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“That smile.”
She shrugged. “I’m feeling good about getting away from the ranch.”
As she took off down the driveway, Hunter reached for the handle above the door. “You should slow down.”
She rippled with indignation. “Why would I do that?”
“The gravel’s kicking off the tires. It’s going to chip the paint.”
She issued an exasperated sigh. “It’s a ranch truck, not a pristine show truck. We leave the pretty stuff to the horses, not the horsepower.”
“Aren’t you full of witty conversation today?”
She threw him a look. “One of us has to be. And you’re far too serious for me.”
“I can joke around.”
“Oh really? When do you do that? When you’re in the bunkhouse? Because the guys say you are outside in the middle of the night and then go straight to bed.”
He stiffened.
“What are you doing outside in the middle of the night, Hunter? If those demons are haunting you—”
He shook his head. “That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
He cut a hand through the air in a dismissive wave.
“You’ve shared my bed twice. Doesn’t that make us friends?”
“It makes us a hell of a lot more than friends,” he growled.
Okay, that was…hot. Hunter’s reaction to her words left her feeling warm inside in ways she’d never felt before.
“Okay, so if we’re friends, why don’t you talk to me? Tell me what’s going on at night?”
He stared at her for a long heartbeat. She stared back before redirecting her attention to the road.
“I’m watching for intruders.”
She stopped the truck, skidding on that gravel she was taking a little too fast. “You never told me that before.”
“It wasn’t relevant.”
“Not relevant to me? It sure as hell is, Hunter. My father’s in the hospital, and Meadow’s so busy with her horses that I’m the only person running this ranch.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You’re right. You do deserve to know.”
“Tell me.”
“Colton asked me to come here and lend a hand.”
“With the chores.”
“That, and to provide protection.”
Her heart flipped over. All those bills. Stacks and stacks. It made her wonder what her father had been doing with all the revenue that came into the ranch accounts. She chewed her lip. Should she share her worry with Hunter?
