Rodeo Christmas at Evergreen Ranch (Gold Valley #13)(115)

“Jericho, do you always just repeat what women say? Because if so, I find it hard to believe that you have such good luck with them.”

“Women don’t gravitate to me for my conversational skills,” he said.

A streak of color flooded her cheeks. And he would be a fool to read anything into that.

“I don’t really care why women seek out your...company. I’m not seeking your company out. I’m leaving. I got a job.”

“You...” He realized he was about to say you got a job. “Where?”

“Up near Portland.”

“What are you going to do? Work at one of those assy coffee shops that only serves drinks in one size? And sells more macho than coffee?”

“It’s not in the city. It’s a ranch on the outskirts. An equine facility. I got a job there as a trainer.”

“Sight unseen?”

“Yes.”

“What the hell is this place called?”

“None of your business.”

“Does your father know?”

“My father is too busy with... Well, he seems to have taken to my brothers marrying into the Maxfield family with a lot of enthusiasm.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

He knew what it was supposed to mean. Cash Cooper had carried on a youthful affair with Lucinda Maxfield years ago. Time and misunderstandings had separated them. But since her marriage to James had fallen apart, and Cash’s wife had passed, he suspected the two of them had rekindled things.

And it seemed Honey suspected it too.

“Apparently the Maxfield women are universally irresistible to the men in my family.” She shook her head. “But I don’t want to spend my Christmas at Maxfield Vineyards. I don’t want to be part of their fancy ass...whatever. I don’t want you to own Cowboy Wines. I want everything to go back to the way it was. But it isn’t going to. Which means I’m going to take myself off. I got a place. And I really like... I really like Donovan.”

“Who’s Donovan?” he asked, eyes narrowing. Jackson and Creed weren’t currently in residence, which meant that it was up to him to make sure she wasn’t doing anything dumbass.

Honey was open; she was honest to a near fault. If the thought was in her head, it was out of her mouth just as quick.

The fact that she’d been keeping secrets set off big loud alarm bells.

“He owns the equine facility that I’m going to,” she said, sniffing loudly. “And I’ve been talking with him on an app.”

His stomach went tight. “Explain.”

“Well, if you must know, I met him on a dating app.”

“You met a guy that you’re going to go work for on a dating app?”

“Yes.”

“This is an HR violation waiting to happen.”

“I think he might be HR.”

“All the more reason for you to turn tail and run. This doesn’t sound like a safe situation at all.”

“I’m not a child, Jericho. And anyway, I’m going up there with the express intention of violating HR mandates.”

“Hell no.” Anger burned in his gut. Honey might not be for him. He knew she wasn’t. But even so, he was not going to let Honey Cooper run off up north to shack up with some guy who owned an equine facility—that was the most pretentious little bullshit he’d ever heard—and...start sleeping with him immediately. The very idea made him see red.

“No,” he said. “You are not doing that. You are staying here.”

“It may shock you to learn, Jericho, that you don’t get to control my life. You don’t get to tell me what to do. You don’t even get the tiniest say in what I do with my time. Because it isn’t your business.”

“You are my business, Honey Cooper, whether you like it or not.”

She rounded on him, her expression a fury. “You’re not my brother, asshole. You’re not my boss, and it isn’t your decision. I’m leaving. I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ve got everything packed up.”

“That’s a problem, because I’m also leaving tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a you problem.”

“Honey...”

“No,” she said. “I’m out. I should’ve been the first in line to buy the winery. My father never consulted me. You never considered it. You never considered my feelings at all. Acting concerned for me now, when you bought out my family’s winery without thinking that I might want to...”

“I didn’t realize Cash didn’t consult you.” He felt slightly guilty about saying that, because Jackson had basically told him that Honey wouldn’t be happy about the decision. And he’d chosen to ignore that. He’d chosen to go ahead with it, because it was what he wanted. There wasn’t a whole lot in this world that he could claim as a legacy. His mother was dead; his father had never wanted much of anything to do with him—so he’d thought. Cowboy Wines was the closest thing he had to a family anything. The Coopers were the closest thing he had to a family.

Which meant that getting a piece of it had mattered to him. And when Cash had wanted out...

He never mentioned the possibility of selling it to Honey. It wasn’t like he had taken it out from under her deliberately. And she hadn’t said anything, not a damn thing, in the time since.