Page 29 of Wild Highway (Runaway 2)

It had been three days since I’d gone on my ride with Easton, and I’d spent those days largely in my room. It was easier to avoid him while locked inside. I’d passed the days by reading and pestering Benjamin. After my seventh call in seventy-two hours, he’d threatened to block my number. There were zero emails in my inbox and I’d poured over my financial statements with more attention to detail than I had in the past five years—total.

My life had gone from ninety miles per hour to a standstill gridlock. This morning, I’d admitted defeat.

Vacation pace was highly overrated and simply not for me.

I needed to work.

Katherine blinked. “A job?”

“Dusting. Cooking. Scrubbing toilets. I’ll do anything. But I don’t want to leave yet and if I spend another day in my room reading, I might die.”

“But you’re on vacation.”

I grimaced. “I hate that word.”

“Why not do the four-wheeler excursion? Or hike? Or go for another ride?”

“Thanks, but no, thanks,” I muttered.

It was too risky outside. It was much safer indoors where Easton avoided me and I had more places to hide.

“You don’t have to pay me,” I said. “Just give me something to do so I don’t sit around and dwell on the fact that last month, my life had purpose. And now the only thing I have in my future is a long trip to California in someone else’s car. Please. Pleasepleaseplease. Give me toilet bowl duty.”

Katherine giggled. “You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

She picked up the headset to her desk phone and dialed a number. “Hey, Annabeth, it’s Kat.”

Kat. I was still getting used to her nickname. To me, she’d always be Katherine.

“I have someone here who’ll be working temporarily for the resort. Would you mind if I send her your way?” She paused, the smile growing on her face. “Great. Thanks. She’ll be right over.”

“Thank you,” I said as she put the headset into its cradle.

“You’re welcome. Annabeth is in charge of the staffers. She coordinates the housekeeping, food service and front desk crews.” She pointed to a wall of bookshelves. “Her office is two doors down. She’ll get you through the HR paperwork and find something for you.”

“I mean it. Don’t pay me.” It wasn’t like I needed the money, something Katherine had learned over a dinner. The two of us had spent every night in the dining room, eating decadent meals and consuming an exorbitant amount of wine.

This week, we’d pulled on our old friendship and I hadn’t been surprised when it had fit like my favorite sweater. I’d forgotten how easy it was to talk to Katherine. How comfortable and effortlessly the conversation flowed. We’d talked about everything, from her time with the Greers to my experiences in Boston.

The only time I’d dodged a topic had been when Easton’s name was dropped.

That man . . . grr. I wanted to strangle him and kiss him and kick him and lick him all in the same moment.

Katherine had asked me how the ride had gone and I’d lied through my teeth. It hadn’t been horrible. Riding Sprite had actually been fun, but with Easton there, infuriating me with every word muttered from that delicious mouth, it had been nearly impossible to enjoy myself.

Easton was loyal and proud. He was punishing me for screwing up years ago, with him and with Katherine. It would be a lot easier to dislike him if he didn’t have grounds for his attitude.

It would be a lot easier to hate him if he wasn’t so damn attractive.

The way that man looked on the horse, his eyes hooded by the brim of his hat, was grossly unfair. No one in Boston would believe that Gemma Lane, always composed and sophisticated, would be lusting after a rugged cowboy with dirt on his jeans and a smudge on his cheek.

Until they saw him, then no one would fault me.

“Dinner tonight?” I asked Katherine. If she said no, I’d probably drive into town and get a little space from the ranch. It was much too easy to think of Easton when I was here. Especially in my room, sitting on the bed. Or when I was in the shower. Or when I was breathing.

“Yes, but I was hoping you’d be up for a change of scenery. Friday nights we always eat dinner at Jake and Carol’s. It’s a family tradition.”