We’ll see. I won’t go looking for anyone.
Okay, hardhead. You let me know if you go to Dewey’s tonight. Love you.
I will. Love you too.Skylar placed the phone in her purse, checked traffic, then pulled onto the road, gravel crunching beneath her tires.
When she reached the driveway to Seth’s home, she drove up to the middle barn and parked. The scent of hay and horses wafted through her window when she lowered it to keep some of the heat out. She looked around but didn’t see anyone, so she opened the door, stepped out into the humid air, and strode into the barn. After letting her eyes adjust to the dim light filtering through dusty windows, she walked along the barn’s aisle, herboots echoing on the concrete, until she came to Pearl’s stall, only to see it empty, the fresh bedding undisturbed.
“Well, damn,” she muttered, disappointment settling in her chest, then she grinned when she heard the familiar cow bell, and watched as Elsie, a brown and white cow that had been hand raised by Seth, walked toward her.
“Elsie, did you escape again?” She laughed when the cow mooed.
“Ma’am?” A deep voice called from the shadows.
Skylar turned to see a tall figure walking toward her, sunlight from the doorway silhouetting his broad shoulders, and grinned when she saw it was Ringo, one of Seth’s ranch hands, his face breaking into a smile.
“Hi, Ringo.”
“Ms. McCoy, how are you today?” he asked as he removed his hat.
“Just fine. I was going to take Pearl out, but she’s not in her stall.” She gestured to the empty space.
“She’s in the pasture. I can get her if you’d like. I just came back from the field and saw that Elsie got out again.” He slid a rope over the cow’s horns.
“No need to get the horse. Are they all out?” She brushed a strand of hair from her face.
“Yes, ma’am.” His boots shifted on the concrete.
She laughed, shaking her head. “Well, I guess I wasn’t supposed to go riding today. I’ll just head home.”
Ringo nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You guys be careful out in that heat.” She glanced at his sweat-soaked shirt.
Ringo grinned. “We are. Cull makes us take drinks with us along with water.”
“That’s good. Well, I’m going back home. Have a good rest of the day.”
“You too.” He placed his hat on his head, touched the brim, then led Elsie out of the barn, his spurs jingling softly with each step.
As soon as Skylar slid back into her car’s buttery leather seat, she dug through her cluttered purse, fingers brushing against loose mints and crumpled receipts until she found her phone. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Ryan she was going tonight, alone.
“Damn it,” she muttered, her voice echoing in the quiet car. “I’ll chicken out anyway, so why worry about it?”
She pulled onto the sunbaked asphalt, turning up the radio so the music would put her in the mood to go. She had never gone to a bar alone, but what if he was there and she missed her chance? The glossy dashboard of her new charcoal-gray SUV still had that new car smell she loved, but she hadn’t found time to pair her phone to Bluetooth yet, so for now the radio had to do. As she pulled into her driveway, she decided that since she had some free time ahead of her, she might as well figure out the complicated infotainment system once and for all. She had plenty of time to shower and change her clothesifshe decided to go.
As she picked up her purse, her phone buzzed, so she reached for it and looked at the screen. She laughed when she saw the message from Ryan.
Take that man home if you do go!
With a laugh, she opened the door, took her purse inside, then headed back out to her vehicle to connect her phone to the stereo system.
****
Rawley stopped his dust-caked pickup at the garage and pressed the pad of his thumb against the HomeLink button to open the door. He sat waiting, before it rose high enough for himto slip inside the bay. Lights automatically lit up the garage as he pulled in and cut the engine. As the door shut behind him, Rawley climbed out onto the concrete floor. A chorus of eager barks erupted in greeting, making him grin.
He strode from the garage, headed toward the side door of the house and stepped into the bright kitchen. His two black and white Border collies, Calvin with glossy black patches over his blue eyes, and Hobbs with his two black ears, sat at perfect attention. Their tails swept wide arcs across the linoleum, eyes gleaming, showing their teeth in a ‘grin’.
“You think those doggy smiles are going to earn you treats, don’t you?” Rawley teased, removing his Stetson. He hung it on the brass peg by the door, then strode into the adjacent laundry room. He shrugged off his protective vest, ‘Livestock Agent’ stitched in white thread across the front and back and let it drop onto a steel hook.
