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Bailey
Hunter was not a prospect for me and he never would be. But I could look good while being rejected by him. Although I still had work to do in the stables after dinner and would certainly get dirty again, I showered, then dressed in a pair of tight jeans and a snug t-shirt, and then did my hair. Not wanting to give him or anyone else the impression I was going out of my way to impress Hunter, I wore only enough makeup to appear like I wasn’t wearing any. My fingers remained crossed that my mother or brother wouldn’t blurt out anything during dinner about my appearance.
By the time I descended the stairs and ventured into the dining room, they were already seated. As usual, my mom had claimed the head of the table and Blake had snagged the other end. Which left one chair across from Hunter. Kind of hard to avoid eye contact when he was right in front of me.
“About time,” Blake mumbled, scooting the pot of chili my way. “We were about to start without you.”
My mom passed me the tray of cornbread. “You look nice, hon. Going somewhere?”
Hadn’t planned on it but now that she’d brought attention to the fact that I’d gone out of my way to look decent, I had no choice but to leave the house. “Craving a latte and I still have so much to do. Figured I’d make a trip to Two Cups for a pick-me-up.”
“Coffee sounds great. I’ll go with you.” Hunter avoided my gaze as he dipped a chunk of cornbread into his bowl. As if not making eye contact with me decreased his chances of me saying no.
And why did he want to go with me anyway?
Blake’s spoon clanged on the floor tile. “Damn.”
“I’ll get you a new one.” I sprung from my chair, grateful for an excuse to put some distance between Hunter and me. I skirted the table and passed my mom toward the doorway to the kitchen. Don’t look at him. And, of course, my eyes betrayed me and snuck a peek at Hunter. His gaze had anchored to my butt.
His staring wasn’t what sent butterflies in my tummy into hyperdrive, but the intensity of his stare. Whatever his affliction that caused him to study any part of me like that had to be a fluke. Maybe he just happened to look while his mind was on something else. Didn’t matter. I couldn’t allow my head to be hijacked into believing that any momentary attraction on Hunter’s part would ever lead to anything serious.
After sailing into the kitchen to get Blake’s spoon, I returned to the table and rushed through my dinner. The sooner we got the coffee trip over with, the sooner I could get away from Hunter and back to safety. I secretly hoped he’d change his mind and skip the coffee run.
“Anyone else want anything from Two Cups?” Hunter asked as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and tossed it on the table, dashing all my hopes of him forgetting about our little excursion.
“No thanks.” My mom rose and began stacking our plates. “You two have fun.”
“But not too much fun,” Blake said with a straight face.
“Yeah, like that’s something you should worry about,” I replied wryly, resisting the urge to flare my nostrils in warning. What a jerk. Hoping Hunter would change his mind if I took long enough, I grabbed glasses from the table to help my mom clean up.
“I’ll get that, hon.” She nudged me away then halted. “On second thought, bring me back a hot chocolate, would you?”
My lip skewed but I smoothed it out, not wanting to protest too much and be obvious about my aversion to Hunter. I didn’t want them asking too many questions. “Sure. We’ll be back soon.”
I headed for the truck, not glancing back to see if Hunter was following. As I got to the driver’s side of my Explorer, the front door slammed. He slid into the passenger side just as I was shifting into reverse.
“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Hunter buckled his seat belt.
“Work, work and more work.” At the main road, I checked both ways for traffic.
“Care to give specifics or should I run around the ranch guessing at what you want done first?”
Struggling to change out of bitch mode, I sucked in a long breath. “Feed the chickens, horses, cows. Turn out the horses and switch out all the water. Muck the stables. I need to get Malik under a saddle before a potential buyer comes out next week. That will be my priority tomorrow.”
“Isn’t he only three? You sure he’s ready?”
I’d been working with Arabians my whole life and Hunter had the nerve to doubt me? “Malik’s almost four, actually, and we’ve been preparing him for months. He’s ready.”
“I can work with him and still muck the stables. That should free you up a lot.”
I clucked my tongue doubtfully. “You can’t put in enough time and still get everything else done.”
He chuckled. “You worry too much. I’ll work with him between other things and still get lots of time with him. Maybe he won’t let me ride him after the first day. But if it can be done quickly, I’ll make sure it happens. It’s all about trust.”
With everything else he had to do? I wanted to see that. “Knock yourself out.”
Our trip to Two Cups was uneventful. No surprise there since Noelle wasn’t anywhere near the place. Apparently, no one else wanted caffeine on a Tuesday night. We were in and out in five minutes and on our way back to the ranch, much to my relief.
Back at the ranch, we parked and Hunter intercepted the hot chocolate before I could get it. “I’ll drop it off to your mom.”
“Just as well. I have to finish up some stuff in the stables.” Like bring in the horses for the night and make sure they had fresh water.
I started with the closest stall, throwing out the water and filling it up. After dragging the hose to the next stall, I filled that one up too. Footfalls alerted me to Hunter’s approach. I’d recognize the sound of his swagger any day.
“Where’s Malik?”
I caught a glimpse of a halter and lead rope in Hunter’s hand, a blanket in the other. What had to be a carrot protruded from his pocket. “Buying his love, huh?”
“How else?” He grinned and my insides went mushy.
“C’mon.” I jerked my head toward the exit, led him to another pen and pointed at a white Arabian. “There he is.”
Hunter whistled. “He’s handsome as ever.”
I had the same thoughts about Hunter. “We have two buyers interested. The easier he is to work with, the more I can demand.”
“You’ve done the hard part, getting him used to a bridle and blanket. I got the rest.” Hunter brushed my arm as he passed and I shivered. He draped the blanket over the fence and let himself into the pen, approached Malik slowly then laid both hands flat on Malik’s shoulder. “Hey, boy. Remember me?”
The stallion responded immediately, bobbing his head and looking for his treat. Hunter snapped the carrot in half and while Malik chomped on the first part, Hunter slipped on the halter, then attached the rope. The stallion chewed on the rest of the carrot as Hunter walked him around the pen.
Work waited for me but I couldn’t tear myself away. Hunter’s calming effect around animals had always fascinated me.
Hunter slowed Malik and snatched the blanket off the fence as they passed it, then gingerly laid it on the stallion’s back. Malik’s front legs lifted and he snorted. Hunter stroked his shoulder and talked to him in a soothing voice. Malik gradually settled down and Hunter began walking him again. He threw me a wide grin over his shoulder and my stomach fluttered.
Why was I still standing there, wishing Hunter would treat me as lovingly as he treated animals? I had work to do. Without a glance or a goodbye, I got as far away from Hunter Evermond as I could get. Which, unfortunately, was only a few yards. At least his wild hair and sexy grin was out of my view. He was way out of my league and not right for me in any way. Plus, he had zero interest. I needed to get a grip.