Breaking Down Her Walls by Erin Zak

Author:Erin Zak [Zak, Erin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635553703
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2018-10-25T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

The ride to the ridge is just as much of an awesome experience as it was the first time. Julia and Leia are walking near the back of the group, taking in the view, trying to soak up as much knowledge as possible. Cole and Sweetie are beside her. Sweetie and Leia seem to get along really well, which makes Julia very happy. They are next to Agnes in the red Ford while three of the rodeo clowns sit in the back with the alfalfa and hay that will be spread out for the cattle as they make their way home. Agnes laughs at Julia when she asks how she got so good at shooting.

“When I was a little girl, my pappy used to take me up in the mountains with my brothers and teach them all how to shoot,” Agnes says, eyeing Julia over her rickety glasses. “One day, there was a bear that came close to attacking us all. My pappy started teaching me that night how to shoot to help protect our family.” Agnes raises her voice a bit over the engine of the truck. “If you ever come visit, you’ll see that bear’s skin hanging above my mantel.”

Julia’s eyes are wide. “Holy shit,” she says. “That’s crazy.”

“I’ve seen it, Julia. That bear was huge. Bigger than the one we saw that one day,” Cole says, his hands and arms shooting outward, depicting the size of the pelt. “It had to have been as big as this truck.”

“It wasn’t that big,” Agnes says, a twinkle to her eye.

The bartender, whose name is Benjamin, is riding Scout and has made his way alongside Julia now. He’s been slowly creeping closer and closer, and even though Julia is not interested, he seems like a nice enough guy; he may actually be friend material. He latches on, asking her tons of questions that she dodges expertly. He’s definitely full of stories, and after about the tenth one, Julia realizes that he isn’t shutting up. It’s starting to annoy her because as he rambles on and on about his years as a traveling rodeo star, all she can see is Penn trying to weasel her way in with Elena at the front of the line. And Julia’s jealousy is driving her absolutely insane.

After the group has slowed the pace to give the horses a break, Benjamin asks, “What’s going on there, love? You jealous, or you just dislike that woman as much as the rest of us?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“That you dislike her or that you’re jealous?” Benjamin smiles. “Because I definitely think you’re jealous.”

“Oh, for shit’s sake, I am not jealous. I am annoyed. Clearly. You don’t even know me. How would you know if I’m jealous or not?”

Benjamin pulls the reins on Scout and clicks his tongue. “You realize I know what it looks like to pine after someone you’ll never get?”

“Of course. Because bartenders always fall for their regulars, don’t they?”

A guffaw comes out of Benjamin’s mouth, and he winks.

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