by Ali Parker
“If you can get that done by the end of today, sure,” I told her. There was no way she was going to be able to do that.
“Deal,” Brea said, holding out her hand for me to shake.
I rolled my eyes but shook her hand. “Deal, whatever.” I quickly pulled my hand back and headed into the kitchen. The truth was, there was something I liked about Brea. She was kind of ditzy and distracted. I still couldn’t believe she had fallen over that chair out on the porch. But there was something bewitching about those deep green eyes of hers, and I’d always been a sucker for blondes. Plus, I could tell from the way she fought back when I told her I didn’t need her there that she wasn’t the kind of girl to take any sort of shit from a guy. I liked that, too.
Actually, I’d spent a lot of the morning thinking about her. An embarrassing amount of time, really. I wondered what her story was, and why she was so set on training Duck. She didn’t seem to be too worried about her job, not if the way she interacted with me, one of her customers, was any indication. She was pushy and sort of rude. So why was she doing this?
I wondered if she was from around here, too. I didn’t recognize her, but that didn’t mean much. I didn’t get out enough to really know everyone from around there. I even wondered if maybe she was Tanner’s sister, the one that he had moved up here with. But that seemed like too much of a coincidence. Did that make her my cousin too? No. We weren’t blood. I shoved that shit out of my head fast, especially since she was playing front and center to a few naughty thoughts in my mind.
With a shrug, I tried to let it go. She wasn’t going to be sticking around, so there was no point in getting hung up on her.
Quickly, I made a sandwich and then paused. She was probably hungry too. I knew that she had brought a bag with her, but it seemed like she’d been working with Duck all morning and if she’d brought a lunch, she might not have eaten it.
I stepped back into the living room. “Are you hungry?” I asked, a bit begrudgingly.
Brea’s face lit up, more than I would have expected from such a simple question. “Yeah, actually,” she admitted. “I meant to bring a lunch, I had it packed and everything, but I must have left it on the counter or something this morning. Silly me.”
I stared at her for a beat and then shook my head. I wasn’t going to even touch that one. “I’ll make you a sandwich,” I told her, heading back into the kitchen.
Not wanting to eat lunch with her, I headed straight out onto the porch with my own, closing the door behind me. To my surprise, Tanner was walking up the driveway when I went out there. He waved to me and came up to the porch.
“What are you doing here?” I asked in surprise. “You’re not on the schedule.”
“No, I know,” Tanner said, shrugging. “I just knew there was a lot of work to get done, and I figured I’d swing by and see if you wanted a little help. I don’t mind pulling some extra hours, especially not until things get back on track again. Up to you, though. I tried calling, but no one answered.”
“Oh,” I said. “I was going over one of the fields this morning and didn’t have my cell phone with me.” I grimaced. “Duck chewed through my inside cord, apparently, so my phone didn’t get charged last night. It’s charging over in the office right now.”
“No worries,” Tanner said easily.
“I could really use the help again today, if you’re okay with that,” I told him. It pained me to admit that I needed him, but that was the truth of it. Then I gave him a quick rundown on what everyone else was up to at the moment.
The door opened suddenly and Brea came out with Duck, who immediately took off into the yard to pee. Tanner smiled at the woman and held out his hand. “Tanner Dawson, ma’am.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Brea.” Brea shook his hand. “Wait, are you guys brothers?”
“Cousins,” I mumbled.
“Distant cousins.” Tanner chuckled and popped me in the chest. The guy was growing on me. How, I wasn’t sure.
I dusted the crumbs off my hands. “Well, time to get back to work,” I said to Tanner, jerking my head in the direction of the barn and leading him away before he could get too chummy with Brea.
“Is that your girl?” Tanner asked, as we walked. He grinned at me. “I can see why you didn’t want to go for a beer last night; I’d rather be home with a woman like that too.”
I gave him a look. “She’s not my girl,” I told him shortly. “She’s just a dog trainer.”
Tanner whistled. “I might need to get me a dog,” he joked. “Although I guess I don’t need to if she’s going to be around here a lot.”
“She isn’t,” I told him. “She’s not coming back, so don’t get used to her.”
“Not coming back?” Tanner asked. “Does that mean Duck’s already learned every trick in the book?”
“Of course not,” I said. “My dad hired her, I don’t know why. I’m perfectly capable of training Duck on my own. I don’t need her help so she’s not coming back.”
“Okay, okay,” Tanner said. He clapped me on the shoulder. “Jeez, man, we gotta get you laid or something. You’re tense as hell.”
The picture that immediately came to mind was of Brea, though. What would that lithe body look like, spread out on my sheets? What would she taste like, what noises would she make as I fucked her? I could feel my dick twitch with interest already, and I forced myself to forget about the images my mind had conjured up. I wasn’t even really that interested in her; it had just been a while.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
I threw myself into work for the rest of the afternoon, figuring that the harder I worked, the less I would be able to think of her. It only kind of worked.
