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“Oh sure. We’re just riding out to the east pasture. It’s pretty flat out that way.”
She took a step forward then hesitated again and looked down at the corgi. “What about Gladys?”
“What about her? She can either come along or stay in the house. Cooper usually just runs along beside the ATV. No offense, but it doesn’t appear that Gladys does a lot of running.”
Kaylee bristled, then dropped her shoulders. “Ah, who am I kidding? Neither GladysnorI do a lot of running. Unless you count running for the bus or the fridge… But I hate to leave her behind at the house.”
“You don’t have to.” He tapped the steel contraption on the back of the vehicle. “This is a dog box. It’s made for dogs so they can ride with you. Cooper likes to run, but once he gets tired, he’ll ride in the box.” He hefted the corgi into his arms and placed her inside the frame. He patted the spot next to her, and Cooper jumped onto the seat then into the box to sit next to the other dog. “See? They’re good. And we can let them down to run around if we stop to fix a section of fence.”
He climbed on and slapped the seat behind him again. “Your turn.”
Her cheeks went that adorable pink color as she approached the ATV and tried to figure out how to climb on without actually touching him. He pressed his lips together to keep from smiling as she tentatively rested her hand on his shoulder, lifted it, and then set it back down. She finally managed to swing her leg over and settle onto the seat.
Even though she was sitting right behind him, she’d left plenty of space between them. Her hands rested gently on his shoulders. “What exactly are we looking for?”
“Any place where the fence might need repair. We had a pretty big thunderstorm last week, so we’re watching for spots where the ground may have washed out or where any downed trees or broken limbs may have fallen on it. If we see anything, we’ll stop and fix it.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“Basically, you’re looking for any damaged places that a critter could slip through.”
“Got it.”
He settled back in the seat, his heart doing this funny racing thing from having Kaylee so close to him. Heat warmed every spot where her body was touching his. It had been so long since he’d had butterflies in his stomach over a woman, but the little devils were there now, swooping and swirling and banging into the walls of his gut. Hyper-aware of each place she was touching him, he tried to ignore the yearning that wanted more, that reveled in the delicious feel of her next to him.
Get ahold of yourself. She was a city girl celebrity who would only be around for a few days. No point in getting worked up over something—or someone—that didn’t have a chance to begin with. So why was he thinking about her timid smile and noticing how amazing her perfume smelled—something light and floral that had him wanting to bury his head in her neck and inhale her.
Snap out of it. He was thinking like a teenage boy. Planting his feet on the sideboards, he started the engine and headed toward the pasture, trying to focus on the task ahead. He spotted a bumpy place in the path. “Better hold on,” he told his passenger.
He probably could have gone around the rutted spot, but the teenager in him took over and instead, he gave the gas a little goose and went right through. The ATV bounced and Kaylee pressed closer to him and wrapped her arms securely around his waist.
It was probably good she couldn’t see the grin that broke across his face.
Luke was still smiling twenty minutes later. They’d been riding along the fence in silence, but it was a comfortable silence and even though she kept her arms around him, he felt her stiffness ease as she settled into the ride.
They turned into one of the smaller pastures. It was closer to the mountains and the cows seemed to like this one. Forty or fifty head of cattle milled around the field, and a few looked up when they heard the ATV. Most barely moved. They were used to Luke bringing out salt cubes and bags of feed. Although his job was much easier in the summer, and he hadn’t been out here as much since they had all this great grass to graze on.
Kaylee tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to a spot on the fence where a large branch had fallen and was weighing down a section of fencing.
“Good eye,” he told her, pulling up to the damaged area and cutting the engine. Cooper whined but waited for Kaylee to climb off before he jumped down from the box and ran along the fence, his nose to the ground as he sniffed out all the exciting new scents. Luke turned to help Gladys, but the corgi had followed Cooper’s lead and jumped down herself.
“You bored yet?” he asked Kaylee as he climbed off the four-wheeler and stretched his arms out.
“Not at all. This is fun.”
“Fun? We haven’t done anything or seen anything other than big green fields. I wouldn’t call this fun. I’d call it monotonous.”
She shrugged and smiled. “Maybe that’s what I like about it. You don’t have to think, you just get to enjoy the scenery. And one person’s monotony is another person’s fun.”
“If you say so.” He pulled the small chainsaw from the box and headed toward the fence.
Kaylee trailed along behind him. “Anything I can do to help?”
“Ever used a chainsaw?”
“Yes. Tons of times.”
He turned back to her, trying not to look too surprised. “Really?”
