My eyes catch on the man riding one of our horses, and I freeze. Maybe I’m more tired than I thought and I’m hallucinating.
“Hunky Parker!”
“Is he really there?” I ask Jerry Lee. Even after I shut my eyes really hard and open them back up Parker is still there, trotting around on Major. I notice Ethan riding Boone, and it makes a little more sense why Parker is here, but it doesn’t diminish my irritation. “How dare he be here like this.”
“Asshole Aaron!”
“That’s going to need to stop, like now.” I guide Jerry Lee up onto my hand, but my eyes don’t leave the man trotting around on the back of one of my favorite horses.
We used to sneak out to ride the horses when we were younger. I think about the local rodeo at the Strawberry Festival. We would both have our sports, me barrel racing and Parker roping. We seemed like quite the pair. Everyone always said how cute we are.
Were.
We were.
Parker’s head turns toward the window, and I swear he sees me. I duck away quickly to bring Jerry Lee back to his cage.
I toss the blanket over the top of his enclosure, so he thinksit’s night and hopefully won’t bother me. Just for good measure, I grab my headphones and put them in while I clean up the kitchen. The music that blasts in my ears has my hips moving on their own while I put on my own personal silent performance as I wash the dishes.
I’m scrubbing a pot, and refuse to look out through the window. I don’t want to chance seeing Parker again. Suddenly, there’s warmth at my back, and I think Aaron must have come home early. I lean back because my hands are deep in suds. But what I smell isn’t Aaron’s cologne. It’s familiar, but not who it should be.
Turning around quickly, I’m met with the blue gaze of the man I was avoiding looking at. He’s standing too close to me. I lean back completely against the sink, but I’m trapped with less than an inch between our chests.
“What’re you doing?” I snap, ripping the headphones from my ears.
“Trying to talk to you.”
I look down at the minuscule space between us. “And you chose to trap me?”
“You weren’t responding.”
“I had headphones in.”
“Clearly.”
“Are you going to back up?” I question.
“Do you want me to?” He raises an eyebrow, and I know thatlook. I’m overly familiar with that look. That look has gotten me into many questionable situations with him.Thatlook is a dangerous one when it’s coming from the man standing in front of me.
“No, by all means, please stay here, just like this,” I tell him sarcastically.
He shrugs. “Okay, if you say so.”
“Oh my God, you’re so annoying. Move.” I push against his chest, and try not to let my hands linger there for too long to feel how his body has been honed over the years. He’s bigger, more muscular than before, and I’m sure under his shirt it would show me just how much he’s changed.
He chuckles as he lets me push past him, and I feel like I can breathe again.
“Where’s my brother?” I ask, refusing to turn around and look at Parker.
“He got a little muddy from a fall, so he’s washing up.”
I whip around so fast my hair smacks the side of my face. “He fell off? Why didn’t you say something? Is he okay?”
“Calm down, Lil. He didn’t fall off, he slipped in the mud afterward.”
I huff out a relieved breath. Rationally, I know Parker is more than capable of helping Ethan if he got hurt, obviously, he’s an EMT. But I also think about him being the same boy that tried to shrug off a broken arm when we were kids. He was so mad whenI tattled to his mom. Turns out itwasbroken, so he should be thanking me.
In fact, he still should.