Page 7 of Her Saltwater Cowboy

“The creek!” He cinched her closer. If she weren’t so outraged, she might’ve noticed the scent of cedarwood and earth wafting from him, and the unabashed strength that held her close.

Once they were a good foot away from the edge of the water, he let go of her waist. “You almost fell in.”

“You mean you nearly pushed me in!”

Chance chuckled. He raised both hands like stop signs. “I saved you, darlin’.”

Willow shook him off and ran her hands down the sides of her dress, as if brushing away both dirt and dignity. She needed to recapture the peace she had felt when walking out of church this morning. For the first time in months, she had not felt so … alone.

But that was before Ace piled on a big work assignment, and Chance refused to help her, then nearly toppled her right into the cold water of that creek!

Fine. Whatever. She would do this alone. No sense trying to pull help from an unwilling participant.

But Chance’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “How many people at this … shindig?”

She picked up her bag from the ground and slung it over her shoulder, avoiding his eyes. “Forget it.”

He touched the soft part of her upper arm until she looked at him. “How many?”

Willow swallowed before answering. “Your father says he expects about sixty-ish people.” She paused. “Give or take.”

Chance let out an incredulous whistle. He shook his head slowly, then peeled a look at her beneath his hat. “Sixty-ish, he said that, did he?”

“It’s what he meant.”

Chance snapped a look upward. “Fine.”

“Fine, what?” The gold in his eyes settled on her. Stunning. That’s all she could say about that …

“I’ll help you.”

Now it was her turn to hold up her palms. She added a decisive shake of her head. Willow had made up her mind—she did not want the assistance of an ornery, unwilling helper, something that would only slow her down and drop a stifling blanket over her party planning.

“He’s testing you, you know,” Chance said.

“Excuse me?”

“My father. He’s testing you.” Chance watched her. “He likes to haze new recruits.”

“I don’t think so. Plus, I’ve been here for a couple of months already.”

He shrugged. “That’s still new to my father.”

“If he were testing me, as you say, why did he say I should get you to help me?”

He looked thoughtful for the first time since showing up here. “Because, darlin’, he’s testing me too.”

Willow tilted her head to the side, watching for some sign that Chance was about to flash that cocky grin at her again. He didn’t. “None of this makes any sense to me. Ace is a perfectly reasonable man …”

Chance raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t think so?”

“He can be reasonable, yes. But a man who has grown his ranch considerably from when he acquired it as a young man always does everything with a purpose in mind.”

“And you think his purpose is to make you upset.”

“I said he had a purpose—not that I knew what it was.”

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