Chapter Nineteen
Cash
Late August
I’d overheard Eric the day before talking to Hailey outside of the barn about what he had going on today. He had to work at 9 and was planning to drop by the ranch for another horse ride right before dinner. I’d had about enough of him hanging around every day but not helping out with chores like he usually did. He hadn’t been over to my house every day since we were just out of high school. Now, all of a sudden, I couldn’t get rid of him. I knew why, and that was another reason for putting my foot down before things went any further. I knew Hailey was a grown woman who could make her own decisions, but I was also a grown man who needed to just come out with what he did and didn’t want to happen on his own property.
I got up a little earlier that morning and went right out to tend to the horses and cattle without even taking the time to brew my regular pot of coffee. I decided to save the mucking out of the stables and grooming of the horses until after I’d spoken to Eric, which let me focus on feeding and watering the horses and then getting them out to the pasture where I planned to leave them until the afternoon when I’d returned and finished up a few other tasks that needed doing. I tended what was left of my cows next, scanning each one closely for signs of disease as I laid out their feed. I hadn’t found anything that resembled sickness yet, but I didn’t think I’d ever stop looking after what had happened a few months ago.
As soon as I’d finished setting the animals right, I hopped into my pickup and drove down to Jackson proper, crossing the city limits just as the sun was actually making its appearance above the line of the horizon, though it had been light out for some time now. It was just past 7, so I was sure Eric would still be at home. Hell, he might even be asleep. I smiled at the thought of rousing him from bed with a volley of loud knocks to the door.
I parked in his driveway and got out of the truck. Damned if he didn’t come outside at that exact moment. I had no idea why he was out here so early. It stunned me a moment, but I went towards him while he was busy gaping at me, probably wondering why the hell I was out here, the same as I was wondering why the hell he was.
“What are you doing here, Cash?” he asked. I didn’t see him dressed for work very often. He had on a nice button-up shirt and slacks that made me uncomfortable to look at, let alone wear. He was wearing his cowboy boots though, a nicer pair than he did when he came up to the ranch, but still boots. This was Wyoming, after all.
I’d planned what I wanted to say while I was busy getting the horses taken care of first thing, but all those words were hanging just out of reach while I stood blinking at him.
Eric smiled hesitantly, his eyes moving over my entire body before settling back on my face. “Everything alright up at the ranch?”
That did it. Everything I wanted to say came flooding back into my skull, giving me full access.
“You need to stop coming out to the farm every day,” I said in a firm voice. “Enough’s enough.”
He didn’t lose his smile, but it changed, getting sharp at the corners the way it sometimes did when he was about to get sly, his eyes flashing in the morning sun. He adjusted his shoulders into a more challenging posture.
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t have a reason to be up at the ranch every day.”
“I’m showing Hailey how to ride,” he replied, hooking his thumbs in the pockets of his shiny black pants.
“She can ride just fine now. You need to back off and let things be.”
“Is that really why you came all the way down here? To tell me to stay away from Hailey? Like that’s your right?” His light eyebrows were pulled together, but he was grinning aggressively, his teeth flashing white.
“I got a right to say who’s welcome on my property.”
That drew a bitter laugh from him that riled me up even more than the smile on his face. “Oh, now I ain’t welcome out at your place? I wonder what Hailey would think about you controlling who she gets to see. You forget I have her email address. We talk all the time through those messages and have since before y’all ever met.”
Shit. I hadn’t thought of that. And it would be just like him to reach out that way, knowing I had no way to stop him. Hailey had access to all of that technology through her phone. She’d explained using it as a mobile hotspot that would let her use her computer to listen to music and watch movies whenever she wasn’t busy researching or writing. I didn’t see why any of that was necessary when you were fortunate enough to live smack dab in the middle of some of the most gorgeous scenery in the West.
“You keep telling me I need to find a girlfriend and now that I’m trying, you’re busy going after her yourself every chance you get. Can’t you find someone else?”
Eric’s face hardened, and he finally lost that aggravating smile. I was happy to see it go, though it meant things would probably take a turn for the worse right about now. “Maybe I don’t want to, Cash. Have you ever thought about that? You said you weren’t interested in a relationship with Hailey. She’s been here for weeks. It’s not like I started moving in on her right away. I gave you all the time and encouragement in the world. It ain’t my fault you decided to drag your feet.”
“None of that changes the fact that I’m interested in Hailey, and I think we have a connection, but I can’t do a thing about it with you hanging around every damned day.” I crossed my arms over my chest, staring hard at him.
“This girl you suddenly decided you like wouldn’t even be here if not for me. I was the one who answered her emails and got her out here, and all because of the ad I placed on the internet. You know, that thing everyone else in the world is using.”
I scowled, my internal temperature turning up several notches all at once.
“You didn’t even want her to stay,” he pointed out. “I had to shame you into it and mention how much you needed the money.”
I wasn’t even going to travel down that road. The money had been a great help, but now my concerns were about something completely different.
“I’m asking you to step aside, Eric,” I said.
He squared his shoulders for a second time, standing a little taller, his hands swinging free of the belt loops on his pants. He looked ready to cross the few feet of distance between us and settle things the way we all used to back in school, only there wasn’t a teacher here to stop us.
“You were more than happy to sit alone on your goddamned ranch before last week. I literally deliver a beautiful girl to your doorstep and you ain’t interested. But the minute I show that I am, you suddenly need to have her all to yourself.”
