As he pulled his truck up to the barn, he glanced around but didn’t see anyone, but he did see Ryan Carroll’s SUV. He opened the door, stepped from the truck, and heard men yelling. Seth grinned as he knew they were trying to break a few horses today.
After shoving the door closed, he headed toward the indoor corral. He stopped when he saw Ryan Carroll snapping photos. Clenching his jaw, he walked to where she stood. When she looked at him and smiled, he mentally shook his head.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Watching the guys try to break this horse.”
“I see that. This is not what you’re here for. None of my work is to be photographed. Only the part about growing Beckett Feed.”
“These are for my personal use. I just thought I’d get a few—”
“Where’s Cull?” Seth placed his hands on his hips as he looked around.
“He was putting the UTV away.” Ryan turned to face him. “How did your meeting go?”
“Fine,” Seth said as he looked down at her feet, then at her. “Didn’t I tell you to wear boots? Those are not good if you plan on riding.”
“I know. Cull told me. I’ll buy a pair later today. Damn, you need to lighten up, Mr. Harrison.”
“And if you want photos of how we grow Beckett Feed, you’ll need to see the process of how the soil is prepared, the feed planted and grown. I thought you’d know some of what you’re supposed to be doing.” When she gasped, he turned from her towatch the men. “Did you even get to any of the fields where we’re planting corn?”
“Yes, but Cull said it was too muddy from last night’s rain.”
Seth shook his head as he looked at Ryan. “Which is why you need boots. Get yourself a pair. I’m sure we have muck boots you can wear but when you ride, you’ll need the proper boots, Ms. Carroll.”
“Wow, did you get up on the wrong side of the bed or did some woman kick you out of it?”
Seth smirked. “I have never been kicked out of a woman’s bed.”
“So,yousay. As I said, I’ll pick up boots later.”
“There’s a lot to do tomorrow and if you don’t get proper boots, you will not go with us. There’s no sense in sticking around today since you’ll need to make a trip to town. I’ll see you in the morning.” Seth touched the brim of his hat and strode from the barn.
****
Ryan watched as Seth Harrison hightailed it out of the barn. What did she ever do to him? Was he serious about her leaving for the day? She hadn’t gotten many photos of the fields since it had been so muddy.
“You, Mr. Seth Harrison, may be one good-looking man, but your manners are lacking,” she murmured as he walked up the steps of his house, opened the door, entered, then slammed it shut behind him.
Maybe his meeting didn’t go as planned. She had no idea what the meeting was about, but he didn’t seem as nice as yesterday.
Heaving out a sigh, she walked from the barn to her vehicle, climbed in, started it, then drove back to town. She’d go back to The Western Wear store and get boots. They had completelyslipped her mind yesterday when she’d been shopping, but she’d get them today, then maybe Mr. Grumpy would be happy.
Since she was basically free for the day, she asked Alyssa if she wanted to go into Clifton with her to do some exploring, then they climbed into her SUV and headed to town.
They explored as many shops as they could and ended up spending too much money. Once arriving back at their cabins, they had lunch at the main house, then walked around the grounds, taking in the activities. Ryan smiled as she looked around. It was such a beautiful place.
Tuesday morning, as she arrived at eight, a light drizzle started as she parked her vehicle, then entered the barn, but stopped when she saw a brown and white cow slowly making its way toward her. Ryan glanced around but no one else was there.
The cow stopped in front of her and stared at her with big brown eyes.
“Uh, hey there, cow.” She moved back and the cow stepped forward again. “Whoa, that’s close enough.”
“That’s Elsie. She’s harmless but supposed to be in her pen. She’s a good escape artist.”
Ryan turned to face Seth Harrison and bit her lip. No man should be that handsome especially with sweat staining his shirt and she could make out his hard pecs and flat stomach. She stared into moss green eyes. Then she saw the buckle on his belt, but she couldn’t make out what was on it, and she didn’t want to stare at the area for too long or he’d notice.
“Escape artist?”
