Page 27 of Dreaming About Forever

“Are you sure you’re okay? You were limping.”

“The day I let a cow get the best of me is the day I retire.” Jordan jerked his chin toward her. “Buckle up, buttercup.”

Alicia leaned toward him, compelled by an invisible force. Jordan filled more than his share of the cab, and she was floating after his display of masculinity. “You’re really serious about safety, boss.”

Jordan gave her a slow wink. “What can I say? You bring it out in me.” His gaze roamed over her, and the intensity in his stare dampened her laughs.

“What?” she asked, hoping she hadn’t just made a complete idiot of herself. Well, more than she had when she’d runtowarda mad cow.

“You’re filthy,” Jordan said, pointing to her once pristine outfit.

She was dirty, and probably for the first time in her life. Rubbing the snow-and-dirt mush between her thumb and fingers, she didn’t hate the grit.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I didn’t mean for you to get dirty on this outing.”

“I’m okay. It’s not like I’m going to get the truck any dirtier.” She shrugged and wiped her hands on the front of her pants, mushing the dirt against more dirt.

Jordan gave her another assessing look. “You might not hate it here after all.”

“Who said I was going to hate it here?”

Jordan started the truck and shifted into gear. “I did. Not out loud, but I assumed you’d hate it.”

“I don’t hate it,” she whispered. “I’m still a little stunned at all you did to try to check on that calf.”

Jordan turned the truck around, heading back toward the house. “I still didn’t get to see what’s wrong with the calf. Dad and Clint will have to separate them to get a good enough look. I hate that I can’t help them.”

“Because you’re babysitting me?” The implied ending to his sentence hurt more than it should. It was his job, but she’d felt useless enough today.

“I don’t think I’m babysitting you. It’s not my job to keep you in line or tell you what to do. I’m just here in case you need me.”

“I did need you today,” she whispered.

“No, you wouldn’t have gone toe-to-toe with an animal that weighs a literal ton if I hadn’t brought you out here.”

“Or if I’d stayed in the truck,” she added.

Jordan’s mouth lifted on one side. “Or that.”

“You did a lot to help me. And the animals.”

“It’s what you do on a ranch. The animals need help sometimes, and it’s part of the job. Working on a cattle ranch isn’t as glamorous as movies make it sound. Winters are rough, and most people leave the western slope because they can’t handle the cold.”

“Western slope?”

“Anything in Colorado west of the Rockies.”

Alicia picked dirt from around her cuticle. “I like it here,” she said, low and careful.

Jordan glanced at her as he continued driving. “You won’t for long. Women go stir crazy on ranches. It’s a secluded, hard life.”

“Your mom seems happy.”

“My mom is tough as nails, and she doesn’t back down from anything. She’s different.”

Alicia stared down at her ruined manicure. “Why did you leave? To be a bodyguard?”

“Security agent,” he corrected.

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