Page 47 of See It Through

“Including me?”

I nodded once, letting my hand glide out of his shirt, down his neck, to his chest.

“Yes. Including you.”

The starbursts around Remi’s eyes had returned, but he wasn’t grinning at me. He was laughing his ass off at the miniature pony poking me in the back of my head with her muzzle while I was trying to trim her sister’s hooves.

I snarled at him, my upper lip curling. “You’re supposed to be assisting me.”

He held up the rope I’d given him, keeping Penny in place. “I am. You didn’t tell me I’d have to keep the other ponies away.”

Reaching behind me, I patted Nickel’s flank. “Get on, girl. It’s not your turn yet.”

She chuffed, hot air blowing my ponytail around, but she did not budge, leaning her body against mine.

Normally, the owners or a caretaker helped me while I was trimming, but that wasn’t happening today. It was my fault for agreeing to come while the owners were on vacation and their teenage son had been left in charge. He was too busy playing video games to get his lazy butt out here, and Remi was too busy laughing to be much use.

To be fair, the ponies were tiny, ornery, and adorable. If I didn’t have one leaning her entire body weight on me while I was trying to tend to her sister, I would’ve been laughing too.

“Don’t think she’s listening,” Remi remarked.

“Nope. Nickel does what she wants.”

It didn’t take me long to take care of the ponies’ hooves. I got through all four and their two mini-donkey friends as quickly and efficiently as I could. My efficiency had been tested by Nickel needing snuggles, but it was an inconvenience I didn’t mind too much.

The donkeys were enamored with Remi. At one point, they tag-teamed him, both nipping at his jeans and nuzzling his stomach and back. He took it well, letting them do their donkey thing and giving them both plenty of head scratches.

I almost wished he wasn’t such a natural with the animals. It only made him more attractive, which was annoying. If he’d hated the horses or had been bothered by the donkeys, it would have made the pull I felt toward him much easier to resist.

Damn him.

He was sitting in the dirt now, Calliope’s head in his lap, scratching behind her ear. His lips were moving as he spoke to her quietly. Once I packed my tools away, I crouched next to them.

“What’re you guys talking about?”

He grinned at me. “That’s between us.”

“Oh, I see. First you steal my pal then you keep secrets with her? This is the last time I bring you on a job with me, Remington.”

He cocked his head. “Seems to me I brought you.”

“I’ve already got Cleve trying to hijack my jobs. I don’t need you doing it too.” I gave Calliope’s dusty flank a good pat and rose to my feet. “I’m ready to hit the road when you are.”

I started for the truck, and it didn’t take long before Remi’s hurried footsteps sounded out from behind me. He caught me easily, hooking me by the belt loop.

“You need to take this seriously, Hannah. You can’t let this slide.”

“I’m not letting anything slide.” We reached the truck, and I turned to face him. “I’m going to have to pay for four new tires and a tow truck, and that pisses me right off. If Cleve pulled this nonsense, he’s going to be the one who fixes it.”

He stepped into me, and there was nowhere for me to go once my ass hit the truck. Taking his ball cap off, he spun it around to put it back on backward, and my breath lodged in my throat.

I’d already been through a lot. I could not handle Remington Town with his sleeves rolled up and a backward baseball cap. It was too much. Too damn much.

Then he braced his arm beside my head, taking his torture farther, and brought his face a couple inches from mine. His glare could have melted glaciers.

Never one to back down, I tipped my chin up. “I like your starbursts better than this frown.” I pressed my lips against his downturned mouth, and he stilled, neither responding nor pulling away. “Kiss me back, Remington.”

He took my chin in his hand, keeping me still. “As sweet as your lips are, I’m not going to be distracted. What someone did to your truck is a whole hell of a lot more than nonsense. It’s malicious and violent. I can’t stand the idea of anyone coming near you or your property with the intent to destroy, and I won’t be idle while that happens. I’m taking you to the station to report this. If the cops won’t deal with it—”