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“What’s Cowboy Coffee?”
“That’s the kind you make over an open fire. It tastes terrible, and you usually have to chew it due to all the loose grounds floating in it, but it’s hot and strong enough to put hair on your chest.”
She wrinkled her pert nose. “Sounds delicious. You’re really selling this camping and cattle drive excursion idea.”
He flashed her a grin. “All in a day’s work for a cowboy.”
“Speaking of work, what’s on deck for tomorrow?”
The vision of her battered feet came into his head. “Nothin’ much. It’ll be a slow day. Why don’t you just hang out in here? You can rest up and take care of your sore feet.”
He swore he saw a look of relief wash over her face. But then it was gone as she lifted her chin. “I didn’t come here to rest. I came to participate in a normal day on a ranch. So, I’ll ask again, what are we doing tomorrow?”
His plan had been to show her the worst parts of ranching so she’d skedaddle back to the city. But she’d barely flinched at shoveling manure. And he did feel bad about those blisters. So maybe he needed to show her the monotonous part of his daily routine. Maybe he couldboreher back to the city. “I’m afraid my morning is nothing to get excited about. I’m planning to spend most of the morning running fence.”
Her brow furrowed for just a moment then she forced a smile. “Sounds great. What time do we start?”
Kaylee stifled a yawn the next morning as she took another sip of coffee and tried to force back the feelings of dread worming their way through her stomach. Her body was sore. She’d used muscles the day before she didn’t even know she had.
She’d spent an hour soaking in the big claw foot tub the night before and had planned to jot down some notes about her experiences that day, but instead, had fallen into bed after her bath and gone to sleep the second her head hit the pillow.
She’d slept hard, her dreams full of scattered images of the handsome cowboy, cream cheese frosting, shoveling muck, and crunchy coffee. She woke, bleary-eyed and achy, and every part of her fought to stay curled under the cozy down comforter with Gladys cuddled at her side.
But Sassy didn’t sleep in or hide from her responsibilities. Sassy was a take-charge woman. She’d probably even be excited about spending the morning running along some fences. Although for the life of her, Kaylee couldn’t figure out why Luke would want to do that. Was it some kind of cowboy calisthenics?
There was so much she had to learn about what really happened on a ranch. Maybe Faye’s idea hadn’t been the worst one, she begrudgingly thought as she lifted her arms in a stretch. She bent forward then to the side, stretching her sore muscles in preparation for the run.
Ugh.She hadn’t run in years. Why was she doing this again? At least her feet felt better this morning, especially since she’d shucked the stupid boots and opted for comfy sneakers.
She turned at the sound of thundering hooves and stopped mid-stretch to gawk at the cowboy galloping toward her on a large black horse.
Close your mouth. A bug might fly in.
Her grandmother’s old admonishment came back to her. But holy cow, or holy cowboyin this instance, she couldn’t help it. She could barely breathe from the way her stomach had just gone aflutter. Luke Montgomery, with his black hat pushed low over his intense eyes and commanding the imposing horse, was a sight to see. He looked like something out of a movie.
He pulled the horse to a stop in front of her. “Mornin’.”
“G-g-ood morning,” she stammered, her mouth dry as she peered up at him. And she did have to look up, the horse was even bigger up close.
“I saw you from across the pasture. What are you doing? Some kind of weird yoga or that chai tea stuff?”
She shook her head. He’d seen her? From across the pasture? The thought had heat darting up her spine.Calm down, she told herself. She pulled at her t-shirt, yanking it down to make sure her waist was covered. “It’s called tai chi. Chai tea is a beverage. And no, that wasn’t what I was doing anyway. I was just stretching. Getting ready for our run.”
He furrowed his brow. “What run?”
“Oh, um…” She pulled at her shirt again. “I thought you said you were going to take a run by your fences this morning.” She gestured to his cowboy boots. “Although I can’t imagine how you’re planning to run in those boots.”
He chuckled. “You do amuse me, Kaylee Collins.” He swung down from the saddle and tipped his hat back. “I said I was going to run fence, notgo for a run. Running fence just means you ride along it and check it for damage. I usually take the ATV or ride my horse.”
“Oh.” She looked down at her hands as she twisted them together. How embarrassing. As a Western romance writer, she should know a lot more about this ranching business. Faye was proven right again. “Sure, that makes sense.”
He smiled. “Although I can see how you would mix that up if you weren’t used to the term.”
Now he just felt sorry for her for being such a dope.Thanks for throwing me a bone, dude.
“So, do you want to take the horses or the ATV?” he asked. “Do you ride?”
She took a frightened step back as the big horse stomped his foot and let out a huff. “No. And to be quite honest, they kind of terrify me.”
“Terrify you?”
Why did she admit that? Sassy would never admit such a lame weakness. But she’d already said it, so there was no taking it back now. “They’re just so big. And unpredictable. And they seem hard to control.”
“You seem like the kind of woman who likes to be in control.”
It almost sounded like that statement might have had a little flirty undertone. But Kaylee took this subject seriously. And maybe a little too defensively, she thought as she lifted her chin. “There’s nothing wrong with a little order and organization.” Ora lotof order and organization, if she had her way.
“Have you ever ridden one?”
“No,” she answered a little too loudly, fighting back the panic that accompanied the memories of the time she had tried.
