I bucked Derek off of me and tried to scramble back to my feet, but he grabbed a fistful of my shirt and a loud rip sounded. There went one of my favorite t-shirts. It was a goner.
I would’ve ripped right through it and gotten away, but Kai and Dustin had picked that moment to join in. Kai kneed me on the outside of my thigh, causing a lightning bolt of pain to shoot through my body. I cried out in anger, but Dustin’s fist to my nose cut off the sound. They pulled me back and slammed me up against a locker, pinning both of my hands.
“You don’t belong here, Oakie.” Derek stood panting in front of me. Somehow, during all of that commotion, he’d gotten a fat lip. He dabbed at it with his fingers and then glowered at me. “You’re going to pay for that.”
I was pretty sure I looked worse for wear than him, but that didn’t matter to a kid like Derek. I’d been right when I’d written him off as just another Liam Paine. It was all about him. This world was built to revolve around him. So what if I had nothing and he had everything? Or so what that I didn’t even want to be in Blue River to start with? He needed to rub my misery in my face.
Derek nodded at each of his buddies and they gripped my hands even tighter. Running his fingers over his knuckles, he grinned at me and then wound up. With his fist aimed at my face, I swore to myself that I wasn’t going to flinch. Not even a tiny bit. I’d take that punch like a man.
Someone had to teach Derek how to act like one.
But the punch never came. Instead, there was a hissing noise and suddenly Derek was clutching his hands over his eyes and screaming words that would’ve gotten him a year’s worth of repainting at the ranch. Cassidy came into view, wearing a furious expression as she held up a little pink canister. She swung it toward Kai and Dustin, too, her movements threatening.
“If you don’t want a face full of pepper-spray, I’d suggest get your hands off of Graham and get out of here,” she said in a low voice. A spark of pride lit inside my chest at the sight of her looking so completely fierce. That girl could really hold her own. “Or better yet, I can dig out the taser my daddy makes me carry everywhere I go. Your choice.”
Those boys didn’t need telling twice. Immediately, they dropped their grip on my arms, ran to a spitting-angry Derek, and hauled him away. When they were finally out of sight, the last of the adrenaline seem to seep from my veins. I sunk down to the ground, feeling every painful inch of my body.
“Graham!” Cassidy rushed to my side, kneeling on the floor next to me. She reached for my face and then hesitated. “Does it hurt?”
I tried to smile to reassure her, but that hurt, too. “Nope. Not at all.”
She arched a single brow at me. “Liar.”
Yep, I was lying. But none of that mattered, because when Cassidy leaned over me, taking my face in her hands to inspect it, all the pain seemed to melt away. I got to watch her eyes carefully scan my face over for injuries, sympathy welling up in those blue irises. She winced when she saw the slight swelling on my cheek and the bridge of my nose.
“I can’t believe they attacked you like that. Those jerks. Just wait until I tell Principal Allen about this. Derek’s going to have to answer for what he did. I bet he gets kicked off the football team. It would serve him right.”
I grabbed her hand and held it gently. “Don’t. I don’t want any more drama. Just the fact that you believe that I didn’t start that fight means everything.”
She sat back on her heels and frowned at me. “Of course you didn’t start that fight. I know you better than that.”
Anyone else in this school would’ve gone straight to the conclusion that an Oakie like me had started the fight. Especially when it came to Derek Cook and his buddies. I’d seen it happen. Last year, Rhett had been jumped under the stadium bleachers by some of his fellow seniors. Joke was on them. He broke one guy’s nose, fractured someone’s hand, and sent them all crying back to their mommas. He’d gotten a one-week suspension—all for defending himself. That was the life of an Oakie. But Cassidy hadn’t jumped straight to blame. She believed me. The knowledge made my chest warm.
She looked so pretty, with her hair just a little messy and her eyes shining with emotion. I couldn’t look away. Reaching up, I placed my hand against her cheek. She inhaled sharply but didn’t move away. Her skin was unbelievably soft under the pad of my thumb as I stroked it across her cheekbone. The way her pink lips parted in response brought the fire within my gut roaring back to life.
