Page 13 of Dallas Rivals

When I sit again, Lucien’s got that tight smile, the kind that says I saw that.

I want to leave.

“How’s the temp worker doing?” he asks, wrapping his hands around a mug.

“Not as good as you, if that’s what you’re asking,” I mutter, grabbing an olive dripping with oil.

Lucien chuckles, but his eyes sharpen.

“Cala’s gonna do just fine. You’ll see. I’ll teach her everything. Those young bones’ll work better than mine ever did.”

I nod and grab a cup, just to keep my mouth busy. Saying what I really think would make me sound like a bastard.

So, I drink coffee instead.

Because if I open my mouth, I’ll say the truth—that someone that clumsy doesn’t belong on a ranch.

And eventually, everyone’ll see it too.

Just like always.

“The ranch hand’s gonna help her at first, until she finds her rhythm,” I say, not giving him a choice. I’m not about to leave my ranch to the inexperienced.

Lucien nods, accepting the small defeat.

Then I hear noise again—Miss Saint-Clair feet thumping down the stairs in a hurry.

“You ready to carry the bed up?” I call over my shoulder.

Out of the corner of my eye I see her nod without a word. I stand up and the two of us head off after the broken frame. She’s holding one corner, completely bent over.

“Miss Saint-Clair, you can’t lift a bed like that. Bend your knees so you don’t wreck your back,” I tell her.

“Here comes the mansplaining…” she mutters.

“What?”

“Nothing!” She bends her knees. “I’m ready.”

Mansplaining. Right. Whatever that is.

We mimic the motion and lift together. She walks backward and I watch, braced, because she’s about to trip every second.

“Careful—there’s a step,” I warn.

She rolls her eyes like she thinks I can’t see, which only makes a murderous urge simmer under my skin for the first time in my life.

She climbs the two steps to her place fast enough to shove me against the wall.

“Slow down!” I growl.

“Sorry!” she yells.

We get to the upstairs and the angle’s all wrong.

“Did you measure that bed before you tried to bring it up?” I hiss. My arms are strong, but I can’t carry this damn thing all day.

Killing people’s illegal, Oliver.