Page 1 of Faking it with the Cowboy

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BIRCH

Another day, another couple of dollars earned. I climbed out of the saddle and led the mare I’d been riding all day out of the sun and into the shade of the barn. I’d been out checking fences most of the afternoon, and a fine layer of reddish-brown dust covered both me and the mare.

I’d been working at the Iron H Ranch in western Oklahoma for almost seven years, but every spring, when the wildflowers started to bloom, I wished I was back in Texas. Sure, the landscape here was gorgeous, but nothing like the blankets of bluebonnets where I grew up. One of these days I’d have my own acreage, and I’d make damn sure a good portion of it stayed wild so I could enjoy bluebonnet-covered hills.

“Hey, you hear the big news yet?” Brandon, one of the other ranch hands, pushed off from where he’d been leaning against one of the stalls and headed in my direction.

“What big news?” I never paid Brandon much attention. He hadn’t been at the Iron H very long, and I didn’t expect him to last much longer. The guys around here worked hard, while Brandon seemed more interested in doing as little as possible and frequenting the local dive bars.

He shot me a shit-eating grin. “The ranch might be in trouble. Cody’s countin’ on everyone to pitch in on some fundraising scheme he came up with.”

My gut twisted, but I kept my reaction to myself. I couldn’t afford to lose my job at the ranch. Running cattle and working with horses was just about the only thing I knew how to do. Just about the only thing I wanted to do. It didn’t pay well, but room and board were included, so I’d been able to put away most of my paycheck to save up for my own place. If the ranch went under, that would add another couple of years to my already-too-long plan.

“Any idea what he might have in mind?” Brandon asked.

I lifted the saddle off the mare’s back and returned it to the tack room, with Brandon right behind me. “Hell if I know. Cody doesn’t exactly share his deepest secrets with me.”

“I heard some of the other guys talking about it. Sounds like we might be taking on more tourists.” Brandon arched his brows. “Maybe even women.”

“That might be the only way you could get a woman to spend some time with you,” I teased.

“I’m serious, Birch.” He adjusted the rim of his brand-new straw cowboy hat. “I think he’s gonna pimp us out.”

Choking back a laugh, I tended to the horse. A sheen of sweat covered her back. She needed to be cooled off and brushed down before I could turn her out to the pasture. That meant at least another half hour before I could clean up and get a bite to eat. “You’d better get over to the bunkhouse so you can find out what’s going on,” I said.

“It’s true.” Chase came up behind me. He was the closest thing I had to a friend at the Iron H. While I might not believe a word that came out of Brandon’s mouth, I could count on Chase to be straight with me. “Cody’s got some wild idea about letting visitors buy a day with a cowboy to get us back in the black.”

“More like a date with a cowboy,” Brandon added.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I gritted my teeth as I ran the brush over the mare’s flank. “Don’t we deal with enough shit without having to play tour guide to a bunch of folks who don’t belong here?”

I respected the hell out of Cody Ironheart for dedicating part of his ranch to equine rehabilitation efforts. But doing so put a strain on the already-limited resources. If he thought he could make up the difference by renting us out to tourists…

“Might not be such a bad idea.” Brandon shrugged. “Maybe you’ll find yourself a sugar mama who’ll give you the money to buy your own place.”

I walked around the mare so I could brush down her other side. “The last thing I need right now is a woman in my life.”

I barely had a few spare minutes to call home and talk to my foster mom once a week. Living on a working ranch didn’t allow for much free time. Though that didn’t seem to stop Brandon from venturing into town and finding a stranger to keep him warm a few nights a week.

“Well, I’m excited about the prospects.” Brandon lifted his hat and resettled it on top of his head. “See y’all at dinner.”

I waited until he’d left the barn before I turned to Chase. “How the hell are we going to get ourselves out of this? What kind of woman is going to pay to spend a day with one of us?”

“I don’t know.” Chase rolled his eyes toward the rafters of the old barn, like he hoped the ancient beams above might hold some sort of answer.

“He can’t make us do it.” There was nothing in my for-hire agreement that required me to take part in hare-brained, piss-poor ideas to auction off my dignity.

“I suppose not. But if we don’t do something to save the ranch, we’ll all be out of jobs soon. I’m not any more excited about this than you are, but if it means keeping the Iron H going…”

My pulse hammered hard, sending shockwaves through my limbs. Dammit. He was right. I blew out a long breath. “Fuuuuuuuuuuuck.”

“Yeah, that about sums it up. You going to be much longer? I want to get to dinner before Brandon scarfs down all the ribs.”

“Hell, Cody must be trying to bribe us if we’re having ribs tonight. You go ahead. I’ll meet you there after I shower.”

Chase nodded, then walked away. No need to make assumptions until I heard all the details from the boss. At least, that’s what I’d keep telling myself, despite the prickly sensation building in my belly.

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