Page 48 of Falling For Her Cowboy
She’d slept all night—again.
Something about having this man near her seemed to keep the nightmares away.
She watched him come toward her again.
“Want to head up to the big house and grab breakfast? I’m sure Bee has food ready,” he suggested.
“I can’t. I have to clock in soon.” She’d love nothing more than to grab some of Bee’s cooking. She made a mental note to head over there for lunch today. Bee always had a hot meal ready for the hands on the ranch. “But you go ahead. I’m sure you have a long day today.”
“I do. I have some things to do here, so I’m going to start here, then I have other farm calls to do.” He tossed his bag onto his shoulder and brought her close to him again. This next kiss was slow and thorough.
Melah gripped his shirt and had to hold on dueto her legs becoming weak. He released her and stared down into her eyes. It was almost as if the man could see into her soul. She exhaled and smiled softly.
“Have a great day today.” As much as she wanted to drag this man somewhere to have her way with him, she couldn’t. Work was waiting for her. The past few days on the ranch had been smooth. There hadn’t been any signs of anyone coming onto the property who didn’t belong there. Work had been long and hard, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Then after work, she spent the evenings with Ridge.
“I will. I’m already missing you.” He pressed a quick, hard kiss to her lips and took her hand in his.
Her heart skipped a beat at his words. They walked around to the front of the house, and it was then she realized she didn’t see his truck.
“How’d you get here?” she asked. Only her and Aimee’s vehicles were in parked out front.
“I left my truck by the barn and walked over. I’ll text you later when I’m on my way back.” He gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it. He strode away down the path that led to the barn.
She stood in place and watched him for a fewmoments, then turned for the bunkhouse. Aimee chose that moment to come out the front door.
“Lover boy left?” she asked.
Melah chuckled and shook her head. “Yeah. He’s too damn stubborn. I told him we are fine here.”
“Nothing wrong with a man wanting to be overly cautious about the safety of his woman.” Aimee tossed her a wink.
Melah rolled her eyes and walked past her so she could run in the house to grab a few things before going to work. “I’ll see you later.”
Melah jogged in the house and went to her room. She collected a baseball cap and her gun. Everything may have appeared to be back to normal on the ranch, but something in her gut still didn’t sit well.
And she always trusted her gut.
“Son of a bitch,” Melah muttered. She set the wire cutters down on the ground and glared at the fence she had to mend. Some heifers had broken out of their enclosure and had been found a mile away. She had volunteered to fix the area while the others had rounded up the cattle and moved them. She glanced over her shoulder and found Daisy grazing off in thedistance near a wooded area. They were far on the eastern side of the ranch, located near the mountains. The views were one of the perks of working this ranch. It went on for miles in one direction while the other led to the great mountain range.
South Dakota was such a breathtaking state.
Melah let out a sigh. There was no point in getting frustrated. She was going to need a few other things to get this fence back right. She’d run and pick up what she needed and come back. It wouldn’t take her long. She pushed off the ground and took her hat off to wipe the sweat off her forehead. It was another scorcher. Apparently, Mother Nature was showing off. They’d been experiencing a heat wave for the past couple of weeks. Melah couldn’t wait for the winter—almost.
She’d heard the winters here were no joke. This would be her first one to experience, and she didn’t mind the snow. It was the coldness she was worried about. She’d heard there’d been days last year where the wind chill factor had hit negative thirty or lower. Looking up at the bright sun beaming down on her, she may take her chances with the cold. She could always bundle up. With this heat, there was only so much she could take off.
“Come on, Daisy.” Shebrushed her hands on the back of her jeans. She’d leave her tools here. No point in packing up if she was just going to come right back. She ambled over to her faithful horse who didn’t have a care in the world. Melah smiled at Daisy. Maybe later they’d go out for a nice long run. Her hoof seemed to be back to normal. She arrived at Daisy’s side and gave her a firm pet on the shoulder. “You ready, girl? I promise we’ll be a few minutes and then we will come right back.”
Daisy lifted her head and shook it. Her eyes were wide as she stepped away from Melah.
What the devil?
“What’s wrong, girl?” Melah tried to reach for her reins, but Daisy took another step away from her.
Melah blew out a frustrated breath. She didn’t have time for games today. Daisy released a high-pitched neigh and continued to avoid Melah. This was strange. Daisy had never acted this way before. Even when she was in pain she’d come to Melah.
“Stop playing, Daisy. We still have work to do, and after this last fence to mend, we will be done and I promise I will get you a sweet treat.”
