Yeah. It poked at something I usually kept locked tight under sarcasm and spreadsheets.
Maggie Blackwood—logistics queen, unofficial ranch foreman, fixer of everything from broken gates to broken hearts—didn’t expect her world to revolve around romance. I loved my job. Loved my family. Loved this life.
And I had work to do. But still…
My mind drifted—unhelpfully
I shifted on the rail, trying not to think about last month. About Wild Creek, a small town like ours, not even an hour away. About the bar I'd wandered into after a particularly frustrating day of everyone asking when I was going to settle down like my brothers.
About Jack.
Even his name in my head made heat crawl up my spine. Dark hair, darker eyes, hands that knew exactly what they were doing. We hadn't exchanged last names, hadn't exchanged numbers, hadn't exchanged anything but?—
Nope. Not thinking about it. What happened in Wild Creek stayed in Wild Creek, even if I could still feel the ghost of his hands on my skin, could still hear his voice rough in my ear, saying things that would make a sailor blush.
I'd told no one. Not Ivy, not Sophia, not even my diary. That night was mine. My secret. My one wild indiscretion that proved I wasn't just Maggie Blackwood, perpetual little sister and ranch princess. I was also a woman who could walk into a bar, seduce a stranger, and walk out the next morning with my head high and my body thoroughly, deliciously ruined.
"Maggie!" Momma called from below. "Come down here. Your father has someone to introduce."
I hopped off the rail, brushing dust from my jeans. Probably another investor in the breeding program or someone buying cattle. Dad was always bringing people around during the rodeo, showing off our operation.
The family gathered near the main chute—all of us, even Clay abandoned his microphone for the moment. Dad stood with a man whose back was to me, broad shoulders in a worn denim shirt, dark hair that looked like it had been recently cut short.
"Everyone, want you to meet our new ranch hand," Owen announced, his voice carrying that tone of respect he reserved for people who'd earned it. "This is Jack Remington. Comes highly recommended from the Golden Circle ranch over in Wild Creek. Good man, hard worker."
The man turned.
And the world stopped. I staggered back a step. My heart in my throat.
It washim.
Jack. My Jack. No,notmy Jack. The stranger from the bar. The man who'd done things to me that still made me blush in church. Standing here. At my family ranch. Being introduced as our new ranch hand.
Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God.
His eyes found mine across the group, and I saw the exact moment he recognized me. His expression didn't change—still that calm, controlled face that had driven me crazy that night—but his eyes. His eyes said he remembered everything. Every. Single. Thing.
"This is Wyatt and Ivy," Dad was saying, making introductions. "Liam and Stephanie. Clay, Hunter, Luke.” Then his hand landed on my shoulder. "And this is our Maggie."
Jack stepped forward, extending his hand like we'd never met. Like those hands hadn't?—
"Ma'am," he said, his voice exactly as I remembered it. Deep. Controlled. With just a hint of Texas drawl.
I forced my hand into his, forced a polite smile that probably looked like I was having a stroke. "Mr. Remington."
His handshake was firm, brief, appropriate. But his thumb brushed across my palm in a way that made my knees weak. He remembered. He definitely remembered.
"Jack's going to be staying in the old bunkhouse," Dad continued, oblivious to my internal meltdown. "Starting tomorrow, he'll be working primarily with the horses. Maggie, you'll need to show him around the operations since you know all the ins and outs better than anyone.”
I what? I would what?
"Of course," I heard myself say, my voice somehow normal. "Happy to help."
Jack's mouth twitched—just barely, probably invisible to everyone but me. "I appreciate that, Miss Blackwood. I'm sure you'll be able to teach me a lot."
Teach him?Teach him?!This man had taught me things that weren't in any manual.
"Maggie knows everything about this ranch," Wyatt said proudly. "Best horsewoman in the county, too.” I had to look away, so I didn’t know if Jack could see me blushing. I knew my eldest brother meant well, but I didn’t need him singing my praises to a man who had me ten different ways.
