Rocky Mountain Romance (Six Pack Ranch) (21 page)

Her grin dazzled him. “You’re welcome. And you can make it up to me later.”

“Hell, yes. More than once,” he promised.

“I like the sound of that.”

So did he, and as they grinned at each other, something clicked. Something right was happening, and he hoped like hell it wasn’t only him feeling it.

Chapter Fourteen

Two days later Steve got to be amazed by another view of Melody.

She was dwarfed by the men working to bring the cows into position, and the animals moving in protest against being corralled for their pregnancy check, yet she didn’t seem the least bit intimidated.

Preg-checking was one of the ranch tasks Steve tended not to think about too much, other than from an organizational aspect. Testing the cows to see if they’d been caught made sense, but it was a horridly messy and yet boring job.

Plus physically demanding. Mathis had always done the testing before, and he’d end up knackered by the time they were finished. Some of the hands were already making bets on the sly regarding how many tests Melody could complete before she ran out of steam.

Still, they had a lineup of cows waiting and in position at the rail—the first of them, at least. Steve had his clipboard in hand ready to record her announcement based on the size of the fetus she found during the test. The results would let them put the cows out in different fields and know approximately when the calves would start to drop. And any cows that hadn’t been caught the first time, there was still opportunity to breed them this year.

Melody stood to one side of the yard chatting with his cousins who had come to help. Matt Coleman and Cassidy grinned at something she’d said as she adjusted the long protective coat covering her torso and pulled on a rubber glove that went up to her shoulder.

She was going to need it.

Even though this was a part of ranch life, and vet life, Steve wished he could protect her. Wished he could save her from the exhaustion that would set in after an hour’s time, or sooner. Save her from the filth and the sheer boredom of repetition. No matter how much he admired her, he joined the others in wondering how long she’d last when pitted against the strength of the cows.

Unwilling cows, he mentally added, as the first one she approached shuffled its feet, as if knowing what was about to happen.

No hesitation. The task was unpleasant, but Melody simply did it. She lifted the cow’s tail to the side with one hand and slipped her other hand into the animal, a look of determination on her face.

Steve saw it. The moment she located the cow’s cervix below her hand.

“Three,” Melody announced, withdrawing her arm cautiously to avoid creating a disaster.

Steve made a note matching the tag number on the cow’s ear before glancing up, expecting it to take a moment for Melody to move down the line.

She was already in place, already shouting the next number, and he had to still grab the tag information from the next cow. He hustled to catch up, scrawling the numbers as carefully as possible as Melody moved at an impossibly quick rate.

Once she’d finished the first dozen tests, no one was smirking or laughing anymore—the men were fighting to keep up. Rushing to get the rest of the cows in place to keep from making her wait. The only thing that saved them from looking like a bunch of useless slackers were the times when Melody had to pull a stool over to reach into an exceptionally tall cow.

Steve was sweating before long. “Slow down, you’re going too fast,” he croaked, glancing at her, his jaw tight from holding in multiple curses.

She tossed him a sympathetic grin. “Gee, I thought that was my line, Steve.”

He was so busy scribbling down the next tag number that what she said took a minute to register. The amused chuckles from his cousins and brother were what finally clued him in.

A loud snort escaped Trevor, and Steve snapped his head up to glare at his brother, hoping to scare him into silence. The only thing that happened was the clipboard slipped from his fingers and he had to crawl under the nearest cow to retrieve it, awkwardly scrambling until he was back in position.

By that time, everyone was waiting for
him
.

Trevor cackled. “Still trying to set the pace, are you, big bro? And here we put you in charge of the paperwork because we thought you’d like having something to hang on to.”

“It’s not the size of your equipment, it’s knowing how to use it,” Melody commented dryly, which only set up another round of howls.

He eyed her carefully over the next hour, but other than giving back as good as she got from the boys, she never wavered. By the time lunch break rolled around, Steve was impressed—hell, he was
beyond
impressed.

He had to admit her manner with the crew was perfect. Preg-testing was a dirty task, and there were always a few coarse jokes bandied about. If they hadn’t acknowledged that, or tried to avoid it for Melody’s sake, it would have been more awkward than the good-natured ribbing going on.

So he joined in the taunting but made sure it never went too far. Directing the jokes back to himself whenever he felt the dirt talk was getting out of hand.

Melody Langley was one remarkable woman, and he looked forward to telling, and showing her, that he thought so.

The fact he planned they’d be naked while they had the discussion? A win on both sides.

She knew there’d be hell to pay for her teasing, but she was more than willing to foot the bill.

The whole time they’d worked together, she’d felt that edge of attraction. The moments their shoulders had brushed, excitement raced through her body like she’d bumped into an electric fence. The lure between them created a sense of anticipation and arousal that lasted long after she’d finished the final test.

Even with the hormone high she got hanging around Steve, though, she would have been exhausted if it weren’t for the other amazing thing.

The congratulatory slaps on her shoulders from the team she’d spent the day with were an incredible contrast to the disapproving attitudes she’d faced at other jobs over the past days. What a difference it made to be celebrated for her skills instead of looked at with suspicion.

She was tired and filthy, and felt so alive the adrenaline rushing her system could power her through dancing for hours.

It wasn’t just the crew. She’d also been pleased with Steve’s work ethic—last year when she came out to the Colemans to help Mathis do this same job, she remembered Steve wandering off at one point and never returning.

