Only With Me (Sugarland Creek #4)

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Waylon

J ust as expected, I get three hours of sleep before my phone screams at me.

I go through my routine—put on my work clothes, scarf down a half-toasted bagel, fill up my massive jug with ice water, then head out to the retreat barn. We keep our boarded and guest horses separate, and since Wilder and I are the tour guides, it’s our job to muck the stalls, feed them, and fill their water buckets.

Then I take them out to the pasture so they can graze for a bit before we do our first tour of the day at ten. Our second one isn’t until four, so we take our lunch and do random chores in between.

In the evening, we’ll feed them and refresh their water once more, and then call it a night by six or seven.

Twelve-hour days, six days a week.

The weekend shifts are usually shorter, and we get a full day off each week, but it’s never consistent which one we get.

The days are long and sometimes hot, but I get to ride horses and work with my family. There’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.

Currently, the weather is bearable. It’s a couple weeks until Thanksgiving and has been in the mid-sixties. The mornings and late evenings are cooler, but it beats sweating my ass off in peak summer when it reaches the nineties. Especially while riding in jeans and work boots.

“Howdy.”

My head pops up from where I’m shoveling one of the stalls, amazed that Wilder’s strutting in an hour earlier than expected. And he sounds awake and energized.

“Surprised you made it,” I say, returning to my task. “I figured I’d be knocking down your bedroom door to get your ass up.”

“I’m wounded at your accusation, Way-Way,” he drawls, pressing a hand to his chest.

“Stop callin’ me that. And you could barely walk a few hours ago, so forgive me for assumin’ you’d be bitchin’ and moanin’ over a headache.”

“Oh, don’t worry. My head’s killin’ me. I’m just choosin’ to ignore it.”

I chuckle under my breath. “Alright. You can start over there, then. I’m almost done with this row.”

“Aye aye, captain.” With a cocky smirk, he gives me a salute and walks toward the tack room.

I shake my head at his ability to wake up and act normal.

My phone’s been vibrating on and off for the last thirty minutes, so when I finish this stall, I finally check it.

Forty-seven text messages.

What the fuck? I don’t even like forty-seven people.

When I click on my messages, it’s Jake’s horse club group chat that’s blowing up my phone.

Damn, they start early.

I scroll through them talking about someone’s injured horse and asking for updates on how it’s doing. There’s a bunch of thinking of y’all and keep me updated messages. The problem is I have no idea who anyone is except Jake. All I see are random phone numbers, and I don’t recognize any of them.

Since I don’t want to intrude during a vulnerable moment, I’ll wait until Jake introduces me.

At nine-thirty, Wilder and I wrangle up the horses needed for the first trail riding session. When the guests check in at The Lodge, Tripp helps at the registration desk and decides which horse is best for each person based on their experience or knowledge. Then they ride that horse during their entire stay.

“You were at the Twisted Bull last night, weren’t ya?” Gabby asks, smiling at Wilder after my safety and guidelines speech.

“Sure was. But I woulda noticed a beautiful woman like you.” Wilder’s thick drawl makes me roll my eyes.

“My friends and I saw you on the mechanical bull,” she explains, waving to the other three riders. “I was gonna offer you a shot, but you left shortly after.”

Wilder shoots me a death glare as if I’m the reason he didn’t get lucky last night. If he’d pace himself, he could make it to the end of the night without having to be carried out.

“We’ll just haveta plan a do-over, huh? Whaddya doin’ tonight?” Wilder drawls, and I clear my throat to grab his attention.

Wilder holds up his hand, then leans in closer toward Gabby and whispers, “Gimme your number later and we can hook up tonight.”

Gabby grins.

“As I was sayin’…” I drawl, glaring at Wilder. We have a group of four and it’s important I get through everything before we leave. “These are experienced trail horses and know the routes, but in the event yours goes rogue or you get lost, do not panic. Screaming will spook or confuse your horse and squeezing your legs will cue them to run. So it’s crucial you relax and stay calm. There are safety checks every quarter mile, so one of us will reroute to come find you if you’re not with the rest of us. Any questions?”

