Page 15 of This Time Around
“Huh.”Her mouth pulled down and she shrugged.“Well, whatever.The nickname suits you since you live and work there now.”
I let it go.She wanted to give me a nickname, I’d let her.
“What are we doing in here?”
She turned to me then and that grin turned into a full-blown smile, almost knocking me back a step with the beauty in it.“We’re going to ride some horses.I need to check on the cows that are expecting, probably move the heifers to a different pasture, and I need to check on hay fields today.We haven’t had rain lately—”
Woah.I lifted my hand.“You realize I understood about five of those words, correct?”
Her jaw fell open and her eyes widened.Then, the sweetest blush hit her cheeks.She grabbed a saddle from the bench and practically shoved it into my chest.“This is yours.And by the end of the day, you’ll understand it all, I’m certain of it.”
She grabbed her own saddle, a handful of what I assumed were reins and she walked out of the room, raising her voice as she kept talking.
“I’m going to put you on Blue.He’s about ten years old and although he’s one of the largest horses, he’s also one of the most gentle.He’ll be good to start on.”
She dumped her saddle on another bench, and I kept walking, waiting until she unlocked a sliding door and pushed it open.
I was suddenly face to face with a gray and white horse and blue eyes so light they were almost clear.
“Holy crap.He’s enormous.”
“Seventeen hands, like I said, one of our largest, but you’re a tall guy and can handle him.”
I chose to trust her.Her voice was all business and confidence.I was scared shitless but trying to hide it.
“Okay then.”I turned and smirked at her.“Teach me everything you know.”
For a moment, that easiness in her expression faltered, but she pushed through it.
Twenty minutes later, we were on our horses, and she was guiding me out of the penned area.
And there I was, learning how to be a cattle rancher.
