Page 17 of Burned & Bound
“About what?” Jackson demanded. He slammed the door and crossed his arms.
Now or never. For the horses.
“I need supplies,” I said. Reaching into my back pocket, I took out the list and handed it to him. I didn’t say a fucking word as he looked it over. There was no need. Instead, I just braced for the backlash.
The man took his fucking time.Way longer than necessary for the requests I made.It was just another way for him to assert his fucking dominance and control.I knew men like him. They were all the same.
“Yes or no,” I snapped finally when the drawn-out silence became too much to handle. I was crawling out of my skin and ready to bolt. Or fight. Or something. “It ain’t that fucking hard.”
“No,” he replied.Of course.
“Fine.” I snatched back the list and started to storm away. “I’ll figure it out myself.”
Maybe I could prioritize the purchases and spread them out. I’d never qualify for a fucking loan, but maybe I could piece it together. I could go without.
“Like hell you will.” Jackson stormed after me. I didn’t stop until I was in the heart of the stable. “You don’t do shit to my fucking ranch without my permission.”
“Andyouneed to take care of your fucking horses,” I countered. “The roof fucking leaks! Your stall mats are fucking shit and half the goddamn doors stick. Half the buckets out in the field are fucking leaking. The fencing is shit and needs to be fixed or replaced. The brushes are old as shit and missing a fuck ton of bristles. You have no hoof oil, detangler, conditioner, or clippers. The blankets are old as fuck—they’ll do but most of them have holes in them. You have no fucking sheets—waterproof or nighttime. Fly maintenance is a joke. What the hell have you been doing? This is fucking miserable! They’re animals! They deserve better than your stupid shit.”
I let out a strong huff of air at the end of my rant. I hadn’t meant to go off like that, but I got pissed. The horses didn’t deserve the bare minimum. Working horses or not, they needed to be taken care of the right way.
Jackson didn’t say a word as his gaze drifted over the stable. He walked in slow steps down the aisle, surveying each stall like it’d give him some magical fucking answer about what to do.
However, at the last stall, he stopped.Fuck.
Frowning, he pushed open the door.Double fuck.
“Are you sleeping in here?” he asked, brows furrowed together tight. I didn’t need to answer. It was pretty fucking obvious from the pile of blankets in the empty stall and my few clothes. “You have a fucking house! Go live there! Stop sleeping with my goddam horses.”
My stomach practically fell out at the mention ofthathouse. No way in hell was I going back there.
“I don’t fucking care where I sleep.”
“I do! It’s an insurance liability. The last thing I fucking need is your dumb ass getting trampled and you fucking suing me over your own stupid choices!”
“Make me sign a fucking waiver,” I snapped. “I don’t fucking care. You don’t have a fucking say in what I do.”
“Yeah, I do,” Jackson snarled and stepped closer.Right into my personal space.My knees locked as I held my ground and damn near held my breath.Fucking hell.My heart rate spiked, pounding erratically in my ears.Not here. Not now.“My ranch, my rules. No more sleeping in my fucking stable.”
The urge to hit him was strong. I needed him to back the fuck up. I couldn’t breathe with him so fucking close. My stomach rolled violently as I counted back from ten.
“Fine,” I gritted out, hoping to hell he’d back up. I needed him to back away.
He didn’t. Not for another agonizing minute. When he did, I held my ground—chin up and expression empty.
“I’ll get your shit this week. Don’t let it fuck with your regular work,” he told me as he walked out.
I managed to keep it together long enough to know he was gone before my legs gave out. Stumbling, I caught myself in a stall door and sank to the ground. Air stuck to my lungs as I desperately tried to stave off the panic.
I could do this… I could do this…
The mantra played on repeat in my head, but who the hell was I kidding? I couldn’t do this. I never had before.
The spiral downward was familiar and awful. Breathing became impossible as the panic seized my entire body. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited it out. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do anyway.
CHAPTER 11
jackson