Chapter 3
Ro.
The past eight hours consisted of me working my ass off side by side with a woman I was trying to ignore. The process was virtually impossible because everything wetackled today required us to be too damn close. Well, with the exception of when we rigged a repair for the barn doors. That one task consumed most of the morning, but thanks to some out of the box thinking and welding—which she handled impressively with tools she used to make custom buckles and jewelry—we got it done.
Reece worked alongside me all day, more than willing to do whatever necessary to complete repairs around the ranch and often trying to outwork me. My ego refused to let her do as much as she attempted but I was thoroughly impressed by the way she was prepared to dig her heels in.
We didn’t talk much, at least not on a personal level. There was no idle chit chat about my life or hers. Most of our communication revolved around the tasks that needed to be completed and which role we would play in getting them done. She was focused and serious. I was perfectly content with following her lead and being bossed around because along with Reece’s determination to outwork me, she was cute as hell doing it.
Even now, watching her while she extended her arms above her head, using the long-handled scraper to remove old paint from the side of the equipment barn, I admired the build of her body. She was toned and soft but also thick and curvy at the same time. She wasn’t slim by any means and that was my weakness. I loved a beautiful, cornbread fed woman and that was what Reece was giving.
It took a lot of focus not to get lost in her pretty chocolate hued face, pouty lips, and downturned eyes. All of which gave her an innocent look. Since we’d been working around the ranch, however, she’d dropped just as many f-bombs as me when things didn’t work out as planned. It also didn’t take long for me to realize her go to word was shit. Hearing her say it was pretty amusing because the word was more cute than threatening whenit left her pretty little mouth. All damn day I had been fully aware of her mouth that I wanted to be acquainted with.
For the past year and a half, my life had been pretty damn peaceful. I floated around from place to place being a ranch hand. No one bothered me and I appreciated that even when people figured out who I was, they didn’t ask questions and left me alone for the most part.
I could only imagine how it sparked people’s interest to have Eero McCall herding cattle, mending fences, and sleeping in bunkers with the rest of the hired help. Ten rodeo seasons and championships as a prized bronco rider was enough to set me apart but there was also the fact that my family owned damn near half a county in Texas as cattle ranchers.
My parents died when my brother and I were teens, so the ranch had been passed down to us. While I was more focused on rotations in the rodeo, my brother loved the business side of running the ranch. It worked out that I got my freedom and he got to run things. Our father’s best friend was in charge until we were old enough to make true business decisions, and as of now, my brother and I were carrying the family legacy on our shoulders.
Nothing about my life made sense to most people but it made perfect sense to me. One career ending injury and betrayal from the one woman I had given my all to hurt more than I imagined, shifting what I thought my life was or would be. Falling off that damn bronco and getting trampled started a domino effect of horrible outcomes.
First was being told the career I’d worked my ass off to be successful at was no longer an option followed by watching my fiancée walk away from a six-year relationship and promise of forever. Losing my career was tough but losing her by no longer being at the top of the rodeo circuit was devastating. I questioned everything we were because how the hell had Imissed the true reason she had been in my life. Her final words hurt more than I could ever imagine.
“I care about you, Ro, but this is not the life I signed on for. I’m supposed to marry a rodeo star. Not a has-been headliner…”
“We could get this done a lot faster if this were a team effort.” The softness and sarcastic undertone of Reece’s voice put a smile on my face. She was still working steady while I had been lost in my head. I glanced in Reece’s direction. She was working her way left while I was supposed to be moving right to finish scraping the old paint from the barn. With the cold, snowy conditions, painting wasn’t ideal but scraping the old paint so a fresh coat could be added the first week of spring would save her a lot of time.
There was a mile long list of repairs that needed to be done at the ranch. Most were minor but a few were pretty in depth like needing to completely rewire the west pasture. That would take some time to complete. I planned on helping her work through as many as possible while I was here because, for reasons I chose not to explore, my body somehow remembered what lusting after a woman felt like.
Since Karah had packed her things and walked out of the house I’d built for us, I hadn’t been remotely interested in any woman. I’d been with quite a few, considering Karah leaving me bruised my ego. To remedy the damage she caused, I tried to fuck my way through those feelings, but each pair of legs I found my way between had little to do with desire driven by attraction or lust and was more about trying to prove a point to myself.
Women wanted me, even if Karah did not. After I got over the loss, sex was more about working through my frustration and needing a release than it was about sleeping with anyone who stirred something in me. I was selfish with them and their bodies because they allowed me to be with no remorse. Hell, most ofthem encouraged it. Being here with Reece felt different. I didn’t just want a nut. I wanted to talk to her, understand why she didn’t have a man to help out with what needed to be done on her ranch, and more than anything, I wanted to fucking kiss her.
All of the above were problems I didn’t need, so I kept my damn mouth closed and let her boss me around, using me for free labor even though my back was killing me and I was pretty sure I’d damaged something that was barely healed in the first place.
Instead of responding to her comment about working together, I got back to work. Two hours later we were done with the second side of the barn. When she decided to call it a day, I said a silent prayer because I didn’t think I had much left in me. At this point I needed a hot shower, something in my stomach, and a good night sleep or I wasn’t going to be worth much for the rest of the week.
“I think we can shut it down for the day. I need to figure out what we’re eating for dinner.”
“We’re?” I questioned. Collecting the scrapers to secure them inside the barn, Reece nodded, pulling one side of the door closed while I dragged the other side to meet her in the middle after we had everything stored for safe keeping.
“I figured you would have bailed a while ago, but you didn’t, so the least I can do is feed you.”
“You don’t have to but I damn sure won’t deny you either.”
She grinned and pointed toward the Wrangler parked beside my truck. “Didn’t think you would. Follow me and I’ll show you where you’re staying.”
I nodded my response, and once I was in the driver’s seat and shut myself in, I released a sigh of relief before I closed my eyes briefly, allowing my body to relax. Every muscle ached and I wasn’t sure I could peel my ass out of this truck anytime soon. When I heard gravel crunching under the tires of her Jeep,I started my engine and followed her path carved through the snow from tracks she’d apparently made earlier.
The drive was silent. I didn’t bother turning on the radio but I blasted the heat because my muscles and bones were stiff from working outside in the cold most of the day. As we moved toward the house, I took in the ranch. There wasn’t much to it. More land than anything but I could tell it was well maintained, which had me wondering if she’d handled it all alone or if there was hired help during the season.
I frowned, thinking I had not a damn clue what type of ranch this was, which was another problem. She needed help and I was more than willing to give it, without asking any questions.
I hadn’t seen any cattle and she only had two quarter horses that I knew of—one chocolate and the other black and white. Both were expensive but I could tell they had age on them. They were both leaner than normal with less muscle mass and gray hairs around the eyes. It was evident that the horses were well cared for.
When we reached a one-level ranch house that shared a driveway then split left and right into a circular drive in a gated section of the ranch, I took in the exterior. It was nice and newly remodeled stained wood. To the right of the house was a smaller version that appeared to be a foreman’s cabin. Reece was out of her Jeep before I pulled up behind her, motioning for me to pull to the right. I navigated over the snow covered ground and pulled in front of the small house.
She trekked over and waited for me to get out before pointing to the front of the house. “You’re in there. It’s where the foreman stays during hay season, so it should have everything you need. I washed up all the towels and bedding after they packed up the first of October. If you need anything, there’s a landline in the kitchen and the number to the house is on the dry erase board above.”
