Authors: Mary Jane Morgan
A Home for Haley (27 page)
Hank joined her, resting his arms
over the top railing.
Big hands
, Ashley thought. He rubbed the gelding’s
face and the horse shoved his nose closer.
Gentle hands, too
. “Jagaer
can be a bit spirited and stubborn but you’ll be able to handle him.” Hank gave
the gelding one last pat. “The prettiest area is the south pasture. The tack
room is the third door on the right. Have a good ride.” He headed toward the
barn without even a good bye.
“Hank, wait.” He stopped and
turned, one eyebrow arched. “It’s obvious we’ll be running into each other a
lot. Don’t you think it’s time we tried to get along?”
He studied her a minute, and she
felt uncomfortable, exposed like some teenager who had just been caught doing
something she shouldn’t be doing. “You just want to butter me up so you’ll get
more bathroom time,” he finally said.
Ashley laughed, irritated that he
could amuse her as easily as he irritated her. “I’m serious. We’ve been at odds
since . . .” She swallowed hard and shrugged. “Well, you know.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I know. I pissed
you off bad. You don’t forgive easily.”
“What? You never gave me a chance
to talk to you again, let alone forgive you. Besides, you didn’t really need
forgiving,” she added, looking down and kicking at the dirt. “I’m the one who
needs forgiving.”
“I forgive you. Have we cleared the
air now?”
She glared at him. “I just want us
to get along. I’ll be living here a while and it’d be a lot more comfortable if
we could just be . . .” —she hesitated. “Friends.”
He walked back to her, his stride
long and loose, and stopped practically on top of her. She had to crane her
neck up to not be looking at the middle of his chest. “Friends, huh?”
“Yes,” she all but squeaked.
His blue eyes were intense, taking
in her face as if memorizing every detail. She felt herself grow hot.
He leaned so close their noses
almost touched and she could feel his body heat radiating off of him. He rubbed
the dark stubble on his chin. “Nope. Don’t think I want to do that.”
And just like that she was
eighteen years old and stupid again.
Hank stepped back. “Let me know if
you need anything though.” He pivoted and strode toward the barn as if once
again he couldn’t get away from her fast enough.
Humiliation suffused her face as
she watched the arrogant jerk jump over the corral fence and enter the barn.
What did he do in that damn barn all the time? Avoided people would be her best
guess, since he was so distant with them. Or maybe it was just her he was
distant with. There was a time back when they were kids, she’d followed Ethan
and Hank around like a puppy dog, and for the most part Hank hadn’t seemed to
mind.
Then everything had changed.
Her spirits took a nose dive. She’d
hoped Hank didn’t hate her anymore, but she’d been wrong and it stung. A lot.
She would definitely ask Ethan for another room tonight.
She went into the house, fully
intending to enjoy her ride this morning even if Hank had upset her. Hurrying
to her room, she changed into jeans and boots, eager to gallop a horse across
the pasture and forget about Hank’s dismissive and hurtful response to her
pathetic attempt to repair the understandable grudge he held against her—and
even more eager to outrun her fear that coming to Crystal Springs might be the
second biggest mistake of her life.
COMING SOON!
I hope you enjoyed this book!
If so, please leave a review so other
readers can find it easier.
Thank you!
—Mary Jane Morgan
OTHER
CRYSTAL SPRINGS
HOMECOMING ROMANCES
BOOKS
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at Last (available soon)
OTHER BOOKS BY MARY JANE
MORGAN