If you don't like the weather in Texas, they said, just give it a minute. Well, I didn't like the weather, and I didn't like Texas. And whoever came up with that bit of advice was a liar because the heat had been unrelenting, the index soaring well into the hundreds for two weeks straight without a single break.
It was excruciating.
I was still seething from my exchange with Kylie when I stepped outside. A horse, a jet black Mustang was losing its shit in the corral, kicking up a dust storm and making the air thick and cloudy.
Jake Waites stood with his back to the horse, the fence between us. He'd taken the chaps off, and was leaning up against the fence, the heel of his boot casually hooked on the lowest rung.
And he was watching me.
I ignored him. I dropped the heavy knee high rubber boots to the dirt. I kicked off a flip flop, jammed it into the back pocket of my cutoffs and hopped on one foot, struggling to get the damned thing on while standing up.
Normally, I used the bench inside the barn to change footwear, but I was afraid that Kylie would return for round two if I stayed.
Stupid girl.
Once I got the left foot in, I repeated the motions for the right. It was a little harder to hop in the boot and I struggled quite a bit before it finally gave.
Jake watched me the whole damned time.
"Layla," he said to me, his eyes greener than the acres of grass behind him. "I love the way your name rolls off my tongue." He rested his tanned forearms on the fence and leaned closer, grinning in a way that made my heart catch in my throat and said it again. Slower this time, as if to demonstrate: Lay-Lah.
I turned my back on him and grabbed my gloves.
He started whistling that damned song.
"Oh, that's really original," I said, turning to face him. I rolled my eyes, long, slow, and exaggerated. "No one's ever tried that one before."
He smiled, revealing straight white teeth and a single dimple on his left cheek. Somewhere in the heavens, angels must've been weeping with envy.
"It made you look at me, didn't it?"
I made a show of looking at the clock before walking away.
He deftly jumped the fence and followed. "I suspected it was you the first time we met you know."
"Leave me alone."
"Layla Danner, the prettiest girl in all of Texas."
"Fat good it does me."
"Are you pissed that I know your name now?"
I stopped at the gate of the pigsty. "It's not like it's a state secret. If you really wanted to know, all you had to do was ask Jimmy," I said, referring to the ranch manager.
"So why didn't you save me the trouble and tell me yourself when I asked?"
I tied my sweat dampened hair into a ponytail. "Because I'm not interested in you." To drive the point home, I turned my back, opened the gate, and let myself in. I swear, it was so hot, the pigs already smelled like bacon.
I gave the nearest hog a jab with my shovel. It screeched in protest and lumbered away, happily collapsing into a puddle of mud. I got to my mucking.
He leaned against the fence again. "See," he said, taking his time. "Now you're lying."
I smiled because he couldn't see me. I heard the flick of a lighter and moments later, smelled cigarette smoke. "Go do that somewhere else. It's disgusting."
A flash of displeasure flashed across his face. So quick I wondered if I'd imagined it. He caught my gaze, held it, took a long drag, and exhaled.
"So Layla, how about I take you out for a drive after you're done here?"
I tossed a shovel load of pig shit onto the heap, then stopped. I glanced at him, pointedly looked at his cigarette, then back at his face again. "Really?"
He kept a straight face, but his eyes were glittering with good humor. Watching me out of the corner of his eye, he took another drag. And exhaled. "Really," he said.
I laughed a humorless laugh and shook my head. "No thanks."
He watched me for a minute.
"It's hot at shit, ain't it?" he asked.
I didn't reply.
"Do you like shoveling shit in this heat Layla?"
"I'd rather dig my eyeballs out with a plastic spoon, but I need the money."
"For what?"
"College."
"College huh? You're gonna have to shovel a lot of shit to pay for that."
"I'll figure it out."
He quietly enjoyed the rest of his cigarette. He put it out against the sole of his boot and to his credit, slipped the butt into the back pocket of his jeans. "I'll tell you what Layla," he said.
I wiped sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand and looked at him expectantly.
"Are you a betting kind of girl?"
I considered. "Depends on the terms."
"I'll bet I can make you smile."
I almost did, but kept my gaze level on him and even managed to raise an eyebrow.
"If I win..." he said slowly. "You're coming out with me."
"And if I win?"
"I'll muck the sties for the rest of the week," he said.
I sized him up. Smiling, beautiful, and more charming than the devil himself. Cocky as all hell. Definitely could stand to be knocked down a peg or two. Charming or not, I was made of stronger stuff than the rest of those girls.
"The goats too," I said.
"Done."
"Five minutes," I said. "You get five minutes to try and make me smile."
"I only need two."
I bit my lip. Hard.
"Aw come on now, you're gonna make it too easy."
I wanted to look away, I really did, but he was just so beautiful standing there with the sun shining on him just so like that, as if the gods adored him and always wanted him to shine... It was hypnotizing. I was mesmerized.
I was going to lose.
His mouth twitched, and then he grinned. "I'm drawing it out," he explained. "Makes victory all that much sweeter."
I couldn't do anything but stare at him.
He opened his mouth to speak but Rodriguez called out from behind him. "Waites! Get your ass over here!"
We turned in time to see the stallion bolt. He cursed and ran, his body lightning quick and graceful, long legs pumping against the dust.
I watched him go, watched him swing his body over the fence. Watched him take the ropes from Rodriguez without stopping. Watched him leap up onto a saddled horse and go galloping after his charge, into the orange sunset.
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