“Did you really just burst in here and save me with your little pink can of pepper-spray?” I asked hoarsely.
Her cheeks reddened and she laughed. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
“That’s my kind of woman.”
I swallowed, suddenly very distracted by the tantalizing way she’d pulled in her lower lip between her teeth. Despite the pounding ache in my head, everything inside of me wanted to press my mouth against hers and feel her curves against my body. I wanted to bury my face in the soft strands of her hair and leave a trail of hot kisses down the curve of her neck and just above the collar of her v-neck shirt.
I could feel myself moving toward her. She held completely still, her breath coming in and out at a faster pace. My gaze flicked up to hers and my stomach jolted when I saw her staring at my mouth with an equally hungry look in her eyes.
We were doing this. I was doing this. She wanted me. I wanted her. There was no use fighting it.
It was just my luck that at that very moment, footsteps echoed in the hallway, heading our way. Cassidy jerked her head away just as Matty’s blond head came into view. He wore a white tank top and athletic shorts, his hair still wet from an after-practice shower.
“We got to hit the road,” he said, holding up his keys. “Eric got the new mare to cooperate on a line and we’re going to try a saddle on her tonight. Ken wants you there.” His excited smile faded away fast as he got a look at my face. “Dude, what happened?”
“Just wrong place at the wrong time,” I mumbled.
Cassidy hopped up and offered me a hand. I took it and stifled a groan as the aching muscles in my back started screaming. There was a rough night of sleep ahead of me.
“Looks like a shiner-in-the-making,” Matty said seriously, studying my face. “Ken’s not going to like this. You know he doesn’t like us fighting. Fighting doesn’t solve any problems.”
I tolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah.”
As I picked up the scattered camera equipment, I growled some words that I was pretty sure neither of them could understand. It was one thing for Matty to bust in on me nearly making out with Cassidy, but it was another thing to lecture me in front of her. All he needed to do was drive me home. He didn’t need to act like a mini Ken all the time.
“Come on, I want to see how Pipa handles the saddle,” I said, urging him to join me in walking down the hallway.
Cassidy kept pace with us, that pink can of pepper-spray still held tightly in her fist.
“You chose the name Pipa?” she asked, looking over at me.
I nodded and silently met her eye. Slowly, a proud smile stretched fully across her lips. It’d been a no-brainer. Pipa was the perfect name for that mare and the perfect girl had come up with it. Of course, I would choose it.
I might have been an Oakie, but even I knew a good thing when I saw it.
Chapter Eighteen
Cassidy
I slid across the kitchen floor in my socks as I rushed to pick up my car keys. There they were, on the counter beside my Hello Kitty coffee mug. Snatching them up, I turned to grab my shoes and then let out a high-pitched squeak when I spotted my dad. He was leaning against the wall, silently sipping his morning cup of coffee. I could’ve sworn he was still in bed. He’d worked another late shift last night. I’d planned to leave him a note before I headed out, but I guessed that wouldn’t be necessary.
“Morning, Dad,” I said breathlessly.
He studied me over the rim of his cup, his expression flat. His hair was a little messy from j
ust getting out of bed and his t-shirt and pajama pants wrinkly. This was a side of him no one else in town got to see but me. Outside this home, he was already perfectly put together. “Where’re you headed off to at this hour on a Saturday morning?”
“The ranch. Graham’s working his new horse, Pipa, and he invited me to come watch.”
The text was probably still up on the phone screen in my pocket. Graham and I had been texting nonstop since Thursday. It’d started when I’d first reached out to him to see if he was doing okay after his run-in with Derek. He’d said Ken and Mary had believed him that it wasn’t his fault and he hadn’t gotten in any trouble. That’d been a huge relief. I’d been worried about him. And then after that, we’d just started chatting about everything else we could think about: music, movies, school, and horses.
I’d fallen asleep last night with my phone in my hands, waiting for Graham’s next text message. It had come in the form of an invitation this morning to come see his gorgeous horse. It wasn’t like a date or anything, so there was no risk of breaking my promise to Hannah that I’d wait until after the project to look into how I felt about Graham. It was just two people hanging out. That was it.
