A County Girl's Heart

by Dena Blake

  “Whatever you say.” DJ’s tone was slow and even.

  As Kat waited in the box for the gate to open, she kept her expression blank. She watched DJ slide her hands up her arms one at a time, bunching her light-gray T-shirt up around her biceps. She couldn’t help but notice the definition of muscle flexing rigidly as she kept tension on the reins to settle the horse. Was that a tattoo peeking out from under her sleeve? Kat squinted to get a better look. No. It wasn’t a tattoo. It was some sort of scar. DJ’s gaze flashed back to meet Kat’s, and the gate opened.

  The horses bolted out of the chute. Kat threw her rope perfectly around the steer’s horns, then dallied her rope around the horn of the saddle and led it around the arena. DJ followed, clumsily throwing her rope just out of sync with the steer’s stride. It slapped across the animal’s legs and then dropped to the ground. The crowd clamored, hooting boos and hisses. Kat worked her rope loose from the steer’s horns, tempted to match the crowd’s belligerence, but she held her tongue, trapping the string of obscenities threatening to escape.

  “If you didn’t know what you were doing, why did you ask me to team with you?”

  “I wanted to see you in action.”

  Kat widened her eyes as her irritation flared. “Unbelievable!” she muttered, sliding off her horse. “Well, I hope you got a good look.”

  “There’s nothin’ better than seeing a woman hold her own in the arena.” She chuckled. “Listen to them.” She motioned to the crowd chanting Kat’s name louder and louder in the stands. “They want to see what you can do too.”

  “I don’t think so.” She coiled the rope up and hung it over the saddle horn. “I’m not very fond of being made to look like an idiot.”

  “I won’t do it again, I promise.” She smiled, seeming to fully enjoy her irritation.

  “I said no, Ms. Callen.” She turned to lead Minow into the corral.

  “You don’t want to disappoint your guests, do you?”

  “They’ll survive.” God, she was irritating, smiling at her with those damn rosy-red cheeks.

  “Okay. If that’s the way you want it.” DJ rolled her eyes and feigned a heavy sigh. “I’ll just have to go out alone.”

  She swung around quickly to face her. “You can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s team roping.”

  “I’m not going to disappoint that crowd.” She reached down, took the rope from Kat’s saddle horn, and headed to the gate.

  Anxious to see what an ass DJ was going to make of herself, Kat tied Minow to the fence and hurried up the stairs to the announcer’s booth.

  “Virgil, go ahead and give her a three-second delay.”

  “Made you mad, did she?” Virgil said with a chuckle.

  “Now we’ll just let everyone see her in action,” Kat muttered, planting herself on the edge of the railing.

  DJ was set to go in the channel and waited for the gates to open. When the buzzer sounded, the steer gate clanged open, and the longhorn raced out into the arena. The box gate remained closed, and DJ glanced up at Kat. Her brow rose, and she caught the glint in Kat’s eye as her lips twisted into a sly smile.

  She looked to the arena and waited patiently until the gate opened. When it did, she dug her heels hard into the horse, and it sprang out of the box quickly. After positioning herself next to the steer, DJ threw the header and dallied the rope tight around the horn of her saddle. Then she jumped off the horse, threw the loop around the steer’s hind legs, wrapped the rope around her arm, and dug her heels in deep. The steer jerked and went down quickly, launching DJ forward on her belly, hard into the dirt. The crowd cheered wildly as DJ stood and dusted herself off. She looked up at Kat, smiled, and tipped her hat.

  “Touché, Ms. Callen. Touché.” Kat caught her bottom lip between her teeth to hold back a grin. She was still irritated with her previous performance but seriously impressed to see that, even with the delay, DJ had taken her fastest steer down within ten seconds.

  “City girl’s quite a crowd-pleaser.” Virgil grinned.

  “She’s something all right,” Kat mumbled as she went down the steps. “I should’ve forked her in the ass.”

  “Where you goin’?” Virgil shouted after her.