Everyone shakes their heads and then I begin my demonstration and instruction for getting into the saddle. Most have some experience, so I’m not too worried. It’s Wilder acting like a moron that I have to watch out for.

Exhibit A: Wilder turns completely around in the saddle and faces the guests behind him instead of holding on to the reins and facing forward.

“So Gabby, where ya from?”

“Livin’ in Knoxville right now. I’m a junior at UT.”

My eyes widen, and I chuckle under my breath at how young she is. Probably twenty-one.

“Oh, nice. What’re you studyin’?” Wilder asks—as if he cares.

“Engineering,” she replies.

“Oh shit.” I bark out a laugh, glancing over my shoulder at her and then meeting Wilder’s eyes next to me. “She’s too smart for you.”

“I like me an intelligent lady,” he retorts.

“Yeah, I bet she could teach ya a thing or two.”

Gabby’s three friends giggle.

Wilder finally turns back around and we finish the hour-long tour. We go through the mountains and show them through the retreat before heading back to the barn.

As expected, Wilder gets Gabby’s number, and I take the horses to the grooming stalls to remove their saddles and brush them. Wilder finally joins me fifteen minutes later.

“She’s too young for you,” I tell him.

“You’re just jealous.”

“Of a barely legal chick? Nah, don’t think so.”

“She’s way legal, so fuck off.” Wilder grabs one of the brushes and works on one of the other horses.

“What would y’all even have in common?”

Someone that much younger would be at a different stage in their life. She doesn’t even live around here and is still in college. Though it worked out for my sister with a guy twice her age, I just don’t see how it’d work long-term for most people.

“Exchangin’ orgasms. Or as you said, maybe she could teach me a thing or two. Smart chicks who always have a book in their faces are the freakiest.” He smirks like he’s so clever.

Shaking my head, I drop it because there’s no sense in trying to reason with Wilder.

There never is.

After the six horses are back in their stalls, fed and water buckets refilled, we head to The Lodge for lunch. It’s where the guests and staff can help themselves to a full Southern buffet for brunch and dinner. Since Wilder and I don’t cook, we eat here at least once a day.

“Are you gonna call her?” I ask him when we walk through the reception doors.

“Yep, we’re makin’ plans now,” he says, texting while he walks and nearly runs into a table.

“It’s Sunday family supper night,” I remind him.

Mom and Gramma Grace cook a feast for all the children and grandchildren once a week and we’re required to be there—no exceptions, except maybe death. After we eat dinner and dessert, they get out family albums and spend another couple hours gossiping and scrapbooking. We usually get out of staying so we can finish the evening chores, but I try to stick around at least once a month to make Mom happy.

“So I’ll leave early.” Wilder shrugs.

I scoff. “Good luck with that.”

Once I’ve filled up a plate and grabbed two slices of pie, I find a seat at our usual table. My phone’s been vibrating on and off for ten minutes, so I finally check it.

Unknown #1: I think there’s a nail in Gretchen’s hoof. She’s been limping and not wanting to lunge.

Jake: Get your farrier out there to check. Probably infected.

Unknown #1: I already called. He’s backed up until Wednesday. Everything I look up says to soak the hoof but she won’t let me near it to even look or put it in a bucket of warm water.

Jake: Maybe try with someone else there to keep her calm so you can lift it and check. If it’s bleeding, you need to get it out asap.

Unknown #3: I can come out and help! I’m heading out soon and can swing by.

Unknown #1: Are you sure? I don’t want to burden you.

Unknown #3: Of course! I’ll be there in 20!

Unknown #1: Thank you! You’re a lifesaver.

Although I haven’t a clue who two of these people are, it’s clear they’re a tight-knit group. Since Jake hasn’t introduced me and I don’t have anything to contribute to the conversation, I pocket my phone and finish eating.

“Hey,” Noah enters, grabbing our attention. “Can one of you swing by the stables after lunch? I need an extra hand.”

