“You know, new hand? Here to work the summer rush?”
He gave me a once-over, not rude exactly, more… curious. Assessing.
“You ride?” he asked before I could answer.
I flicked a glance at Junebug, who was still nosing her grain like she didn’t hear me and this guy wasn’t a stranger at all. “Yeah,” I said slowly. “I ride.”
“Great. Boss didn’t tell me he was bringing someone else on, but he forgets half of what he says anyway.” He jerked his chin toward a wall rack. “Grab that fork. Stall needs fresh bedding.”
I hesitated.
Screw it. I was no stranger to ranch work.
I snatched up the pitchfork and worked beside him, body moving on autopilot, brain still catching up.
He worked fast but clean, his movements efficient, like this was second nature. His shoulder brushed mine once when we crossed paths at the corner of the stall, and my skin burned at the contact.
“I’m Hudson, by the way,” he said after a minute. “Been here a few weeks now. What’d you say your name was?”
“Matthias.”
I didn’t know why I told him my full name, especially when I hated it so much. I cringed.
Hudson laughed. “Why that face? Let me guess? You’d prefer if I call you Matt?”
“Yeah. That’s better.”
I wanted to give myself a kick in the seat of my pants. I might not be a social butterfly like Carter, but I could hold my own. Why was I incapable of stringing more than three words together around him?
He flashed me another grin. “Nice to meet you, Matt. Are you trying to impress the boss or the horses?”
“Always the horse,” I said before I blurted out that I was trying to impress him. To show him that it didn’t matter that he was older than me. I could keep up. What was wrong with me and older men? A face flashed through my mind, but I forced the image out. I’d buried that experience years ago.
I edged closer to my horse’s stall.
Junebug’s ears perked up, and the moment she spotted me, she let out a soft whicker and shifted her body toward the gate. She nosed at the latch like she always did when she wanted me closer, those big dark eyes fixed on me with the kind of trust that never came easy. Not from her.
She loved hard, and only once she’d decided you were worth it.
And me? She’d decided a long time ago.
Why did she tolerate Hudson?
“She fancies you.”
I shrugged. “Seems so.”
“She’s a beauty, but a picky one. I swear she gave me the evil eye the first week I showed up. Tried to nip my elbow.”
That’s my girl.I smirked. “Really?”
“She’s sweet now, though.” His voice dropped, and he stepped beside me at the stall, his hand brushing mine as he reached out to stroke Junebug’s neck. “But that’s only because she’s figured out I can talk pretty the way the ladies like.”
I glanced over.
His eyes were still on the Quarter Horse, but the curve of his mouth was damn near sinful.
“She likes it when I call her sweetheart,” he said, tone low and smooth. “Don’t you, sweetheart?”
