Jealousy is annoying
560 Words
The ride back to the ranch should have been normal.
It wasn't.
Something had changed in the shelter.
Neither wanted to talk about it.
Neither wanted to acknowledge it.
So naturally...
Both pretended nothing happened.
Which lasted approximately ten minutes.
"You're riding too slow."
Damien looked over.
"You literally taught me."
"Apparently not well enough."
Damien rolled his eyes.
"There he is."
"There who is?"
"The grumpy cowboy."
Ethan frowned.
"I'm not grumpy."
Damien laughed so hard he nearly fell off Titan.
By the time they returned to the ranch, everyone was waiting.
The storm had worried people.
Especially when Ethan and Damien hadn't returned overnight.
The moment they entered the yard, questions started flying.
"Where were you?"
"Did you get lost?"
"Did you freeze to death?"
Ethan immediately regretted coming home.
Then someone new stepped out of a vehicle.
A woman.
Tall.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
Expensively dressed.
The kind of woman who clearly belonged in Damien's world.
Not Ethan's.
The moment she saw Damien, her face lit up.
"DAMIEN!"
Before anyone could react—
She threw her arms around him.
Ethan froze.
For some reason.
A very irritating reason.
Damien laughed.
Actually laughed.
And hugged her back.
"What are you doing here?"
The woman smiled.
"The board sent me."
Of course they did.
Her name was Victoria.
One of Damien's closest friends.
And unfortunately...
She was very friendly.
Very comfortable around him.
Ethan hated her immediately.
Not because she'd done anything wrong.
She seemed perfectly nice.
Which somehow made it worse.
The rest of the day became torture.
Because Victoria followed Damien everywhere.
Talking.
Laughing.
Touching his arm.
Standing too close.
Ethan noticed all of it.
Against his will.
By dinner he was in a terrible mood.
A truly awful mood.
"What's wrong with him?"
Victoria asked.
Damien glanced toward Ethan.
The cowboy looked like he wanted to punch someone.
"No idea."
The lie came easily.
Mostly because Damien didn't understand it either.
Across the room Ethan stared at his plate.
Ignoring everyone.
Especially Damien.
Which should have been easy.
Except every time he looked up...
Victoria was there.
Smiling at Damien.
Laughing with Damien.
Touching Damien.
The feeling in Ethan's chest grew worse.
Hotter.
Sharper.
More annoying.
Finally one of the ranch hands noticed.
And unfortunately he was an i***t.
"Ethan."
The cowboy didn't look up.
"What?"
The ranch hand grinned.
"You jealous?"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Damien nearly choked on his drink.
Victoria blinked.
Everyone froze.
Ethan looked ready to commit murder.
"What?"
The ranch hand wisely backed away.
Immediately.
"I'm just saying—"
"Stop."
"You keep glaring at them."
"Stop."
"It kinda looks—"
"STOP."
The entire table burst into laughter.
Ethan stood.
Grabbed his hat.
And left.
Outside, the evening air felt cool against his skin.
Good.
Because he was losing his mind.
Jealous?
Ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
He didn't even like Damien.
Most days.
So why had seeing him with Victoria felt like getting kicked in the chest?
The answer arrived before he could escape it.
Because somewhere between the arguments...
The horse lessons...
The long days...
And the storm shelter...
Damien Black had become important.
And Ethan had absolutely no idea what to do about it.
Meanwhile, inside the ranch house...
Damien stared out the window after him.
Thoughtful.
Confused.
And for reasons he couldn't explain...
A little disappointed that Ethan had walked away.
- Writer
