Me:You have a way with words.
Bear:You make it easy. You in bed?
Me:Yep. Curled up. Cozy.
Bear:Bet you look cute like that.
Me:I'm blushing now. You proud of yourself?
Bear:Very.
Me:Goodnight, Bear.
Bear:Sweet dreams, Kassi. I'll be here when you wake up.
The reply hits me low and warm and dangerous. I clutch the phone to my chest and let myself smile into the quiet. I'm not ready to know who he is. Not yet. Not if it means this ends.
Chapter 6
Asher
The morning sun breaks over the hills slow and steady, casting gold across the pasture and the weathered planks of the old barn. It's quiet out here, just the shuffle of hooves and the soft rustle of hay as I toss another more hey into Phantom's outside stall, which he has claimed the last few nights. He lifts his head and watches me with those calm, dark eyes, tail swishing once like he's too dignified to show excitement but too spoiled not to expect breakfast.
"Yeah, yeah," I mutter. "You act like I don't feed you every damn day, then head into town to beg for food like you haven't eaten all week. If they only knew."
He snorts in agreement, nudges my shoulder with his nose, and then digs into the hay as if I've been starving him for weeks.
Leaning against the stall wall, with my arms folded, I watch him chew. I can smell the old leather, fresh hay, from inside the barn from here, and the cool earth from last night's rain. It's the kind of peace I didn't know I needed until I had it again. Out here, time slows. Thoughts get louder.
Mostly thoughts about her.
Kassi.
It's been two days since she texted me goodnight with that soft, sleepy note that landed in my chest like a stone and hasn't left since. I think about her more than I should. The way she types, the way she teases, the way her words feel like she's letting me in one sliver at a time. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, pretending I don't know who she is. Pretending I'm just Bear, some faceless cowboy who makes her blush over text.
But I'm not ready to let go of it either.
Zach's voice echoes across the yard. "Hey, Asher, we’ve got a problem!"
I straighten up as he jogs over. "Since we hadn't run that fence line yet, the cattle broke through the west fence. Got into the back field and onto the road."
"Shit," I mutter, already grabbing the lead rope. "How many?"
"Four or five, maybe more. I saw them near the creek bed, too."
The barn's calm vanishes when I swing into motion, saddling up quickly and leading my horse, Rocky, out. The world shrinks into movement and focus as I ride out with Zach, both of us scanning the brush until we spot the escapees munching peacefully where they shouldn't be.
We spend the next hour herding them back, patching the weak fence line with wire and frustration. It's a familiar kind of chaos, and for a little while, it drowns out everything else.
But as the last cow ambles through the gate and I dismount, wiping sweat from my brow, the quiet creeps back in—and so does everything I'd been trying to avoid.
Once I'm back in the barn and brushing Rocky down, I hear boots scuffing across gravel behind me.
"You gonna brush that damn horse or just keep staring off into space like a love-lost teenager?"
Finn. Voice full of sarcasm, face full of sleep. He looks as if he barely made it out of bed, hair sticking up in every direction, hoodie halfway zipped. It's just like him to sleep right through the chaos of this morning.
"Morning to you, too," I say, grabbing a brush from the hook.