Page 13 of A Cowboy Of Her Own

“I need to shoe two more horses. Are you still with me?”

“Yes. If you don’t mind.”

“Of course not. It’s what you’re here for, right?”

When she nodded, he re-entered the stall, picked up his tools then moved past her to head on to the stall with the next horse. He had to push himself past her without stopping.Get a grip!

He could hear her snapping pictures as they walked down the aisle of the barn.

“Who is Ash?” she asked him as they moved along.

“Ash Beckett. He owns Beckett Feed, the best you can buy. He lives in Hartland, next town over on the other side of Clifton. I always order a big shipment from him. I didn’t realize we were so low that we needed more, but then I’ve been gone. A few extra bags will hold us over until Ash gets a shipment here.”

Priscilla smiled at him then followed him into the next stall. As he worked on the next horse, he heard the shutter of the camera as she snapped pictures. The sound got more distant and he realized shemust have been making her way outside since the sun was lighting up the morning sky.

All of a sudden, he heard her scream followed almost immediately by a splash. He tossed down his tools and ran outside to see her struggling to get up out of the water trough. He tried his best not to laugh as she sputtered and tried to get her footing. Her camera lay on the ground beside the trough. Roark strode to the trough and took her hand to help her out of the water. She glared at him as she stepped out of the trough pretty much dripping wet, top to bottom.

“Why are you pissed at me? I didn’t make you fall in.”

“Because I know you’re trying not to laugh, Roark Callahan.” Her hands went to her hips.

“Okay, I admit I was trying not to laugh but I’ve never seen anyone fall into a trough before,” he said while stifling yet another laugh. He was also trying his best to keep his eyes off her nipples poking out from under her shirt. Obviously, she wasn’t wearing a bra.Damn it!

“It’s not funny,” she muttered as she glared at him and stomped her foot making water splash up from her wet shoe.

Roark cleared his throat. “Uh, okay. How did you fall in there anyway?”

“I was backing up to get a picture of that beautiful horse over there, and I backed into the trough, lost my balance, and fell in. Now, I’m freezing.” Her teeth began to chatter.

“You need to go in and change. It may be late May but it’s still mighty cool in the mornings. I’ll be working in the barn when you come back out.”

“Oh no… my glasses fell off,” she said as she peered into the trough.

He reached in and moved his hand around until he found them, lifted them from the water then handed them to her. Shaking his head, he watched her pick up her camera then strode across the yard with her sneakers squishing as she walked. He watched her enter the house and slam the door. Shaking his head again and openly laughing, he returned to the stall where he’d been working.

A few hours later, Roark drove one of the ranch trucks to town. Priscilla sat inthe passenger seat looking out the window.

“Why does this truck sit so high?” she suddenly asked.

“It’s one of the trucks we use on the ranch. It sits high so it can get over things off road.”

“I’ll need a damn parachute to get out of it.”

“It has running boards so you can use them.”

“They’re not much lower. Why not use your truck?”

“Because my truck is nice and this one has been beat to hell and back. That’s why we use it for hauling things. The bed is already dented. It’s a damn good ranch truck.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Roark shook his head as they drove on. He pulled into the parking lot of the Spring City feed store where he parked then opened his door and stepped out. He walked to the front of the truck and waited for Priscilla to join him. When she didn’t open the door, he strolled to the passenger side of the truck and looked up at her, motioning her to open the window.

“Are you getting out? You don’t have to but I’ll probably be a while. It looks busy.”

She closed the window and opened the door. When she opened the door and looked precariously at the distance to the ground, he smiled.

“Come on, I’ll help you.” He put his hands up for her to take but instead, she placed her hands on his shoulders and immediately, he knew this was not a good idea. His hands settled at her waist. He helped her down, her body sliding along his until her feet hit the ground. She looked up at him and his breathing stopped. He cleared his throat and stepped back from her. Without a word, he spun on his heel and headed for the door to the store. He didn’t care if she followed or not. He had to get the fuck away from her. Now.

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