Page 19 of The Little Things
It was usually no problem to clear my mind and get through my day, but as I worked alongside Hal and my men, my mind kept drifting off. I kept going back to that conversation in the barn the night before with Rae. She really had surprised me.
I was willing to admit I’d made a snap judgement, painting her as a spoiled little socialite who thought she was better than the rest of us. That one single interaction had changed my mind completely. I knew I was wrong the instant I walked in and saw her with that horse. Selfish people were usually selfish with everyone, humans and animals alike. They didn’t discriminate. But she’d won Sassy over in less than a handful of days.
She’d come up in conversation more than once among the other hands, and it was easy to see she was quickly starting to win everyone over. Then there was that smile. Goddamn, but I hadn’t been able to get that smile of hers out of my head. I was surrounded by the beauty of this place day in and day out, still, I wasn’t sure I’d seen anything more beautiful than Rae Blackwell’s smile. It had the power to light up an entire block during a blackout.
Damn it. I caught myself getting lost in thoughts of her again as I finished brushing Roam down after a long day’s work. I walked him to his stall and tossed him a flat of hay before shutting him in for the night.
I headed in the direction of the office, deciding my time would be better used getting some paperwork done than it would be going home, where I’d most likely stand at my living room window and stare out toward that damn cabin before finally taking my sorry ass to bed or into the shower where I would undoubtedly beat off to the image of a certain city girl, just like I had the past couple nights.
Christ, I was pathetic.
As I reached my office door, the sound of large tires crunching on gravel caught my attention and pulled me in the opposite direction, toward the open barn doors. I stood with my feet braced and my arms crossed as the unfamiliar pickup eased off the gravel road and came to a stop beside my truck. My shoulders tensed and the muscles in my back knotted up as I waited to see who was behind the wheel. The last time I’d gotten an unexpected visitor, the news had been far from good. However, when the driver’s side door was thrown open and the man stepped out, all the anxiety that had started to sprout like weeds overrunning a flowerbed died off and a smile tugged at my face.
“You gotta be shittin’ me.” I let out a bark of laughter while the man threw his arms out to his sides, closing the distance between us.
“Surprise!” Connor Bennett exclaimed, the very same shit-eating grin he always wore stretched wide across his face.
“It sure as hell is.” I pulled him into a quick, back-slapping hug before letting go and taking a step back to get a good look at him. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what are you doin’ here, man?”
I met Connor on the rodeo circuit years ago, long before I took over Safe Haven. I did a little tie-down roping when I was younger, just for fun, but I’d only been okay at it. I knew I’d never make a career out of it, and hadn’t really wanted to. Unlike Connor. He was a nationally ranked bull rider. He was a legend on the circuit and a celebrity in the world of rodeo. He had more sponsorships than I could count, and a face made for PBR to plaster on all their promotional materials. The man made a living on the backs of some of the rankest fucking bulls alive, and he was damn good at it. He’d even come in second at the World Finals the year before. Not that he was happy with that. The man wasn’t going to be satisfied until he was the champion. No matter the beatings his body had to take.
“Shouldn’t you be somewhere in Wyoming right now, gettin’ your ass tossed off a bull or beddin’ down with a handful of buckle bunnies?”
“What? You haven’t been followin’ along with my career?”
I lifted my arm and waved it out. “Been a little busy here makin’ a living for myself, brother. I don’t have time to stare at your pretty face on the TV screen.”
He pulled off his ball cap and swiped a hand through his hair before slapping it back on his head with a sigh. “Busted up my knee a couple months back, had to take a little time off. Headed home to rehab it for a bit, but you know how I am.”
I sure did. The man had the attention span of a toddler in the middle of a sugar high. Couldn’t sit still for long to save his life. Originally, he was from a small town in Texas called Cloverleaf, but seeing as his career took him all over, basically year-round, he didn’t really have roots anywhere. He’d visited here more than once, staying a few days at a time over the years, but I wasn’t sure the man could be content settling down in any one place.
“Shit man, I didn’t know. You okay?”
He balled his fist and knocked on his right thigh above his knee. “I’ll be good as new. Don’t worry about me. But until I can get back on a bull, I figured I’d come see your ugly mug for a bit, maybe give you a hand on the ranch for a while, if you need it.” His mouth curved up in a grin. “Maybe spend some time with that beautiful sister of yours,” he added, earning himself a punch to the arm.
I jabbed a finger in his laughing face. “You go near my sister and you’ll never get on the back of another bull, ’cause I’ll kill you,” I warned, even though I knew he was just talking shit.
He chuckled, holding his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. Message received loud and clear.” He pulled his cap off again, going through the same motions as before: dragging his hand through his hair before yanking it back on again. It was a tell of his, a nervous tick he couldn’t control, letting me know he wasn’t as okay about his injury as he claimed to be. But I wouldn’t push. If he wanted to talk about it, he would. Until then, I’d give him that play.
“Does your offer to help around here mean you’re plannin’ on staying for a while?”
He lifted his shoulder in a careless shrug. “It does if you’re cool with it.”
“Hell, Connor. You know the answer to that. You’re always welcome here. You need a place to stay or did you already book yourself a room at the lodge?”
He shook his head. “Lodge was all booked up. Figured I’d find something in town if I needed to. Or, hell, I’d even be willing to crash in the bunkhouse if I have to.”
I clapped him on the shoulder and used my grip to spin him around and start us in the direction of our trucks. “Like hell, I’m puttin’ you up in the bunkhouse. You’d corrupt every damn one of those cowboys in no time. I’m sure we can find you somethin’ fast enough.”
“Sounds good to me. Then we’re going out for a beer. It’s been too long, man.”
It sure had. And a beer sounded a hell of a lot better than paperwork or pining over the new girl, which were the only other options I had until Connor showed up.
“Damn, I missed this place,” Connor said as he looked around the Tap Room from his stool at the high-top table we’d commandeered as soon as we arrived. For being the middle of the work week, the place was hopping. Then again, that was always the case.
The bar had been a fixture of Hope Valley for generations, and Lennix had made it even more popular when she expanded it, turning it into an actual brewery, complete with its own brewmaster and everything. The old bones of the bar were still there, but there was also a space for people to come in for tastings and tours. Where the ranch was in my soul from a young age, this place was all Lennix’s, and our parents hadn’t batted an eye when they retired from here and handed the reins over to her and let her run with her vision for the place.
I sipped a new pilsner that had just been put on tap as I proudly observed all the work my little sister had put in. “Yeah, it’s not so bad.”