“Maybe in a week or so,” she says.
I nod.
“Okay,” I repeat. “Then we have work to do.”
I stand up and drain my mug.
“We have a ranch to save,” I say. “And a rodeo to win. Let’s get to it.”
And when I walk off the porch, I don’t look back.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Tex
I should beat the Silver Star ranch. That’s where my head is supposed to be. That’s where my body is supposed to be.
I have a bronc to ride in a few days, a purse to win, and a point to prove to Tripp and every other asshole in this county who thinks the Carsons are washed up.
But I’m not at the ranch.
I’m standing by the fence of the north pasture, watching a girl check a cow’s gums.
Sedona is out here with Jasper. Even though Dr. Thorne gave the all-clear, even though the parasite is supposedly dead in the water, she’s out here doing a final check. Just to be sure.
That’s Sedona.
I watch her move.
She’s wearing a white T-shirt tucked into a pair of faded jeans that hug her hips. Her boots are scuffed and dusty, broken in from years of work. Her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail, exposing the curve of her neck.
The sun catches the red in her hair, turning it into a halo of fire.
She looks healthier. The gray pallor is gone. The dark circles under her eyes have faded. There’s color in her cheeks, a rosy flush that speaks of recovery and life.
She looks up, spots me by the fence. She waves.
The motion is simple. Casual. It shouldn’t make my chest ache, but it does.
I lift my hand in a half-wave and start walking toward them.
My boots crunch on the dry grass. The scent of the pasture hits me—hay, manure, warm earth.
But underneath it all, I catch her scent. Honeysuckle and cedar. It drifts on the breeze, cutting through the barnyard smells.
It clouds my judgment. It always has.
I reach them. Jasper is holding a clipboard, looking nervous. Sedona is scratching the ear of a black heifer.
“Hey,” she says.
“Hey,” I reply.
“I thought you were heading to Grant’s place to practice,” she says. “Billy said you were planning on riding this morning.”
I shrug. “I’ll go this afternoon. The cattle were being fed. I wanted to check on things here first.”
It’s a lie. I didn’t care about the cattle. I cared about seeing her.
