Western Dreams by Becky Barker

Author:Becky Barker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Becky Barker
Published: 2021-02-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

REECE AVOIDED BEING alone with Bree for the next few days. She was helping with household chores, doing most of the cooking and taking an interest in Julie's garden. That kept her close to the house. He stayed outdoors and worked from daylight to dark. Despite her provocative taunting early in the week, which had caused him some restless nights, she seemed eager to avoid him, too. They were civil, but kept a safe distance or a lot of people between them.

He didn't know what had prompted her sudden interest in his private life, but he didn't welcome any probing of his psyche. The old dreams had died along with his dad, and new priorities had taken their place. Right now, avoiding any entanglements, physical or emotional, was at the top of his list. That meant keeping his distance from Bree.

His luck ran out late Friday afternoon. He and Chad were near the barn, moving a water trough when she sauntered across the driveway to join them. She was dressed in a snug blue tee shirt and tight-fitting jeans. Neither did much to conceal her shapely figure. As usual, she moved with a slow, long-legged grace that made him as restless as a stallion.

"Hi Bree!" Chad greeted warmly. "Did you come out here to help?"

Her gaze met his with just a touch of defiance, and Reece steeled himself. He could tell she'd decided she didn't want to be avoided any longer. She was restless and ready to cause trouble.

"What exactly are you doing?" she asked, directing her attention to Chad.

"This trough sprung a leak, so we had to spot-weld a patch on it. I'm gonna fill it to make sure it'll hold water before we move it into the barn. You’re welcome to help if you want."

Reece took off his hat, ran a cooling hand over his damp hair, then replaced his hat. "I think you can manage to fill the tank all by yourself," he told his brother.

Chad gave him a broad grin. He'd already connected the hose and started filling the tank. "If Bree wants to help, I can always find something else to do."

"I'll bet," said Reece. The sun was high, the day was hot and Chad wanted to go swimming with Jessie. He'd told him he could go as soon as they finished.

"I don't mind helping," Bree assured them. "I've exhausted all the chores near the house, but I figured you could always use help."

She was right, but Reece didn't want to accept her offer. The ranch was his domain, and he didn't welcome any further invasion of his territory. The best way to discourage her would be to give her the hottest, dirtiest chore he had, but he didn't want her cleaning out stalls. That was a little too physical, and he didn't want her to get hurt. He thought of another hot, stinky job to test her meddle.

"If you want something to do, the old storage shed needs cleaning,” he said, giving her a level stare.

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