Free HUNTER (The Corbin Brothers Book 1) by Lexie Ray Page A

exhale. “Loads of people ride horses. It’s not a throwback. It’s a lifestyle.”
    “But this is a modern cattle operation, isn’t it?”
    “That’s right.”
    “So why the horses? Aren’t their better ways to keep track of the cattle?”
    “You mean ATVs?”
    “I don’t know what I meant. I mean, I get that this is Texas and all that, but aren’t the horses a little…I don’t know…romantic? Old West? Nostalgic? You’ve done enough sit-ups. Let’s move on to push-ups.”
    I groaned as I flipped myself over, trying to grab a few seconds’ rest with my response. “You might think horses are nostalgic, but that’s the way my parents wanted to run this place. They ranched because they loved it, and I guess they didn’t want ATVs. It seemed unnatural, it stressed the cattle out, and they enjoyed the exercise of riding horses when working the ranch.”
    “Push-ups,” Hadley said impatiently, and I sighed as I complied with her endless, merciless demands. “You haven’t talked about your parents. Where are they?”
    “Across the ranch, in a quiet corner of a field by the river.”
    “A retirement home?”
    “A family graveyard.”
    “Jesus. Hunter, I’m sorry.”
    “You didn’t say anything wrong.”
    Hadley didn’t say anything for a while, letting me focus on my push-ups. They were so much harder than they regularly would’ve been, even if my arms were a little stronger than the rest of me because of my reliance on the crutches. It was less of a traditional exercise and more of a balancing act. I kept searching for my missing toes to join the others, helping propel me up and down, but they just weren’t there. I had to rely on the parts I had left to keep me moving, still uncomfortable with wearing the prosthesis on a regular basis.
    “All of you Corbins are relatively young,” Hadley said hesitantly. “Chance can’t be much older than thirty or so…”
    “He’s 35. It was a car crash that killed them.”
    “I’m so, so sorry.”
    “Again, nothing you did.”
    “I’m expressing sympathy, Hunter.”
    “Oh. Well, thanks, I guess. I don’t remember much about it. I was young. Please don’t say you’re sorry again.”
    “So your parents made this ranch.”
    “Nope. Inherited it. My dad’s great-grandparents.”
    “So…this is a pretty big deal. A big family operation.”
    “That it is.”
    “Do you like ranching?”
    “I haven’t ranched in a while.”
    “But when you did, did you like it?”
    “Yeah.”
    “You don’t sound like you’re too thrilled about it.”
    “I’m sweating balls and doing push-ups, Hadley!” I barked at her, every muscle in my body straining.
    “You’re done with push-ups,” she said, ignoring my outburst. “Get some water.”
    Goddamn. The last thing I wanted to do was heave myself to a standing position and hop over to the porch for the bottle of water, but Hadley was a tough taskmaster. Boot camp was a far-off memory, but I was having trouble deciding which was tougher—that training or Hadley’s rehab.
    The water was still a little cool from the fridge, but it wouldn’t be for much longer. I drank whatever I thought my stomach would hold and splashed the rest on my face, whipping off my shirt to let it drip down my overheating core.
    I opened my eyes to see Hadley squinting at me.
    “Enjoying the show?” I joked.
    “Just taking stock of everything we need to still do,” she fired back. “We need to put some meat back on your bones, Marine.”
    I knew I still wasn’t in good fighting shape. I was a skeleton of my former self. Hadley was joking, but it still stung.
    “I’ll get there,” I said wearily. “If you don’t kill me in the process.”
    “What made you choose the Marines, anyway?”
    “They’re the best.”
    “Maybe, but better than the ranch?”
    I squinted at her. “What are you getting at?”
    “I’m not trying to get at anything. I was just making conversation. Sorry if I struck a nerve.”
    Sometimes,