Austin (New Horizon Ranch Book 8) (3 page)

“What are you doing here?” she asked after he’d nodded at a few fellas and came straight to her. As if she wanted to see him.
Ha.

“Good morning to you too.”

His voice was husky just like she remembered it, just like she’d heard it in her dreams all stinkin’ night long. “Mornin’,” she managed, not wanting to lie now that she wasn’t sure whether it was a good morning or a bad one. “Well, why are you here? I haven’t broken any laws, I can assure you.” He chuckled and her insides curled up like kittens ready to cuddle.

“I work here on my days off when they need extra help.”

She frowned. “You didn’t tell me that yesterday.”

“Didn’t know I was supposed to.”

That had her snapping her lips shut.

He grinned. “You always this testy or do I just bring out the best in you?”

“I’m not testy.”

He hitched a brow. “Thought you told me yesterday you didn’t lie.”

“Okay, okay, maybe I’m a little testy. I just wasn’t expecting to see the law walk in.”

“You got a problem with the law then, not me per se.”

Oh, she wanted to tell him to take a hike with all his comebacks but Ty and Dalton walked up.

“See you’ve met Jolene.” Dalton shook Austin’s hand. Ty did the same and greeted Austin warmly.

It was easy to see he fit here. Easy to see she was going to have to deal with the fact that he would be working here and she would be running into him on a regular basis. “If you fellas will excuse me, I’m going to make sure my gear’s ready.” She didn’t wait around but headed out as she tried to figure out why the man bothered her so.

Other than the fact that he was gorgeous and quick-witted and had kept her up during the night, he should have been lumped into the category of all the men she worked with—purely business.

Riding in the back of the roundup, Austin pulled his bandana up over his nose and mouth as he trailed in the dust of the large herd they’d gathered. It was the dirtiest part of the job but it afforded him a view of Jolene as she rode straight and graceful in her saddle, and yet was aggressive when she needed to be. When a runaway bolted and headed for the trees, Jolene wheeled her horse on its back legs and charged to block the cow’s path, and turned it back in to the herd and warded off a potential group that might have followed the runaway. Austin smiled as she loped her horse back to the edge of the herd and went back to work. By lunch, he was ready for a bath—which he wouldn’t get till that night—but would settle for a cold drink. As they moved the herd to the edge of the river, where they could drink their fill of water, the crew dismounted and headed to the chow area that George and his crew had set up under some shade trees.

After dusting himself off as best he could, Austin went to the water canisters and pulled a clean bandana from his back pocket and wet it. He was wiping his face when Jolene walked up to get a cup of water.

“You did a good job out there today,” he said, hoping he’d gotten most of the dirt off his face.

“Thanks, I guess. Did you think I might not?” She filled her cup and took a long swig as she held his gaze. The air was thick with tension as they stared at each other.

“You’ve got some chip on your shoulder,” he said at last. He ran the rag over the back of his neck, letting the coolness try to disperse the new wave of heat that hit him the minute those piercing blue eyes touched his. “I don’t know what to say except that I pulled you over yesterday because you were weaving. From my vantage point, you were a danger to yourself and to others on that road and it was my duty to pull you over. You just ran that cow down and turned it back to the herd. You were doing your job. So was I.” His blood pulsed hard through his veins as he picked up his cup of water and left her standing there with her bad attitude.

The woman clearly had a problem.
He joined the line of men as they took their plates and filled them with cold fried chicken and potato salad. After burning up all morning in the August heat, the simple cold meal was welcome.

“What’s up between you and Jolene?” Ty asked when Austin sank to a log next to the horse trainer. “Looked to me like you two were not happy with each other. Did something happen out there today I missed?”

Austin didn’t know why she was so aggravated at him but he also didn’t want to get her in trouble on her first day of work. “Nope. Nothing wrong on my end.”

Ty looked less than convinced but picked up a fork of potato salad and made no other comment. Ty was quiet like that, but observant. Austin decided it would be for the best if he avoided Jolene for the rest of the day or more questions would be asked.

But that didn’t stop his gaze from finding her all afternoon. The woman didn’t like him and yet he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

By the time they got the cattle to the valley where they’d brand them and sort them the next day, he was madder than a trapped bull at himself for the fact that she’d been on his mind and in his line of vision all day. Trucks and trailers were waiting for them; they loaded their horses on the trailers and then loaded up into the trucks that would transport them all to the ranch and them bring them back out the next day for the branding and sorting. Just a few men would stand watch tonight and be relieved in the morning light.

He climbed into the backseat of one of the trucks and waited as others loaded their horses and then climbed into the three trucks. He ended up moving to the middle of the backseat as one cowboy climbed in on the passenger side; almost immediately, two more moved in from the driver’s side. Jolene stared at him in shock as she climbed in and started to back out when she realized another cowboy was already squeezing in behind her. With no other place to go, she sank into the seat, her thigh and hip snug against his. BJ, the cowboy next to Austin, was a big ole boy, so Austin had to lean toward Jolene.

He swallowed the tightness in his throat as she ended up nestled up against him. Her hat got knocked off in the shuffle of squeezing everyone into the too-small space and her soft hair ended up tickling his nose.
Peaches.
After a long, hot day when he was sure he probably smelled like the south end of the cattle he’d been herding, she smelled like fresh peaches. Sometimes life wasn’t fair, and right then he was sure with the truck stuffed with seven hot, sweaty cowboys that she was getting the raw deal and he had the best seat in the truck.

