Page 12 of Ash on the Range
“Jackson. In the white shirt."
I winced. “No one wears a white shirt on a ranch." I looped the parrot clasp around the wires while Gage clamped them together. “How far are we doing? Ah, fuck.” I shook my head as he pointed well along the yard and up the drive. “Man, I was done for the day.”
“Not anymore.”
We worked in silence until the big house’s door clanged and Eve walked off the veranda with Cassie, both of them lost in their chatter. I stopped working, my arms looped over the railing as I watched Cassie walk beside Eve. Her pale blonde hair drifted about her shoulders in untamed curls, and she wore the same white tank and blue jeans I met her in that night at the rodeo only weeks ago that seemed like a goddam age back.
And I was still a sucker for that look.
One of the boys wolves whistled behind us, and I stiffened.
“Who?” I asked in a low voice.
Gage barely gave the group a glance. “Kid in a red shirt. Still clean.”
I suppressed a groan. “Reggie. He didn’t put in that much work today. Not like the rest.”
“Noted.”
Another whistle went up.
“Fuckin’ hell.” My back straightened. I placed the parrot clips on the nearest fence post. “Jude about?”
“Nah, he went inside." Gage stopped working and looked at me with interest.
“Hey cutie, got some play time? We’re done for the day.”
Both Cassie and Eve paused, but neither of them turned around, though Eve’s shoulders hunched a little deeper.
I placed my hat on the fence post too. “Mind that for me?” Gage nodded. I walked away, and turned back. “And the only person you callkidis me.”
“Got it.”
His gaze weighed on me as I headed over to the group of ranch hands I’d worked with all day, but my assessment remained true. Every one of us was covered in deer crud, except for Reggie who managed to remain almost pristine. The boy from the south—just how far south, he wouldn’t say—seemed to have perfect, black curls that hung in ringlets untainted by the same sweat and grit that coated the rest of us head to toe.
A muted pall hung over the boys the moment I stepped forward. Some part of me recognized that pensive air, similar to the one Jude’s presence often induced. I didn't know what my face looked like, but if it matched my mood, maybe they had reason to shut the hell up right now.
“Reggie.” I stood before the red shirted ranch hand. He looked me up and down, sizing me up, which was an interesting experience as he stood a good head taller than me. Interesting for me, too, as I knew I outweighed him in both bulk and muscle, and I that this wouldn’t take long. I doubted he’d thrown a punch outside a gym in his life, if he’d even done that, and I suspected that was where this engagement was headed. Reggie liked to talk big, and act bigger, but on the inside he seemed to be fairly empty.
I could deal with that because whatever happened here, I’d have to wear the consequences of it for the rest of the season.
“You like how the girls look, huh?” I raked my fingers through my hair. Grit and who knew what the hell stuck to my fingers. I’d need one hell of a shower before I went into the big house for dinner for the night. All of us would.
Well, maybe not Reggie.
“Yeah. They look good.” Reggie gave me a smile I wouldn’t give my grandmother if she still spoke to me.
I nodded, turning sideways to the group. Watching the girls was all too easy. Brit wandered up, her hands wrapped around her belly protectively as they chattered together. My gaze was drawn to Cassie, but I had to admit we were blessed, all of us.
Focusing on what I needed to achieve, I tipped my head to one side. “You know she’s taken, right?” I said softly as the boys watched me, watching the girls.
“Which one?” Reggie’s voice was too loud in the forced silence.
Three heads turned our way, though I didn’t miss Gage’s shoulders shaking as he laughed silently. Kept his head down and didn't interfere, though. I filed that away for later, too.
“All of them.” I held up a hand and turned back to face him. “I don’t give a shit if you can see that Eve’s got a man here or not. You don’t touch those women, and you don’t talk about them. In any way. Don’t even fucking dream about them. Not about Cassie, and sure as hell not about Miss Eve. Is that understood?”
“Yeah?” Reggie straightened, towering over me. “What about the fat one?”
