Perfect. How are you for working nights?
I spent twelve years on the force in Chicago and the past few months as a deputy for Briscoe County. I know how to pull night duty, but tell me Reed frowned what kind of cattle ranching are you doing at night?
Her rosy lips twisted. Call it ranch security. She turned to Fernando. I dont suppose Sassy stopped at the edge of the canyon, did she?
No. Shes probably back at the barn by now. He removed his toe from the left stirrup. You take the saddle. Ill ride behind.
With her bottom bruised from the fall, Mona didnt argue. She stretched high to reach the saddle horn. Before she knew it, hands grasped her waist and lifted her into the saddle. Hands bigger and stronger than Fernandos.
Heat filled her cheeks as she fitted her boots into the stirrups. She hadnt had someone lift her so effortlessly into a saddle since she was a little girl. And damned if she didnt like it a little too much. A frown settled between her brows. I can manage on my own.
Yes, maam. I reckon you can, but my mamma taught me to help a lady. Its kind of a habit. As he stared up at her, a smile tipped the corners of his lips.
Her insides warmed, the heat spreading up her neck. Then a gray haze filtered her vision, blackness creeping around the edges. Oh no. Not again.
The blackness claimed her.
ARE YOU SURE youre up to this tonight? Reed sat behind the wheel of the ranch pickup truck, bumping along the dirt road that ran parallel to the inside of the fence.
Look, I didnt hire you to give me advice. I needed a ranch hand, period. He was learning fast, Mona Grainger didnt mince words.
Normally I wouldnt worry about another human being except you happened to get knocked on your butt by an angry hog today and then you passed out. And you havent even had a doctor check you out for concussion. Hed carried her all the way back to the ranch house on his horse before shed woken up. Despite their brief acquaintance, hed been scared half to death for her. With her limp body leaning against his the entire way, hed had too much time to think up reasons for her to pass out and none of them were good.
I was hungry and tired. Thats all. Besides, were not riding horses. What we need to do tonight can be accomplished in a truck. I didnt ask
to drive, so drop the worried-employee act. If I pass out, you wont be required to carry me anywhere.
I didnt mind carrying you. Hell, his hands still tingled from lifting her into the saddle and holding her snuggly against his chest. Her hips were narrow, she had a cute bit of a belly, but she didnt weigh much more than a bale of hay. How could someone so small be so toughand so sexy? Her long black hair had hung to her waist in wavy disarray. He could tell by the crease at her nape that she must have had it secured earlier in a ponytail. Though he liked it loose.
The long strands had brushed against his face when hed lifted her into the saddle. Silky smooth and smelling of prairie grass. A man could lose himself in her scent. Reed shifted in his seat, disturbed by the direction of his thoughts.
Focusing on his surroundings, he committed to memory the few landmarks he could see in the fading light. Once away from the ranch house and its lone stand of trees planted as a windbreak, the terrain looked pretty much the same. Gently rolling plains stretched for miles with not another tree in sight. With the window down to let in the cool night air, the smell of dry grass and sagebrush filled the interior of the truck. The scent brought back recollections of growing up on his fathers ranch just a county over from Briscoe.
He had to admit they werent all bad memories. Hed had free run of thousands of acres, and a horse he could escape on whenever he got the chance. For that reason he missed his fathers ranch. Too bad his father didnt own it anymore.
Monas hand reached out and touched his sleeve. Slow down. She pointed to a slight rise in the prairie. Park the truck behind that hill and turn off the lights.
He pressed the brake, slowing the truck to a halt at the same time as he flicked the lights off. For several moments, they sat in the dark, until their eyes adjusted.
When Mona opened the door, Reeds hand shot out. I know you told me ranch security, but what exactly do you mean by that?
She stared at his hand until he released her arm. Weve had several instances of cattle rustling in the past month. With over six thousand acres of land to manage, I cant do it all on my own. There are too many places to be at once. She grabbed her rifle from the gun rack behind her head and slid off the truck seat, dropping to the ground.
Reed reached for his rifle and followed suit. Why dont you go to the sheriff? Not that hed trust the sheriff to handle anything more than a speeding ticket.
No. No explanation, no reasons.
Mona Grainger moved up a notch in Reeds esteem. He didnt care for Sheriff Parker Lee. Okay, if not the sheriff, why not the DPS?
An unladylike snort escaped her. Public Safety referred me to local law enforcement. As she neared the top of the small rise, she knelt in the grass and dropped to her hands and knees, inching toward the ridgeline.