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James
I watch as Holy runs towards me and feel her mount the four wheeler behind me. A pro mount, one that she has been doing for years. Her hands grip my shoulder as she settles behind me, her tap on my shoulder giving me her signal that she’s ready to ride.
“Hold on,” I holler and her arms wrap around my middle. A feeling that’s comforting and exciting every time we ride. She holds on tighter as I take off and accelerate down the path.
I see her brothers up ahead in the distance, but keep my fast pace a tad slower. It’s moments like these that I wish wouldn’t end. Holly’s body pressed against mine, thoughts of what it could be like if things were different.
When we approach the gate to the pasture, Holly taps twice on my stomach, her signal for me to slow. She hops off, opens the gate and I ride through. Once the gate is closed, she hops on and gives me a shoulder tap, telling me she’s ready to go.
We exchanged no words as we bump along the fields. Her grip gets stronger and releases a little here and there as we roll along.
With her arms around me, her chest pressed to my back, and her scent surrounding me, I bask in the feel and sensations of having her this close. If things were easier, this would be permeant, her at my back or by my side. She would be mine. But you can’t always have what you want.
If I was a better man, one without the troubles and baggage that I carry, I would have grabbed the opportunity to be her man years ago. But what do I have to offer her? A ranch hand on her family’s farm and deputy sheriff, a tired man who works sun up to sun down most days and the overnights when I’m on call. A man who works two jobs to take care of himself and others. Some that are grateful and some that despises the hand that helps them.
I push those thoughts out of my head as we pull up to Jake and Damien working on the fence, with Ben and Mr. Frost, better known as Henry, sitting atop their horses, watching on. Or more like supervising from their perch.
Henry’s eyes look to where Holly has her hands around my waist, but quickly averts them when she speaks. “Did you get them all?” She hops down before he can answer and is next to him in an instant, rubbing Demon’s muzzle. The black quarter horse is the most stubborn animal I have ever met. But when he sees Holly, he melts under her touch.
I know, man. I do the same.
“Yeah. All are accounted for,” Henry answers, his voice stoic and to the point. He’s never a man to mix words.
I give him a nod and drop my eyes back to Holly. Demon lowers his head, and she gives him a quick kiss on the bridge of his nose and steps back. “What can I help with?” she questions as I dismount and pull my work gloves from by back pocket and grab the spare pair that are in the cargo bag up front.
Holly takes the spare pair from my hands and slips them on. We work in silence as we help Jake and Damien fix the fence line that is down. Holly works on removing the wire that is down while I pull the bent post out of the ground.
“You have any idea on what happened here?” I ask aloud to no one.
“My guess, someone or something, weakened the line. This is more than what our herd can get up to,” Jake answers. He reasoning the same I was thinking as well.
“Has to be,” Ben adds. “I rode the fence line yesterday and everything looked good. If there was a problem, I wouldn’t have moved them over to this pasture yesterday evening.”
“Well, whatever it is, let’s get it fixed,” Henry orders. “While y’all work on that, Ben, let’s move them to the next pasture in rotation.” Ben nods and turns his horse toward the cattle. Henry follows and they push the herd down the line to the next pasture. It doesn’t take much effort since the cattle are used to the rotation and have an idea of where they are moving too. Or at least I like to think that is the case.
We work in comfortable silence, the occasional order from Jake. This is nothing new for all of us. While Holly doesn’t work out on the farm that often anymore, she’s done this her whole life. She knows the rhythm of what needs to be done. She doesn’t balk at the hard work, just gets it done.
Even with her hair falling out of her ponytail, the dirt smudge on her cheek, and her sweatshirt tied around her waist, she is the most attractive woman I have ever met. Her quick wit, hard work, and smarts are all added attraction points to her looks. The woman is the whole package.
“All set,” Jake calls out as he checks over the repairs. “Let’s head back,” he orders as he mounts his machine. We all do the same, and I savor in the feeling of Holly at my back as we follow her brothers across the pastures.
Back at the barn, Holly dismounts, giving me her smile as she stands at my side. “Thanks for the ride, Cowboy.”
“Any time, Darlin’,” I reply, tipping my baseball cap like a Stetson.
Her snicker and eye roll at the banter we always have after a ride is something that I hold close. It may be silly to most, but it’s just something between us. Ours. And I wouldn’t change it.
“Okay, I’m headed to the house. I’m supposed to help mom with the website,” Holly announces. “Holler if something comes up. I’d rather be out here.”
“Will do,” Jake replies while Damien and I call out, “later.”
As Holly walks towards the house, I watch her leave, my eyes focused on her ass in her tight as sin jeans. She removed the sweatshirt and carries it in her hands, giving me a sight to watch. She looks over her shoulder and catches me looking. I can hear a faint chuckle from her as she shakes her head and focuses ahead.
“What’s your thoughts?” Damien asks, and the silence that follows has me turning to him. Both he and Jake smirk when I meet their eyes. “Did we lose you?”
I look at them both, wondering what their thoughts are. I know they caught me watching Holly walk away. This is the first time I’ve slipped up and let my mask down. But neither looks upset. “Just tired, had a long day yesterday,” I answer to deflect from where my mind really was.
Reflecting back, it was a long ass day. I woke a few hours into the morning and headed into my shift at the station. Once my shift was up, I headed to the grocery store and picked Ellie, my sister, up from her part-time job. Dropped her off at a friend’s house and came back to the ranch to handle the evening chores with Ben. After a few hours of work, I headed back into town to bring her back to my place. All the while dodging calls from my mother and her problems.
