Page 9 of His First Baby Rodeo

“I guess not,” she had to concede. “Touché.”

“But it’s always just Mac. Malcolm sounds like the kind of guy whowouldjust canter around the property,” Mac said. “I need a horse who can keep up with my pace. I need—”

“A wild bronco?”

“Not a wild bronco, but definitely a stallion with a lot of energy,” he said. “And I won’t be able to make that choice without taking the horse out for a ride myself. So for now, it’ll just be the three I’ve got.”

“Makes sense.”

“The work around here isn’t too intense,” he said. “It’s a small ranch. Aside from the horses, I’ve got a few chickens — they came with the place when I bought it. That’s about it, as far as animals go.”

“Seems easy enough.”

“You sure you’re up for the work with the horses?” Mac asked. “They’re pretty strong. Might be bigger than any you’ve been involved with in the past.”

“I can handle myself,” El said.

“Because the last thing I want to have to do is to call your brother and explain to him that you got yourself hurt. He won’t thank me for that.”

“I said I’m fine,” El said tightly.

“Okay,” Mac said. “In that case, you can get started tomorrow morning. I’ll do what I can to help you out, but since I’m one-handed, it might not be all that easy.”

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out. But if I’m going to get an early start, I should probably get to bed.” El faked a yawn, not wanting to admit that the truth was that she really just wanted to get away and have some time on her own to process everything. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

He gave her a lingering look that she couldn’t interpret. “See you then,” he said at last.

CHAPTER5

EL

El had gone directly to bed the night before, which had prevented her from making any arrangements when it came to breakfast. Now, as she came down to the kitchen with the sun barely peeking over the horizon, it occurred to her that she should have gone into town and done some shopping last night. What was she going to eat? She couldn’t skip breakfast and expect to put in a full day’s hard work on the ranch. She’d collapse.

It didn’t help matters that Mac was eating what had to be the world’s biggest omelet. It smelled amazing. She tried not to let that show on her face.

He looked up as she came into the kitchen. “Eggs are on the counter,” he said. “And there’s sausage and veggies and stuff in the fridge.”

“I don’t want to eat your food,” she said, even though her mouth was watering.

“You don’t have any of your own yet,” he pointed out. “You’ve got to eat something. I’m not taking you out there without something in your stomach.”

She opened her mouth to retort that he wasn’ttakingher anywhere — but what would be the point in that? He was offering her breakfast. She wasn’t too proud to accept.

“Thanks,” she said, taking a couple of eggs out of the carton. The skillet Mac had used was still on the stove, and she cracked them directly into it.

He looked up from his breakfast. “You’re not going to put anything in that?” he asked. “Not even some cheese?”

“I just want the eggs.” She opened a few drawers.

“What are you looking for?”

“Fork?”

“That drawer.” He pointed.

She got a fork and used it to whisk her eggs until they were fluffy and perfectly scrambled. Then she found a plate in a cabinet and dumped them onto it. She put the skillet in the sink. “I’ll wash that tonight,” she offered.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll manage. You weren’t hired to do dishes.”

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