The Rogue (Hideaway Springs #3)

13. Tessa

13

J ackson sees him first, running out from under the trees. “Roger!”

I sigh with relief. “Never thought I’d be happy to see that guy,” I mumble.

“There ya are.” Roger hops off a beautiful dark horse that’s getting a little too close for my comfort.

A second horse emerges from the fog, and my chest tightens when I see the cowboy riding it. Levi isn’t as laid-back of a rider as Roger seems to be.

Nope. This is one angry boss heading my way. Each strike of his stallion’s hooves splashes through puddles as he aims toward us.

He stops a few feet from where I’m standing. His scowl like nothing I’ve seen before. And I’ve seen this man angry plenty.

I step back, turning to the less intimidating of the two men rescuing us. “Hey, Rog. What uh…what happened? We turned around, and you were gone.”

He smirks. “Pretty sure that’s my line, Red.”

Red? I frown with disgust. “Well, thanks for coming. But we’re fine,” I chirp like I had it all under control .

Roger glances at his boss. “Not for long.” He extends a hand to Jackson. “Come on, Champ, let’s get you dry.”

“I can get him dry myself.” I move to step between them but jump back as Roger’s horse inches toward me. “Just uh…point us in the right direction, and we’ll be back in no time.”

Levi hops off his horse. His blue eyes darken as he closes the distance. I’m prepared for this. But then he turns the same glare at his son. And that, I was not prepared for.

My boots drag me in front of him and I put a hand on his chest. “Indie, you’ve got to teach this kid to live a little. It took a whole lot of arm twisting to get him to run off with me today.”

“Tessa,” the kid whispers behind me.

Levi takes another step, crowding my space. “Move.”

Well, I tried . I step aside.

Levi lifts Jackson onto Rogers's dark horse and secures him. “When you get home, I want you to hop in the shower, alright? Roger will take you back there.”

“What about Tessa?” I give the kid a grin as he looks my way.

“She’ll be back soon.”

Roger hops behind the kid, and they take off, disappearing behind the low fog.

The buckles on Levi's boots clatter with each step as he stalks back toward me. My boots are muddy, my clothes ruined, and if I weren’t already shivering from my wet skin and hair, the look on Levi’s face would do the trick.

I glance around me. “So, is this where you bury your nannies?” I perk my brows. “Or am I your first?”

I blink up when the rain picks up again. Levi curses and shifts direction, grabbing the reins. “Come here.”

I back up. “Um, no. I’ll just follow you. It’s fine. ”

Levi hops on expertly and extends his hand. “You’re getting on my horse. And then you and I are going to have a little chat about your employment.”

“As tempting as that is…” I start down the same path they came from and call out over the rain. “I’ll pass.”

I don’t make it far before I’m pulled off my feet. Levi’s strong arm scoops me up by my waist. I screech as I swing my leg over for some balance on the moving horse.

“Hold on to me.”

He doesn’t need to ask twice. My flailing arms wrap around his body, and holy crap, the upper strength of this man. I’m no Charlie. I’ve got at least a foot on her and slightly more body fat, but man, this cowboy made me feel like a toothpick just now.

“Your horse doesn’t like me.” If the way it glanced back and nearly wiggled me off was any indication.

“She was just startled. Horses need to be prepped for two riders. She didn’t expect it.” He flexes his arm and rolls his shoulder back.

Maybe I’m not that light after all.

I pull tighter against him, tucking my face between his shoulder blades to shield myself from the sharp drops falling from the sky. Removing his hat, he reaches back and places it over my head.

Indie’s hat.

Our horse finds a steady, even pace, and I relax, soaking up the breeze, the thrill. And the man I can hold close for as long as he’ll let me.

I reach up to adjust and hold the hat in place. I wonder if I can keep it after he fires me today.

Levi settles the horse back in her stall, then adds a fresh stack of hay. He pets her nose and mutters something that sounds like a praise.

I wonder if that’s Willow.