  “To the bar. I have to make a few changes to tomorrow’s work schedule.” She threw up her hand and gave him a wave without looking back.

  Chapter Six

  After a full day out on the range, herding cattle in eighty-degree weather, DJ was completely beat. She rotated the aching muscle in her shoulder and winced as the sharp pain shot through her. After the stunt she’d performed in the arena last night, she was sure the jerk of the steer had dislocated her shoulder and the fall had popped it back into place. She’d been out of practice, and it was a stupid thing to do but a small price to pay for Kat’s attention. Kat might not like her very much, but DJ had piqued her interest.

  After hanging her hat on the fence post, she put her hands under the spigot and splashed water onto her face and neck before dipping her head under the running water and holding it under the slow, steady stream. The navy cotton T-shirt was soaked as she shook the water from her hair. She pulled her shirt hem from her jeans, tied it into a knot, and splashed water on her stomach before she took the short walk to her room.

  Virgil wandered out of the barn chuckling. “I wouldn’t push her buttons again if I were you.”

  “Got to her, did I?” DJ said with a grin.

  Virgil’s smile widened, deepening the rugged creases in his cheeks. “By the work detail she gave you today, I’d say you irritated her a bit.”

  “Humph.” DJ let out a short breath. “If today was her response to a little irritation,” she curved her lip slightly, “I’d hate to see what she’d do if I really made her mad.”

  * * *

  Kat picked up a bag of feed and slung it across the barn. This was the third delivery in a row where they’d stacked it wrong. She heard the faint sound of Virgil in conversation with someone just outside the barn.

  “Damn it, Virgil. They stacked the feed on the wrong side again,” Kat shouted from just inside the barn.

  “Settle down. I’ll round up some of the hands in the morning and move it,” he said calmly.

  “It has to be moved tonight.” Kat stepped out of the barn and let out a sigh of exhaustion. “We have—” Skin, belly button, abs. She fixed her gaze on DJ and stood there open-mouthed, searching for something coherent to say. The babbling voice in her head rambled on like an oversexed teenager, and the only thing she could think of was…Wow!

  “What?” Virgil’s question along with his puzzled look interrupted her brain freeze.

  With an irrepressible heat rushing to her cheeks, Kat jerked her hand up to cover her mouth. Oh my God. Did I say that out loud?

  “Why does it have to be moved tonight?” he asked.

  “Huh?” Kat said, relieved her reaction had remained in her head. She still stood motionless, keeping her gaze fixed on DJ, watching the beads of water trickle slowly across the well-defined muscles of her stomach.

  Virgil traced her stare to DJ and then back again. His lips pressed together, skewing into a grin. “Why do we have to move it tonight?”

  She snapped her eyes to Virgil. “We have more hay coming first thing in the morning,” Kat said, her voice regaining its strength.

  DJ hung her hat on the fence post. “Well, then we’d better get moving.” She groaned and headed into the barn.

  Kat stood staring suspiciously for a few minutes, wondering why DJ was being so helpful. After all, she’d sent her out on the nastiest detail on the ranch today just for spite. She thought she’d be packing her bag to leave by now for sure.

  “Not the kind of help you’re used to havin’ around lately, huh?” Virgil took Kat by the arm and drew her along. “Now come on. We don’t want to be out here all night.”

  Kat climbed into the cab of the bucket loader, drove it over to the feed, and jumped out to
help DJ and Virgil throw the bags into it. Stacking twice as many bags as Kat and Virgil, DJ made lifting the fifty-pound bags look easy. Even after the third load, she was still tossing them effortlessly into the bucket. Kat moved out of the way so DJ could hoist the last few bags, and she couldn’t help but sneak a look at her again. As Kat watched the muscles flex in DJ’s arms, she tingled from head to toe, a reaction she hadn’t felt in a very long time. After throwing the last bag into the bucket, DJ turned suddenly, and Kat knew she’d caught her assessment.

