He snorts.
Carli shakes her head. “Okay. Okay. I’ll do this your way.”
My brothers start teasing the bull while still focusing on relocating the herd. Garrett’s first. “Hey big fella, missing your women that bad?”
Ethan’s voice is lower. “Look at him—won’t budge. Lovesick fool.”
“Someone’s feelin’ romantic today,” Luke says with a chuckle.
“Buddy, they separated you for a reason,” I say, stepping away from the herd of cows so I can give Carli some backup.
“Hey, don’t tease a guy when he’s suffering,” she says over her shoulder. “How would you like to be pining after a woman while a fence keeps you apart?”
She has no idea.
Carli moves around so she’s in Hoss’ flight zone, edging toward him from a distance, working his flank and talking calmly. I catch myself tracking her movements before pulling my focus back to the herd. My attention is divided between coordinating with the hands who are moving the herd and the woman who seems bound and determined to override the stubborn will of one of our bulls.
Hoss looks like he’s never going to cooperate, but then he moves, tipping his head before taking a few steps in the right direction. Carli eases up. We can’t direct him through the torn fence. It’s jagged where the wire broke free.
“Over this way,” I say to Carli.
She coos at Hoss. “See, big guy. You’re doing great. We’re just going to take a little walk.”
He snorts again, but he turns in response to her movement and as soon as he does, she steps back, releasing him like a pro—small movement, release, pressure, release. It’s a process, but she knows it as well as any of the men out here.
It takes less than an hour to get the herd into the pasture with Hoss penned in a separate field where the fencing is more secure.
We spend the rest of the morning mending the break. Dad comes out to join us once the cattle are secured. Carli works alongside all of us, joking, laughing and pulling her weight.
When the fence is secure, we’re all leaning on vehicles, drinking water and chatting.
Dad and I are resting on the front of the side-by-side.
He looks over where Carli is laughing at something Luke just said. “That girl’s worth her weight in gold, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” I say, taking a long pull of my water. “She is.”
My dad turns and sizes me up. Is he reading my thoughts? For a second it feels like he might be and something knocks loose inside me. Our eyes hold before he gives a single nod, pushes off the hood, and strides toward the ranch hands.
Carli approaches me. “I’ve got to get back to the farm. Are you riding back soon?”
“I can take you now,” I tell her.
On the ride back, she’s chatty, energized from the morning’s work. I listen, well aware of the smile on my face and how her presence makes my skin buzz. Her arm shifts, brushing mine. We’re wearing coats, but my body still doesn’t know the rules. All it knows is a blonde with wild curls, a beautiful face and an electrifying presence is only a foot away.
This is the life I want to live—with someone to work alongside me, a woman who makes me smile, shares meals, and falls into bed with me at the end of our long days.
What I feel for her is more than attraction. It’s years of knowing her, a lifetime of memorizing her quirks without trying. It’s her. She’s under my skin and I don’t want it any other way.
Back in the barn, Carli grabs a towel off the tack rack andwipes her face. She washes her hands in the barn sink and then she stops at Jasper’s stall. He lifts his head over to greet her.
“Hey, beautiful boy,” she says to him in a soft voice. She runs her hand down his face and neck, cooing compliments. He soaks each one up, leaning into her touch.
“I’ll walk you out,” I say.
“Thanks,” she says, stepping away from Jasper. “And thanks for helping me wrangle Hoss.”
“You didn’t need me. You never do.”
