Page 15 of Broken Boundaries

“Noted. Have a good afternoon, Brooks.”

“You too, Aspen.”

I walk toward the lodge as he walks around the side of the building. I’m not proud to admit that I take one more glance in his direction to get a look at those Wranglers.

The cowboy look might be growing on me.

CHAPTER 6

Aspen

Zach sits propped up in our bed while I get ready for the day. He should be getting up too, since he has to be at the police academy soon, but I’m not his mother, so he can be late if that’s what he wants to do.

It’s been a week since I started at Moonlight Ranch, and so far, I actually enjoy going to work every day. I haven’t had one terrible guest interaction since I started, which is such a breath of fresh air after working in a busy city for the last few years. And my coworkers are wonderful. It’s been kind of fun.

Zach seemed to think I was crazy when I mentioned how much I like it. It’s almost as if he wanted me to hate the job he forced me into. I don’t know what his deal is lately. I know it’s stressful moving and starting a new job, but at least he knows people here. It’s even more stressful for me. I moved to a town where I don’t know anyone except him, simply because he asked me to.

“Do you know how to ride horses?” I ask as I blend my eyeshadow.

He chuckles. “Yeah, babe. I do. You don’t?”

“Nope. Your dad wants me to learn, though.”

“You don’t have to do anything he wants you to.”

I look over at him. “He is my boss…”

“Yeah, but your job description doesn’t require you to ride horses, does it?” he asks. I don’t have to look at him to know he’s smirking right now.

“No, but I think it’d be a good idea to learn. He said I can ask Beck to give me a lesson or two.”

Zach finally climbs out of bed and makes his way to our bathroom. He stands behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. “I can teach you how to ride if you really want to learn. But you did a pretty good job riding last night.” He winks at me through the mirror before he kisses my cheek.

I ignore his sex comment and add, “If you were to teach me, it would require you to come to the ranch.”

He makes a face and shakes his head as he drops his hands and walks toward the toilet. “Nah then. Beck can teach you. He’s good.”

“I don’t understand why you don’t like the ranch. Or your dad, for that matter.”

“I told you. My dad loves that ranch more than anyone or anything else. He always put the ranch before me. He wanted me to take over one day, just like he did when my grandpa retired, and I don’t want that. And he treated my mom really shitty.”

“How did he treat your mom?” I ask carefully because I can tell he’s getting annoyed.

“He didn’t give a shit about her, just like he doesn’t give a shit about me.” I want to argue because I don’t believe that’s true, but I keep my mouth shut as he continues. “He broke up with her when I was a baby. Didn’t even want to try to work on their relationship.”

“Weren’t they just kids when they had you?”

“Yeah, but mom wanted us to be a family. She wanted to work on it, and he just gave up. Didn’t even try.”

“But he still wanted to be in your life, didn’t he?”

He shrugs. “My mom was always there for me. I only saw my dad every other weekend. It was like hanging out with a stranger. Mom hated it when I left for those weekends, so I decided to stop going. She needed me more than he did.”

“Oh,” is all I can say because, again, I don’t think that’s true at all, but it’s not my business. Zach is an adult and can make his own decisions, no matter how wrong I think they might be.

“You think I’m the bad guy, don’t you?” he asks, coming up beside me again to wash his hands.

“No. Your feelings are valid. I’m just trying to understand.” Because I would do anything to have a dad, even if he only hung out with me every other weekend.