must have woken up in the middle of the night to accomplish and her lips brandishing a bright-pink lipstick, sat at the head of the table, a teacup in one hand and the morning paper in another. Her lips stretched into a smile that was almost scarily enthusiastic. “Oh wow. It is mighty wonderful to see that you have made it up in time for breakfast,” she exclaimed before tipping her teacup at her.
Paige nodded, her eyes still scanning the spread of pancakes, bacon, toast, eggs, and sausage that stared back at her from the center of the table. “It was definitely worth it,” she replied.
Aunt Jana gave her a dainty shrug and returned to her paper. “Well, I do hope so,” she muttered.
After looking over the table, Paige was disappointed to find that the only two seats available were the one right next to Aunt Jana, which Ian had just taken, and the one right across from her, next to Everett. She reluctantly took that seat, shifting her weight on the cushion to try to get her most comfortable position. As soon as she had stopped shuffling back and forth, Aunt Jana looked up from her paper, but instead of training her gaze on Paige, she turned to Everett.
“So tell me, how’s Paige doing out there?” she asked, a sharp look in her eye.
Everett, who hadn’t looked at Paige at all since she had walked into the room, threw her a glance. It lasted less than a second, but that second could very well have been a year. Paige internally kicked herself for the way that a simple look from the side of his eye, no matter how short-lived, could send her heart racing. In her head, she hated him, but her body seemed to have an entirely different idea.
“Why would you ask me this now?” Everett asked, trying his best to remain as cordial as possible.
Either way, Paige could tell by the flick in his eyebrow that everything that came out of Aunt Jana’s mouth profoundly irritated him.
Aunt Jana raised an eyebrow as if to question his audacity. “Now’s as good a time as any.”
“Because she’s in the room and you’re afraid I’ll say something negative otherwise.”
Aunt Jana narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to say something, but a burst of laughter from the other end of the table stopped her. The three of them glanced back there just as Ellie looked up at them, muttering a quick, “Sorry,” then continued her conversation. Paige couldn’t help but look at the way that Ellie spoke in hushed tones to her friends and the way that they responded so enthusiastically, and realize that she was still an outsider. “Is there anything negative to say?” Aunt Jana pressed.
“You don’t want there to be. So there won’t be.”
“I’m not sure I follow.” Paige cut into the conversation, growing tired of being talked about right in front of her face.
Everett immediately turned to stare at her. “Aunt Jana just wants to make sure you’re working on writing a damn good feature for this ranch. And she thinks that if you don’t, it’s my fault.”
For lack of any other response, she simply shifted her gaze from Everett, who had returned to the meal in front of him as if he had said nothing scandalous at all, to Aunt Jana, whose smile looked more deadly than the most murderous glare. Finally, Aunt Jana broke the silence with, “I just want to make sure you’re well adjusted. That’s all.”
Paige thought Everett’s outlandish and dramatic explanation somehow seemed a lot more likely. “Well, I’m working on it as best as I can.”
Everett scoffed.
She shot him a glance only to find him picking at the stray pieces of egg left on his plate, his jaw set in a stubborn manner. She decided to try an old tactic she had learned while she was an undergraduate for how to butter up the people she would eventually need interviews from. “Honestly, I’m having a great time. Ellie’s food is amazing. All the ranch hands are nice . . . and Everett . . . well Everett is an unbelievable teacher.”
Everett looked up from his plate, his face melting into a strange expression that was the combination of confusion and awe. Out of the corner of her eye, Paige could see Aunt Jana’s smile of genuine surprise, her eyes trained directly to Everett’s forehead, but she thought nothing of it. In fact, in the short moment that she had gotten to enjoy being on the receiving end of the blasting force of Everett’s intoxicating eyes, she could think of nothing else. The moment ended, and the two of them returned to their plates of food.
