Mansfield Ranch (6 page)

Except that no matter what I tried the next hour, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that Sean and Julia planned this on purpose to make me miss my ride.
Ugh. Stop being so selfish.

But dang! He knew when he saw Princess Buttercup that I hadn’t been out this morning! He knew I hadn’t ridden yet
. Only a fool wouldn’t have known the horse hadn’t been ridden just by looking at her. Sean wasn’t a fool. That’s what bothered me the most.

So, why did he do it? Why did he forget about me?

The answer had been staring me in the face all morning.

Julia.

I need to leave. I need to go now or I’m gonna scream.

“Mrs. . . . Stephanie?” I asked tentatively as I walked into the living room where Sean’s mom was laid out on the couch, watching a sappy chick flick.

“You know, you could try saying ‘Mom’, right?” she answered without looking up.

“I . . . uh, Mom?”

“Yes?” She still didn’t look up.

I cleared my throat. “Can I go somewhere for you? I mean, do you need me to do anything? Like run to the store, or whatever?”

She moved her head to the side without looking up and focused on my jeans. “Dream on, Lilly. You’re not driving the car, so think again.”

“I . . . uh, no. I was meaning, you know, ride a bike somewhere, or something. Or . . . or walk.”

That did it. She turned over and looked up at me. “You want to walk all the way to Bloomfield?”

I shrugged.
Anything is better than staying here
. “Or ride the bike. It’s only like three or four miles, right?” On a bike I could make it there in a little over twenty minutes, if I took my time. Walking it would take about fifty minutes, but I didn’t care. I needed out.

“Sure, whatever. I don’t care.” She turned back to the TV and raised the volume.

“Uh, so I can take a bike?” I wanted to clarify.

“You’ll have to take one of Lauren’s or Alexis’s, so you’d better ask them.”

“Okay, thanks.”
Walking it is
. “Oh! Did you need anything?”

Her patience was wearing thin. “Just for you to get a job so you don’t stand around asking me questions. I want to watch my movie—now go! Hurry, before I change my mind.”

I was gone. I didn’t even bother to say good-bye.

I had quite a bit of money stashed away from birthdays and report cards and all that sort of stuff. I rarely spent money, especially on myself. But I crammed a couple of twenties in my pocket just in case. I decided to put on my Converse for the trek. They probably wouldn’t have kept my feet as warm as my boots, but they were much easier to walk in.

After I grabbed my navy blue jacket and stuffed my arms into the sleeves, I escaped. The New Mexico sun was high and bright in the cool, clear morning. It was warmer that day and was expected to get all the way up to the sixties by that afternoon. Right then, though, it was still around forty-five degrees. Just a bit too cold. I pulled my black gloves and knit hat out of the pocket of my jacket and put them on. I could feel a difference immediately.

Resigned to get into a better mood, I walked down the long drive toward the road. Once I stepped onto the large dirt shoulder along the highway that led to Bloomfield, I began to feel better, the roar of cars drowning out any miserable thoughts I’d had.

I was about halfway to town when I heard crunching tires behind me. I didn’t even think to turn around until I heard,

“Lilly! Wait up.”

Surprised, I twisted to look behind me, and then instantly wished I hadn’t.

Ugh
.

It was Harrison Crawford.

Chapter Seven: Wasted Breath

So much for my good mood.

I flipped back around and started walking faster. Harrison didn’t get the hint.

“Come on.” He chuckled as he easily caught up to me. “I came back around after seeing you. I’m here to offer a ride.”

I didn’t even pause when he pointed to his car behind us. Instead, I stared straight ahead and kept walking.

“Are you kidding me? You’re gonna keep going when I have a perfectly good set of wheels and I’m willing to take you wherever you want? Wherever. Name it, I’ll take you there.”

One, two, three, four
. . . I took a deep breath and silently walked on.

Harrison threw his hands in the air and scoffed. “Fine. Be that way. Walk then, Lilly Price.” He stopped.

I kept walking. I knew he thought I was being stupid. I didn’t care. At that moment, I couldn’t have cared less what anyone thought of me. I walked by myself in silence for a good twenty seconds. I thought for sure Harrison had given up, but he was made of sterner stuff than I had given him credit for.

