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Shealways showed up in this little daydream, too. Jess, with her golden hair drifting softly in the breeze, the collar of her favorite red and blue flannel shirt fluttering at the curve of her graceful neck, and her eyes searching for me. She’d smile just so, and then she’d reach for my arm again, like she did when we were teaching together, and she’d say…
“Go!”
Duchess almost leaped out from under me, jumping so hard I lost my hat. I scurried to regain my balance. Luke was just ahead of me, his rope snaking through the air. Mine was in motion, my elbow high, and my eyes locked on the target. Duchess had me set up just right, and my pulse pounded with the rhythm of her strides. One twirl, two, three…
“Hey, guys!”
That sounded a lot like Jess’s voice. My arm jerked, my spine tingled, and I shot my loop before it dropped in stride. It fell harmlessly to the sand as Kelli screamed away with the roping sled.
“Aw, man! What happened?” Luke howled. “Didn’t I tell you…” He had that finger in the air again, but then his eyes passed over the gate by the end of the arena to find what my whole body already knew. “Oh. Hi, Jess.” He cleared his throat. “And Austen. Whatcha guys doin’?”
Jess’s eyes were wide and her hand was covering her mouth. “I’m sorry! I think that was my fault.”
Luke glanced over at me, and I gave him a pleading look. If he opened that big mouth of his and embarrassed me…
He winked at me with the eye they couldn’t see, then waved a nonchalant hand. “Naw. Just workin’ out the kinks with a new horse. If you catch every single throw, they start anticipatin’. He did that a’ purpose.”
I raised a brow. Where was he getting a story like that?
“Really? I learn something new every time I come up here,” Austen said with that cheesy grin of his. “Sorry to interrupt your practice, though.”
“We were just finishing,” Marshall informed him. He was already coiling up the cords for the electronic timing eye. “What can we do you for?”
“Oh, I called Evan earlier. He said he’d sell me a few of your big one-ton hay bales, so Danny and I brought the semi and the flatbed over. He’s out with Evan now getting loaded up.”
So, that was what he wanted. And maybe that was why he’d tried to get back on my good side—he needed Walker Ranch to survive the winter. Well, so be it. I wouldn’t let a bunch of cows starve over my wounded pride.
I let my gaze drift to Jess. She and Kelli had already found each other and were talking about something, but she must have sensed my eyes on her because she looked over. A smile and a wave, and then Kelli said something that made her laugh and look away.
I got off Duchess, loosened the cinch, and then went back for my hat. Should I stop and talk to Jess? That would be the normal thing to do, right? But when I passed by the gate, Austen walked over to her and put his arm around her. So, I just kept walking. I had a horse to take care of.
I clipped Duchess into the cross ties and pulled my saddle, then returned with a brush to break loose the salt and dirt from our work. She was thin-skinned, and I’d discovered she only liked certain brushes. She also liked it when I hummed to her as I groomed her—she’d go from tense and alert to droop-eared with a foot cocked when I hummed a little tune to help her relax. It helped me, too, because I couldn’t hear the voices around the corner quite as well when I was making noise.
Her coat was brushed out soft and dry, and I was bent over to pick the packed dirt out of her hooves when a pair of worn boots stepped into my field of view. I dropped the hoof and straightened.
“Hi, Dusty,” Jess said.
I rested my hand on the horse’s wither and tried not to look like I was suddenly dizzy. “Hi.”
She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, then stroked Duchess’s hip. “How have you been?”
I drew a breath, held it, then tried to let it out carefully. “Just… busy. You?”
Jess smiled. “Same.” She bit her lip, her eyes shifting from side to side. “Um, I finally got some regular work. The phone company was looking for a contract mechanic to service their installation vehicles, so that’s been keeping me out of trouble.”
“Oh, yeah? That’s great! Are you still going to White Pines?”
“I wouldn’t miss it. Audrey’s been helping me, but…” The corner of her mouth tugged shyly, revealing that tiny crease I’d always wanted to soothe away with my thumb. “Neither of us is a real working cowboy. You know Aedyn and Billy. They still talk about ‘how Dusty does it’ on a daily basis.”
I huffed a short laugh. “Tell them I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I pointed toward the arena with my hoof pick. “As soon as Marshall’s really back to work. Won’t be much longer now.”
Jess nodded. “Good. They’ll be glad to have you back.” That wisp of hair fell over her eyes again, brushing along her jaw and half concealing her cheek. My chest ached looking at it, and I couldn’t help inching just a little closer to her. Would she let me tuck it behind her ear for her? Her chin lifted, and her pupils dilated. And did her breathing deepen?
“Jess?” I asked softly.
She answered with a little sigh, and a fine line appeared between her brows. “Yeah?”
“I…” I swallowed, my hands tingling inside my gloves. And before I could pull them off, reach for her soft cheek and slip that bit of silk between my fingers, she flipped it out of the way herself. I had already rocked forward on the balls of my feet, but I made myself settle again. Well… it was a stupid idea, anyway.
