When he started to drop his hand, she grabbed it and shook it with as firm a grip as she could muster. She may be small, but she didnt want him to think she wasnt tough. A little dirt never hurt me.
Now that she had time to really study him, she wasnt as pleased as shed been at first to hire him. Although not exactly what shed hoped for, Mr. Bryson had proven he could ride and shoot, and he hadnt balked at helping a cow with a stillborn calf. The roping part could be taught. It was the rest of the package that bothered her.
Monas gaze ran the long length of the cowboy who stood at least six feet two in his faded denim jeans and blue chambray shirt. A twinge of apprehension gnawed at her now-empty gut. She didnt like men who were too good to look at. Shed fallen into that trap before and she sure as hell wasnt going there again. Some mistakes were harder to live with than others.
Reed dropped her hand and squatted next to the boar. Should be good eating. Want me to fieldstrip him?
The stench of the hog wrapped around her olfactory nerves and her stomach rebelled. For the second time in the past ten minutes, she ran a couple steps and then hurled the last of the contents of her belly.
On second thought, why dont we get you back to the house. I can come back here later and take care of him and check on the cow.
Fernando raced around the corner, brought his horse to a skidding halt and dropped to the ground. Miss Mona, are you all right? He hurried across the floor of the canyon and wrapped an arm around the woman as if she would break.
With a grimace, she pushed him away. Im all right. Nothings broken.
He snatched her hat from the ground and pounded it against his leg before he handed it to her. A deep frown marred his dark forehead. You should have waited for me to come help you with the cow. Its not something a
Im fine. She shot a glance at Reed. Fernando worried too much about her and her condition. Let the new hand get adjusted to working for a woman before he learned more about her.
Her foreman followed her glance and nodded. This kind of work takes more than one to accomplish. Especially when youre in the canyons. Wild boars arent the only animals you have to worry about.
She knew all too well the risks. But she refused to lose any more livestock to man or beast. Mona turned to the new hand. When can you start?
It seems Ive already started. He glanced down at his dirty jeans and the cow, just lumbering to her feet. Is today all right with you?
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.