6. Ash

Jack woke me up by threatening to throw a bucket of ice-cold water over my head. I didn’t believe him until I saw the bucket in his hand.

After mucking out the stalls, I start to bring in some fresh hay for the horses. Just as I think I’m getting the hang of it, the hay bale breaks in half and separates. I start to scoop it all up when I catch a glimpse of Kayla through the kitchen window.

She looks so pretty with her hair down. Until now I’ve only seen it up in a ponytail or a bun. There’s something about her disheveled, gorgeous hair caressing her shoulders that makes me want to run my hands through it.

I shake the thought out of my head as I notice the crease in her forehead. Something’s wrong.

Following Kayla’s line of sight, I see that she’s watching Jack pack a bag.

I decide to walk over to the house and see what’s going on.

Kayla is talking to Jack when I walk in. “He always does this. He just expects us to drop everything for him.”

I hear Jack sigh. “I know that better than anyone.”

I’m stuck between wanting to listen and knowing I should go back outside.

“I know. I know,” Kayla scoffs. “I just feel bad that he’s making you go. If anything, I should go, and you can stay here with Pretty Boy.”

Jack chuckles.

I make loud, exaggerated steps to make it seem like I just entered the house, and enter the kitchen. “Hey, everything okay in here?”

Kayla groans and storms past me, hitting my shoulder on her way through.

Jack rolls his eyes. “Sorry about her. A lot of deep-rooted issues there.”

I raise an eyebrow but don’t push him on it.

He turns to his bag. “My dad broke his arm and specifically asked that I come and help, so it’ll just be you and Kayla for a little while.”

I try my best not to smile at the thought of us two alone, but it’s hard.

Jack whips his body around as if reading my mind. “Don’t even think about it.”

I laugh as he glares at me, and put my hands up in surrender. “I’d be an idiot to get on her bad side.”

He chuckles. “You’re right about that.”

Once Jack is packed, he walks me through the jobs he’ll need me to help Kayla with while he’s gone.

By dinnertime, Kayla is driving Jack to the airport. I take the time to relax and catch up on the sports games I’ve missed. I feel myself drifting off to sleep, and halfway through the night I drag myself to bed.

The bed jostles, and I groan.

“Up!”

I pull the blanket over my head.

The bed jostles again. “Up.”

Even though her voice is angrier, I curl in, clinging to sleep. In my dream, I’m winning the championship. I just want to stay there for another minute.

In the back of my mind, I know it’s Kayla waking me up. I’m excited to be left alone with her, but the warm bed is so comfortable.

Suddenly, I’m hit with a wave of cold air and an even colder wave of water.

I spring out of bed. “What the hell?” I shake my head like a dog, and I swear ice flies out.

Kayla stands in front of me with a scowl on her face. “I’ve been trying to wake you up for ten minutes. I usually give Jack two. Now dry off and get your butt into gear.”

My entire body trembles as I frantically search for a towel.

She taps her foot impatiently. “Meet me downstairs as soon as you’re dry. I know Jack coddled you, but it’s time to learn what real hard work is. It’s time for you to step it up.”

Before I can argue with her, she turns on her heel and storms out of the room.

I don’t know what I did to annoy her, but I’m determined to get on her good side.

I dry off and get dressed, shaking my head. I can’t believe she did that.

Before I even hit the bottom step, Kayla starts rattling off instructions. Jack already ran me through some of it, but apparently his sister has a very specific way she likes things done.

She walks me over to the broken-down cabins.

I raise an eyebrow. “Were you hoping for some alone time with me? You know we have this entire place to ourselves, and you could’ve just asked nicely?”

She rolls her eyes. “Get over yourself.” She sighs as she assesses the rubble in front of us. “I want to restore the cabins. I want to make this a proper ranch again. People used to be able to stay here and go for trail rides and have campfires.” She gestures to a few of the spots around us.

I rub my hands together. “Let’s get to it.”

She narrows her eyes, and my body heats up. I feel like she’s trying to see into my soul or something.

We get to work on the cabins, but after a few hours Kayla sends me back to the ranch to start on a long list of chores.

As I slowly trudge through the list, I feel like I’m taking three steps forward and two steps back. I keep making mistakes, and I’m painfully aware that Kayla is watching me. This is going to be a long couple of weeks.