Page 3 of Forbidden Rancher's Return
"You can't work here."
Rowan pauses near the stall gate. He doesn't turn fully. Just enough to let me see his jaw set.
"Why."
"Because it's not appropriate."
The lie tastes sour the second it leaves me.
Rowan's eyes sharpen. He sees it. He always could.
"Not appropriate."
"Yes."
A horse stamps his hoof. Wood creaks. The silence stretches until it hums.
Rowan shifts his weight. Like he's deciding which version of himself I've earned today.
"Still hiding behind what other people think."
My spine stiffens. I don't flinch. I don't snap. I let the sharp part of me step forward.
"I don't hide."
His gaze moves over me again. This time it is slower. This time, like he's counting things I haven't offered him.
"Sunshine."
The name lands edged. Almost an insult. Almost a dare.
The skin on my wrists goes hot. My fingers curl at my sides.
"Don't call me that."
Rowan takes one step closer.
The space between us compresses until my breath feels loud in my ears. Until I can smell sawdust and sweat and something underneath that is just him. Familiar in a way that makes my ribs ache.
"Why."
"Because I'm not fourteen."
His eyes go dark. A flicker crosses his face. Memory. The two of us at the stream, young enough to believe a knife and a tree could hold a promise forever.
"I know."
It comes out quietly. And that quiet is worse than anything else, because it means he's still holding the same things I am.
I force air into my lungs. I look at the stall gate instead of his mouth.
"I'm not doing this."
Rowan's gaze stays on me.
"I am."
I hate that my body responds. A pull low in my stomach, immediate and disloyal.
