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“Mind if I ask a personal question?” he finally said.
“I won’t know if I mind until you ask.”
“Fair enough.” A small smile lifted his lips. “Who’s Gus?”
“My horse. A gift from my mother.”
“Why don’t you move him over to Big Heart?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I understand complicated. Why don’t you try me?”
“Look, I’d rather not move Gus and have to move him back if this job doesn’t work out. Besides, Gus had a pretty big vet bill a while back and I’m still paying Lem for that.”
“This is your call, but I’m happy to help.”
“I’d rather do things my way.”
“Understood.” Travis cleared his throat. “Any idea how Jace knows that we’re applying for the grant?”
“What?” Her head jerked up at the quietly spoken question and she met Travis’s gaze.
“How does—”
“I have no idea.” She paused, struggling to read between the lines of his question. “You don’t think I told him, do you?”
“Just asking.” Travis took a deep breath.
“‘Just asking’ sounds an awful lot like an accusation to me.”
“Whoa.” He raised a hand. “I’m just doing the math.”
“You can subtract me from your equation.”
“I apologize,” Travis said.
AJ was silent, uncertain if he was sincere.
“Look,” Travis said. “You don’t know me and I really don’t know you. All I’m doing is trying to figure things out.”
Trying to figure things out. She turned to look out the window without answering. What was there to figure out? In truth, she and Travis were alike in many ways. Maybe too many ways. The thought was far from comforting and it wouldn’t secure her position at Big Heart Ranch. Not if her boss didn’t trust her.
“We sure have our work cut out for us,” Travis mused aloud minutes later. “Take tomorrow off to study the grant material. On Monday we hit the ground running. You’ll go to Tulsa with me to look at starter calves. There’s a special sale going on at an auction house near Sapulpa and then we can pick up the supplies I ordered in Pawhuska on the way back.”
“What about hiring? And who will do Rusty’s work in the meantime?”
“I have confidence you’ll figure it out. That’s what days off are for.”
“You just said—”
“Welcome to my world. You’ll be juggling saddles from this point on. And remember, that grant is my number one priority. We’re competing against Jace McAlester and he’s going to do everything he can to see that he wins.”
Juggling saddles she could handle, but why did she feel like she was caught in the middle of a tornado and the chance she’d make it out untouched was slim to nothing? She was a woman of her word, though, and was willing to pledge her heart and soul to Big Heart Ranch for the next ninety days with the hope she wouldn’t regret the decision. Once the grant was behind them, she’d reevaluate her position on the ranch. That was unless she didn’t last ninety days.
Chapter Three (#ue58ecb26-a199-55ff-ad07-375b9102dcf5)
AJ stood on the porch of the bunkhouse, looking out at the ranch while sipping a cup of coffee. Dark clouds covered the sky, shrouding everything in black and gray, even as the sun struggled to wake the land at 6:30 a.m. The month of April brought the heaviest amounts of precipitation to this part of Oklahoma. Today was about to give evidence to that.
Her first Sunday at Big Heart Ranch. Despite the weather, there was a peace to the land that reminded her of days on Red River Ranch, her daddy’s spread. What would her life be like if her parents hadn’t died? AJ pushed the thought aside.
The only thing she carried from the past was the promise she’d made to herself when she’d buried her mother. Someday she’d be a permanent part of a ranch that needed her. Wanted her. And she intended to keep that promise.
Something moved to her left and AJ switched on the porch light. A roadrunner dashed across the yard, his long, slender legs kicking up red dust.
Sunrise would arrive within the hour. Her plan was to be well on her way to checking the fences by then. She’d be done and could shower and catch the late service at the Timber Community Church if all went well.
Stepping back into the bunkhouse she rinsed out her cup and tidied up, leaving everything the way she’d found it. Nothing out of place. Rue Butterfield had left last night and now AJ had the bunkhouse to herself. She remained unsettled and a bit afraid to hope that she might have a future here. Lucy and Emma Maxwell were her biggest supporters. Now all she had to do was to continue to prove to Travis she could do the job.
Rue’s King James Bible was still on her bed and AJ peeked at the open page as she walked by. A verse had been underlined with a red pen. Proverbs 3:5–6. “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
AJ put a hand to her heart and swallowed. That was pretty much the story of her life. She said a silent prayer as she tucked a disposable rain slicker into the pocket of her denim jacket, grabbed her hat and carefully closed the bunkhouse door behind her.
The air was ripe with the scent of rain and, despite her prayer, an undefinable dread followed her as she headed to the Ute. Shivers danced down her arms all the way to the equestrian center. Why the ominous feeling? She’d checked spread fences dozens of times before. She could do this job.
AJ parked the Ute and hurried her steps. The stable door creaked with the effort of sliding open the latch to reveal the glowing amber of floor track lights.
Her hand searched the wall, finally locating the switches and turning on half the overhead lights. She walked down to Ace’s stall and called a soft greeting.
The horse nickered in acknowledgment. AJ dug in her pocket for the apple she’d brought and pulled out her pocketknife to cut it. She smiled as Ace inched closer, sniffing and snorting with anticipation.
This was the same routine she and Gus had each day.
She missed her horse. Gus was a gift from her mother. The blue roan ranch horse wasn’t getting younger, either. Lem had promised her he’d look after Gus when she’d left, and she prayed he’d kept that promise. Mostly she tried not to think about the situation, because if she did she’d get all teary-eyed. There was no room in her life for sentiment.
