Steal Her Heart (Kaid Ranch Shifters #1)(24)

He didn’t come to the house. And if he saw her when she was hobbling around the ranch, trying to do as much work as she could manage, he would only tip his hat to her when she said “hi.” She’d learned by the third hat tip that Bryson was a gentleman, but he wanted nothing to do with her.

A part of her knew it was a direct result of her asking questions that had scared him. Fear did that to a man—made them shut down. But it was impossible not to feel the distance on a personal level. He’d kissed her, helped her burn Dallas’s things, and told her she was enough. She’d had a taste of the good in him, and now that it was gone, it stole her breath away a bit.

It would’ve been better if he’d never shown her kindness at all. Then she wouldn’t know what she was missing.

Currently, she was watching him pour feed from the back of his truck into the first pasture. The grass was getting a little sparse there, but he wasn’t pressuring the herd to move to the Killing Pasture, as she had nicknamed the field the wolves had assaulted them in. So supplementing feed was necessary right now. He’d already unrolled a bale of hay out there for them, too. Gonna spoil her cows. Eh-hem. She meant his cows.

He still wouldn’t let her work like she was used to because of her ankle, but it was getting better fast. She would be back to it in a few days’ time, and he could go fix his job at the Kaid Ranch.

The cows didn’t moo around him for some reason. This place had never felt so quiet.

Ding!

Maris startled and dropped her cell phone at the text notification.

Ding, ding, ding!

Dread filled her as she read the caller ID name. She’d nicknamed Dallas “Satan” in her phone.

What the hell is this? Satan texted.

She opened up the attachment he’d sent and snorted. It was the selfie of her sitting on the mattress in her wedding dress, gawking at Bryson, who was looking right in the camera like he was daring anyone to start some shit with him. He looked terrifying, and sexy. She looked weird, but meh. That was par for the course of her life.

The next attachment was a rather well edited video of her sliding around on the mattress in the middle of a rooster tail of mud spraying over her dress, the biggest grin on her face, and then it dipped to slow motion as she lifted her middle finger. The last attachment was the picture of her lying spread eagle on the destroyed mattress, wearing the mud-caked wedding dress and the biggest damn smile she’d ever seen on her face.

I got those from an unknown number.

Okay, she couldn’t stop laughing every time he sent something and his nickname came up.

In the pasture, Bryson tossed the last empty bag in the back of the truck and straightened up, standing on the tailgate.

“Did you text Dallas?” she asked at a soft volume, because this was a test. No human man would be able to hear her.

“Maybe,” he called back.

Hmm.

“And how did you get his number?”

He jumped off the tailgate and turned, closed it. “I looked up ‘idiot’ in the phone book.”

Maris pursed her lips against her grin. It was the first time in two days he’d actually said words to her. Progress.

“I was thinking tonight,” she said.

“Tonight what?” he called, hopping into his jacked-up black F350. His window was rolled down where he rested his elbow and glared at her suspiciously.

“A bet is a bet, and I’ve been feeling cooped up. I have a craving for the pot roast at Tap’s. And wine.”

Bryson reached inside the truck, and the window started rolling up as he stared at her.

Feeling helpful, she stood and made her way toward the gate, only limping a little. The chain clinked as she unfastened it, and with a groan of metal, she swung the gate open for him to get out. Once he was through, she closed it again.

When he got out of the rig, she smiled brightly at him. “I made you a present.”

He frowned suspiciously. “What is it?”

Maris pulled the folded drawing she’d made from her back pocket and handed it to him. “I took four drawing classes last year. I mean…mostly I took them because it was called Wine and Draw A Spine, and it was a class where you just got drunk on breakup juice and drew naked men.”

“You drew naked men?”

“Yes, but they weren’t the cute kind,” she explained. “They only got paid twenty bucks to stand in front of a class for two hours butt naked, so it’s not like the instructors were tracking down the cream of the crop.”

Bryson looked scandalized.

“I told you that so you don’t have to be jealous I’ve seen other men’s wienies.”

Bryson blinked slowly and turned his attention to her present, which he unfolded carefully. His eyes went round.

So she explained her art. Pointing to the horrific rendition of a cartoon bear, she said, “That’s a grizzly, and my bubble letters need work, so if you can’t read them, it says, ‘My Hero.’”

“Jesus,” he muttered, folding the paper quickly. The corner of his lip twitched up in a smile, but he cleared his throat and forced a frown again. “I’m busy tonight.”

“Busy takin’ me out, boiiiiii,” she said. “Pay up. You’ve punished me enough over the last few days.”

“You think that’s what I’ve been doing?” he asked, leaning back on the door of his truck.