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She didn’t really go all that far to college, only across the state to the University of Montana, but that was far enough. During the summers, instead of coming home, she worked in Missoula to save money for college. Her parents didn’t question the decision too much. It was a lot easier to find work in Missoula than in Lark Field.
She’d only been back to Lark Field a few times since graduation, summoned home for family events like Thanksgiving and Christmas. She’d gotten together with her high school friends during those vacations, making sure she never went anywhere Kye McBride might be. If he came over to see Carson, she stayed in her room. She even found reasons to skip out on church. Sudden sickness, mostly. God could do without her when Kye was in the building.
Avoiding Kye had made the return trips to Lark Field bearable, fun even. She should have known she couldn’t cheat fate for long. Fate enjoys a good drama.
Elsie had known she would have to face Kye at her brother’s wedding. He was going to be Carson’s best man. Still, she hadn’t planned on him seeing her this way—a bedraggled traveler stuck on his property while his cows held her hostage.
Elsie sat in her car, gripping the steering wheel while Kye rode up on a chestnut horse. he was close enough now that she could see wisps of brown hair sticking out from under his cowboy hat. His features were just as she remembered them: strong jawline, slender face, dark blue eyes that could look into your soul and then come up with a math equation to quantify what he saw.
She immediately felt eighteen again.
He prodded his horse to walk around to the driver’s side of the car, only casually glancing at the cows that surrounded her. He motioned for her to roll down the window, then leaned forward over the horn of the saddle. His amusement showed in the tilt of his smile. “Having car problems?”
“Cow problems, actually,” she replied lightly. “Do you train them to surround strangers this way? If I hand over my wallet will they go away?”
Kye surveyed the cattle. “You honked your horn at them, didn’t you?”
It was a pointless question. He must have heard her from wherever he’d been. Still, the tone of his voice made her feel as though she’d done something stupid, something that needed explanation. “Yes. A couple were standing in the road. I honked to get them to move.” She looked over her shoulder at the still-gathering crowd of cows on the road behind her.
“Well,” he said, drawing out the word, “that’s how we let them know it’s time to eat. One of the hands drives out here in the truck, drops off the hay, and honks the horn.” He gestured toward the cattle. “They’re waiting for you to hand out some dinner.”
Oh, so this was the cow version of a feeding frenzy, and she was in the middle of it. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “What happens if I don’t feed them?”
Kye didn’t answer. He already had his phone out and was asking someone named Frank to come out and bring hay. Finally, Kye slipped his phone into his pocket. “Might as well turn off your car. It’ll take a few minutes.”
“Isn’t there any other way you can get rid of them? I have, um…” She didn’t want to admit she was driving across Montana in a car that had trouble starting. He would think it was a stupid thing to do, and she’d already done enough to convince him of her foolishness.
Kye cocked an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to finish.
“My car’s battery is temperamental,” she said. “I don’t want to turn it off.”
“Temperamental? By that, do you mean old and nearly dead?”
“No, it’s a new battery. It’s the connections…or something,” she added vaguely. Her knowledge of car parts wasn’t extensive. She’d planned on turning the entire thing over to her father and letting him handle it. Her dad loved to tinker with cars.
Kye pulled out his phone again. This time when he spoke into the phone, he said, “Hey, while you’re out dropping off feed, can you take a look at Elsie’s car? She’s having problems with her battery.”
Kye paused, listening. Elsie wondered if Frank was questioning why she was driving long distances down lonely roads in an unreliable car.
“Right,” Kye said into the phone. A pause. “Thanks.” He slid his phone back into his pocket. “Frank will take a look at your car while he’s out here.”
Elsie tapped her steering wheel. “You really don’t need to make him do that…”
Kye tipped his hat in a mock gesture of gallantry. “It’s the least I could offer after you’ve been held up at cowpoint on my property.”
“Thanks,” she said stiffly. She turned off her car.
She had expected Kye to ride off—preferably into the sunset, but instead, he gestured for her to get out of the car. “It’s too cold to wait out here. I’ll take you up to the house. You can stay there until your car is ready.”
She didn’t move, didn’t open the door. The last thing she wanted was to prolong this or any conversation with Kye. “That’s okay. I don’t want to trouble you.”
“Hmm,” he said as though giving her words consideration. “I think taking you to the house would be much less trouble than having to explain to your brother why your frozen corpse is on my ranch.”
Elsie sighed. She had no choice. She put on her coat, opened the door, and stepped outside. A cold breeze pushed across her cheeks and fluttered through her hair. A Lark Field winter at its best. She pulled up her coat’s hood and shut the car door. The sound seemed hollow, final.
Kye held his hand down to her and took his foot out of the stirrup so she could get a leg up. “Do you remember how to ride a horse?”
“It’s like a bike, right? You never forget.”
