Page 53 of Opposites (Never) Attract
“It’s just the name of the ranch, sweetheart. And it will keep you from burning that pretty nose of yours.”
I took the hat and fit it on my head, pulling my short ponytail out the hole in the back, the way I saw women doall the time. He had a point. The sun was barely up and already it was hot.
“You have something of mine,” I reminded him, without having to state the obvious.
“Oh, I know. We’ll have to make arrangements for when you might earn them back.”
“Earn them back?”
“Everything comes with a price, Sunshine,” he said, with a wicked smile.
“Enough chatter. We’re wasting daylight. Let’s move out,” Carter announced, with a wave of his arm forward.
Ethan rode up beside me on the other side of Tag. “He likes to think he’s in charge.”
“He’s not?”
“No, he is, but we must resist all the time. Keeps him on his toes.”
Ethan made a clicking sound and his horse stepped forward, giant shoulders twitching and shifting. I didn’t try to replicate the sound, just did as Tag said and bumped my booted heels gently into Shirley’s hindquarters. Just like Tag said she would, she stepped forward at her own glacial pace until she got right up behind Gus’s big swooshing tail.
“Look at you,” Ethan said, as he rode next to me. “You’re a real cowgirl, now.”
“God help me,” I muttered.
Two HoursLater
“Hold up,”Carter said. I didn’t even have to tug on Shirley’s reins. She stopped as soon as Gus stopped. My girlwas clearly smitten. “Tag was right about the creek. She’s moving pretty fast.”
“Is there a way around it?” I asked.
I was actually enjoying the morning. Like…really enjoying it. It was uncomfortable, my ass hurt and my fingers stung from holding onto the reins as tightly as I was. Every time sweet Shirley stopped to eat grass, or have an enormous pee, I was scared she was about to go rogue. But she never did. The sunshine felt good and the company was…fun. I mean, fun if you liked conversations on herd growth and profits per acre.
Which, come to find out, I did.
Mostly, what I learned was how much they loved the Swinging D. How important every bit of this land was to them. To the animals they raised and the men they employed. This land was as much a part of the McGraws as their hair color and their stubborn jaw lines.
I understood better why they didn’t want to sell an inch of it.
I got it. I did. The land was amazing. I wouldn’t want to sell it either.
About twenty minutes into the ride, it occurred to me I hadn’t brought my phone. I couldn’t check emails. I couldn’t see any texts from my colleagues. It was possible the partners were blowing up my phone right now, looking for answers, and I was completely and utterly unreachable.
It was…freeing. Terrifying, but freeing.
“No,” Carter said. “Creek goes for miles in either direction. It’s a great water source, but when it’s this high, it’s uncrossable. We’ve been riding for a while, you must be ready to head back and stop listening to us blabbing at you.”
“It’s been…informative,” I said. “And nice.”
Ethan chuckled. “Nice? Don’t think I’ve ever heard the SD described as nice.”
“I think she was talking about the company, brother” Carter said, with a smile. “And she’s right. It’s been a real pleasure getting to know you, Sunshine. You’ve been a good sport. You didn’t have to come home. None of this,” Carter said, gesturing out onto the endless pastures coming to life with grass and wildflowers, birds and insects, “would have been your problem. But we made it your problem, and it’s real kind of you to try and help us.”
“Speaking of,” Ethan said, as we ambled back around in the direction of the Lodge. “What is this crazy idea you had last night? You haven’t given us any details.”
They both pulled their horses up alongside Shirley, so I was flanked by the two men. I felt significantly smaller, but also strangely protected. They would never hurt me, they wouldn’t let me get hurt, either.
I’d never felt that before.
