Most Obnoxious Cowboy Page 3

  “Yeah? What’s your thought?”

  “If you’re her brother, then I’m her brother, too.”

  “Your point being?”

  “Well, if I’m being protective of her and I don’t want her to date a jackass, you know what that means?”

  “No, Wyatt, but I’m pretty sure you’re going to tell me.”

  “It means that I wouldn’t let her date you.”

  “Excuse me?” I glared at him. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that you’re the biggest asshole in the valley, dude.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “You’re a player. You’re a ladies’ man. You’re a—”

  “Wyatt, if you’ve got nothing else to say, then I suggest you get out of here.”

  “Uh-oh. I think I’ve upset you.” He pulled a mock-innocent face.

  “I can’t believe that Sadie thinks you’re mature enough to be her husband.”

  “Oh, Sadie knows I’m mature enough. And I’ve got several other things going for me, thank you very much.” He doffed his cowboy hat and took a quick bow.

  “Dude, and you’re calling me immature?”

  “No, I’m just saying. Sadie knows what she’s getting with me. She’s known me my entire life. Arya, though? Well, she has no clue the sort of guy that you are. But I think she’s starting to figure it out, and I’m pretty sure she’s not happy about you getting her fired before she even started her job.”

  “I didn’t get her fired. It’s not like she can’t start in a month if she still wants to.”

  “Ah, so you admit it.” He grinned. “I knew it.”

  “Whatever,” I grumbled. “…Is she really pissed?”

  “She’s really upset, dude.”

  “Fine. Let me go and talk to her. I mean, I didn’t think about the fact that maybe she didn’t have any money. And yeah, I understand that she wouldn’t want to come to us for money or anything, but she could’ve just said whatever she needed. I mean, I’ll take her to the store and get her what she wants. Tampons, whatever.”

  Wyatt Chipled. “You’re absolutely clueless, aren’t you, Chet? I think you need to go and talk to Arya because I have a feeling that you are not in her good books right now.”

  “I know how to get into her good books, though.” I winked at him.

  He groaned. “I thought you said you weren’t interested in her like that.”

  “I’m not. But hey, if she’s interested in me like that, who am I to say no?”

  “Dude, you are a pig. You know that, right?”

  “Nah, I don’t think so. If anything, I’m more like a stallion.”

  Wyatt laughed and shook his head. “I wish I had a video of you right now because I’d play that at your wedding and then your wife would leave you.”

  “Well, joke’s on you, Wyatt Hamilton, because I’m never getting married.”

  Chapter Five

  Arya

  * * *

  I entered the living room anxious and upset. I wasn’t sure what I would do if I saw Chet. I was ready to give him a piece of my mind.

  “Oh, my gosh. If looks could kill,” Sadie said as she glanced at my face. “What’s wrong, Arya?

  “I am so upset right now.” I took a deep breath. “Have you seen Chet?”

  “Chet? No. Why, what’s going on?”

  “Well, I finally spoke to Chip about the voicemail he left me earlier.” I could hear my voice cracking from being so upset. “And he mentioned Chet…”

  “Oh, about the bar being closed for the next month?” Understanding dawned on Sadie’s face. “Oh, no. Chet didn’t have something to do with it, did he?”

  “Apparently, Chet paid a visit to Chip and suggested that…” I took another deep breath to stop myself from crying or shouting. “I’m going to lose it. I just can’t believe he did this to me.”

  “So, the reason Chip’s closed the bar for the next month is because of Chet, huh?”

  “Yep. Good old Chet. I thought he was a friend. I thought he cared about me. I thought…” I sighed. “I just don’t know what to say, but I’m pissed off. I was really looking forward to that job. I needed it, and I needed a place to stay.”

  “Well, you know the Hamiltons love that you stay here.”

  “They are the sweetest family I’ve ever met in my life, but I can’t keep taking advantage of them.”

