Page 63 of Taming the Wild Cowboy

Maybe it’s best to leave things as they are.

Mac made a noise in her throat as she went down the few stairs to sidewalk level.

Fat chance.

As she approached the turnoff to the Tree Fork Ranch half an hour later, Mac realized that she felt just as nervous as the first time she’d made the turn onto the ranch road. Only this time it wasn’t because she was worried about landing a temporary job. This time it was about her feelings for the guy who’d hired her.

One of us will be gone soon.

She took little comfort in the thought. Was she going to continue through life hiding from strong feelings?

A flippant why not? shot through her head. She’d hidden from strong feelings for years, since losing her dad, really, but now it seemed that they’d caught up to her and she had no idea how to handle falling in love.

Run?

That was the go-to. She readjusted her grip on the wheel as she drove into the aspen grove, which had indeed lost its early leaves due to a cold snap a few days ago. They were starting over. And she was trying to.

Chapter Thirteen

Trev felt like a nervous teen as he approached the door of the foreman’s house, shoulders hunched against the rain, which was ridiculous because as a teen, he hadn’t been all that nervous. Maybe he had banked on good looks and charm.

Mac had spent the entire day away from the ranch yesterday, finally pulling in around nine o’clock. The next morning, she’d run into Jordan while doing the first cow check, then dove into her chores without checking in with Trev. That left the ball in Trev’s court, and he decided to put it into play. He needed to touch base and tell her that he’d be heading back to work soon and that she was welcome to stay on the ranch as long as necessary. That was all.

Right …

When Mac opened the door, her hair was damp, and she held a towel in one hand. He didn’t know if she’d just got out of the shower, or if she’d been out in the rain that was now soaking the back of his jacket. Either way, he liked the way the damp waves framed her face. He liked every damned thing about the woman.

“You better come in,” she said, standing back to allow him entry. Once the door was closed, he pulled off his hat, letting water drip off it onto the rug protecting the tamarack floorboards. She held the towel in both hands in front of her, not looking one bit self-conscious about him catching her with wet hair. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen her wet and muddy more than once over the past weeks.

“I’ve been called back to work early.”

Her lips parted as if to protest before her expression shifted to neutral. “It’s a good thing Jordan’s here. Is he staying?”

“He is.”

“Then there’s nothing holding you here.” She swallowed. “In fact, I think this is for the best, all things considered.”

Trev rubbed his cheek, telling himself to remain logical in the face of this now-distant woman. He knew why she was distant. She was afraid of getting sucked into a relationship and then being hurt because of it. Logic wasn’t helping.

Mac shifted her weight, seemingly uncomfortable with his lack of response. “What does this mean for my job?”

“Nothing. Jordan needs you, just like I do.” He locked eyes with her before adding, “Only in a different way.” He could see that she got the message.

“Trev—”

He caught her arm before she could turn away. “I’m being honest, Mac. I’m not going to corral you—I meant that—but I fucking hate the thought of us missing out on something good because of knee-jerk fears.”

“Okay.” She took a backward step as he released her arm. “Honesty is good. Scary as hell, but … good.”

Her phone buzzed on the counter. She ignored it.

“I don’t mean to scare you.”

“I know.” She didn’t look reassured, but she did look like she was trying to believe him. “But here’s the thing—you are.”

“Do you have feelings for me?”

She took a few paces to the small table near the sink unit. “I don’t know how to handle this.” She kept her back to him as she spoke, so he barely heard her words. “This wasn’t in the playbook.”