Page 34 of All in with the Maverick Montana

How was it possible that the world could make so much more sense with one person around?

He’d grown more than fond of these rides with Amy. He liked wandering the outskirts of the ranch, their horses weaving back and forth as they talked about nothing and everything. He liked looking over and seeing her there, comfortable on horseback, comfortable with him. Grinning as the sun stretched across the property, shading her eyes to see the cattle way off in the distance. He liked talking to her, more than anyone else in his life, and he never worried about the stretches of silence. Already he felt assured in the quiet spent with her.

He wanted more of that. Conversation and quiet and early morning rides that left his boots dew-stained and his cheeks warm.

“Thank you for having me out again,” Amy said, patting Bitsy on the forelock. She’d hung around after the ride and followed him around the ranch while he and his ranch hands completed the morning chores. She’d visited with the tiny calf again who she’d nicknamed Romeo, and had even offered to help muck out the horse stalls. Hours had passed and she still showed no sign of leaving, and frankly Josh wasn’t complaining.

“Of course,” he said. By now she had to know how much he enjoyed her company. They’d been together almost every day for the past couple of weeks. There was a part of him that wished she’d never leave. “You’re welcome here anytime.”

She glanced over at him where he leaned against the stall door. “You mean that?”

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.”

A touch of pink washed across her face. Gosh, he liked that too. He liked making her blush. Liked knowing that he wasn’t the only one affected.

“I don’t miss the rodeo and the training as much as I thought I would,” Amy said thoughtfully, putting the brush down. She gave Bitsy one more pat then turned to him. “But the horses…” She shrugged. “That’s different.”

“I think Bitsy would appreciate having you out more often,” he said. “To visit. To ride.”

“Is she the only one?”

Josh’s heart thumped in response. “I’m sure the cattle would appreciate seeing more than my ugly mug on occasion, too.”

Amy laughed. “It’s far from an ugly mug and I think we both know that.”

“Trying to give me a compliment?”

“Probably trying and failing, cowboy,” she said. She looked up as Mac stuck his head over his gate, looking for pats. “You might regret inviting me to pop by anytime.”

“Oh, yeah? Why?”

Amy flashed her teeth at him. “I’m gonna teach this lot about barrel racing.”

Josh snickered, the buzz transforming in his chest, and he realized his phone was ringing. “Bella might be too old for that,” he said, pulling out his phone. “She’s delicate now.”

“Well, maybe she’ll just supervise.”

“Hold that thought,” he said, answering the call. He stepped away. “Hey, how’s it going?”

“Didn’t wake you, did I?”

On the other end of the line was Shane, longtime friend and grandson of Josh’s neighbors, the Coreys—Black ranchers that had lived in Tenacity for generations. Josh and Shane had grown up running around their respective family ranches together, getting in and out of trouble, jumping off hay bales, driving heavy-duty ranch equipment, and generally causing mischief. Shane’s grandparents had been good friends with his own parents, and Josh was more than glad that Shane had come back to town after a stint away.

“You know I’m up with the sun.”

“Didn’t know if things had changed in your old age.”

Josh snorted.

“You got a minute to help out an old friend?”

“What’s going on?”

“Part of the fence came down last night and some of the herd got out. Could use your help wrangling up cattle and getting the fence repaired. And before you hang up on me, Gram says she’ll make it worth your while.”

“I would have done it out of the goodness of my heart,” Josh said. “But I will allow Angela to bribe me.”

“Good. You got time now?”