CHAPTER 33

jackson

A nd another one backed out. Fuck.

Sighing, I sat back in my chair. I ran my hands over my face, needing something to distract me from the all-too-polite email on my computer. I hated the polite emails. I’d rather have a customer cuss me the fuck out than politely let me know they were going with a different supplier.

Fuck. I couldn’t even blame them. Who wanted to butcher cows coming from a dying herd? The liabilities alone were a business nightmare.

A low whine next to me made me drop my hands. Tess scooted closer, her head resting in my lap while those big brown eyes watched me closely.

“Do the math for me, girl?” I asked. Inching back in my chair, I tapped my chest. In an instant, she was up in my lap and laying her head on my shoulder. Teaching her to give hugs had been a silly thing to do, but I liked it. I liked the comfort I found in her. “Tell me how many more customers I can lose before I tank this whole goddamn ranch? ”

The answer was a lot less than I wanted to admit out loud. My numbers were more and more in the red every month, and I didn’t know how to get myself out of it.

A knock on the front door sent Tess scrambling. I barely managed to toss her off me without getting hurt. Who the fuck was at my goddamn door? It was eleven-thirty at night. No one should’ve been knocking on my fucking door.

I checked my phone just in case I missed something from Mickey but nothing. What the fuck?

Another knock had me damn near scowling. The only thing I could think of was West had gotten himself into shit and the Sheriff was here. Which was a whole goddamn mess I didn’t need.

“Fuck, I’m coming,” I yelled after a third, more incessant attempt to get my attention. I snapped my fingers and pointed to the couch. “Tess, back.”

She listened, though her entire body shook with excitement. At least one of us was looking forward to figuring this shit out.

But when I answered the door, seeing West was the last thing I expected. He stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking awkward. He still wore the same clothes and there was dust in his hair like he’d come straight from the stables, which only made me worry.

“Did something happen with the horses?” I demanded. Fuck, that was the last thing I needed.

“What?” His brows came together tight. “No. They’re fine.”

“Don’t tell me something happened with the cows.”

“No, they’re fine. At least, I think they’re fine. I don’t fucking know.”

Then what the fuck did he want?

“Okay,” I replied slowly. “What do you need? It’s late.”

“Is that… is your… fuck ,” he said softly. He shifted uncomfortably and stood a little taller, shoulders squaring off. Please, for the love of God, tonight wasn’t the night for a fucking fight. “Is your offer to stay here still available?”

I stared at him. Had I heard him wrong? Was he actually willing to move out of my stables? I honestly never thought I’d see the day that happened. He was so adamant about avoiding any help I offered.

His tension and anxiety visibly increased. Right . I had to put the man out of his misery .

“Yeah, it is,” I told him. Nodding to the small duffel at his feet, I asked, “Is that all you have?”

“I got my truck and my bike,” he said. “But I don’t think you want those in your fucking house.”

“No, I don’t,” I agreed. Still, I couldn’t help myself from glancing down at his bag. He couldn’t have had much in there. A few changes of clothes at most. It would explain the rotating four shirts he had. That thought saddened me. No one deserved to be living out of a bag. And not one that small.

“Don’t start pitying me because I don’t have a house full of shit,” West snapped as if reading my thoughts. “I’m fine the way I am.”

“I never said you weren’t.” But I was planning on buying him more clothes, even if I had to throw them in his room when he wasn’t looking.

“I don’t have guests often,” I admitted as I switched out the sheets. Fuck, I was pretty sure the last person who stayed in my house was my mom. And that was over five years ago.

West stood in the doorway with his hands in his pockets and his bag at his feet. He looked as wildly uncomfortable as I felt inside. This whole dynamic was unexpected.

“Tess listens well,” I rambled, feeling a weird need to fill the silence. “If you let her, she’ll sleep with you, but she’s a bed hog. Snores too.”

“I can sleep on the fucking couch if that’s easier,” West offered.

“It’s fine,” I said as I struggled with the fitted sheet. Why the fuck were they even a goddamn thing when they were so difficult to get on? “It’s not much, but it’ll do.”

The guest bedroom was simple with a bed, a side table, a dresser, and a chair. Thanks to my mom there were about half a dozen yellow throw pillows tossed around the room. Why? I didn’t have a clue. Who the fuck used throw pillows? What was a throw pillow?

“There’s extra blankets in the hall closet,” I continued. “The bathroom is just outside the door. I think you’ll have to grab towels from the closet too. Maybe? I don’t fucking know. I don’t use it. ”

“It’s fine,” he whispered. Could he look any more uncomfortable?

“I get up at five-thirty, but I usually sleep heavy, so just do what you need to in the morning. Help yourself to whatever’s in the kitchen. The coffee is on a timer—”

“I said I’m fine,” West snapped. “Just the room is fine.”

“Okay.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “Well, help yourself. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

“I won’t.”

“I know. Good night, West.”

“Night,” he mumbled so softly I barely heard him as he let me pass.

I was halfway down the hall with Tess on my heels when the door shut quietly. I paused to stare at it, some part of me still in disbelief that West had taken me up on my offer. It took everything I had to not walk right back, knock, and ask. If he wanted me to know, he would’ve said something.

Tess whined, and I glanced down at her. Ears back and big-eyed, she looked as confused as I felt.

“Don’t look at me,” I whispered to my girl. “I’m as surprised as you are.”