At the end of the day, I headed back up to the house, just as the sun was setting. Brea and Duck were in the living room. The dog was lying on her back, paws in the air, while Brea scratched her belly. “Looks like you’re really working on training,” I said sarcastically.
Brea was unperturbed, though. She got to her feet, and Duck immediately rolled to her feet as well, coming over to leap up against my legs. I absently scratched her behind the ears.
“Actually, we finished our training for the day, we were just waiting for you,” Brea said. “I wanted you to see this.” She turned her attention to the dog. “Hey Duck.” Duck immediately turned to look at her, cocking her head to the side. “Want to go outside?”
Duck woofed and ran off toward the front door. Brea went after her and opened the door, and Duck darted off down the porch steps and onto the grass. She sniffed around a little and then did her business.
“I’ve still got to work on getting her to come back inside, but she’ll at least go out when you ask her,” Brea said, a smug look on her face. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a wink, she headed down to her car.
8
Brea
I was proud of the work I’d accomplished with Duck on Tuesday. It had taken most of the day, but Duck had learned to sit whenever she was asked to, and she had learned a key phrase, ‘Want to go outside?’ I wanted to teach her more, but I didn’t want to overload her on the first day, especially not since I’d be back again the following day.
Our little deal had paid off, and I was glad of that. Not that it would have been the end of the world if it hadn’t, and Nina couldn’t fault me for trying. I just wished she had been there to see it all. As it was, when I told her about it, she was going to think I was exaggerating, probably. She’d ended up with other appointments all day, last minute bookings, so she had never even stopped by to smooth those ruffled feathers.
Though I’d managed things well enough on my own, I thought. At least I was going back for another day.
The truth was, I really wanted Luke to come around. I wanted him to think that his father had made a good investment when he booked these classes. And I wanted Duck to excel at her training. More than that, though, I sort of just wanted him to like me. Not just because he was attractive, but mor
e because I didn’t like the idea that anyone might not like me. I knew I had a tendency to rub some people the wrong way, but I had a feeling that with Luke, if he could just relax a little, he’d come to like me at least enough to let me keep working with Duck.
We were already making progress. I’d really appreciated that he made me lunch, and I was already thinking that I should make some brownies or something to take over there.
First, though, I had to head into the office to report to Nina.
“How were things?” she asked.
“Well, first of all, there’s only one dog,” I said, falling into a seat.
Nina raised an eyebrow. “For one dog, you look pretty exhausted,” she commented. “What happened?”
“The guy who booked the appointment was apparently the owner’s dad,” I told her. “And Luke didn’t want me there at all. He tried to tell me that he was doing okay on his own, but that was clearly a lie.”
Nina groaned. “I hope you didn’t say it like that to his face.”
“Not exactly,” I said. I shrugged. “Anyway, I got him to let me stay for the day, and Duck and I worked on sitting and going outside. He didn’t want me to come back, but I got him to agree when he saw what Duck had learned.” Leave it at that, and don’t tell her that I had made a somewhat risky deal with the man. If I hadn’t been able to get Duck to listen by the end of the day, if she had been more distracted by her owner’s reappearance after a whole day with me, things might not have turned out so well.
Nina looked pleased though. “I’m glad things worked out,” she said. “So, you’re okay going back over there tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” I told her. “The guy, Luke, is kind of a dick, but he was pretty busy on the farm all day so I didn’t have to see him much.” I shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind seeing him more actually; he’s pretty easy on the eyes. But every time he opened his mouth, it was to say something rude.” I frowned. “Well, not every time. He made me lunch since I’d forgotten mine.”
Nina grinned at me. “That’s nice of him,” she said. “And easy on the eyes, huh?”
I shook my head. “I’m not about to start a relationship with him or anything like that,” I told her. “He’s totally not my type. And like I said, kind of a dick. But I would like him to at least be my friend. I get the feeling he doesn’t have many of those.”
“Friend, boyfriend. What’s the difference?” Nina said teasingly.
“Why are you so concerned about my love life anyway?” I asked her. “Don’t you have enough to focus on with your husband and the kids?”
Nina laughed. “Come on, I’m living vicariously through you,” she said. “Married life is very different from new love. Also great, with a number of perks. But definitely not the same.”
I shook my head, but I couldn’t help grinning at her. “Well, this isn’t love,” I told her. “And it’s never going to be.”
“Why, because sexy farmers aren’t your type?” Nina asked. “I thought he was easy on the eyes.”
I giggled. “He is! But I like to think I’m not shallow enough to base my whole relationship on looks alone. And let me tell you, his personality just wasn’t doing it for me today.”
“That’s fair,” Nina said. “Hey, do you want to come over tonight? Rob said he’d have dinner on the table by the time I got home, and since he always cooks like he’s feeding a small army, I’m sure we could fit in one more.”
“Thanks, but I’m pretty worn out,” I told her. “It was an early morning. And another early morning tomorrow, I guess. But some other time, I’m in.”
“You sure you’re okay with this job?” Nina asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Duck’s great. And I think I can really make some good progress with her. As long as Luke doesn’t fire me first.”