They had a good twenty-minute drive through rutted pastures and down rough gravel roads before they reached the blacktop. Conversation was going on all around them but he couldn’t speak. All he could do was feel her up against his body and breathe in the soft scent of her shampoo. It was all he could do not to shift his arm so she’d be snuggled up closer. When they hit a bump, it so happened that she jostled next to him and had to grab his leg to steady herself. She looked up at him and in the dimming light of the evening, he saw a flicker of fire.

“Sorry,” she mumbled and yanked her hand off his leg.

Every muscle of his body had tensed. “Not a problem,” he grunted.

He’d never been so tensed up in all his days as he was when the truck pulled to a halt in the ranch parking lot. BJ and Willie Ray took their ever lovin’ time getting out of the truck and all Austin could do was sit there and try not to move. Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer.

“Willie Ray, I hate to break up you and Micha’s conversation but man, move it. We’re hot, tired, and ready to hit the hay—I mean the showers. We’re ready to go home. You, too, BJ. Unload.”

“Hey, you don’t have to get so hot and bothered,” the big hulking cowboy drawled.

Before Austin could make a comeback, Jolene rammed the cowboy in his meaty rib. “Either get out or I’ll kick you out,” she snapped. And on that note, the truck cleared and she escaped and stalked off.

BJ had moved out of Austin’s way and scratched his head. “What’s your problem, man?”

Austin didn’t even reply; he just headed after his horse. His entire body still burned from the feel of her next to him. And as he brushed Buckskin down in a back stall, the scent of peaches stayed with him.

It was going to be one long night.

Chapter Four

Jolene took a long, cold shower that night. She’d behaved badly that day and she knew it. And then finding herself practically in Austin Drake’s arms on the ride back to the ranch had her fully aware of the cowboy. She couldn’t help noticing how firm his chest was and how hard his thigh was against hers. And despite the fact that he’d had the worst job of the day trailing the herd, the man still managed to smell like saddle leather and aftershave. Willie Ray, on the other hand, was not so lucky and despite all her willpower, she’d been drawn to turn Austin’s way rather than the beefy young cowboy. It had been one long ride back to the ranch and her every nerve was still on high alert even as she climbed into bed and sank into the soft mattress.

The day would start at five again, as they’d try to get the hot, gritty job of branding done before lunch while there was some semblance of coolness in the air. In August, cool was a word used lightly as the mornings began with the temps already crossing the eighty degree mark most mornings.

Despite how tired she was, she did not sleep. Not at first anyway. She kept thinking about Austin, darn the man. And she wondered whether he was thinking about her too.

And that curiosity did not sit well with her.

By morning, she felt groggy and sore and wanted coffee. She got out of bed at four thirty, made a pot of stout coffee and moved out onto the porch to sit in a rocking chair while she waited for the rooster to crow and the ranch to wake up.

The sun became blisteringly hot by midmorning. It was a hub of activity as they were broken down into several teams to administer vaccines, brands, and any medicines the animals needed. Austin was one of the cowboys who stayed in the saddle and sorted the calves out of the group; Jolene was down on the ground, helping administer vaccines. Austin was glad he wasn’t on the ground rubbing elbows with the ranch’s newest hire, though he now had the aggravation of trying to keep his eyes off her.

The woman hadn’t given him any peace last night. No sir, he’d tossed and turned and before dawn, he’d ended up standing on his front porch, swigging down coffee before the rooster crowed.

And he’d been thinking about Jolene.

No thank you, but he was not taking any chances of their skin coming in contact in any shape or form. If he had his way, there was not going to be any words exchanged—good, bad, or tempting.

Because he was tempted. It wasn’t healthy being attracted to someone who downright disliked him. That didn’t seem to matter, though. Despite the distance between them, all he could think about was finding out whether her sassy lips were as sweet as they were tart and snappy. Or whether a kiss from her would be as fiery as the flame in her eyes. His throat went dry just wondering about it.

“Austin!”

He heard someone yell his name and then realized he’d been so deep in thought that he’d missed his cue to separate out a new group of cattle. His daydreaming had the whole synchronized work chain ground to a halt; everyone watched him, including one pretty lady with grit on her face and her hands on her shapely hips.

“Sorry,” he called and moved his horse into the herd and then expertly drove a handful out of the group and out to the waiting ropers, who sent their ropes flying. One caught the head, the other the back legs, as they stretched it out so it wouldn’t hurt the men and woman administering the brand and the medications.

And so the rest of the morning went. He kept his mind where it belonged, though. When they finally broke for lunch, he kept his distance from Jolene. He made sure to give her time to get her food and find a spot to eat before he went after his.

Maddie got into the line beside him.

“I guess the doc said you were good to go on the horse riding?” he asked.

“Yes, he did. I, of course, have to be careful but I’m always careful. I wouldn’t be on the horse if I thought it would be a danger. Cliff would tie me to the couch and not let me leave the house if he could. He might be a risk taker himself but he’s in hovering mode right now. But I’m so blessed to have him. How’s your sister doing? It’s got to be hard on her having lost her husband at such a young age. And with a child. I can’t imagine.”

“Thanks for asking. She’s she’s a fighter. She’s taking care of Julie and getting her teaching degree while she’s also grieving.”

“That’s inspiring while it’s awful at the same time. And you’re helping her out?”

“Yeah, getting that degree will help her make a life for her and Julie. It’s been seven months and I worry about her. She holds too much in.”

Maddie patted his back. “She’s lucky to have you. You’re a standup fella, Austin, and believe me, I don’t say that lightly.”

He took the compliment and then took his plate and headed toward a group of cowboys who had gathered over near the trailers. He made sure Jolene was not in the group. She was over near the horses, talking with Ty, and he remembered that she’d said she was here to break horses. Ty was over the horse program on the ranch, so it made sense. But try as he might, Austin couldn’t picture the tiny firecracker breaking a bronc.