Page 94 of Then You Happened
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
I end the call, lean against the wall of the stable at my back, and exhale my frustration.
“You don’t want the staff to know what?”
I jump at the sound of Jack’s voice and a startled yelp falls from my lips. “Jesus Christ, Jack. You scared the shit out of me.” I hold a hand to my heart to calm the panic of Jack overhearing any of that phone call.
“Just heading out to help Will.” He holds up his tool belt to prove his point but then narrows his gaze and takes a step closer. “Is everything okay?”
I nod. “Yes. Great. Fine.”
He glances around and then reaches out and runs his thumb over my cheek. “You know if you needed to talk to me, I’m here.” He drops his hand when Will laughs close by.
“I know.”
He offers a ghost of a smile. “You’re saying the words, Knox, but I’m not one for lip service. You need to mean them.”
“I’m fine.”
“If there were a problem, you know you could trust me with it. I’d help.”
My smile is tight as my guilt eats me whole. “No problem at all.”
He purses his lips and nods a few times. “Okay then.”
Jack walks down the path with a glance back before turning the corner so I can’t see him again.
Sagging against the building behind me, I wonder how much longer I can keep this hidden. How much longer will I be able to hold on and play the part that nothing is wrong?
The second anyone in town catches so much as a whiff of this, the Destin twins will be out for blood while the rest of the townspeople I work with will withhold their services, afraid I won’t be able to pay them. I won’t be able to keep it from Jack then.
My reputation may suck in this town, but my payables in Lone Star are up to date.
And that is what’s currently keeping this place afloat.
32
TATE
Something has shifted.
I’m not sure if it’s me or if it’s Jack, but after the night he saw my studio, something has changed between us.
I feared our little chat behind the stables might have changed that. That Jack would figure out I am keeping things from him, and it would shift our new dynamic.
But it didn’t.
Everything feels the same and yet so very different.
It’s as if I can finally breathe. His reassurances and the way he held me tight that night changed things, but I’m not quite sure if I can put my finger on how. Is it trust? Is it that I have someone I can confide in? Or is it that I finally have something to look forward to, like the little glances he sends my way when I least expect them.
“Will, when and if Steely wants to move forward, things are going to happen fast.”
“Ten-four, Jack,” Will says with a tip of his hat as he mucks out the stalls.
My hand runs down Ruby’s flank, the brush right after it as I murmur sweet nothings to her, but my mind is on Jack. It’s on what he just said and what might happen if the Steely Brothers want to take a chance on us.
“With the girls about to go in estrus, which will happen sooner rather than later, they’ll send some guys out to stay here. We talked about logistics, and it’s easier for them to bring the studs here for the month than for us to travel to them. And if Doc Arlington’s right, the mares we have will start going into labor about the same time.”
