His mood had not mellowed any, if the way he slammed his door and yanked his seatbelt on were any indication.
He was riding as a passenger since his back still wasn’t healed up enough to lean back against the seat and Isobel tried to get him to rest in between stops. Not that she thought he’d be doing much resting at the moment. She pulled her seatbelt on and put the truck into reverse, executing a three-point turn in the wide gravel driveway and then heading back out onto the road home.
She’d heard that saying before—the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Well, she thought she might need a hacksaw for how tense things were in the cab of the truck. Hunter looked strung so tight that he’d snap with the slightest provocation.
So she really should have known better before asking, “Was it really necessary to ream that guy out so bad? It was probably just an honest mistake, him forgetting to tell us about the bull.”
Maybe it was the devil in her, wanting to poke the bull beside her, because he immediately erupted.
“Mistake? You call that a mistake? That asshole almost got you killed and you think it’s just a fucking mistake?”
“Whoa, chill out.” She waved one hand at him.
“Both hands on the wheel,” he snapped.
Oh he did not just—
“I know how to drive, thank you very much.” Picking. He was always picking at something. Yes, he might be further along the path in life than her but that didn’t mean she was stupid. “And I know how to take care of myself. I saw the bull without any of your help. You yelling and calling all that attention probably just made him start running faster.”
“Me. Yelling?” He enunciated each word and then angled his whole body toward her. “If I hadn’t been yelling, you would have kept your nose up that cow’s ass until the bull was trampling you. If I hadn’t been there you’d be a goddamned—”
He took a deep breath but Isobel was already incensed.
“What?” She looked over at him furiously. “I’d be a what?”
“Pull over,” Hunter snapped.
“What?” Isobel looked back at the road, then checked her mirrors. It was empty blacktop on all sides.
“I said pull over.”
“Why?”
“Goddammit for once can you just do what I ask?”
“Fine!” Isobel yelled, slowly applying the break and bringing the truck to a stop on the side of the road. She jammed it into park and then glared at Hunter while crossing her arms over her chest. “Why are we stopped?” she demanded.
“Because it’s not safe to argue while you’re driving.”
“Ok,” she threw up her hands. “Now I’m so incompetent I can’t even drive your precious truck right?”
“Stop putting words in my mouth. That’s not what I—”
“You know what?” She swiveled back around to face front. “You don’t want me distracted while I drive? Then how about we just don’t talk at all?”
She reached for the gear shift to put the car back into first but Hunter grabbed her hand.
“Goddammit, woman.”
She swung her head toward him, glaring daggers. So help her God, if he said one more thing about her driving or—
And then Hunter was kissing her.
He yanked her roughly into his arms and his mouth demanded response.
And oh God, she couldn’t help but give it to him.
“You don’t know how fucking terrified I was,” he whispered frantically before kissing her again. Then he pushed her back against the car door, his elbow honking the truck’s horn, but he apparently didn’t care because he didn’t stop.