By the time he finished the familiar ritual, TJ had ducked out of the barn, and Griff’s eyes cut to me. “You about ready to get your head out of your ass, boy?”
The old man didn’t say much, but when he did, he didn’t waste words. Straight to the point.
I attempted deflection. “You ever gonna retire, old man?”
“We ain’t talking ‘bout me. You and that girl got something going on, and if you don’t get your shit straight in a hurry, you’re gonna lose her.”
I was stunned into silence for a few beats, and my stomach dropped. How the fuck could he know? Apparently we hadn’t been as careful last week as we’d thought. Shit.
“I don’t what you’re talking about.” The words tasted like ash on my tongue. Even trying to deny it felt so damn wrong.
“You can lie to me all you want, but lying to yourself is a waste of fucking time.”
I jammed my fingers through my hair, crossed the half dozen feet to the straw bales, and took a seat across from Griff. “She’s the one who called it off.”
Griff pulled out a spit bottle from his pocket and lifted it to his mouth for a second before he replied, “And that’s it? You’ve been walking around here like a bear after honey who got stung by a whole fuck ton of bees because you’re okay with her calling it off?”
“I didn’t say I was okay with it.”
“Then what the fuck are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t … exactly take it well. Said some shit I shouldn’t have.”
Griff huffed out a laugh. “Then apologize. Flowers. Romance. An old man shouldn’t have to explain how that shit works to a slick young guy like you.”
“I know. I just haven’t figured out how. I need to fix it. Need to man up and make her understand that I’m not letting her walk away, even if that would make both our lives easier.”
Griff nodded. “That’s better. Because you wouldn’t be the punk kid who came here fresh out of college thinking he knew how to run this ranch better than any other goddamn cowboy if that weren’t your attitude.” His faded blue eyes meet mine. “And just so you know, Ford, you’ve done a hell of a job. Proud of you, boy. Now get outta here and go get the girl.”
My chest tightened with pride at finally receiving Griff’s approval—something I’d worked for since the day I’d showed up, as he’d put it, a punk kid fresh out of college. “Thank you. You don’t know what that means to me.”
“It needed to be said. Now git.”
I headed for the barn door, my trademark confidence back in my stride. Griff was right; I needed to get my head out of my ass and get the girl. Because fuck it—she was mine. And I wasn’t letting her go.
Except as soon as I crossed the threshold, all hell seemed to have broken loose. TJ was running toward the house yelling, “Need to get Mac to the hospital! His fucking leg bone is sticking out!”
Shit.
Chapter 17
Emma
Two mornings later, Ford was still avoiding the house as much as possible—and I was just fucking fine with that. My anger over what he'd said about Mom had barely cooled. If he wanted to go off and sulk like a little boy who'd gotten his hand slapped, I'd just find my own way to fit into ranch life.
I decided to saddle up Delilah, one of the slower, less excitable ponies, and take her out for some gentle exercise. But I apparently hadn't absorbed as much horsemanship from Ford as I thought. Every time I thought I'd figured out how one piece of tack connected with another, I realized that I had no idea how to attach the third piece. Luckily, TJ had been passing by and lent me a hand. He even played hooky for a couple hours to show me one of the ranch's riding trails.
We ambled over the green hills, our mares pausing here and there to nibble on the long grass already going to seed. My mood lightened as we talked. TJ seemed genuinely interested in my Stanford classes and the job that was waiting for me at summer's end. But the easygoing atmosphere didn't last. I kept getting distracted, wondering what Ford was doing right now or mentally replaying one of his passionate kisses—then seething all over again at the memory of his words.
I wish I could just hook up with TJ. A handsome, considerate gentleman who isn't my goddamn stepbrother. Why did I have to get obsessed with the most inappropriate guy in the entire county? Why can't I choose who to be attracted to?
When we got back, I looked for real work to do and settled for weeding the flowerbeds in front of the house. But even that couldn't drive Ford's bullshit completely out of my head. Especially because I could feel him watching me all the way from the horse barn. I hope you get an eyeful, buddy, because that's all you're gonna get from now on.