“Why are you walking? Will you answer me that much?”

His question surprised me so much that I looked over at him. His eyes were full of victory.
Ugh
. I looked away and began to jog.

“You’re actually running from me now?” He laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. His steps were quick to match mine. “Isn’t that a little childish, even for you?”

I rolled my eyes.
Just go away and leave me alone
. He didn’t. Instead, I felt his hand reach out and grab my arm, tugging me to a stop.
He has no idea who he’s messing with
. My left hand instinctively curled into a fist and then I released it just as fast.
Calm down. You’ll lose Princess Buttercup—don’t let him win. He’s not worth it
.

Exasperated, I looked up at Harrison and raised an eyebrow.
What?

“Look, just answer me one question and I promise I’ll go away.”

My gaze didn’t waver from his eyes.
Talk
.

“Are you walking because of me?”

I thought of my truck that had come out of the shop last week and now had a “for sale” sign on it. Glancing away, I looked blindly toward the road and the blur of cars as they whizzed past. I clamped my lips and rubbed them briefly together before I let out a sigh and said, “No.”

Harrison inhaled next to me like I had slapped him. “I’m sorry.”

Startled, my eyes whipped back to lock with his again.

“What? Don’t you think I ever have remorse? I do from time to time. I mean, it’s brief, I’m sure, but it’s there. And I’m sorry.”

“F—for what?”
Did I just ask him that? Why did I ask him that?

“For what?” He tossed his head back and laughed right up at the sun. “She asks, ‘For what?’” he shouted to the sky before bringing those hazel eyes back to mine. “For ruining your life.”

Oh, that.
I turned to start walking again. He still had hold of my elbow. I stopped.

He continued, “Wait. For making you the butt of every joke at school. For getting you in trouble at home. For making you lose your truck—all because I egged you on.”

He knew this whole time?
My eyes met his.

“And for not seeing who you really are.”

For not—?
Flustered, I glanced down at his shirt.

“Until now.”

What?
My gaze flew to his.
What’s that supposed to mean?

He grinned and shook his head slightly, but didn’t break eye contact. “Are you surprised, Lilly Price? Why would you be surprised that I’m upset for not noticing you until now? Do you think you’re beneath noticing?” His thumb caught my jaw before I could look away. His other hand was quick to hold my face, locked with his glittering gaze.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t move. I had no idea why, but I was in way over my head.

Harrison knew it, too. His grin deepened as he leaned closer to me. When our eyes were about six inches apart, he smugly whispered, “I’m going to make you fall so in love with me, Lilly Price, that you won’t know what to do with yourself. You think you hate me, but I promise, there’s nothing in this world I love more than a challenge. Congratulations, Lilly. Oh! And let the games begin.”

With that, he bent down and kissed me swiftly on the lips—just as I let out a gasp of horror.

I shoved with all my might. Harrison flew back a few steps and began to laugh. “Oh, yeah. This is gonna be a lot more fun than I could even imagine.”

“Are you kidding me? You planned this? You’ve
imagined
this?” I was ticked. I was more than ticked—I was ready to murder him. “Where did that come from? Seriously, are you such a moron that you can’t keep the same opinion longer than a week?”

 “It’s been three weeks, and that’s plenty of time to see that I was wrong. You know, change my mind.”

I shook my head. I totally felt like I was talking to the biggest dork on the planet. “Change your mind about what?”

“You, of course.” He grinned like he was announcing the simplest fact.

“Me? But you don’t even like me!” I was as close to yelling as I could get without losing it. “You like my flippin’ sisters! I’m safe! I’m the boring, stupid one, remember?”

“Oh, you’re not safe. You’ll like me in the end, I promise. Every girl does.”

“Every girl does what?” My hand was clenched again, ready to deck him if he moved any closer.

“Falls for me. It’s inevitable. So you might as well enjoy the game while it lasts.”

Urgh! Are you for real? Honestly? Do you have any idea what’s coming out of your mouth?
“The only thing I’d enjoy right now is your funeral, so don’t tempt me.”

