settle another matter.
“What do you think?”
“Beckett is mine,” she said.
“Do you think I hurt him?” he asked. It was very important to him that she know he hadn’t hurt the horse. She hadn’t given him a straight answer last time and he needed one.
She appeared to fight with herself for a moment before she confessed in a low voice, “I no longer believe you hurt him.” She let out a breath, as if the admission had hurt, then once again met his gaze. “So, if that’s settled, I need to get home and cook for Dad.”
“Yeah. I wanted to ask about that, too.”
“What?” Her eyes widened, making him wonder how back in the day he’d managed to miss the fact that she had gorgeous eyes. Probably because he’d been a self-centered jerk. “Cooking?”
“Your dad. The ranch is a wreck, Liv.”
“I’m aware,” she said stiffly, making it pretty easy to follow her thoughts. The ranch...none of his business. Just like McElroy was really none of hers. “I need to get going,” she said again.
“Yeah. You go on home. But we have more to talk about. In the future.”
“I don’t think so.”
Matt didn’t say another word so she walked to her truck, her back stiff. No “goodbye” or “see you later.” But he would see her later—and not entirely because of Beckett.
Liv put the truck into Reverse and swung it around. Matt stood at the edge of the gravel drive, and he couldn’t help but notice that she gave him one last long look in the rearview mirror before putting the rig into a forward gear and pulling away.
* * *
AS LIV PULLED out onto the county road, she glanced toward the house one last time. Willa’s boy came out to meet Matt on the deck and Matt shook his head at something the kid said.
What was the boy doing there? Matt did not look like the babysitting type.
And what was that about a horse?
Liv had been so flustered before she hadn’t asked why on earth Matt had thought she was there about a horse. Something to do with the vet, no doubt. What had he thought? That she’d heard another of his horses had gotten injured and come swooping down on him like a vigilante posse of one?
He gave her more credit than she deserved, although she had kind of swooped down on him, but for a different reason. And rightly so. Guys like McElroy preyed on other people’s needs and dreams. The football player trying to advance his career, the coach who needed that player. The rodeo rider who needs just a couple more wins to move up in the world standings. McElroy could help them do just that—for a price, both physical and financial.
Liv gritted her teeth. She really hated slimy doctors.
And she was trying hard not to think about how Matt had jangled her nerves. If she hadn’t been driving, she would have thunked her head on the steering wheel. She’d delivered her message and felt a sense of satisfaction there, but she’d also received a message that left her feeling edgy and uncertain.
They had more to talk about.
What?
It had to be Beckett.
In that case, she was fine.
Except for that part where she’d kept noticing all the little things about Matt that had distracted her back when she’d been trying to teach him calculus. Things she didn’t want to notice again.
CHAPTER TEN
MATT WAS STILL mulling over Liv’s visit the next morning when he pulled into the parking lot of Murdoch’s Western supply store to pick up some vet wrap to doctor Ready’s leg. She’d come on a mission, but he wasn’t exactly sure if it had been to save him from the dangers of the needle or to keep McElroy from getting more business. Or maybe just to beat him up some more.
Regardless of why she came, he knew why she’d left. Because he’d rattled her. Which felt satisfying and he wasn’t certain why. He smiled a little, watching the ground as he crossed the parking lot, when a familiar voice said, “Careful where you’re going.”
The smile instantly evaporated as Matt found himself facing his father. And as always, even after all these years, he felt a prickle of betrayal. Betrayal wasn’t compatible with warm fuzzy feelings, and Matt had never tried to pretend. If Charles Montoya wondered what had happened between himself and his son, he never said anything, but at times that Matt could sense his frustration. There wasn’t much he could do about it. There