“I thought that’s why you have ranch hands,” Wilder says between chewing.

Noah ignores him, looking directly at me. “I need help sweeping the training center. Ellie’s coming this afternoon for training, and I wanna make sure it’s in perfect condition.”

Landen’s wife is a pro barrel racer and she’s headed to Vegas after Thanksgiving to compete in the National Finals Rodeo. The whole family’s going to support her and it should be a fun time.

“Yeah, no problem,” I tell her. “I’ll be there in twenty.”

“That’s why you’re my favorite brother,” she drawls, shifting her gaze to Wilder.

“Kiss-ass,” he murmurs.

I chuckle as Noah walks away.

“She just knows which brother to go to that’ll get the job done right.”

“I could sweep that arena in my sleep,” he mocks.

“Probably because you’ve done it hungover more times than not.”

“And it still got done, yeah?”

Shaking my head, I go back to eating and ignoring my messages.

The training center is Noah’s bread and butter. Hell, it brings in a lot of revenue for the ranch in general. It’s where all her professional training takes place. Noah’s well-known in the state and surrounding areas for being a horse whisperer and usually has a two-year waitlist. Mostly because she’s skilled in various pro rodeo events. I don’t think there’s anything she’s not knowledgeable about when it comes to horses. She’s been this way since she was a teenager.

If you didn’t know who she was before meeting her, you’d never guess she was only twenty-six. She’s already married, with a two-year-old daughter.

Fisher, her husband, is the ranch’s farrier and ironically, her ex-boyfriend’s dad.

Landen and Tripp might’ve threatened him a time or two before they confessed to having a secret relationship.

Wilder and I part ways after lunch, him to the retreat barn and me to the ranch. I’m not on this side much, only if there’s a big job that involves extra hands or someone’s out sick.

“Hey, Ruby,” I greet. She’s one of Noah’s ranch hands.

“Hey, whatcha doing?”

I explain where I’m headed and before I can get to where the sweeper is stored, two trucks drive up the gravel road toward the stables. It’s a long driveway, but I think one of them is Ellie. Although she and Landen live on the other side of the ranch, toward the mountains by the lake, she was probably running errands in town.

“Busy afternoon, huh?” I ask.

“Per usual,” she says.

“How’s that boyfriend of yours?” I ask, keeping up a conversation while she follows me to the four-wheelers. The sweeper attaches to the back and then I’ll ride in circles around the arena inside the training center until it’s clean and flat.

“He’s amazing. Great. Perfect .” The stars in her eyes make me laugh.

She finally dumped her loser ex-boyfriend months ago when he refused to propose after six years together and started dating his best friend, Levi. Her ex, Nash, ended up kidnapping her and would’ve killed her had Levi and Tripp not found her in time. Nash shot Levi at the same time Tripp shot Nash in the chest, and then Tripp jumped into the lake to save Ruby before she could drown.

It was a whole scandal.

The town called Tripp a hero and Levi spent months recovering from a gunshot wound.

Considering how crazy in love they are, I wouldn’t be shocked if they get engaged soon.

“And what about you? Thoughts on settling down yet?” Ruby asks when I hop on the four-wheeler.

I get it started and then point to my ear. “Can’t hear ya, sorry!”

“Nice try!” she shouts over the engine, and I back out before she can interrogate me some more.

I dodge the question anytime someone asks me about getting a girlfriend or starting a family.

As if it were that easy.

Chuckling at Ruby’s annoyed expression, I drive over to the sweeper, get it hooked up, then drive across the gravel driveway toward the training center.

Or at least I try to.

One of the trucks that was driving toward the stables nearly runs me over.

“Jesus!” I brake as fast as I can, inches from hitting the hood or flying over it.

Fuck, I was so lost in my head, I didn’t even notice she was driving toward me.

And she is Harlow Fanning—beautiful, young, outgoing.

Her long, golden brown hair is pulled back and her brown eyes catch mine.

One of my sister’s clients.

Over a decade younger than me.

And my ex-girlfriend’s little sister.