“This mare I used to ride. She liked to torment me too. Never mind.”
“Jump her from my truck?” I asked.
“We’re facing the wrong way. I don’t see how you can drive round to reach the hood with how I’m parked.” Austin glanced at the surrounding trees. “Fuck.”
“Oh, ye of little faith. One of the rules of the range. Thirty-foot jumper cables. Sit tight and pop the hood for me.”
I uncoiled my jumpers, clipped the red clamp to his battery where the posts looked in decent shape, hooked up my workhorse Chevy, and clipped the black to his frame. Then I forged through the snow to his window. “All set. Give ’er a try.”
Austin took a deep breath and turned the key. The engine whined once, then caught with a rough idle. His antique sounded in desperate need of a tune-up but at least it wasrunning. Austin hissed, “Yessss! Oh my God.” He turned to me and smiled, wide and happy like I’d never seen him.
Jesus, that smile. It curved his mouth and lit his eyes and punched me right in the chest. I’d do a hell of a lot to earn that again.
“Right.” I unhooked in reverse order and coiled the cables back in the toolbox. “I’ll back out of here, and you follow. Keep a close eye on my tracks. This lane’s only single wide and there’s a couple of ditches under this snow.”
It occurred to me that now Austin had gas, he could go somewhere else if he wanted. Not far, though, before he’d be back in the same hole. Plus, he’d signed Kendrick’s papers and I knew he’d want to work off the cost of the gas. I didn’t voice that option.
We made it back to the ranch just fine, and I had him park by the barn, bring his saddle inside, and lug his stuff over to my cabin. Colby was still out on the four-wheeler, so we dug into mucking the stalls alongside Davis and got them done in record time. Austin couldn’t resist stopping to pet the dogs and cats, but he was a good worker. Not a powerhouse but fast and neat and stronger than I’d thought, even after seeing his muscular calves and thighs naked under that towel—
I cut off that thought fast.
I sent Austin to the cabin to change into his spare jeans, and once Colby was back, we began bringing the horses out. “Put your saddle on Ahwan,” I told Austin, after checking it would fit her wide back. Kid had an older ranch saddle with a sturdy horn and a double cinch, the seat scuffed and worn, but every inch of leather clean and supple. The care a man took with his gear said something about him.
“I shouldn’t ride your horse,” Austin protested.
“She’s not my horse. They all belong to Kendrick, except the two palominos that are Tiffany’s and John’s. I haven’t seenyou ride, and Ahwan’s bomb-proof. Hurry it up. And get extra leather gloves from the workroom. We’ll be pulling wire, and the ones you have are too lightweight.”
“Yessir.” Austin trotted off to the tack room for Ahwan’s headstall and saddle blanket.
“Kid takes directions well,” Davis murmured. Maybe I glared because he raised his hands. “Just saying.”
We turned the horses we weren’t using out into the paddock, and I paused before mounting up on Bumble to watch them run and play in the fresh snow.
“They look happy,” Austin said from where he held Ahwan’s reins.
“Should be,” Davis put in. “Most of those are the dude horses. They’ve got the life. Light work, winters off, a warm barn when it gets cold, and all the food they need. They can paw the snow and munch the frozen grass just for fun.”
“Except they have to put up with the dudes bouncing around on their backs and hauling on the reins.” Colby swung up on Trooper, giving the gelding’s black neck a thumping pat as the big horse danced. “Maybe they’d rather get out there and work the cattle like these guys.”
I glanced over to where the laziest of the mares got her butt nipped, squealed, and jumped a whole two feet before she went back to digging up grass. “Or maybe not. We need to keep an eye on Turbo. He’s getting nippy.”
Austin rechecked Ahwan’s front cinch, took it up a notch, then swung into the saddle. I watched him settle and control her sideways scuttle with his seat and the press of one leg. Okay, the kid could ride. One less worry.
Davis settled into the cab of the tractor hooked to the bale-mover. “Tally-ho,” he yodeled and drove off toward the lane.
Colby sent Trooper jogging after him. The dogs trotted at Trooper’s heels, smart enough not to get too close.
Austin glanced my way. He wasn’t smiling, but his expression beneath his thick-knit beanie was open and clear. He nodded to me, and I nodded back. Time to get some work done.
Chapter 7
Austin
Every muscle ached as I groomed Ahwan and put her in her stall. We’d pushed hard right through lunch to get the cattle checked and hayed, and the strip wires moved early, so Colby and Davis could go up to Selbyville for dinner. Apparently, Mama’s put on a Thanksgiving feast worth abusing your body for.
Seth asked if I wanted to go too, and I told him no. I had no money, though I didn’t remind him of that, and didn’t want to borrow any. Besides, I didn’t want to hang out with a bunch of strangers tonight, even for more cherry pie. Seth was staying back to keep an eye on the pregnant cow and the rest of the stock, and the last thing I wanted was to go without his friendly presence at my side.
A toot of a horn outside the barn marked Colby driving out with Davis in the passenger seat. I glanced through the window to watch them swerve down the drive, snow fanning from underthe tires. Something in me relaxed as their truck pulled away, like I didn’t have to put on my very best face anymore. Seth had seen me cuddling up to a horse for warmth. He knew I didn’t have all my shit together.
