Page 78 of Tough Love

“Howdy,” Mick mutters, not meeting my gaze.

Awesome. At least Ned seems nice.

“Let’s go!” Hudson exclaims. He takes off at a steady canter toward the western rise. The two men burst off the spot after him. Squeezing Sergeant into a lope, I cluck my tongue and the packhorse, Mira, follows along. I’m assuming our time will be a little slower since I have two horses to wrangle.

I don’t want to be left behind or let them slip out of sight, so I push Sergeant a little faster. The cool breeze whips past my cheeks and they burn. I suck in deep, satisfying breaths. This right here is freedom. It’s priceless. And for a second, I understand with deep, guttural instinct why this is the life cowboys choose.

The moment the frosty mountain forest swallows Sergeant, Mira, and me, a shudder snakes through my body. The men are already ahead a little way. Hudson yells something to Ned. Rocket sinks on his haunches and spins back. His mane follows, slapping his neck as he springs into a canter and heads for me.

The pure bliss over Huddy’s face takes my breath away. This is him. Raw. The heart of who he is. And he is spectacular. Hiswhite hat, navy jacket lined with cream fur, Wranglers, boots, spurs, and the biggest grin wrapped on his sweet face I have ever witnessed.

He isliterallylit up.

And my heart almost explodes at the sight of him. When he reaches my side, he lopes around us and comes up beside me.

“This is something else, Huddy.”

“My favorite week of the entire year.”

“I bet it is. Have you seen your face?” I laugh, and he throws his head back with a hearty laugh that rattles right through me.

“We can’t really slow down. Can you ride along with us?”

“Oh, when Harry said trail behind, he actually meant keep up?”

“Don’t take my father’s words literal. You ride beside me, Addy, never behind.”

I roll my eyes at him. But he stares at me. He actually means it. And I try not to overthink the meaning of that. After all, it’s only a few short weeks and I will be back in the city. And this stunning place and this incredible man will still be here. That closes my throat up real quick.

I scan the spaces between the trees. Snow is dusted over everything. It’s so stunning. Like no place I have ever been before. Then again, when I look into Hudson’s eyes, I see that there, too.

“Hup,” I rasp to Sergeant, leaning forward. He takes off up the ascent. Mira follows close behind. We lope between the trees. Hudson and Rocket catch up, and he grins at me. God that face—happiness personified. He rubs his jaw and tracks his focus ahead again, his Adam’s apple bobbing as if something stole his breath. And I’m sure I know what it was. Because it’s the same thing that stole mine.

Something so big that it has both of us enthralled. Captivated. Unwilling to break away.

Something that makes my chest swell and my heart ache.

After almost an entire day of riding, we are only halfway up the side of this ancient mountain. And the sun is dazzling us with its light, piercing the snow as it sinks further and further. The three men are building the tents. We have found a total of twenty head so far. They are corralled in a makeshift yard between trees with the fallen dead wood that lays around under the snow. I tend to the five horses.

They are tired, and I make sure they all drink and eat some grains to hold them through the night. It’s going to be cold. I bundle them up the best I can with the few blankets I could fit onto Mira. I hope the others are doing as well as we are so far.

“How are our trusty steeds coming along, Doc?” Hudson says behind me. The lilt in his voice makes me smile.

I turn back. “They’re okay. Tired. Like their riders.”

“We’re only getting started. Come on, Ned got the fire going, the pot on.”

“Great, I’m frozen through.” I rub my hands together, clouds curling from my mouth with every word I say. Goddamn, it is cold. “Can I ask why you do this roundup in these conditions? Why not wait until spring, at least?”

“We work to the seasons and the calving season of the cattle. Spring is calving season. Trying to herd calving cows never ends well for anyone, ‘specially up here.”

“Oh, how?”

“You ever tried gettin’ between a cow and her calf in the open? Cowboys come out worse off. Plus, we would prefer thewolves not take a quarter of the calves before we can wrangle them down off the mountain.”

“I didn’t think of it like that. Makes sense.”

“Plus, when it’s cold it’s easier on the horses. We ride hard. And... It gives us an excuse to snuggle up.”

---