He glared down into her startled green eyes and marched her right back outside. She tried to pull away, but he refused to release her until they reached the parking lot.
The moment she was free, she whirled to confront him, eyes flashing, chest heaving with indignation. “Who do you think you are? Grabbing me like—”
“I’m the one who walked for hours because you took my horse.” He leaned forward, forcing her to tilt her chin at a very awkward angle or retreat. She took one step backward, then stood her ground.
“Maybe next time keep your smart-ass comments to yourself.”
“Excuse me?”
“Don’t do me any favors,” she mimicked. “Ring a bell?”
His gaze narrowed. “You couldn’t have heard that.”
“I have exceptional hearing.”
“Pity you don’t have manners to match. It still doesn’t excuse you taking my horse.”
Now she hesitated, and her gaze dropped. “About that—”
“Do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is to walk seven miles—”
“Nine.”
“Nine?” The look on her face said she wished she’d shut the hell up. He gave a short sarcastic laugh. “Well, thank you, Brittany Lucas. That makes me feel so much better.”
She lifted her gaze. “I’m sorry.”
“What?” He leaned close again and forced himself to ignore the fresh scent of summertime in the mountains. “My hearing must not be as exceptional as yours.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated louder.
The genuine remorse in her voice and her willingness to look him in the eye while taking full responsibility for her actions took the wind out of his sails. As their gazes held, the air became charged with something he didn’t want to identify.
He was just thinking it was time to get the hell away from her when she broke eye contact with a glance toward the bar. “Well, I’ve apologized. I, ah, I guess I’ll see you around.”
See you around? So much for sincerity. A single sidestep halted her move to brush past. He motioned to the sign on the door and took her arm again. “This is a private party. It appears as though I have the pleasure of escorting you off the premises—again.”
“Your first escort wasn’t so pleasurable, was it?”
His hand tightened on her arm as he led her further into the parking lot. With each step, he felt her rising temper in the stiffness of her body beside his. He didn’t care how mad she got. She didn’t belong here and she wasn’t staying.
“Where’s your car?”
She silently pointed to the next row over, then stopped him in front of a black truck. It looked so brand spanking new, he gave a low whistle. “Work hard for that, did ya?”
The sarcastic comment made her jerk free and she glared up at him.
“It’s really none of your business what I drive or how I got it. Once again, you’ve made assumptions about me when you have absolutely no idea what my life is like.”
A vehicle rolled to a stop behind her. Joel flicked a glance over her shoulder to see Casey Fuller with a female passenger.
“And another thing,” Brittany continued. “I’m sick and tired of you ordering me around. You can’t make me leave.”
“I can and I will.”
Casey let out a derisive laugh. Brittany glanced back as he leaned closer to the open passenger window. “No one makes Britt do anything, Morgan. Besides, as one of the best damn wranglers Highlands has ever had, she’s got more of a right to be here than you do.”
Joel shifted his gaze to find her watching him. The defiance in her eyes buckled under an onslaught of guilt. Each furious beat of his heart made the blisters on his feet throb. Very softly, very calmly, he asked, “You work at Highlands?”