TJ
TJ rose with the sun and loaded his belongings in his truck, then settled up with Nana. After bidding her goodbye, he pulled out of the motel parking lot toward his new job, and hopefully a bright future at the farm-turned-ranch. His insides hummed with anticipation as he looked forward to his first day. He wasn’t sure what was in store for him yet, but he had a feeling his life was about to change in a major way. So far, things were looking pretty promising with a new job, and hopefully a chance at a relationship, rather than just a passing encounter with Morgan.
At seven a.m. sharp, he reached the farm and parked his truck near the horse barn. Sean met him just outside of the barn and gave him his instructions for the day.
“Take off for lunch whenever you feel like it, and figure out your schedule around the horses’ routines. I texted you a list of what I think are the daily chores, but have a look around and figure out what else needs doin’ and what you need to make things work. Oh, and here’s the key to the cabin. We don’t always keep it locked, but you may want to once you have your belongings in there.”
He pocketed the single key. “Thanks, sir. Appreciate it.”
“You can stop with the sir. Sean is fine.”
“Thanks, Sean.”
Whistling a tune, he entered the barn and looked around with a smile on his face, in awe of his new work environment. The familiar smells of horses and hay bombarded his senses and gave him a sense of comfort. The barn cat and her kittens came trotting up to him as if they’d been expecting his arrival. One-by-one, he greeted each horse by name and led them out to the pasture for grazing so he could get his bearings and conduct an inventory.
As he was returning to the barn after leading Clover out to the pasture area, he saw a figure approaching from around the corner of the building. A female with long auburn hair. He immediately recognized those locks and the body he’d spent so much time exploring intimately over the weekend.Morgan!
Wrinkling his brow, he spoke. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
At the sound of his voice, she looked up and stopped dead in her tracks. Her pretty face had the look of a deer in headlights as she stammered out a response. “I—I live here. I would ask whatyou’redoing here, but it’s pretty obvious. You’re the new foreman my dad hired.”
His heart sank to his stomach.Holy shit. “That makes you the daughter Sean told me to stay away from.”
The deer in the headlights expression changed to one of anger, her green eyes now shooting gold flecks like daggers. Lord, she was even more beautiful when she was mad.
“Wait a minute—he said what?”
“When your father hired me, he told me very clearly that his daughter was off limits. And I told him he had nothing to worry about, that I keep to myself. But then I met you, and I broke my word without even knowing it.”
Morgan didn’t respond; she stared off in the distance looking anywhere but at him.
He began pacing back and forth, his thoughts bouncing the same rhythm in his head. This was bad. Really bad. He needed this job. This opportunity. This new beginning. He couldn’t blow it over a girl. But she wasn’t just any girl. He stopped in mid-stride, tipping his head back and looking up, searching for answers. But all he saw were blue skies and fluffy white clouds, which were in sharp contrast to the storm that was brewing in his soul. His gaze returned to Morgan’s face, which looked as tormented as he felt.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea who you were. I don’t suppose you wanna tell me why your father has that rule?”
“No, I don’t.” Her eyes darted around, looking everywhere but at him, which made her words appear harsher, further widening the emotional divide between them. “And I can’t be with you. We need to stop this now, before it goes any further.”
“I agree. But it doesn’t mean I like it.”
He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. His head was telling him to walk away, but his heart commanded his boots to remain firmly planted in place. Neither spoke another word. Like two magnets, they were compelled to move closer and closer to each other, not stopping until they were wrapped in each other’s arms.
Morgan leaned up on her tippy-toes and reached for his face, slamming her mouth onto his. He couldn’t help but respond in kind. She opened her mouth and he slid his tongue inside to join hers in a mating dance, one that was all-too-familiar to him already. Too soon for his liking, she ended the kiss and walked away.
He stared after her, his mind and body muddled in turmoil. He wanted to call out to her, stop her from leaving, but confusion and more questions bombarded his brain.After that kiss, how am I supposed to forget about her? How am I going to focus on his work? Why can’t I have both this job and Morgan?He shook his head, as if to banish the bad luck that had suddenly descended on him like a black cloud. “So much for a great new beginning. I’m screwed.”
7
MORGAN
Morgan had a steady stream of clients in her chair all morning. Fortunately, they were all longtime customers, so she could operate on autopilot. As she went about her work, she tuned out all of the salon talk, occasionally nodding her head or giving one-word responses to her clients, since she had a hell of a lot on her mind. Namely, a hot ranch foreman and the situation with her father, which had immediately gotten way more complicated the minute she discovered his new ranch foreman was her new boyfriend.
She was in the break room when Tegan, the salon owner, walked in, opened the fridge, and pulled out a diet coke.
“Hey. What’s goin’ on with you? You’re awful quiet today. That’s not the Morgan I know.”
She really needed to talk to someone she could trust, and Tegan was the logical choice. She was a few years older with more life experience, and they shared a big sister/little sister vibe. And Tegan had always treated her more like a friend than a subordinate. She tried to keep her voice steady as she related her dilemma.
“Have you ever done something that you know you shouldn’t do, but you figure you’re finally old enough to make your own choices, and if things go south, your own mistakes?”
