"You're hired." Red and Landry's heads jerk in surprise as Toby looks shocked that the words came out of his mouth.
"I am? Just like that?" I reply, a slow-growing grin tugging at my mouth. It almost seems too easy but since I already had a good feeling about these people, I know my answer is the right one.
Toby returns the smile like a huge weight has been lifted off of his shoulders and suddenly he’s gone from mute and unreadable to the most relaxed, happy, and carefree man in the fairgrounds right now.
“Yep. You’re the One.”
"The one?" I ask, scrunching my nose up.
"Oh yeah," Starchild replies, moving away from Landry to loop her arm in mine. "Definitely. One of us."
I turn an arched brow to Red, my body vibrating with excitement. “Are you sure you don’t need to ask me more questions? Or wait until I’ve met everyone? There’s more owners, right?”
"Rhett, Austin, and Colt all gave me their vote by proxy. Said if I got a good feelin' about you, then that would be enough for them." Red looks between Landry and Toby. "So if you two are happy, it’s a done deal.”
"I've already offered her the job," Toby says, sounding more than a little disgruntled. "Figured that would give you my answer. I said she's my O–”
“Yes, Tobes. There’s no doubtin’youropinion.” Red rolls his eyes with a chuckle before turning back to me.Why do I feel like I'm missing something here?“Welcome to our little ranch family, Delilah Daniels.”
The sense of relief that washes over me is palpable, mixed with a sense of excitement, and a weird fluttering in my stomach that feels like a kaleidoscope of butterflies has taken flight.
I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you so much. You won't regret it. I can't wait to start"
"I already know we won't," Red says with a wink. "And you're just in time for calving."
"Perfect timin’ then.”
"Some might say it was meant to be. Ain’t that right, Tobes?" Starchild says, waggling her brows.
Toby starts choking and Landry claps his back with a confusing yet seemingly amused grin. “You right there brother?”
I turn to Starchild. “Is he OK?”
She giggles and shakes her head. "It's fine, Delilah. More than fine. Some might even say you're just what the rancher ordered."
2
TOBY
I always wondered how I would know when the mountain spirit decided to shine her love-giving light my way. I’d thought I might have a 'big bang' type moment where there would suddenly be a blinding spotlight pointing to my One, followed by an angel choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus in my head.
What Ididn’texpect was to lay eyes on our new ranch hand and justknowthat she’s not just theone, butmyone. But the moment I saw Delilah Daniels, there was not a single doubt in my mind that she was the woman the mountain had sent to me.
There’s no other way to explain why my heart was galloping a mile a minute in my chest and my body felt like I’d been bagged, tagged, and dragged toward her. And why I was sweating up a storm like we’d moved from the normally cold, dry, polar climate to that of a tropical island. My entire being tingling in a mix of disbelief and elation.
The instant recognition of something...more... was not what I expected.
I've heard my brothers and the other mountain men talk about how the mountain call was for them, and almost every single one is different. The one thing shared by all of them was the ‘crawling out of your skin’ feeling and knowing to the depths of your soul that you were joined with your soulmate when you shared your first kiss.
And since it wouldn’t be good form to lay a hot wet one on our new ranch hand the first time we meet, I guess I’m going to have to do it the old fashioned way and get to know her before I rock her world and tell her about the mountain lore that’s determined her destiny.
So it's not surprising that I hired her. Just jumped right on in there and offered her the job without discussing it with anyone else. Red and Landry didn't question me thankfully, but I know I’ll hear about it soon enough.
When it comes down to it, Red's known me over half my life and Landry's known me for all of it. If we don't trust each other after that long, we have bigger problems than me hiring a ranch hand on sight. Besides, I'm sure Red said Randy had checked out her references and experience.God, I hope so...
"You have a place to stay tonight, Delilah?" Red asks, arching a brow.
Delilah smiles "Call me Dee. We're all gonna be spendin' a lot of time together so no need for formalities.”
