“And how would you know?”
“I’ve been around cattle my whole life, darlin’.He ain’t sad. He can go back to the herd once I move the other bulls up to the pasture in the mountains.”
I cross my arms, trying to adjust so the pommel of the saddle stops biting into my ass cheek.
The heat of him wraps around me, and with it already being so fucking hot out, it makes me sweat even more. Knox removes one of his arms, reaching behind him for something, knowing I’m not about to jump off this moving horse. He passes it to me, the steel of the bottle pressing into my leg.
“Drink.” He orders.
I don’t reach for it.
“Drink the fucking water.”
I snatch it from him and unscrew the cap, bringing the rim to my lips. The water inside is still icy cold, and while I don’t give him the satisfaction of admitting I was dehydrated, inside I release a sigh and swallow down the water.
“Where are we going?” I ask as I hand him back the water.
“Checking the borders,” He grumbles, “Making sure we don’t have any breaks in the fence.”
“Are you even comfortable?” I press, knowing he can’t be when I’m right up against him and it’s hotter than Satan’s asshole out here.
“I’m fine,” He grunts.
I roll my eyes. “Whatever you say,cowboy.”
The horse beneath us never falters as she walks the edge of the property and Knox scans the fencing. I look with him since there’s nothing else to do and I spot an obvious downed fence over in the far corner, beyond that, a thick wood that lets no sunlight in.
“Over there,” I say to Knox, pointing it out for him. He presses his heels into the side of the horse, spurring her on, and pulls her to a stop a few yards from the break. He shifts behind me, hopping down from the horse before he reaches up for me. I place my hands on his shoulders and allow him to set me down, his hands lingering for a moment at my waist, fingers flexing against me before he lets go and turns to inspect the damage.
I wander toward the trees, stepping over the downed boundary, and immediately the cool, almost moist air of the woods sends a chill over my skin.
“Elena, this side, please.” Knox doesn’t look up as he works to pull the fencing up off the hard ground.
Of course I don’t listen to him, enjoying the reprieve from the sunlight too much in this shade. Birds sing high in the canopies above, the sun unable to penetrate the thick foliage.
“What could have knocked it down?” I ask, leaning up against a tree.
“Anything,” Knox grunts as he lifts it and rests it on the other post, “I’ll fix it now.”
“Okay,” I start to slide down a tree to take a perch on the floor.
“Can you come–”
“No.” I cut him off.
He shakes his head as he heads back to the horse and starts pulling things from the saddlebag. Closing my eyes, I rest my head back right up until voices carry through the trees to my ears.
I turn my head, squinting into the shadows for a sign of them.
“Hey Knox?” I call to him.
“Yeah?”
“You got anyone out here?”
“No,” He replies, resuming his hammering against the post.
Maybe there’s a hiking trail that passes by here. I’m sure there're loads of them, but I keep watching the woods, looking for the owners of the voices.
