Chapter Seven

CAYDEN

I don’t saddle Sadie. There’s no need, I can ride bareback better than saddled anyway. There are four possible trails Hadley could’ve taken, and I have no clue which one she would go on. My gut says follow the harder one, because she would want me to not think she went that way, but then I wonder if she wouldn’t take the beginner one, thinking I would think she is on the advanced one.

Then, there are the two in the middle.

I adjust my balance, holding Sadie’s mane. “Which way girl? Where did she go? Show me the way.”

I give her the reins and she goes to the path in the middle. Neither of those are what I would’ve chosen.

But as we move through the trees, I see Hadley, her back straight, head lifted toward the sky, and hands out to the side—not even holding Max’s reins as he walks along.

The trust between those two is fucking breathtaking.

I know it well. My horse Superman and I were that way. I didn’t even have to think, he would just move the way I needed.

Sadie is a great mare, but nothing like the bond I had with my first horse.

I move carefully, not wanting to spook her or Max while she doesn’t have control. I clear my throat and pull Sadie back a little. Hadley turns, her eyes flashing with surprise and then her head falls back.

I grin and make my way toward her. “Found you, Cowgirl.”

“I am not a cowgirl.”

I shrug. “It’s what my stepdad calls my mom, guess it stuck.”

“That’s what he calls her? ”

“It’s his nickname for her. My mom was a cowgirl through and through.”

“I guess growing up in Tennessee would do that.”

I laugh. “She barrel raced, can rope better than most ranch hands, and helps on our farm.”

“My mother never wanted to run a farm, but Arrowood Farms kind of negated her hopes there,” Hadley smiles and my chest tightens. “I love it. I loved getting up in the morning, helping with the chores, and then at night I got to ride.”

When she’s like this, unguarded and open, it’s hard to breathe. If she knew half of what she does to me, she’d own my world and I can’t have that. Not when I need her to concede on the case so I have a world left.

While I never expected to find her here today, I need to make up for the complete fuck up that was last night. I never should’ve got drunk, slept with her, and said things she didn’t need to know…all of that was a mistake. All of that was not part of the plan.

Now I need to get back to that plan.

“See how much we are the same?”

She raises a brow at that. “Because we both grew up on a farm?”

“And now we’re both lawyers. I know it’s cold there in my shadow, but you’re not bad.”

“Not bad?” Her voice rises. “I am ten times better than you think. I should’ve beaten you at every turn, but you’re just a better liar than I am.”

“I think you meant to say lawyer. I am a better lawyer than you are. Which is why I won and you didn’t.”

She shakes her head, huffing. “You’re such an asshole.”

“Never denied that, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me that. I am not your sweetheart, love, babe, sugar, any of that. Got it?”

I raise my hands. “I hear you loud and clear.”

Her green eyes go to my legs. “Really? Bareback?”

“You had a head start. I use my advantages where I can.”

“What do you want, Cayden? You want me to give you an out on the case? To say after a passionate mistake that you can screw my clients over after your associate made the mistake? Not going to happen.”

I didn’t think it would. “It would’ve been the generous thing to do. ”

“Yes, it would and I’m not that generous. Not when I have a career that I have to work ten times harder to be successful at. You’re part of the good ol’ boy club who got to pull case files and research, while I was fit to bring coffee and write reports during my internship.”

“I brought just as much coffee as you,” I remind her.

“Until you didn’t.”

And then, Hadley kicks Max’s flanks and takes off at a trot. I let her go because while I’m great bareback, trotting is fucking painful, which she probably knows and why she did it.

“Come on Sadie, we’ll find another way.”

* * * *

When I get back to my apartment, I shower, grab an apple, and sit down to study this contract. As many times as I’ve looked at it, I feel like I’m missing something. Some loophole to work in my favor where we can back out of the deal without penalty.

As I’m reading through, my head swimming from the last twenty-four hours, my phone rings, flashing my twin brother’s name.

“Hey fuckhead,” I answer.

“What up, dickbag?”

“Working. You?”

Logan laughs. “It’s the way we are. Which I am going to somehow manage to blame dad for.”

“Which one?”

“Both,” he says and I get it. Our father, the one who took his life, was a workaholic. He based his entire worth on that one thing, how good he was at investing. When it fell apart, he did as well. Then the man who raised us since, who we call dad as well, positioned the family horse ranch to become one of the top producers in the country. People from all over come to Hennington Horse Ranch because we have quality unsurpassed.

Hard work and dedication have been our motto since birth.

“How is the team looking?”

“Good. We’re home this week so I thought we could grab a beer tonight.”

Logan plays for the Yankees. He’s that guy who everyone in this city loves. I can’t go out on a game day and not see my brother’s name plastered on the back of a jersey. Not that the Yankees put names on jerseys, but you know… Yankee fans are one of a kind .

He’s become their second coming of Christ and I’m just lucky enough to have shared a womb with him, as he reminds me each time I bitch about the people in this town not seeing him as the prick he is.

“Can you do that?”

“What? Drink?”

“Leave your house with all the people who love you. I mean, it’s dangerous, Lo. You could be attacked by a rabid fan who wants to have your babies.” I say, as though I’m horrified and worried.

“Fuck off.”

I chuckle. “I’m only sort of kidding.”

“Look, fans know better when we’re home. It’s why I love being in New York. We get to live a little. It’s when we’re in Boston that I want to crawl in a hole and hide.”

“It’s so hard being you,” I toss at him.

“It’s really not.”

“Asshole.”

“That you love,” he reminds me. “Now, want to meet me in Chinatown or SoHo?”

SoHo is where Hadley is. I need to avoid SoHo so that I don’t end up running into her again. Not until I have this case figured out. “Chinatown is fine. We can hit up that restaurant we went to last time.”

“All right. I’ll meet you there at six.”

“See you then.”