Not today. And even through they’d started the day by joking at his expense, he’d stayed on top of what needed to happen next. He’d kept the guys rolling, twice noticing she needed a stretch break before she’d said anything, and then he’d called a stop for the entire crew rather than making it about her and
her delicate constitution
like at other ranches.

She wasn’t sure a simple
thank you
would be enough.

Steve walked her to her truck. “I’ll admit it. What you just did was amazing. I’ve seen grown men twice your size reduced to tears while testing that many cows. Hell, I’ve seen a vet get his arm broken when the cow decided to fight back in the middle of a test.”

“Trust me, I’ve heard the tales, maybe worse ones than you.” Melody made a face. “They like to tell us horror stories during vet training, like some morbid
I can top that
game. And I know it takes strength, but maybe it helps that I’m not as big as the average vet.”

Steve frowned in confusion.

She caught his hand in hers, pressing them palm-to-palm to showcase the size difference. “Tell me honestly. If you were getting your prostate checked, whose finger do you want shoved up your ass?”

He shuddered. “And on that note, can I take you out for dinner?”

Melody worked to hide her amusement. “Not getting into another discussion of taking it up the ass?”

“I think we talked about that enough today to last us for a long, long time, don’t you?” But his eyes were laughing at her. “Dinner?”

“After I shower and disinfect myself? Sure.”

He opened her truck door and waited until she’d crawled inside and settled. “I’ll pick you up in an hour. You okay with casual?”

“Perfect.”

An hour was just long enough for her to scrub her skin until she was tingling, pull on clean jeans and a shirt, and sit on the front steps waiting for him while she brushed her hair. A moment to breathe and forget the worries and work of the week.

He pulled up, and she was at the passenger side in a flash, jerking to a stop when she tried to open it, but instead of swinging open, the lock clicked down. Steve put the truck in park and came around, grinning as he opened the door and helped her in.

“Such a gentleman,” she teased. “Locking me out.”

“You’re so independent, it’s difficult to do all the polite things without having to manage you at the same time.”

Melody laughed. “Yes, I can see where I take a fair bit of managing.”

He had her door shut and was back behind the wheel in seconds, pulling her into the middle seat next to him and heading them down the road. He linked fingers with hers, giving her one of his sexy smiles that made everything tingle more than her Buf-Puf in the shower. “I told you casual. You okay with
really
casual?”

“Of course.” She fought to keep a yawn from breaking free, but it was no use. She covered her mouth and ignored his teasing laugh. “I’m not doing too much more before crashing.”

“That’s what I figured, so I picked up what we need for a picnic. We can sit back, relax and just spend some time together.”

Perfect. “Not trying to impress anyone else today,” she said.

Melody laid her head on his shoulder as he drove toward the bluffs, the tall grass in the fields around them swaying in the gentle breeze.

He’d gone to town and bought her favourite things. Half an hour later she leaned back in the camping chair Steve had brought, her hunger more than sated.

She glanced up to find him watching her closely. “I did it again, didn’t I?”

“Did what?”

“Ignored everything but the food.”

Steve waved a hand toward the limited remains on the plates in front of them. “Unless you ate it all when I wasn’t looking, I was involved in the carnage as well.”

True. Melody folded her hands in her lap, curious for more information. “Things went well today at the ranch. Or at least, I thought they did.”

The expression on his face was unmistakable. Pride followed hard by guilt. “You did a great job, and I have to apologize for ever thinking it was going to be too big of a task for you.”

Melody paused. “I never once suspected you were worried I couldn’t do my job.”

“Oh, hell no. Don’t get me wrong—I have zero doubts about your skills as a vet.” He ran a finger down her arm, slowly and intimately. “You’re strong, and today you proved it.”

His honesty still sat a little uneasy. “I try not to take on more than I can handle. I know I’m not the size of you. Even someone my size like Ian Mailer is potentially stronger than me because he’s a man, but there’s
always
a way for me to do my job.”

“Damn right,” he agreed.

She thought back over the day. “Trevor and Lee were helping, and a bunch of your cousins, but your dad wasn’t around. Is he still not feeling well?”

Steve made a face. “No, and while he insists it’s nothing serious, he hasn’t been able to do nearly as much as he wants to.”

“That’s got to be driving him mad.” Nothing worse than a rancher being tied down, especially when he’d know what chores were being left undone.

“I don’t know who’s going crazier, him or my mom,” Steve confessed. “Kate is out helping every chance she gets, but in the meantime Randy isn’t feeling well enough to take over her tasks. It’s turned into a giant juggling act.”

Melody would’ve offered a hand, but she had too many balls in the air herself. “Does he need to go for extra testing?”

“He’s waiting for some results, but you know that takes time. In the meanwhile, we just have to do our best to keep up.”

Steve rearranged his chair so they were side by side looking over the meadow. Cattle grazed below them, red-tailed hawks rode the air currents far above their heads.

When he lifted her hand and linked their fingers together, she smiled. “It’s nice to have a quiet time to talk.”

Steve paused for long enough she leaned forward to look into his face to see what was wrong. His lips were twisted up on one side as he returned her gaze with a sheepish expression. “I was such a bloody idiot last year.”

Well, now. “What brought that on?”

His shoulders lifted. “It’s not the big things that point out what was wrong with us before. Not really. It’s the little moments when you say something that should be so inconsequential, and it hits like a dagger because I should’ve known better.”

“It’s done. Stop beating yourself up over it.”

“How often did we take time to sit and talk?” he insisted. “How often did I come over and give you a hand when you were tired from a hard day’s work?”