“Sure, you do. You can walk.” He shrugged. “Up to you.”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Enjoying what?”
“Watching me suffer.”
“Ms. Carroll, I don’t enjoy watching anyone suffer unless they deserve it, and though you are a pain in my ass, I would never want that for you.”
“Yeah, sure.” She walked to the horse, opened a saddlebag and retrieved her camera. “I’ll get some photos.”
Seth took the reins of her horse and his, then led them behind him as he followed her to the edge of the field where she raised her camera and shot photos.
“Where are the men?”
“On the ranch doing their chores. It’s too muddy to plant right now. We’ll have to let this dry up first.”
“You can’t plant in mud?”
“No, feed corn can’t be successfully planted in mud in Montana. It will lead to poor or failed crop production.Montana’s shorter growing season makes it critical to create the ideal conditions for a strong start, which is not possible in overly wet soil.”
“Then why did you bring me up here?”
“This way, you can get photos of the field before we till it.” He shrugged.
“Alright. I’m supposed to get before, during, and after photos anyway.”
“Sure. I’ll just wait here. Do what you want.”
Ryan nodded, then stepped forward and her foot sunk in the mud. She tried to pull it free, but the suction was holding it tight. After putting the strap of the camera around her neck, she reached down to hold the muck boot while she tried to pull her foot out of the mud. Seth watched her struggling and just about the time he was going to help her, she lost her balance and fell on her ass in the mud but held her camera up, so it didn’t get buried. He tried not to laugh, but it couldn’t be helped. She finally freed the boot, but she couldn’t stand up without putting her hands in the mud. She glared at him.
“Could you help me instead of standing there laughing at me?”
Seth dropped the reins, walked to where she sat and put his hand out to her. She placed her hand in his and he tugged her from the mud, then helped her to the grass, where she sat down again and glared at him.
“I didn’t make you get stuck in the mud.”
“You knew it was muddy!”
“So did you. I hope you brought a change of clothes.”
“No one told me to.”
“Ma’am, you’re covered in mud and it’s no one’s fault but your own. As I told you, this is a working ranch and farm. You will get dirty. Always bring extra clothing.”
“Yeah, screw you,Mr. Harrison.” She got up and stood beside her horse.
Seth nodded to her to follow him, but when he looked back, she was still standing by the horse.
“We’re not walking in that, are we?” she snapped.
“Not today. It has to dry out first, but I wanted you to see where we’ll start.”
She muttered something under her breath that he didn’t catch.
“What?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all, Mr. Harrison.”