“Great,” Nina said. “But seriously, if you can’t stand to work for him, just let me know. We’ll figure something out. I don’t want you to start hating your job or anything.”
“That could never happen,” I said, smiling at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“See you tomorrow,” Nina agreed.
I headed home, still trying to think of different ways to get Luke to talk to me. The man was still on my mind as I made dinner. Brownies were a start. And I should definitely talk to him about the collar thing. And maybe I could also talk to him about bringing Duck in to the doggy daycare, at least every so often. They wouldn’t let her get away with breaking so many rules, and it would be good for her to be around some other dogs for a change, rather than just horses, cowboys, and cattle.
But maybe that was going a little too far. He seemed to think the whole world revolved around the farm. And I knew how that went. I had grown up on a farm, after all. I had had my own set of chores around the place, and I knew that at certain times of the year, it could get all-consuming. That was probably doubly true for Luke since I hadn’t seen too many signs of human life around the farm today.
How did he manage to run a place like that with so few people? He must be busy all the time. I was starting to understand his stress.
My phone rang as I was putting the brownies in the oven, and I smiled when I saw it was Dad who was calling. “What’s up?”
“Hey,” he said warmly. “How was your day?”
I frowned, wondering why he was calling. He sounded relaxed, like he really did just want to hear about my day. But that was unusual for him. Then again, other than his books, he didn’t have much else to do with his evenings, and I imagined reading must get old after a while. Besides, it was no secret that he missed me.
“It was good,” I said.
“You were over at the Dawson place, weren’t you?” Dad asked. “I thought you might come over here afterward, since you were in the area.”
I smiled and shook my head. Now I know why he called. He really did just miss me. He had probably gotten it in his head that we would spend the evening chatting, and when that hadn’t happened, he’d decided to call. I knew how he was when he had a plan in his head.
“Yeah, I was at the Dawson place,” I told him. “But I had to get back to town once I was done over there. I had to report back to Nina before she closed up the training center for the day.” It wasn’t entirely true; she would have been fine if I had just called her as I headed over to Dad’s place or whatever. But I didn’t want him to start thinking that every time I was at the Dawson place I was going to come over to his afterward. Otherwise, I might as well move back in with him.
That would shorten my commute in the mornings. But it would also mean that when I quit working for Luke, I would have to move out all over again.
“I did a little asking around,” Dad said. “It sounds like most of the Dawson’s have moved away. There’s just a skeletal crew over there now.” He paused. “Apparently there’s been quite a bit of turnover in hands. They’re all overworked, and word is that Luke has pretty high expectations.”
I frowned. “I’d believe that,” I said slowly. “I was surprised at how few people I saw out there today. Especially given how big the place is.”
“He’s not putting too much pressure on you with the training, is he?” Dad asked worriedly. I smiled at how concerned he sounded. I wasn’t about to tell him about the deal today. He’d think Luke wasn’t being fair to me.
“Oh no, he was fine to me,” I said.
“Good,” Dad said, sounding relieved.
I laughed. “What, did you think he’d been an ogre all day?”
“I’m just looking out for my baby girl,” Dad said.
“Dad, you don’t need to worry about me like that,” I reminded him.
“I know, I know,” Dad said. “But I’m still your dad. It’s my job to worry. Just as much as it’s my job to deal with the horses.” He paused. “Just be careful.”
“You already told me that,” I reminded him.
“But even more so,” Dad said. “Just work with the dog. Don’t get too involved with Luke.”
I shook my head. I knew he was just looking out for me, but I really wasn’t worried. “Don’t worry,” I told him. “He’s not going to be mean to me. I won’t let him. I’m actually making brownies for him as we speak.”
Dad snorted, but I knew him well enough to know that he was probably still worrying about me. “Let me know if you need anything,” he said.
“I will,” I promised. The oven timer started going off, and I hurriedly said goodbye to him. The last thing I needed was to catch anything on fire; my landlord was after me for setting off the smoke alarm as much as I did.
9
Luke
One week later
Tanner dusted his hands off on his jeans, grinning over at me. “Job well done,” he said.
“Job well done,” I echoed with a groan, stretching out my shoulders. We’d done a lot of work this week, and it was finally starting to feel like we had caught up. Fences were mended, horses were happy, humans were paid, and all was right around the ranch.
Hallelujah.
I couldn’t have done it without him. He’d taken a couple of mornings off since he’d started here, but he worked nearly as many hours as I did. His work ethic was impressive, and he seemed to have an intuitive sense of what needed to get done around the place. He noticed certain problems even before I did, in fact. Part of that had to be because he was older than me, but that wasn’t saying much.
I tried not to let it bother me and reminded myself that Daddy had asked for his brother’s help because they had more experience in running a farm than I did, and they could spare the hands for a few months.
There was nothing that I could fault about his work ethic, and to be honest, I was just so relieved that everything was getting done that I couldn’t really resent that he was there. He was rapidly becoming less of a stranger, and I wondered why I’d been so worried to begin with.
