He didn’t have to ask her what she was referring to. The words she’d uttered to him the night he’d snuck away with Dylan had been a burr in his side for the past two years. “Go on now. And don’t come back.”

He’d hated that they parted on bad terms. But somehow, he’d said the wrong thing, and she’d gotten upset. He should have tried harder to make things better before leaving, should have gone after her, should have parted ways as friends.

“Please just leave now, Jericho.”

Heaviness pressed upon his heart, and he lowered himself to the spot beside her.

She stiffened and wiped rapidly at her cheeks. “I mean it. I don’t want to see or talk to you again.”

He laid a hand on her arm. “I’m sorry, Ivy.”

She jerked away from his hold. “Sorry for what?” Her cheeks were flushed. As her chest heaved up and down, he tried to ignore how womanly she was and kept his focus on her face.

“I didn’t know you were buying Steele’s land until you walked into his house today.”

Vulnerability flashed across her expression.

His mind scrambled to find a solution to the problem. There had to be something he could do, some way he could still pretend he was interested in the land without hurting Ivy’s chances at buying it once he left.

“I’ll tell you what.” He lifted a hand to brush a stray tear from her cheek but then stopped himself. “We’ll have a contest.” A contest? What was he thinking?

She cocked her head slightly. “What do you mean?”

“It isn’t fair of Steele to sell the land to me just because I’m a man.”

“You’re right about that.” A spark came to life in her eyes again, exactly what he wanted to see there. He’d rather have her angry than hurt.

“Then whoever saves up for Steele’s asking price first gets the place.” The words tumbled out, the best he could think of so quickly.

“That ain’t fair and you know it.”

“Why?”

“’Cause, for starters, you probably already have a heap more saved than I do. And plus, you’ll just go on and work construction for Wyatt. But I won’t have any way to earn money except through the cowhand competitions.”

“Wyatt and Flynn aren’t paying you the same as the other cowhands?”

She released a scoffing laugh. “They tell me at least once a week I’m getting too old to be out working with the cattle and oughta be back at the house with the other womenfolk.”