Chapter Eight
Paige sat on top of her steed, her riding gloves secure on both hands and her hat sitting firmly on top of her head. Today, she was watching over the cattle grazing with Ethan and Everett. It was only supposed to be Ethan with her, but Everett had decided to forgo some of his chores in the interest of going out with them. An action he tried to justify with the excuse of wanting to make sure that it got done correctly. But this logic only elicited teasing from his peers.
“Hey, Prescott,” Ethan called as he rode up to meet Paige.
She turned to find his silhouette outlined in the curvature of the afternoon sun. He swayed gently back and forth with the movement of his horse, making riding look almost as natural as breathing. She raised an eyebrow in complete awe. Something about the way that everyone seemed so in tune with all of the animals around them made her envious of their nature-based upbringing.
“Did you bring your butt pads today?” he asked as soon as he was within hearing distance.
She winced, her face scrunching into an expression of mild disgust. “What are you talking about?”
Ethan laughed. “You know, in case Penelope decides to waste you again.”
Paige cocked her head to one side, agitation tickling her nerves. However, one look at Ethan, his bright-blue eyes wide with innocence and his lips stretched over his teeth as he laughed at his mildly amusing attack on her dignity, and she couldn’t help but laugh a little too. “Penelope doesn’t waste people,” she replied, looking down at the top of her horse. She stared at the way that the horse’s mane glistened in the early afternoon light and felt a burst tenderness for her. Of all the living things on this ranch, Paige felt the closest to Penelope. She spent the most time with her and often felt like the two of them were in this together. “She’s too much of a lady for that.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming. “So then how would you explain what happened last week?”
“That was just the both of us pushing our limits.”
“Oh? You think so?”
Paige nodded. “Yes. Why wouldn’t I?”
He opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of Everett’s voice, clear, authoritative, and demanding, snatched what would have been his own words right out of thin air.
“Because the only one pushing her limits was you,” he quipped as he rode up to them. “And very stupidly, might I add.”
Paige rolled her eyes. “Don’t pretend like you’ve never fallen off of a horse before.”
He pursed his lips and looked into the distance, as if he was trying to remember something, “As a matter of fact, I don’t think I ever have.”
She had to physically restrain herself from groaning. But before she could think of anything equally annoying in reply, he rode ahead motioning for them to follow.
Ethan chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, honey, the great Everett James is not infallible. You’ll see.” He brushed past Paige on his horse, following Everett around the bend.
***
Everett rode absentmindedly down to the pasture where they had left the herd the other day. As he clutched his horse with his knees, one of his hands resting on his hip while the other held leisurely onto the reigns, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to Paige; he was getting used to having her around. But no matter how infuriating was the privilege that oozed from her perfectly manicured nails, he couldn’t deny his attraction to her, not anymore, especially since she had made i
t obvious that she could see right through him.
That was a strange thing to consider: the fact that she could see right through him. He had never met anyone who always knew the right thing to say to infuriate him, nor someone who would challenge him the way that she did. As they got closer to the intended pasture, she rode up next to him. He stopped himself from looking over at her, but even so, he could see her perfect figure, glowing in the sunlight.
“Everett, how do you want me to do this?” she asked, her voice floating through the warm air toward him.
He flinched at the way his heart skipped at the sound of her calling his name. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end at the mere sound of her voice folding around the same letters, the same word he had heard spoken over and over his entire life. Before he knew it, too much time had passed and he knew that he needed to respond to her before she started to notice something. “Take the rear like I taught you. Just be more careful this time.”
Before she had time to offer another snide remark, he was already riding up to the front of the herd. He rode through the sea of cattle to the front of the pasture where the gate was, then glanced to the back of the herd. His heart dropped at the sight of another bull slowly walking to the right and in the opposite direction of where he meant take them. He squeezed his knees on his horse, preparing himself to react, but before he could get his horse going, he saw Paige launch Penelope into a fast trot with the clear intention of going after the bull.
Dare To Love A Cowboy (Canton County Cowboys 2) Page 7