Page 55 of A Bittersweet Summer

I sigh. “Yeah, well, we are waiting on two more foals. Besides, you’re great at teaching lessons for the younger riders. Maybe you and Cassidy can work together on that. She’s pretty good at it, too.”

“Wesley Alexander Miller,” Roe starts. “When I’m right, I know I’m right. I don’t know what happened, but are you using me to avoid that woman?”

I am.

I can’t look at Cassidy without remembering the feel of my hands around her waist—without wondering what her lips taste like.

My fear of failure has put me into fight or flight, and unfortunately, I’ve chosen flight. I’ll run as far as I need to for some distance. If I don’t, I’m going to make a decision that could ruin everything.

And with Cass? Ican’truin everything. I just can’t.

I can’t bear to see her walk away.

Irritation coats my tone. “Want the work or not?” I question.

“I’ll take it,” she says. “But only until I find something else, okay?” Roe kicks at the loose hay on the ground. “This isn’t really my thing,” she admits. “You know that.”

I nod once, hopping up into the trailer to move the last of the bales. “That’s fine,” I say over my shoulder. “Go get some extra gloves from the office. They should be on the counter.”

Fifteen

Cassidy

I’ve never been more thankful for a position where responding to emails is not a necessary part of the job. If it were, the email would find me embarrassed, insecure, and confused.

For two weeks, I’ve shown up to work with a list of chores written on the board for me. Grady and Walton frequently work alongside me, and last week, Rosemary showed up to help teach lessons to the little ones.

As for Wesley Miller, the man has been a ghost.

I’m not sure how he can do all of the things he did—say what he said—and greet me with one singular head nod and zero fucks.

The worst part about the distance that has separated us is the embarrassment that washes over me whenever I think about it.

It’s like he has this other version of himself, and when that is what he’s showing me, I’m so confident that the man is feeling exactly what I’m feeling. I got so… bold.

I took a chance only to be met with distance again, and it drags up the old feelings I’d had when Chad cheated on me. Like I’m the last to know something everyone else saw from the beginning.

I squint my eyes closed. There’s a deep fear that what’s happening between us is pity. Wes feels pity toward me, and that’s the basis for all he’s done.

When I open my eyes again, silver clouds stretch out like a blanket, the smell of rain permeating the air. When I look out at the field, horses gallop back and forth, energized by the approaching storm.

Crows circle in the sky, and I fasten the snap on the gate to the main field.

I’m not sure what exact event pushed things too far. It could have been the fake engagement at Lennon’s party, or the way I clung to Wes unabashedly when we raced over the mud-soaked ground back on the trails.

Maybe it started even sooner than that, and I was just blind. It could have been my constant prattling—my incessant need to fill the silence when I’m around him.

All I know is that two weeks ago, I thought for certain I’d be kissing my boss, and now…

“Cassidy.”

I startle, turning toward the barn to find Wes leaning against the entrance, gripping a handsaw.

“You scared me,” I confess, my heart slowing from the shock of his voice saying my name.

He’s opted for a faded ball cap today. Another pair of those insufferable jeans hug his muscled thighs as he stares at me like I’ve done something wrong.

And I suppose I have.