Page 31 of Total Jane Wreck

“Fine.” I shift my weight off the shoe with the pebble and look toward the plane, where I spot one of my suitcases. Then, I picture Chet, throwing my lacy undergarments into said suitcase. “Did you really go through my stuff and pack for me?”

“No,” Chet answers. “I had Axel Rose do it. Sorry. But they’re expecting you in the next couple of hours.”

“Who’s expecting me? Where am I going?”

“To a dude ranch near Jackson Hole. The owners are retiring several of their horses. I need you to go there and decide which ones we should adopt.”

“Alright—but why is that so urgent?” Suddenly tired from rising well before dawn, I rub my eyes. Just the thought of this unexpected trip is exhausting.

“I’d tell you,” Chet says, voice low and tight, “but I don’t want you puking on my shoes again.”

Shoulders shoved down, chin pointed up, I feign composure. “I only throw up when I’m nearby a horse that’s in pain. Just hearing about them—that, I can handle.”

“Good to know,” Chet says. “I suppose otherwise, life would be unmanageable.”

“Life is already unmanageable,” I respond. “It’s messy and unpredictable, and anyone who pretends otherwise is a liar.”

Chet narrows his eyes, as if I’ve just professed the wisdom for the ages. “True,” he states.

“Anyway, you were about to explain why this trip is so urgent?”

“The owner’s ready to send his old horses off to the pet-food factory,” Chet says. “I talked to him today. They need money and are out of options. He didn’t want to wait, but I convinced him.”

At first, I’m angry, not at Chet, but at this ranch owner. How could anyone be so heartless? But then I’m overcome with emotion. I want to throw my arms around Chet and give him a fierce hug. Instead, I give his arm a restrained little tap. “Good for you.”

Chet takes a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. Call me stupid, but, God. He’s handsome. How could I ever have thought otherwise? Plus, he’s hot.

“What if I think we should take all of their retired horses?” I ask.

“Then we’ll take all of them.” He gives me a lopsided grin. “I have plenty of space. Worst case, we’ll just build another barn.”

“Or, you could renovate the blue barn—”“No!”

I reel back.

Chet squeezes his eyes shut and rubs them with his thumbs. “Sorry,” he says. “But I’m renovating the blue barn to be used for something else.”

“Oh, um, okay.” It’s windy, and I must brush my hair off my face. “How will I get the horses back here?”

“I’ll hire someone to transport them, but I want you on that road trip, caring for the horses as they travel.”

“Isn’t that a twelve-hour drive?”

“More like eleven.” Chet smiles, probably in an effort to be charming. “I’ll pay you overtime for the entire week. Heck, I’ll pay you double.”

“I’ll hold you to that. But for the record—I’d do it for free. For the horses’ sake. Not yours.”

Holding his gaze, I can suddenly see myself in his eyes—a little lost, a little too hopeful, clutching a mangled flower crown while we stand next to his private jet. And, I’m obviously into him.

Something shifts. A heady pressure builds between us.

“I wish we were the same age,” he says softly, “and that we’d met a long time ago.”

My heart skips a beat. Heat gathers beneath my skin, as if he’s already touching me. “Why?”

He steps closer to me. Bows his head. I can smell his wintergreen Tic Tac breath. “Because then, maybe we’d have had a chance.”

He’s staring at my mouth, but then looks up and our gazes collide. Lord help me—how am I so turned on without any physical contact?