Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 89170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89170 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
As the day wound down, I found a quiet corner in the barn to work, tucked away in one of the stables where a mare had been stalled to let her hoof heal. I heard voices coming and knew I should stand and make it known I was there, but when I heard Blayze and a female voice I didn’t recognize, I froze before slowly sitting back down. I shot the mare a pleading look when she looked at me, and then silently asked myself why I was trying to reason with a horse. In the end, she went on eating her feed and ignored me.
“Thank you for the horseback ride, Blayze.”
“It wasn’t hard being in the presence of such a beautiful young woman today.”
I rolled my eyes as the woman let out a giggle. “Your reputation precedes you.”
“Oh? And what is that?”
“A flirt. My father warned me about you. Told me to make sure you didn’t try anything.”
“Me?” Blayze said in a mocking way. I slowly crawled across the stall and peeked out through the small opening. Blayze had his hand over his heart as if he’d been wounded.
“I only call it like I see it,” he said.
She smiled. “You’re too sweet. What are you doing for dinner tonight?”
The young woman talking to Blayze had on tight black riding pants and a matching riding jacket. When Blayze stepped to the side a bit, I was able to get a good look at the woman. It wasn’t Lindsay. She was just as pretty, but a bit younger. Maybe early twenties. Her dark brown hair was braided and hung over her shoulder, and she was giving Blayze a look that said she was more interested in dessert than dinner.
“I’m sorry, Sara, I’ve got plans tonight.”
“You can’t break them? I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
I pretend gagged and looked up at the mare who was now standing next to me, wondering what in the hell I was doing.
“As tempting as that is, I can’t.”
The woman stepped closer and wrapped her arms around Blayze’s neck. I felt my entire body go rigid with…anger?
“Blayze, I’m offering you my body for the entire evening. Tell me you don’t want your hands on this.”
The mare leaned down, and I swore she was trying to watch it all play out as well.
Reaching his hands up to unclasp hers, he gently put them down at her sides. The mare snorted next to me, and I had to press my hand to my mouth to keep from laughing. I liked this horse.
“You probably need to go meet up with your father, Sara. I’m sure he’s finished his meeting by now.”
Before I could even blink, she’d pressed her mouth against his.
My eyes widened in horror, and the mare next to me started to hit the ground with her hoof.
Blayze stepped away. “I need to get back to work. You can show yourself back to the house, or I can have one of the ranch hands accompany you.”
Sara looked like she might have been pouting when she backed away and let out a dramatic sigh. “I guess your reputation isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Your loss.”
Blayze didn’t say anything until Sara was out of the barn and around the corner. He sighed and pushed his hands through his hair.
“Why do all women say that?” Hunter asked as he appeared out of thin air.
“Who the fuck knows?” Blayze said. “Do me a favor, Hunter—don’t randomly hook up with girls just because you can.”
Hunter laughed. “I saw what happened to you, big brother. That is the last thing I want to go through.”
Wait? What happened? The broken wedding? I wanted to jump up and demand answers, but instead I slowly made my way away from the door. I pulled out my phone and typed in the search bar:
Blayze Shaw. Hamilton, Montana, wedding.
Nothing.
I waited until I heard their voices grow distant before I got back to work. I wasn’t the least bit interested in finding out about Blayze’s history for the magazine article. No. I wanted to know because the thought of him giving himself to another woman that way made something in my chest ache. And I had to know what happened between Blayze and Lindsay. I just had to know.
Chapter Nine
BLAYZE
I shut the door to my office and sagged against it. It wasn’t like I wasn’t used to women throwing themselves at me. Hell, it had been happening since I could remember. I loved women, loved flirting with them, but when a woman threw herself at me as aggressively as Sara just had, it was nothing but a turn off. Not that I would even think of doing anything with Sara. For starters, she was going to be working with me, and secondly, there was only one woman who could currently make my blood boil—and she was currently somewhere around the barn.