Harrison laughed again and then gave a little salute. “Suit yourself,” he called as he jogged backwards away from me. “Just remember, the games have begun.”

Loser! Moron! Jerk! King of the dorks! King? Yeah, right. That’s giving him way too much glory. He’s more like the nerd of the dorks. The reject the dorks pick on.

Harrison had the audacity to honk as he drove past me. I wanted to smack that smug smile off his pretty face.
Grr
.

***

“Knock, knock. Can I come in?”

I smiled when I heard Sean’s voice outside my bedroom door and then frowned when I remembered I was still mad at him.
What time is it? Almost nine
. When I came back from Bloomfield, I had found Princess Buttercup in her stall all happy and settled from her ride, but she was tired. She’d gone quite a ways today. So much so, I figured I’d better give her a break and ride her in the morning.

When I’d gone looking for Sean, I heard he took Julia out on a date. So after dinner and listening to my sisters list Harrison’s amazing qualities for the tenth time that night, I decided to escape and read a book. It was their turn to do the dishes anyway.

It looked like Harrison was still seeing Lauren, and she was really beginning to notice the attention he was giving Alexis. Never mind that Alexis’s boyfriend, Trent, was one of the dumb football types—all hunk and no brains—I still considered him pretty decent, considering that he probably cheated in school to pass his tests. He was always nice to Alexis. It was kind of annoying, actually, that she’d blow her relationship with Trent just so she could flirt with Harrison.
Harrison? Ugh!
Just thinking about him made me want to hurl.

“Hello? Lilly? Are you really that mad at me?”

What?
“Oh! Sorry, Sean. Come in.” I set my book on the nightstand and straightened up on the bed. I hadn’t changed into my PJ’s yet, so I was still on top of the comforter when he cautiously peeked around the door. I remembered to frown again, just in time.

“You’re sure it’s safe?”

 My frown stayed in place, even though it was hard with him looking so adorable. Instead, I ignored the question and asked, “How was the date?”

“With Julia?” He walked in and headed toward my desk chair. “It was awesome! I took her to Farmington, and we—” He stopped midsentence and pulled out the chair. As he sat on it, he changed the subject. “Actually, I came to apologize for taking Princess Buttercup before you got a chance to ride her. Julia wanted me to make sure you knew that she’s sorry too.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything.

“It’s just that she only had a few hours she could be out and then she was supposed to help her mom paint some walls. And then, that didn’t even matter because we just got carried away and lost track of the time. Before we knew it, we’d ridden around forever. Anyway, we’re really, really sorry. I know you love to ride, and I know I didn’t ask first, so I have come to beg forgiveness.”

I stared at him a moment and then quietly said, “That hurt, Sean. Actually hurt.”

“I’m sorry. Were you really mad?”

I nodded my head. “Yeah, I was.”

He heaved a sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry, Lilly, really. It was my fault. I hope you don’t blame Julia. There was so much more of Mansfield Ranch I wanted to show her, and around the outskirts of Bloomfield. She’s picked up riding so fast—well, anyway, it’s not an excuse.” He heaved another sigh, placed his elbows on his knees, and looked me straight in the eye. “I promise, it’ll never happen again.”

I smirked. “Yep, I’m sure you believe yourself right now too.”

“Hey! You know my promises are good!” Sean chuckled and stood up to flip the chair around so he could lean his elbows on the high back. “Tell me—when have I not kept my word?”

Today
. “Never. You’ve always done everything you’ve ever said you would.” I brought my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. “So what happened with you? Are you gonna tell me? What did you guys do?”

I knew I was supposed to ask him. So I did. We were best friends—as close as two best friends could ever get. It was just that all at once, I found myself not really wanting to know.

“No, wait. First you’re gonna tell me what happened with
you
today since you couldn’t ride—no thanks to my stupidity. What happened? Did you stay home and read all day?”

“No. I went to Bloomfield.”

“What? How?”

“I walked.” I gritted my teeth in a tight smile as I remembered Harrison.

Sean freaked out. “Are you kidding? You walked the whole way to Bloomfield? Why?”