Claiming the Cowboy (Circle B Ranch 7)

He stands, then leans down and kisses my forehead. “I’m gonna go to bed. Sweet dreams.”

I hold back tears as I look up at him, hating myself for being the reason he’s wearing that sad look.

“Good night.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

KNOX

I’ve been looking up information about starting a stud horse farm on the ranch, which means expenses and marketing. I can’t go to my dad empty-handed, so I’ve been researching the small details as often as I can. Another ranch about fifty miles south of us rents studs, so I’ve been stalking their website and their property details for how much land I’ll need. I don’t suspect it’ll be much, but I need to go prepared with a presentation portfolio. Dad will have to agree before he can run it by Alex.

Ever since Kane walked off the job, Riley finally separated us. I’m working with Ethan while Kane works with Grayson. We still see each other around, but we don’t speak. Hell, he hardly looks in my direction.

This’ll blow over eventually, but I hate not talking to my brother. We get on each other’s nerves all the damn time, but it’s never been this bad. There’s not much I can do about it because we’ve never been interested in the same girl before, at least not to this extent. I could walk away from Hadleigh and let Kane have her, but something tells me that’s not what she truly wants. Not when her body reacts to mine the way it does. Although she’s trying to pretend she wants nothing to do with me, I see right through it. If she were any other girl, I would’ve given up already.

I hadn’t planned on cornering Hadleigh in the hallway last night, but I couldn’t help myself. She looked so damn good, and the way she was eye fucking me made it so tempting to touch her. As soon as I saw her go toward the restroom, I took the opportunity to talk to her, but her spit-fire attitude had me hard as hell, and I couldn’t stop myself.

Since I knew Kane had asked her out, I decided to get drunk and ended up with two blondes by my side all night. Normally, I’d take them back to my house and fuck them till the sun came up, but my dick wasn’t interested.

A first for me.

After she and Kane left, I let the blondes go, and they ended up with two random locals, which was fine by me. The only woman I wanted in my bed was currently in my brother’s.

All morning at work, I’m lost in my thoughts. The only thing that pulls me out of my head is Payton acting like a little bitch.

“Fuck!” Payton cusses, and I walk over to him.

“You alright?”

“Cupcake rammed into my junk. Little asshole,” he mutters.

I chuckle, grabbing Cupcake’s leash and bringing her to me. She’s a feisty one.

“Gotta be careful with this little devil,” I remind him. “I’ll go put her in the pasture.”

Ethan’s bent over laughing as he pulls Cinnamon Roll next to him. “Need some ice?” he taunts.

“As a matter of fact, I do. Gonna go to the B&B and find some…” he says, but we know he’s lying. He just wants an excuse to get more coffee and food.

“Bring me back somethin’,” Ethan calls out.

“Me too,” I add.

I lead Cupcake out of the barn and spot Hadleigh walking to Harper’s She-Shed that’s used for storage. She usually helps Harper package on Sundays, so I’m not surprised to see her around. Deciding to take my opportunity, I quickly release the goat into the pasture, then head over.

Once I’m inside, I shut the door and cross my arms.

She turns around, holding her hand to her chest. “Jesus, you scared me! What the hell are you doin’ in here?”

I flash a smirk. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“Harper ran out of packaging tape and needed some more boxes. That okay with you?” Her sassy attitude has my cock getting hard.

“Sure. Just disappointed you didn’t come by to say hi to me.”

She pins me with a glare. “I’m surprised you even made it to work this mornin’, considering your wild night with your blond friends.”

There’s jealousy in her tone, and I grin as I walk closer. “You sound upset you weren’t included.”

“Knox, I’m not doing this with you anymore. If you wanna sleep around, go the fuck ahead. Just leave me out of your games, okay? This isn’t fair.”

My heart drops to my stomach at how defeated she sounds. This thing we’ve been doing has been just as confusing for me.

“I’m amused that you think ya know me so well.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I didn’t sleep with them,” I admit, stepping into her space and trapping her against me and the wall.

She barks out a laugh. “Yeah, sure. I totally believe that.”