Reece (Stud Ranch)

“What?” I finally asked and he blinked like he was embarrassed to have been caught staring.

“Nothing. Sandwiches. Right. Got it. Aye aye, Captain Charlotte.”

I laughed at him when he swept up his hand in an over-exaggerated salute before heading out the door.

I didn’t miss that he left his music behind for me.

Wow, he was sweet.

And sexy, cut in a foreign voice in my head. A voice I’d all but forgotten.

Holy crap, was this what it felt like to be… to be attracted to a man? I blinked, and not just from the astringent cleaner I was using to degrease the oven.

I was attracted to this guy. I thought of the way his muscles had bulged when he’d leaned against the wall.

You’re married, said another appalled voice.

To an abusive asshole. Who I never intended to ever see again, in my entire life. Besides, I’d considered myself his wife in name only for most of our nine-year marriage. After he— After he—

Well, some things were unforgivable, and that was that.

Familiar pain lanced through my chest and defiantly, I shoved it away.

No. I wasn’t going to sit and wallow in my pain anymore, not here in this new life.

My eyes strayed towards the rickety door Reece had exited through.

“Don’t Fear the Reaper” came on, blaring throughout the trailer. Now that I’d cleared it out, the music echoed around the room to greater effect.

And I had a wild hair of an impulse, because dear God, I wanted to fly too, for real.

No more strings holding me down, no take backs. What if I did the one thing that would erase Jeff forever? Exorcise him from my body.

I wanted to claim this future for myself, in a way that would actually make me believe it was real.

Tomorrow I’d take Ruth up on her offer and have her drive me in to Austin. I’d hit the city early in the morning, look for work, find myself a women’s shelter to stay at if I had to while I figured things out.

Yes, just one more night here and then I’d be gone.

My eyes flew back to the door as Reece came back in, a friendly smile on his face as he held up two plates, one with a sandwich for each of us.

Tomorrow I’d be gone, but tonight…

Well, tonight was a night to fly.

I worked hard all day on the bunkhouse trailer, fairly nonstop. Reece was in and out throughout the day between working on the plumbing and checking on the pregnant cows to see if any more were “dropping calves,” as he put it. By sunset, he’d replaced the entire toilet and carried out several bags of trash from the bathroom and back room—they’d smelled so badly I’d had to hold my nose while he went by.

And apparently the ranch had two new baby calves, born without complications this time. I thought they would put the mother and baby calves up in the barn, but over dinner I was informed differently. They just let the mothers give birth to the calves wherever they happen to be out at pasture. Apparently, it was less stressful and cleaner than having them all penned up where it could get swampy with manure.

They talked about manure a shocking amount over the dining room table, that was something I was coming to find. But then again, it seemed no topic was off limits.

“Well, that’s a good start to the season,” Ruth said when Reece mentioned the second calf of the day he’d tagged just before coming in for dinner. “Three already. I saw the bottle calf running around outside so it looks like he’s gonna make it after all.”

“She,” I corrected. “Her name’s Bessie.” Reece and I had both showered—me in the main house and him in the bunkhouse bathroom. Apparently the shower was passable enough to use. I glanced across the table at Reece, wondering if he was even single. Maybe he had a girl back in—where was it he’d said he and his brother had just moved from—Wyoming? Maybe he had a girl back in Wyoming and she just hadn’t had a chance to move here yet.

Ruth lifted her eyebrows. “Don’t go and start naming them now. They all end up at the beef processing plant sooner or later.”

“First of the season always gets a name,” Reece countered. “For luck.”

Ruth rolled her eyes. “Sentimental.”

I glanced across the table at Reece, wondering if he was even single. Reece just grinned and shoved a buttered roll in his mouth. I watched in fascination. How did he even make eating a roll look sexy? Maybe he had a girl back in—where was it he’d said he and his brother had just moved from—Wyoming? Maybe he had a girl back in Wyoming and she just hadn’t had a chance to move here yet.

Blinking, I yanked my gaze away from his mouth. His lips in particular. They were full and wide, much fuller than I’d expect for a man.