Once Ace finished chomping the apple, AJ grabbed a brush from the tack room and found her saddle and a blanket. She entered the stall and gave Ace a gentle nose-rub before brushing the animal’s coat and examining her legs.
“Morning, AJ.”
AJ jumped at Travis’s voice and the brush tumbled from her hand to the ground.
“Sorry,” he said.
“I was thinking, and didn’t hear you,” AJ murmured. Picking up the brush, she faced him. As usual Travis’s eyes did the talking. Today they spoke of his surprise at seeing her in the stables this early and maybe a hint of respect.
She turned back to Ace and, for moments, the only sound was the rhythmic strokes of the brush, along with horse’s nickering.
AJ focused on the job at hand, trying to block out the man. The rapid tripping of her heart when he was near confused her. Once again her mind scrambled to understand. Why this man? Why now? In her line of work she couldn’t afford romantic notions about cowboys she worked with.
Bitter memories crowded in. Hadn’t she learned anything at her last position? The range boss had taken a liking to her and though she’d kept him at a distance, rumors had persisted. Enough so that the other ranch hands had made her life impossible. She’d been forced to walk away after giving that spread two years of her life.
It took all her concentration to tack up Ace while Travis stood by with his arms looped over the top of the stall.
Settling the blanket on Ace’s back, she hefted the saddle into position before turning to Travis again. “Are you planning to observe for the duration?”
“I’m trying to figure you out. I thought I told you to take the day off. It’s Sunday. I’ll be in big trouble if my sisters think I kept you from church.”
“You juggle saddles, too, as I recall.” She smiled. “And I plan to attend the late service.”
“I’m going to have to watch my words. This is the second time I’ve had them dangled in my face.”
AJ adjusted the cinch, tucking her head away so as not to laugh.
“You’re going to check fences, aren’t you?”
“I am.” She nodded. “I looked at the schedule. Rusty was on for this morning. I’m his supervisor, so it’s my responsibility.”
“Two days in and you’ve exceeded expectations. I’ll give you points for that alone.”
She met his gaze, unable to hide her surprise. “Is that a compliment?”
Travis shrugged. “I guess it is.”
“Maybe you should have raised your expectations before now.”
His lips curved into a begrudging smile. “Maybe.”
AJ opened the stall and led Ace to the center of the stable.
“I’ll meet you outside,” Travis said.
“You’re joining us?”
“Don’t want my new assistant foreman to get lost out there.”
“I’m actually very good with directions.”
“I haven’t given you any directions.”
“You said to check the fences.”
“Good to have company the first time,” he said as he headed to Midnight’s stall.
AJ shook her head. Was the man determined to be contrary? The odd thing was that she’d never once had company doing anything on any other ranch. No, everyone had steered clear of her, careful not to divide their allegiance, because they all knew she was only a place-holder. They were happy to spread rumors but silent when it came to admitting she was always one of the hardest-working ranch hands on duty.
Now she had a handsome cowboy following her around and, while any other woman would be glad, it raised red flags for AJ. Travis Maxwell was the boss. Her father had taught her long ago that fraternizing with someone you worked with was like walking through a minefield.
The simple truth was, the job aside, she hadn’t found a man she could trust since her father died. She’d trusted her last boss and he’d failed to defend her when the rumors swirled.
The only long-term relationship in her life was Gus. Gus never lied and never let her down.
Spits of rain landed on her as she settled into the saddle. AJ shifted and picked up the reins, urging Ace forward. She didn’t have all day and, by the looks of things, the sky was getting ready to burst wide open. Travis would have to catch up.
And he did. Minutes later the thunder of hooves indicated Travis and Midnight were at her side.
“What? You couldn’t wait?”
Annoyance marred his face and AJ struggled not to laugh. Travis Maxwell did not like to be bested.
“The clocking is ticking. It’s about to pour and I still haven’t made it to see that cattle of yours.”
“Northwest pasture. See that big oak tree out there?”
“Yes.”
“That’s your landmark. Veer right.”
It took her a moment to realize why he was giving her directions. By then he and Midnight were racing toward the tree, leaving her and Ace literally in the dust.
“That was a false start if ever there was one,” she called after him.
Travis’s laughter rode on the wind, only encouraging AJ to lean forward in the saddle and spur Ace into the gray dawn. Rounding the massive oak tree, she closed the gap between them. Straight ahead in the distance, on a small grassy knoll, the silhouette of the cattle came into view.
“You’re not too bad in the saddle,” he observed when she caught up. His face was without expression as he narrowed his eyes in assessment.
“I told you in the interview. I was raised on a horse.”
“People say a lot of things in interviews. Ask Rusty.”
AJ jerked back slightly at the comment and pinned him with her gaze, but he had tipped his hat back to look at the sky.
“Uh-oh,” Travis murmured. “Here it comes.”
He was right. Fat drops turned into sheets of rain in a heartbeat. AJ pulled the folded square of clear slicker from her pocket, shook it out and slipped the plastic over her head.
“Got another one of those in your pocket?”
“No. Sorry. I didn’t think—”
“That’s okay. I won’t melt, but just to be sure, let’s duck under the oak tree. That canopy will help some.”
She turned Ace around and followed Travis beneath the stretching arms of the massive tree. For moments they sat in silence as water fell in constant beats onto the hard red clay. The greedy ground drank until full, then the water began to overflow, running downhill in winding rivulets around the horses’ hooves and over the roots of the oak.
Her father called sudden downpours like this “toad stranglers.”
“What’s that sound?” Travis asked moments later. He inched Midnight forward and peered through the curtain of rain.
“Thunder?”