  “But you’re not taking advantage of them, Arya. Everyone loves you and Eloise. I mean, I know I’m so grateful that you’re here. I mean…” She paused. “I know that doesn’t make you feel better about the situation though.”

  “I mean, it’s hard, you know? In a perfect world, I’d love to live here, but the Hamiltons aren’t my family. We’re not related, and I’m not contributing anything. I have no money, and…” I sighed. “I’m in a bad position.”

  “Oh no, what’s wrong, Arya? Tell me.”

  “No,” I shook my head. I didn’t want to give her the full extent of just how bad things were for me.

  “You can tell me anything. I promise I won’t tell anyone. Not even Wyatt if you don’t want me to.”

  I let out a deep sigh. “I only have forty-five dollars to my name. Literally forty-five, that’s it. My telephone bill is coming up. Eloise needs things, I need things. I need a paycheck.” I could hear the desperation in my voice. “Please, don’t take this the wrong way, Sadie. I’m not asking you for money. I don’t want anyone to give me anything. I want to earn it myself. I really needed that job, you know? I just can’t believe that Chet would do that.”

  “It’s because he thinks he’s protecting you.” She rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t think you should work at a bar.”

  “I understand that he thinks that it’s not safe for a woman to work at a bar, but I’m fine. I can look after myself. It’s not like the area is known for its criminals.” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “He’s such a jackass. I just can’t believe that he would go behind my back and do that.”

  “Are you going to talk to him about it?”

  “Oh, you can bet I’m going to talk to him about it! I am absolutely furious!”

  “He deserves it. I mean, all of the Hamilton men can be obstinate and pigheaded, but that just goes above and beyond.”

  “It really does, but…”

  “Arya,” Sadie put a hand on my arm, “you know I can give you some money to get by—”

  “No,” I cut her off. “I understand that you want to help me, and I really, really appreciate it, but I can’t take your money.”

  “It’s okay. I want—”

  “No,” I cut her off again. “Thank you so much, Sadie. You are one of the best friends a girl could have, but I can’t do that. It wouldn’t feel right. I’ve already gained so much from being here. I need to make my own way.”

  “It really sucks that Chet did that.” She shook her head. “Sometimes I just don’t understand what these guys are thinking.”

  “I know what he was thinking. He told me not to leave, he told me not to take a job at a bar, he told me not to live in that apartment, and I told him it was none of his business. So, he decided to go over my head and make it so I couldn’t work there. Well, joke’s on him because I’ll just find another job, and another bar and…” I could feel myself choking up. “I’m just so upset and frightened and frustrated. It’s so hard, Sadie. I don’t want to break down in front of Eloise, but this has all just been a lot, you know? I sometimes just don’t know what to do.”

  “Oh, Arya.” She pulled me into her arms as I struggled to hold back tears. “Don’t worry, Arya,” she whispered “I know you don’t want to take help, but I’m always here for you. And if you want to make it alone or if you just want to stay at my family’s ranch or work for my dad on the farm, you’ve always, always,” she stressed, “got a place with me, okay? You’re always welcome.”

  “You’re absolutely the sweetest, you know that, Sadie?”

  “I try,” she said. “Now, what are
you going to do?”

  “I’m going to go and look for Chet Hamilton and give him a piece of my mind.” I wiped my eyes and smiled at her. “I don’t suppose you know where he is, do you?”

  “I think he went out to the stables,” she replied. “That’s normally where he is. You know he loves the horses.”

  “Yeah. I love horses too, but I don’t know if they’re going to love me when they hear how I go off on their master.”

  “You give it to him good,” she said. “Promise?”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that,” I snorted.

  I entered the first set of stables and looked around. Chet was standing at the far end with his back to me. I recognized him from his Stetson hat. My heart raced as I made my way toward him.

  He turned to me with a self-assured smile, and my fingers itched to slap it right off of his face. I pressed my lips together so that I wasn’t smiling back at him.