“You’re spending a lot of time with that boy.” Dad wrapped his hands around his mug and stared hard at me. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Yes, Daddy.” I rushed across the kitchen to give him a kiss on his unshaven cheek. “Graham is great. I honestly think you’d like him, if you knew him better.”
“Hmm. Just be smart, okay? Don’t be forgetting who you are.”
He had a protective gleam in his eye as he waved goodbye to me. I shut the door behind me and hopped into my car, ready to get on the road. I knew Dad was only looking out for me, but the suggestion that being around Graham would make me forget myself felt kind of unfair. Graham was always being judged. He didn’t deserve that. He deserved a second chance.
True, Graham and the other boys at the ranch didn’t exactly have the best reputations, but I’d spent enough time with them now to know that they were just like any of the other boys at school. Except some of them might have had a few more obstacles in their lives. I admired Graham for what he’d been able to rise above. He was incredibly strong. And I knew he wouldn’t admit it, but he was actually very sweet. The more time we spent together, the more that mask of his slipped further down, revealing the real him. I liked the real Graham. Dad would, too, eventually.
It didn’t take long to arrive at my destination. I parked my car near the farmhouse and quickly made my way back to the same corral from the other day. Rounding the barn, my breath hitched in my lungs as I caught sight of Graham standing in the middle of the fenced ring, holding a lead line and urging Pipa forward into a trot. His jeans hugged his hips just right, his black t-shirt with the cut off sleeves revealing the sharp cut of the muscles on his arms. Just seeing him there brought up the memory of sitting in the hallway Thursday, fully certain that Graham was about to kiss me. I’d wanted him to. If it hadn’t been for Matty coming around the corner, I was pretty sure it would’ve happened.
Just thinking about it made my cheeks burn.
We hadn’t talked about that near kiss. Both of us were probably too embarrassed to bring it up. But seeing Graham in person again, and not just in passing in the hallway, was making me think I wouldn’t mind a redo.
“Hey, cowboy.”
I leaned against the wooden fence and whistled. Graham looked over at me, his face lighting up with a smile so handsome that it made my heart jolt. I’d never had anyone look at me like that before. Not even Derek, back when we’d first started dating and before he became a tool. Graham jogged toward me, Pipa following close behind.
“Hey,” he said, trying to suppress his smile.
I could still see a slight purplish tint beneath his left eye. Otherwise, most of the evidence of his run-in with Derek and his buddies was gone. As I studied him, Graham’s gaze flicked appreciatively down to my black jeans and back up to my silver tank top. My outfit wasn’t exactly fit for a day on the ranch, but it made me feel good about myself, and I wanted all the confidence I could get today. Still, my cheeks warmed from catching Graham looking.
“How’s our girl doing?” I asked, swallowing down my nerves.
Graham patted Pipa and pointed to the saddle on her back. “Worlds better. We’ve got her adjusting to a tighter girth. Ken thinks she had some training in the past but wasn’t handled enough and that’s why she got so skittish. It’s all coming back to her now and we should be able to ride her soon.”
“That’s great news.”
I leaned forward and offered Pipa my hand. She brushed her soft, velvety nose against my fingers, searching for a treat and snorting dismissively when she came up empty. Graham stuck a hand in his jean pocket and pulled out a carrot. He handed it to me, our fingers brushing for one skin-tingling moment, and then I offered my hand to Pipa again.
“She’s already getting better with people,” I said, laughing as her warm pink tongue licked my palm for any traces left of the carrot. “I can’t believe how fast you got her to turn around. Seems like just yesterday she was bucking you off.”
Graham groaned and covered his face. “I almost forgot you saw that.”
“That memory will stay with me forever. You, lying flat on your back. The rest of us laughing at how you got your rear handed to you. You deserved it, you know that?”
“I know.” He grimaced at me. “Can you do a guy a favor and forget that ever happened?”
I tapped the side of my chin, drawing out his agony as I pretended to think about it. “Hmm. I suppose. But what do I get in return?”
