7. Kayla

Ikeep an eye on Ash as he goes through the list I gave him. I can’t help but laugh as he fumbles with each task. I thought hockey players were meant to be good with their hands.

A lot of the chores are straightforward, like chopping wood. Yet, he manages to almost chop off his own foot. I take over at that point — I can’t afford to be running this ranch by myself.

Ash busies himself with the other tasks.

I catch myself staring at his toned arms and sculpted butt one too many times, and I mentally scold myself.

Later in the day, Ash comes over and throws the piece of paper at me.

I scan through the list to see if he’s done it all.

I mentally tick off all the tasks, smiling when I think of the hay fields. I nearly died of laughter when he was baling the hay.

As amusing as it was, I’m laughing to cover up the fact that I’m definitely attracted to Ash. The more time I spend with him, the harder it is to deny. It doesn’t help that he had his muscled arms out on display today. I bite my lip. I really shouldn’t be thinking about him like that.

If I’m being honest, it’s been a while since I’ve been with a guy. It’s slim pickings in Camarillo Plains, and there’s only a few times a year that we tend to get new people swinging by.

I know my attraction to Ash is purely physical, though, because when he speaks, I want to strangle him. I try to push down any thoughts of what could potentially happen between us, but it doesn’t work.

Who’s to say I’m his type, anyway? According to Jack, Ash is always seen with supermodels, actresses, and ridiculously good-looking women.

I think back through my dating history. For all my shit-talking about sports guys, I’ve been with a couple. I like to think it’s only because the dating pool here is ridiculously small. There weren’t really cliques here either because there’s not enough people to form them.

Since taking over the ranch, there haven’t been too many men because I’m usually too tired to go out.

My best friend Izzy is always trying to get me to come to the local bar and socialize, but it’s exhausting co-owning a ranch. I’ve been meaning to update her on everything that’s going on, but I haven’t had the chance.

Ash clears his throat, bringing me back to the list in my hands.

He smirks. “All good, boss?”

Apparently I’ve been staring at his body while lost in thought. His eyes flicker from my eyes to my lips, and my heart skips.

I force a smile, hating that he has this effect on me. “I think you’ve had enough humiliation for one day. Dismissed.”

He gives me a mock salute as he makes his way to the loft.

I find myself watching his butt as he walks. I shake my head and turn around. I need to snap out of this.