Now that he’s sheriff, he stays one step ahead of trouble and helps her within the bounds of the law, while still advocating for the rescues who can’t stand up for themselves.
“Speaking of Birdie’s friends, you and Charlie looked rather cozy at the wedding,” he observes with a smug grin.
I exhale slowly, keeping my expression neutral. “You told me to be nice, remember?”
He nods. “Yeah, but that didn’t include sleeping with her.”
“Who said anything happened?”
“Ma saw Charlie leaving your loft the following morning and keeps hounding me for details.”
Dammit.
Should’ve figured that just because it’s been a few months, our one-night stand wouldn’t stay under the radar for long. Nothing gets past Ma. She’s convinced my being single is a problem and keeps a hawk’s eye on anything remotely tied to my dating life—or, much to her dismay, the lack thereof.
I’ve dated casually in the past, but I’m far from boyfriend material. Most of my days are spent running the ranch, and the little free time I do have goes to building a house on the far side of the property. It’s slow going, but I hope to settle down someday, and when I do, I want a place that doesn’t feel like an extension of work and offers more privacy than I have now.
I push off the fence post and square my shoulders. “Don’t you have a missing mailbox to investigate?”
The corner of Walker’s mouth curves up. “Yeah, I’d better get going, but don’t think Ma will let this go. She’s been on me nonstop for months to talk to you about Charlie, and she won’t stop until she figures out what’s going on with you two.”
“She could just ask me,” I point out.
“And miss out on the fun of speculating?” Walker tips his head, laughing. “She would never.”
“The next time she brings it up, you can tell her nothing is going on between Charlie and me,” I grunt.
It’s the truth. Even if I wanted more, it wouldn’t make a difference. She was gone when I woke up the morning after the wedding and has been avoiding me since, making it crystal clear she wants to pretend it never happened.
I’ve tried convincing myself I’ve moved on, but that night keeps replaying in my mind—Charlie on all fours as I drove into her from behind, her breathy moans echoing through the room. I should have talked to her after and admitted I wanted more,instead of going along with the act that what we shared meant nothing.
The truth is, it meant everything.
I’ve been haunted by the memory of her body wrapped around mine and the way her breathing evened out as she fell asleep in my arms. It made me realize that after all this time of trying to ignore how I felt, that’s where she was meant to be all along, and I’d give anything to make her mine.
The problem is, enough time has passed that I doubt she’d be willing to hear me out or assume I’m just trying to get her back in bed. No, I’ll have to play the long game and wait for another chance to make things right.
There’s no guarantee I’ll get another chance, but if the opportunity comes, I’m taking it—and this time, I’m not letting her go.
After Walker left, I spent the afternoon moving cattle to another pasture and wrangling Petunia and her friends back into their stalls. They did everything they could to make the job as difficult as possible, somehow managing to leave my Wranglers caked in mud by the end of it. I’m looking forward to a shower to get all the dirt and grime off me.
I’m just coming out of the barn, lifting my hat to wipe sweat from my brow, when Charlie comes into view.
What is she doing here?
She rarely comes to this side of the ranch anymore, now that Briar and Jensen have their own place a mile up the road, and certainly not after the night of the wedding. I watch as she strides toward me, her red hair flowing in untamed waves, hereyes locked on me. She’s a damn vision, and I hate how fast my pulse kicks up when she comes to a stop in front of me.
“You lost, hellcat?” I drawl.
“No.”
I prop a shoulder against the barn wall. “Here to admit you haven’t been able to stop thinking about our night together?”
Because I can’t.
“Yeah, not happening. That’s what got us into this mess to begin with,” she mutters cryptically.
I tilt my head, looking at her with confusion. “I’m not following.”