The way his eyes sparked with heat made my stomach clench. A small smile played on his lips and he leaned closer to me. “What do you want?”
The intensity of his stare was enough to make me giggle nervously. I covered my mouth, wondering what was wrong with me. I was seventeen and practically a grown woman. I shouldn’t have fallen to pieces in front of a boy. Even one as mind-numbingly hot as Graham.
“I want a secret,” I blurted out, despite my heart crying out for a different demand. One that would’ve sealed the deal on our interrupted time from the hallway on Thursday. “Tell me a secret. Something that no one else knows. Make it a good one.”
Surprise washed over his face. He recovered quickly, though, and then looked around as if to make sure we were alone.
“Here’s a good one.” He dipped his hand into his jean pocket and pulled out a folded piece of ruled paper. “I just got this in the mail this morning. It’s a letter from my mom. She’s got a new apartment and a new job as a receptionist at this dental clinic down the street. She says my brother and me will get to come home soon.”
Disappointment bloomed in my chest and immediately I felt ashamed. I couldn’t see the hope on Graham’s face and feel anything but excitement for him. This was his family he was talking about. Just because it would take him away from Blue River didn’t mean I couldn’t be happy for him. I wanted this for him. I wanted the best for him.
“That’s really great,” I said, reaching for his hand.
He grasped my fingers tightly and didn’t let go. “It’s been ages since I last saw my mom. She couldn’t even call these last few weeks because her old phone broke. But everything’s coming together. I can’t wait to see our new place. I can’t wait to be home again. I wish I could see it now.”
Nodding at him, I pulled my lower lip between my teeth and tried to put on a happy face. “It sounds like you’ll be leaving for home, soon. I’m really glad for you, Graham. Even if...even if it means I’ll really miss you when you’re gone.”
His lips parted slightly as surprise took over his face. It was true. I would miss him when he was gone. Already, an ache had formed deep in my gut. Just thinking about the day Graham would leave for Kansas City had filled me with a bittersweet kind of emotion. He stared hard at me for a few seconds and then, without warning, he climbed over the fe
nce and jumped to the ground beside me.
“Follow me,” he said gruffly, grabbing ahold of my hand again.
I scrambled after him as he led me away from the corral and toward the shadowy side of the barn. There were no doors on this side. The windows were up high. It faced a grassy paddock where three horses silently grazed in the distance. I wasn’t sure what he was up to, but when he finally stopped and turned to gaze at me with those amber eyes of his, I lost all ability to form even the simplest words with my mouth.
“I thought maybe...” His brow wrinkled as he nervously wet his lips with the tip of his tongue. “I thought maybe we could finish what we started at the school the other day.”
I gulped and my stomach dropped straight to the ground. He couldn’t have meant what I thought he meant. Right? Graham took a step closer, his frown deepening as he studied my face. Automatically, I took a step back as well, only to find my spine pressed against the wooden slats that made up the barn. All the while, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his.
My mind was whirling a million miles a minute, nerves, giddy anticipation, and hunger all jumbling together. There was no telling what was going to come out of my mouth.
“Is this...is this the side of the barn you had to repaint?” I asked numbly.
My palms flattened against the wood behind me, the texture rough against my skin. Graham’s mouth curved in an ornery smile as he moved even closer. At this distance, I could see the three little dark spots just above his eyebrow, like faint freckles.
“Took me all summer,” he said, placing his hands on either side of my head. “You like it?”
“Mmm. Yeah.” I nodded, even though I hadn’t gotten much more than a glimpse of the work he’d done. I was too distracted by the boy standing in front of me.
“And...do you like me?”
His question caught me off guard. Of course I liked him. I wouldn’t have raced over here this morning if I didn’t. But I had the feeling there was more behind that question than what was on the surface. For all his cockiness, Graham still needed a little reassuring. There was a flicker of uncertainty behind those amber rings in his eyes. It made my heart swell with even more affection for him.
Cowboy Crush : A Small Town, Enemies-to-Lovers YA Romance (Sweet Oak Teen Ranch Book 1) Page 13
