Chapter Six
Tom
I couldn’t stop thinking about her even though I was annoyed with myself because Summer was completely not my type. Usually, I wasn’t attracted to high-maintenance and she was it and then some. But, there was also a lot more to her than her high society manners, I was sure.
As my glove caught on the barbed wire for the hundredth time, Brady yelled at me.
“What is with you this morning? Do you need a nap, a new set of panties, what the hell?”
“Got me.”
I rubbed my nose on my sleeve and blinked at the sun coming over the horizon. I hadn’t slept last night. I’d just tossed and turned. It was so bad that Bob slept on the floor. But I’d be damned if I was going to tell Brady that I was exhausted this morning because I couldn’t get images of Summer naked and sprawled out below me out of my head. The last thing I wanted was him riding me about her again.
What bothered me most about my current fixation on the shapely little strawberry blond, was that it wasn’t just her body that I couldn’t quit thinking about. It was the way she sat at the table, all prim and proper. It was the way she got nervous whenever I looked at her like a man looks at a woman. It was the way she was so dedicated to that horse of hers. And it was the way that haunted look came into her eyes that hinted to a troubled past.
It was clear that she didn’t belong here, and I wanted to know where she was from and how someone like her ended up here, in the middle of nowhere. That horse was obviously expensive and that saddle, good hell, must have cost more than my truck. Speaking of trucks, that was another mystery about her too. That truck and trailer were about to rot off their wheels and yet she was carrying around tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of preciousness on the inside. There was a whole lot more to her story, and while I was a big fan of keeping secrets, I really wanted to know hers.
“Who’s Liza?” I asked casually.
Brady clipped another strand of wire and looked over with his perma-scowl. “She’s my cousin. Runs a school for those fancy-pants horses like Summer’s.” Then he eyed me narrowly as I nodded, digesting this information. “I already told you, that girl is off limits. I know what you’re thinking.”
“I’m not thinking anything,” I answered with a shrug.
“That’s the biggest load of shit I ever heard,” he frowned at me. “Summer is beautiful. You think I don’t have eyes, boy? I’ve seen you looking at her.”
I faced him and shook my head. “I was just wondering who this Liza was, that’s all.”
“Bullshit.” Brady straightened and extended his gloved hand. “Give me another handful of those.”
I gave him more of the clips. “So how did a girl like that end up in a place like this?” I asked, figuring I’d just go for the jugular. Whether Brady wanted to answer was up to him.
“Here’s all I know, and after I tell you, you take that mind of yours out of the gutter,” he warned. “I hadn’t talked to Liza in months, but she called out of the blue one night and asked if I’d found help for the house yet. I told her no. So she said she had a girl who needed a leg up. I told her to send her on out and Summer arrived. End of story.”
I pulled the wire taut while he attached it to the pole. “She seems like she’s running away from something.”
He glanced at me. “I’m serious about staying clear of her. Whatever reason she has for being here is hers alone. She definitely doesn’t need you snooping around, playin’ detective.” He took a breath. “She shouldn’t be your concern.”
“I heard you the first eighteen times.”
“Well, dammit, I know how bull-headed you are when you want something. And I can’t afford to have her leaving in the middle of the season because of a broken heart. I especially don’t want to have to explain that to my cousin. She trusted me with Summer and I’m acting as her guardian.”
“Who said I want her?” I demanded, suddenly irritated that Brady thought I’d break her heart. Good Lord, what sort of man did he think I was? Determined not to settle for anything in my life, yes. But that didn’t mean I was out to break women’s hearts. If they chose to have sex with me and fall for me after, well, that was on them. It wasn’t like I lied to women just to get them in bed. If nothing else, I was an honest man.
“You don’t have to say it,” Brady answered with a chuckle.
“She’s interesting,” I responded.
“Yep, I’m screwed,” he chuckled again and shook his head with a sigh.
Yeah, he most likely was. Because it wasn’t a total lie. There was no way I could stay away from Summer, not when I was already trying to figure her out, to put together her puzzle pieces.
“Why can’t you just set your sights on one of the women in town?” Brady continued.
I shrugged as I considered it. It wasn’t like there was a shortage of women in town. And I’d had more than my fair share of them. But they were all the same. “Not interested,” I answered as my thoughts returned to the mystery that was Summer. “So, what do you think her deal is?”
He shrugged. “Liza just said that she’d had a rough time, but that could be anything, I guess. It ain’t my business and it definitely ain’t yours.”
So, he wasn’t holding out—it seemed he really didn’t know anything about her. Guess I’d just have to find out about her on my own. We worked in silence for a while and I let my thoughts drift back to Summer, lying in my bed in the cabin, hair tousled, eyes hooded and sleepy. Damn. I really was in trouble.