  “And to what do I owe this pleasure?” he said, lifting up his hat and smiling.

  I stared at him, willing myself not to be affected by his charm. “You cost me a job.”

  “Um, excuse me?” He blinked innocently and turned towards me fully. “I did what?”

  “You cost me the job at the bar, and a place to live.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said.

  “Don’t play innocent with me, Chet Hamilton. I spoke to Chip.”

  “Ah, shit,” he muttered. “Really? Chip squealed?”

  “Yeah, he did, and he told me what you said, and he told me what you did. And what do you think I’m meant to do now?”

  “What do you mean?” he said.

  “I have nowhere to go, nowhere to live, no money, no paycheck, nothing!”

  “Well, you live here don’t you? You got a roof over your head, you got a warm bed. You could have my warm bed if…” He paused when he realized I wasn’t laughing. “I’m kidding. I’m just saying—”

  “I know what you’re saying, Chet, and it’s not funny. And while I love it here at Horseshoe Ranch, this isn’t my home, and I don’t want Eloise to think that this is a permanent place for us. She deserves better than that.”

  “What do you mean she deserves better than that? You don’t think we’re good people?”

  “You’re great people, but she deserves to have her own home. I don’t want her to think that this is her home. Did you know that she’s already calling your mom Grandma?”

  “That’s great. My mom’s wanted grandkids for ages. Maybe that will get her off of my back.”

  “Dude, I don’t care if your mom wants you to have grandkids. It’s not fair to Eloise. Amelia’s not her grandma, and Eloise is going to be heartbroken when she’s no longer around you guys all the time.”

  “Then why does she have to leave?”

  “Are you not listening to me, Chet? We cannot stay here. I can’t afford to pay anything.”

  “I don’t believe anyone’s asked you to pay anything.”

  I stared at him in disbelief. “Are you really this obnoxious and obstinate, or do you just not understand what I’m saying?”

  “I don’t see what the problem is, I really don’t. You like being here at the ranch, yes?”

  “Who wouldn’t? It’s gorgeous.” I was starting to get seriously annoyed with Chet.

  “And we love having you here. So what’s the problem?”

  “Because I need a job, I need to make money, I need my own place, I—”

  “Then work here.”

  “Doing what? I don’t have any ranching skills.”

  “I can teach you all the skills you need. I’m not saying that you’re going to become head rancher or anything, but—”

  “No, I’m not taking your charity, Chet. It’s not fair what you’ve done to me. You had no right to go to Chip and do that.”

  “I was just doing what I thought was best. You have no idea the sort of guys that hang out at that bar.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “Yeah, but what if one night you can’t? What if one night Chip’s not there and too many guys are giving you trouble? What are you going to do?”

  “I’d worry about it when it happened.”

  “Well, I’m the sort of guy that believes in prevention rather than cure. So, I think it’s best for you to not be in that position in the first place.” He took a couple of steps closer to me. “I’m not going to let anyone harm you, and I’m not going to put you in danger’s way.”

  “What are you talking about, danger’s way? It’s not like I was freaking going to war. I was just doing a job at a bar. Do you know how many women are bartenders, Chet? It is a thing, you know.”

  “I know it’s a thing. I’m just saying that—”

  “Oh, I’m so annoyed and frustrated with you. I just can’t talk to you right now.” I turned around and headed to leave the stables. My heart raced with anger. He just wasn’t getting it. He thought he was protecting me, but I didn’t need his protection. I needed to get out there in the real world and start making some money so that I could make a life for myself and Eloise.

  “Stop,” he said. I could hear him walking behind me, and I increased my pace. “I said stop, Arya!”

  I glared at him over my shoulder. “You’re just a jerk, Chet Hamilton! Do you know that?”

  “I guess if that’s what you think,” he shrugged. “But maybe I can make it up to you.”

  “How are you going to make it up to me?”

  “I’ll help you find another job.”

