I smiled as I began getting the horses ready. Daddy had been talking about Walker to Reed last night. They were impressed with how hard Walker was working. They were planning on taking my mother and Courtney on a cruise and letting Walker and Jase handle the ranch. I knew it would make Walker really happy to know our fathers trusted him enough to run things while they were gone.
When I got both horses saddled up and ready to go, I sat down on a hay bale and waited. “What is taking him so long?” I whispered to myself. I stood and walked toward the office door. I reached for the knob and paused for a second before I pushed it open. I stopped when I heard Walker on the phone.
“I’m glad you’re having fun, Jessica. Nah, not much is going on here. Just working.”
I pulled the door back, but left it cracked open as I stepped off to the side. I couldn’t believe I was eavesdropping on Walker’s phone call. But I was.
“I miss you, too. Damn, Jessica. Baby, I wish I could, but I can’t.”
He paused, and I wondered what she wanted him to do.
“I want to see you touch yourself, too, baby.”
Oh gag me. I turned to leave but then I heard my name. “Liza is right outside the door. No, not much, we see each other every once in a while.”
I leaned in closer.
“Jessica, we’ve talked about this. Liza and I are friends. The ring doesn’t mean anything anymore.”
I felt t
ears building in my eyes. I felt for the ring on my chest. I’d been wearing it, but tucking it into my shirt.
“Jess, for Christ’s sake she’s engaged. Yes. No, I haven’t gone ring shopping yet.”
I placed my hand on my stomach and was about to walk away when I decided I wasn’t going to stand out here and wait for his ass. I turned and grabbed the doorknob, knocking as I opened the door. Walker spun around and looked at me. I went to say something but his hair was wet…and messy…he had on fresh clothes and—to make things worse—he was just putting on his stupid cowboy hat. My heart was beating and want pulled at my core. I quickly turned and walked away.
“Jessica, I have to go. I love you, baby. I’ll talk to you later.”
Ugh. Double gag me. Asshole.
I walked past the horses and made my way outside. Inhaling a deep breath of fresh air, I closed my eyes. The wind in the trees instantly calmed me.
“Liza? Are you okay?” Walker asked, placing his hand on my arm. I wanted to ignore the feeling that zipped through my body when he touched me.
Keith. I love Keith.
I put a fake smile on my face. “Yeah. I just didn’t know you were on the phone. I’m sorry I just walked in like that. I was wondering what was taking so long.”
Walker gave me a weak smile. He nodded toward the horses. “You ready to ride?”
I nodded and walked back over to the horses. After walking the horses out of the barn, we got on and rode in silence. I wanted to ask Walker why Jessica was worried about me, but I knew it was probably the same reason Keith was worried about Walker. I peeked over at him—he was staring intently at the fence as we rode along.
I closed my eyes and just let Sweet Kate follow Runner and Walker. The sounds of my home comforted me more than I’d realized. The closer we got the river, the better I felt. I loved sitting down by the river and just doing nothing. My mother and I used to go and put out a blanket and sit for hours, reading. I’d inherited my love of reading from my mother and Walker’s mom, Courtney.
I smiled as I thought of all the times we’d sat and just talked for hours, just Mom and me. Walker’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Thinking?”
“What?”
He laughed. “Are you thinking? You had your eyes closed—that’s what you used to do when you were thinking. You’d just tune everyone else out and…think.”
I giggled and nodded. “Yeah, I was remembering all the times I came down here with my mother. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed home. I’m going to miss it if…”
I stopped talking and Walker looked away. “You could really leave all this behind, Liza? Your family, friends…all of it?”
I caught myself gnawing on my lip. “Should we stop and let the horses get a drink?”