Page 18 of In Full Bloom
But right now, mostly irritated that he implied I can’t handle the work. That I’m just a prissy city girl. He’s wrong, but he’s also right in that I really could do with a break from some of the physical work. My ass and legs are aching from spending time inthe saddle again and my hands are already blistering from manual labour. I know they’ll harden up soon enough, but for now, it’s not much fun, and sitting in a vehicle for a drive to town is a nice break. Apart from the town part, obviously.
“It’s at the mechanic’s,” he says, exasperated. “But we need some stuff here too. We’ll only be five minutes, then we’re grabbing lunch.”
“Whatever,” I grumble like a petulant teenager, but climb out of his ute when he gestures for me to go with him.
Dallas quickly falls into conversation with the guy at the counter, ordering feed and minerals for the animals and probably some fence posts or something equally as exciting. I wander the aisles and quickly find myself in the horse supplies section. The smell of fresh leather bridles centres me and I run my fingers over the stitching in a stunning saddle. It’s far too nice to be sold in this hell-hole town.
“Holy shit,” a voice says and I freeze. I know that voice. It’s the same one that called out to Dallas in the pub. The one that turned me reckless. “Look who came crawling back to town.”
I turn slowly, hoping that I’m wrong, hoping that this isn’t the person I think it is. The person Iknowit is.
“Max Sheridan,” I say. “A fucking delight, as usual.”
“Come back to fuck everything up again?” he asks, crossing his arms across his chest and glaring down at me. God, those eyes. They’re way too familiar. The memories assault me.
I spin on my heel and stride for the front counter, where Dallas is still engaged in conversation with the store person. Yep, fenceposts.
“Time to go,” I say.
“Hang on, I’m not done yet.”
“Don’t care,” I say. “I’m out.” I’m about to head for the door when Dallas reaches out and grabs hold of my sleeve.
“Hold up,” he says, giving me a puzzled look.
“Oh, I see,” Max’s voice follows me. “Of course. I should have known. You’ve come crawling back to your bestie. I noticed you weren’t here when she needed you, but that’s not surprising, is it?” Max appears beside us. He’s got his typical smug smirk on his face. “You probably don’t know this yet,” he says to Dallas, “but you’ve got to watch out for this one. If you’re not careful she’ll screw you up and fuck you over all in one go. Ain’t that right, darlin’?”
“Fuck off, Max,” I say, a snarl in my voice. I turn to Dallas who’s standing there, dumbstruck, his gaze bouncing between me and Max. “I’ll walk down and get the ute. See you back at the Ridge.”
Then I turn and stride from the building, definitely preferring to walk to the other side of town than be near Max Sheridan for one second longer.
10
DALLAS
I haveno idea what just happened.
Katie told Max to fuck off, then stormed out of the building.
I don’t know the guy well, but he’s notthatbad is he? Obviously they have some kind of history.
Maybe it’s something that goes back to their teen years.
Maybe they dated in high school.
Though their interaction seems like it was something bigger than a high school romance. Maybe there was real heartbreak on one or both sides.
It does something weird in my stomach when I think of Katie having a romance with someone else, even a hypothetical one that happened years ago. I’ve really got to keep a lid on that shit. Much like I’ve got to keep a lid on the shit that happened earlier in the stables.
I still don’t know what the fuck I was thinking. Worrying about her being hurt is one thing. Reacting like an overprotective asshole that thinks she can’t handle herself—when she’sproven time and time again that she can—is a whole other level.
And touching her …
That was so far beyond every line there is. The ones she drew around the night we spent together and the ones set by the law.
She could go straight to Olivia and get me fired on the spot. And rightly so. I need to deal with that, apologise to her. It might save my job, even though I don’t deserve it.
God, what would happen to Sadie if I get fired for harassment? I wouldn’t be able to find another job without a reference from Olivia.