The rain stopped, and I’m less shivery as the summer heat slowly returns. Especially with the blanket Levi wrapped around me when we got to the stables. The one he grabbed from behind a cabin door labeled the Wrangler Room .

Blue eyes turn to me, but instead of backing away, I move toward him. “Before you start—”

Gripping my waist with both hands, he lifts and sits me on a wooden table near the haystack and leans in. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t fire you for making my kid lie to me last night.”

I blink and swallow hard.

Shoot. Wasn’t expecting that.

My lips part to respond, and his gaze drops to them. “I don’t have one.”

“The correct answer is there is no good reason.”

“I didn’t realize it was a pop quiz.”

His jaw ticks and it’s clear he’s waiting for me to explain. When my eyes start to burn, I give in. I meet his heated glare with one of my own. “I made a mistake. I told you Jackson’s safe with me. He’s not.”

He pulls back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I crashed.” I shake my head vigorously. “Not the car. Crashed as in my body just shut down. It was a long day, I was tired and I…”

“Tess…” He doesn’t need to hear the end of that as much as I don’t want to say it out loud.

“I dozed off, I should have pulled over or called you or something, but—”

“Tessa. ”

I meet his eyes, surprised to find them soft. “You were right—okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“It happens.”

“It’s not like I—wait, what?”

“I know you were tired. It happens. No one was hurt.”

“I don’t understand. You just threatened to fire me. You should. Levi, I could have—”

“You didn’t .”

“Then why are you mad?”

His jaw sets and his scowl is back. “You asked him to lie to me.”

Oh. “That wasn’t cool, was it?” I bite my lip, drawing his irritated gaze to it.

“No, Tess. It wasn’t. Look, I know you’re no saint. You’re new at this. Asking a kid to lie to his parents is a big no. Asking Jackson to lie to me ? That's a downright felony in my book.”

I throw my hands in the air. “Then put me away, Sheriff. Oh, that’s right. You don’t have a badge. You don’t make the law. You just walk around town with a chip on your shoulder.”

“Only when you’re around,” he mutters.

I shove his chest but it’s rock solid. “Then don’t have me around. And it was a little creepy, you watching me sleep this morning.”

“Explains why you slept like a baby.”

“And for your information, I was going to tell you about the car incident. I just wanted you to hear it from me.”

“Right, because you’re so good with words.” He runs a hand over his face like he doesn’t know what to do with me.

“You don’t have to like me,” I growl, pressing a finger to his chest. “It’s enough that your kid does. And I happen to really like him. Which is important. Probably.”

He stares at me, and I’m not certain that he’s entirely with me .

“So yeah, if Wiggles and I want to keep secrets, that’s our prerogative. Weren’t you ever a kid? Parents are meant to be lied to.”

“Not this parent,” he roars, making me flinch back.

He turns away, seeming to settle himself. “Jackson’s mom isn’t allowed to see him. Not without me or some other supervision. For years without my knowledge, she’d sneak in a visit with him, would pull him out of school for a day, and make him tell me all kinds of lies.”

He runs a hand through his hair, and I resist the urge to catch it in mine.

“I’m not getting into it right now, but she’s done enough damage with that kid for me to ever let her near him again.”

“I’m so sorry.” My apology is breathy and broken, and I’m not even sure what it's for. What he’s been through or how I made it worse.

He crosses to the opposite side of the stalls, and while I thought I’d be relieved for the space, I miss the closeness.

“I didn’t like grilling him. I didn’t like looking at him like he might be hiding something from me. It took us a while to get there, but we trust each other now. I trust that he’ll always come to me and he trusts that I’ll always be there when he does. So yeah, it’s important, Tessa.”

There's a stabbing pain in my chest. Like I'd destroyed something so precious for these two. Like I'm no better than her. I didn't realize until now that I wanted to be everything she wasn't for Jackson.

Sucking in a breath, I drop my head with a small nod. “No lies. Got it.”