  “How are you going to do that, huh? How do I know you’re not going to sabotage every chance I have?”

  “I promise,” he said, “and I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t realize that things were so tough for you and Eloise. And if you need money—”

  “I don’t need money from you! I need to find a job. Now please just leave me alone so I can do that!”

  I turned on my heel and stormed back into the house.

  Chapter Six

  Chet

  * * *

  “Hey, have you seen Arya?” I asked Wyatt as he walked out of the kitchen.

  “Nope. Why?”

  I turned away. “I’m going outside.”

  “Okay.” He followed me. “So are you going to answer my question?”

  “What question, Wyatt?” I snapped. I was annoyed and frustrated. It wasn’t his fault, but I was feeling super guilty about having convinced Chip to shut down the 12 Point Buck Bar. Arya was really upset, and now that I’d processed everything, I totally understood why. Obviously, she needed the money and obviously, she felt like she was overstaying her welcome here, but I didn’t know why she wouldn’t just accept my help. It wasn’t like I thought she was a grifter, and it wasn’t like I was doing it because I wanted something from her. I literally just wanted her to be safe and happy. I cared about her as if she were a member of the family. I would do this for anyone.

  “Hey, bro!” Wyatt hit me on the shoulder.

  “What?”

  “Dude, I wouldn’t go looking for Arya if you’re going to be in a bad mood like that, she’s not going to be receptive to whatever you have to say if you’ve got an attitude.”

  “What attitude do I have, Wyatt?”

  “Can you hear the words that are coming out of your mouth and the tone?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “You sure don’t sound happy.”

  I let out a deep breath. “I know, I just feel really bad and I want to speak to her, but I think she’s ignoring me.”

  “What do you mean you think she’s ignoring you? She either is or she isn’t.”

  “Well, let’s just say the last couple of times I saw her, I called out to her and she either didn’t hear me or pretended she didn’t hear me because she walked in the opposite direction. I don’t think she’s hard of hearing.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “So that means she deliberately walked away.”

  “So if she’s deliberately walking away from you i
t means she doesn’t want to talk to you right now.”

  “Well, I want to talk to her. Obviously, she’s upset with me and I understand why, but she has to see where I’m coming from.”

  “Chet, are you listening to yourself? You want to go to apologize to her, but you want her to acknowledge where you’re coming from as opposed to where she’s coming from. You catch more flies with honey, dude, and you’re not going to catch anything.”

  “I’m just frustrated and annoyed and I just don’t understand why she just can’t stay here and be happy. We all love having her here.”

  “Yeah, but she’s not family, and I understand why maybe she feels uncomfortable. Maybe she wants her own space, maybe she wants to date someone. It’s not like she could invite a boyfriend over here.”

  “What boyfriend?” I looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Are you saying that she’s met someone? Is that why she was working at the bar? Who’s she met? What guy, do I know him?”

  “Chet, chillax, dude. I wasn’t saying that she’s met anyone yet. I mean, when would she have had the time to meet someone? I’m just saying maybe she wants to meet someone. Maybe she wants to be in a relationship. I mean, come on, Olivia, Lucy, Sadie, they’re all in relationships now. She’s the only single one. I’m sure she must feel left out. Plus maybe she’s looking for a daddy for Eloise.”

  “Eloise is her niece, so if she was with someone, that man would not be Eloise’s dad, that man would be Eloise’s uncle.”

  “Sounds like you’ve thought about it quite a lot.” Wyatt’s voice was dry.

  “No, I have—” I looked up and saw Arya. “Anyway, dude, I’ll talk to you later.”

  Leaving Wyatt behind, I quickly caught up with Arya. “Hey,” I said, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

  She looked at me with her lips pressed together and I could tell that she was still pissed off. I was frustrated that she wasn’t smiling at me in her normal happy way and I was also annoyed that she wasn’t thanking me for allowing her to look for another option for a job. Did she really want to work at a bar when she could be doing so much more?