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The only thing that would’ve made things better is getting promoted earlier so I could rub it in Fisher’s face. He’s Riley’s cousin who lives in California and worked on the ranch during the summers and busted my balls on a daily basis. He conveniently started dating my ex Gretchen and constantly pissed me off and pushed my buttons. While we had a small rivalry for years, we ended our feud and became friends. After Fisher got married, he took a full-time job in Sacramento and stopped working here. If only he could see me now.
“What’re you smiling about?” Grayson asks when we climb off the horses.
“Nothing.” I quickly change the subject. “I’m gonna run to the shop and see if I can find the parts we need. We’ll take the side-by-side so we can get out there quicker if you wanna put the horses up before the storm hits.”
“Sounds good,” he says, leading them into the barn.
Running to my truck, I haul ass to the storage building where the spare parts are kept. After digging around, I find an extra pump that’s the same model and quickly disassemble the housing and remove the bearings. I stuff them in my pockets and head back. By the time I meet Grayson, he’s finished and waiting for me. We hop in the side-by-side and take off.
Less than ten minutes later, the bottom falls out of the sky, and when we finally make it to the pump house, we’re both soaked. Grayson isn’t amused as he parks and follows me inside. I pull some tools from my pocket, turn off the pump, and change the bearings as fast as I can because lightning’s striking too close for comfort. Thunder booms, making us both jump.
“Hurry the hell up,” Grayson urges, looking out the door as the rain pours down around the little shack we’re standing in. It takes every bit of strength I have to loosen the bolts, and the constant rumbles have my nerves on edge. For us to be out here like this is dangerous, and I can tell Grayson is just as unhinged as I am. The storm seems to have stalled right above us, and we’re already soaked from head to toe, but in this part of Texas, we pray for rain, especially during the brutal summer months. There have been too many years when we’ve suffered droughts, so we never take it for granted. After tightening everything and replacing the casing, I start the pump and thankfully, the loud squealing noise is gone when it comes on.
“Thank fuck,” I mutter, wiping my greasy hands on my jeans. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.”
We run to the side-by-side and hope we don’t get struck by lightning as we rush to the barn. Though it’s nearly impossible to see the trail, when the building comes into view, I let out a sigh of relief and feel better once we’re inside. Grayson turns off the engine and shakes his head at me.
“If you wouldn’t have been late this morning, then we would’ve finished earlier.”
“And if you would’ve told me that shit was rattling like that last week, we wouldn’t have had to do it in the rain.”
Grayson rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever,” he mutters, knowing I’m right.
Lightning cracks in the distance, and we leave. Once we’re inside my truck, I pull out my phone and text Bradley, one of the guys who works for me, to check in with him. Considering it’s pouring, I don’t expect a text back anytime soon, but I hope he and the other ranch hands are being safe. While I’d never admit that Grayson is right, I am actually annoyed I overslept because it really did fuck up our schedule.
Instead of immediately pulling away and heading to the B&B, I tell Grayson I want to wait a few minutes to see if the guys come back. He doesn’t care because he’s getting paid either way, so he pulls out his cell and scrolls through his phone. After thirty minutes, they ride up on horses and once they’re in the barn, I get a call from Bradley.
“Hey boss, first herd of cows are moved. What do ya want us to do now?”
“Thanks. Unsaddle the horses and I’ll call Alex. Don’t want you out there with all that lightning. Meet you at the B&B once y’all are done.”
“Yes, sir. See you there,” he tells me, and I end the call.
“See, now that’s what you call respect. He called me sir.” I crank the truck and glance at Grayson.
He rolls his eyes. “I’m not really into stroking your ego. It’s big enough.”
On the way there, Grayson does nothing but chat about Maize’s cooking, and it makes me even more hungry. We park on the side of the large house and walk up the steps of the porch. As soon as we enter, John shakes his head when he sees us dripping wet. We should’ve changed clothes, but my stomach is rumbling, and I didn’t want to wait.