I didn’t take any of that bait. That was his way, trying to get folks to lower themselves in an argument by going around in circles over shit that wasn’t even an issue. This had nothing to do with money or him putting up a notice about my extra room. It was about stepping aside when you could see it meant doing a solid for your friend. It was about common decency. I was the one with both legs to stand on in this fight, not him. And he had women all the time, sometimes two different ones in a week. I was lucky to have two different women in the span of two years. Not that I was interested in sleeping around—if that’s what Eric did; I didn’t know because I didn’t care to ask about how many beds he jumped into every year. When I thought about my future, I was beginning to like the thought of settling down with a sweet, honest woman one day. Could be that was Hailey. I’d never know if Eric got there first, turning her into another one of his goddamned conquests. I didn’t want that for Hailey. She deserved better. Hell, I might not even be good enough for her.
“You’ve been on my ass every day to get back out there and find someone. I’ve had other shit to worry about, but now that I’m ready, you’re cutting in. A friend would step aside instead of standing in the way.”
“Ain’t you a friend?” His razor sharp smile was back, the cutting edge to it sparkling in his eyes. “Why don’t you try following your own advice?”
I shook my head. “You know what I mean. I like Hailey, and I think she might like me too. Give me a chance to see how things develop.”
“How long should I wait, Cash? Two years? Three?” He snorted a derisive laugh, his expression hardening even more, though he was still grinning in a challenging way. “Because it took you almost a month to sit down and have a real conversation with her, and she was living in your damned house. And you only sat down with her because I shamed you into it.”
“I got the farm to take care of, Eric. That’s my priority and always has been.” I scowled deeper at the way he smiled at me. “And you invited this girl to stay here without even asking me.”
“Exactly. I found her. Not you.”
“This ain’t some game,” I snapped.
“We should let Hailey decide who she wants to be with. She’s a grown woman with a mind of her own. If me coming around is bothering you, I can take her out in town. We had a great time the other day together.” His smile changed, and though the challenge was still there, it was harder, flashing like the glint in his dark eyes.
I stepped closer to him, cutting the distance between us in half. My hands curled into trembling fists on their own. Eric straightened up too, his own fingers curling into his palms as he faced me.
“Back off,” I said in a low, controlled voice. The rage was underneath, igniting the words, but I sounded perfectly calm. My entire body was trembling right along with my fists. I wanted to hit him, and I hadn’t felt like that in a long time.
“No,” he replied, ditching the smile and staring me straight in the face. We were near the same height, so now that we were squared off, we were standing eye to eye. He was shaking too, and I could see how furious he was, which only pissed me off more.
“Then keep away from the ranch,” I said.
“That won’t stop me from seeing her.” His lips curled into that damned smirk, and that pushed me right over the edge.
We reached out at the same time, just shoving each other’s shoulders. That rapidly turned into him grabbing me by the neck and me punching him hard in the stomach. He grunted and punched me back, both of us struggling to stay upright on the cement, our feet scrambling as we tried to lay punches. I slammed my elbow into his chest as he tightened his grip on my neck, trying to pull me into a headlock. I jerked away from him, stumbling back a few steps, breathing heavily. We glared at each other, me waiting for him to make the next move and him waiting on me. All of a sudden, a smile stretched over his face, and we burst out laughing, that tension between us forced out by the few good punches we’d landed. The desire to beat the shit out of him just disappeared from my muscles, loosening them so my arms dropped to my sides and my fists unclenched.
“Holy shit, Cash,” he said, laughing so hard he had to wipe the tears forming in his eyes. His blond hair was a mess from our fighting. “How long has it been since we got in a fight?”
I was laughing too, hard enough that I had to bend over onto my knees to keep from crashing to the cement driveway. “Freshman year?” It had been over a girl then too, though Eric had ended up winning that contest when she picked him. The rancor between us had built up for weeks, finally bubbling over into a fight on the football field. Once it was done, we were good again, even after he started dating the girl we’d beat the shit out of each other for. It seemed like that was going to happen now, too.
“We’re too fucking old to be fighting like horny teenagers, ain’t we?” I asked, and now that we’d gotten it out of our systems, it really did seem damned stupid that we’d been on opposite sides over this.
He nodded to show his agreement, the last of his laughter dying in the aftermath of our pathetic excuse for a fight. He pushed his blond hair off his forehead, smoothing it back to being tidy again, and straightened his button-up shirt, tucking the part of it into his pants that had come out during the grappling.
“Cash, you know you’re like a brother to me.”
I nodded, indicating that I felt the same about him.
“I don’t know what’s come over me. I like Hailey a lot, but I’m going to back off the way you asked. If you think you can make something work with her, I don’t plan to stand in the way.”
I offered him my hand, and he shook it. “Thanks, Eric. I appreciate it.”
He didn’t let go of my hand, and instead used it to pull me into a quick hug, each of us pounding the other on the back.
“I seen you by yourself for years and it bugs the shit out of me,” he said. “Don’t let Hailey go back to New York without trying to get something going between you.”
I wasn’t entirely sure how to accomplish that, but I had a little more time to figure it out now that Eric wouldn’t be right there in competition mode. I was just going to have to put myself out there. I didn’t see any other choice. She could reject me, which might make things awkward for the rest of her time in Wyoming, or she could feel the same. Hell, for all I knew, she was sitting there waiting for me to make the first move.
“I don’t plan to,” I told him, sounding a hell of a lot more confident than I felt.