Then he pulls something out of his pocket. To my utter mortification, it looks like one of my mittens. “Lose something?”
I swallow hard, feeling both of my jacket pockets. Yep, the one that I shoved in there earlier is gone. I don’t know where I lost it. “Oh, thanks. Where did you find it?”
Our fingers brush as he hands it to me and it’s like a bolt of lightning strikes. His eyes snap to mine, and I know he feels it too.
“Uh, outside The Dusty Spur.”
“Oh, shoot.”Am I already talking like a local? God help me.“I guess I must’ve dropped it without realizing. Thanks.” Duh.Why am I such a rookie when it comes to this man?
He doesn’t intimidate me. I’d like to think I’m a good judge of character, but I just can’t put my finger on him. I have decided, however, that I’m not going to let his royal grumpiness get to me. He can go along in life having no sense of humor. It won’t affect me. I know he’s probably regretting the decision to hire me after what I said, but now it’s up to me to prove him wrong.
Money is money, and I need it.
“Don’t mention it.”
He takes off to get the jumper leads, and I try really hard not to notice how good his ass looks in those jeans.
Falling for my bad boy boss isn’t gonna cut it. Not now. Not ever.
Now I’m stuck with him on an ATV, the proximity as close as we can get.
This is gonna be the ride from Hell, I just know it.
CHAPTER 11
Zane
I jump start the UTV with ease, then slide in next to Sadie. Because I’m so big, I take up most of the seat. I don’t mean to, but our legs touch, even though I try to be polite and keep my thighs as close together as possible. No easy feat when you’re six foot five.
“This is the barn and stables,” I say, waving my hand toward the outbuildings. “Bailey spends most of her time here when she’s not over at her property, as you probably already know.”
“Can we pet the horses?” she asks softly. “I never had any pets growing up. Mindy is my first cat. I got her four years ago. I find cats are a little easier and less needy than dogs.”
“Clearly you haven’t met Maisie,” I mutter. “Let’s head inside.”
Go figure she’s a cat person. Not that I’ve got anything against cats, but there are dog people, and then there are cat people. Though her tone changes when she talks about her cat. It’s warm and buttery. Like she’s speaking about her firstborn. Pets do that to you.
“Wow, this really is something out of a storybook,” she says, looking toward the huge stable.
“Well, we don’t overwork our horses, we’re not into manual labor, but they enjoy it. My horse, Zeus, he’s a beast. Kinda like the pack leader.”
“He sounds fantastic. I’m a little scared of horses because I’ve never ridden one, but I’ve always wanted to.”
I blanch. “You never rode a horse growin’ up in Colorado?”
She shakes her head. “I was too chicken.”
“My sister was the same, but once she was up in a saddle, there was no stopping her. Since then, she’s brought every waif and stray home since she was old enough to walk,” I say. “Never grew out of it.”
“Walking all those dogs must be hard work on top of studying, and helping out at the Lodge.”
“Trust me, Iz has it handled. We call her Hurricane Isabelle at home.”
She laughs. “I can imagine.”
We climb off the bike and head inside. I don’t miss the way she hops over each puddle on the floor, avoiding the latest dollop of horse manure. We clean twice daily, but you can’t always predict when Pepper, Stormy, Sugar, Delilah, Louis, or my horse, Zeus, is gonna drop one. Plus Dad’s horse Butterscotch often rests here in between the farm and the lodge when they stop by.
“Your shoes won’t cut it around here,” I tell her.