  Kat hopped into the bucket loader, shot across the barn, and dumped the last batch onto the stack. Trying to keep some distance between them, she grabbed the broom and began to sweep the loose feed from the newly bare corner of the barn.

  “Is that all?” DJ asked.

  “I think so,” Virgil said, scanning the barn. “We sure do appreciate your help.” He offered DJ his hand, and she shook it.

  “I’m sure you could’ve done it without me.”

  “Yes, we could have,” Kat said, straightening her stance. “But we did it a lot faster with your help. Thank you,” she added humbly. It would be too dangerous to look up again. Thoughts of skin and sweat would pummel her and… Snap out of it!

  “She’s not so bad once you get to know her,” Virgil said as he walked with DJ to the barn entrance.

  DJ smiled and shook her head. “She certainly doesn’t make it easy.” She took her hat from the fence post.

  Virgil’s eye squinted into a wink, prompting his weathered face to wrinkle. “Try the bar after supper. Corner table. She’s usually there.”

  Kat waited a few minutes before heading to the entrance and sliding one side of the barn closed. “You know I heard everything you said.”

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  She closed the other door. “I might just decide to stay in tonight.”

  “No, you won’t,” Virgil said as he flipped the latch shut, turned, and headed to his room.

  And he was right. DJ Callen was making it hard for her to stay away.

  * * *

  Today was a tough but good day. DJ had forgotten how much she liked to be out on the range, so close to nature. She opted for the community Jacuzzi to soothe her muscles before her shower tonight. She considered herself in good shape for a woman her age. She ran five miles every morning and lifted weights three times a week, but this kind of workout was a lot tougher than her usual routine. DJ listened to a few other guests talking about their cowhand adventures, but unless directly asked for her opinion about something, she tried to keep mainly to herself.

  After soaking until her energy was zapped, she heaved herself out and cooled down in the shower. Clean but not quite revived, she tugged a fresh shirt over her head and collapsed onto the bed, contemplating whether to hit the sack or eat first. Her stomach won out with a loud growl. She rolled off the bed and headed to the chow shack.

  After a dinner of chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes, DJ picked up a roll of antacids at the general store and popped a few into her mouth before she wandered into the bar.

  “What can I bring you tonight, DJ?” George asked.

  “Let me try that beer again.” She swung her leg around and slid gingerly onto the bar stool.

  “Long day?” George set a frothy mug of draft beer in front of her.

  “It’s been a while since I’ve been on a horse for an extended amount of time,” she said as she picked up the mug and took a sip.

  “You’ll get used to it after a few days.”

  “I don’t know about that. It hurts in places you don’t even want to imagine.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “I thought this was going to be a vacation.”

  George let out a hearty laugh. “You didn’t read the brochure, did you?”

  “Read it.” Her voice rose. “I never even saw it.” She’d have to remember to thank Marcia properly when she returned to the office.

  George smiled. “Mrs. Jackson does expect the guests to do their share.” He motioned toward the corner of the bar, where Kat was sitting at a table, sorting through a pile of papers. “She’s tough, but she’s a good lady.”

  She looked different tonight, DJ thought as she turned to watch her. She hadn’t noticed her appearance before, perhaps because she’d never seen her without a hat on. Kathryn Jackson had beautiful, long, dark tresses, which tonight were flowing like silk across her shoulders. DJ sat at the bar, watching her absently run her fingers through her hair and smile patiently as several guests approached, one by one, making conversation or possibly asking her to dance. She gave them all a few minutes of her time but eventually sent each one on their way without so much as a stroll around the dance floor. She hadn’t experienced Kat’s good nature personally, but she was impressed by her constant smile and seemingly favorable responses. Most of the women she knew would’ve been out of the bar by the third person.

  She turned to the bartender. “She married?” DJ already knew the answer. She just wanted to see what the staff knew.

  “Nope.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  “Nope.”

  DJ peeked over her shoulder and observed the sparkle emanating from the thin golden band as her hand moved through her hair. “She has a ring on her finger.”

  “Widowed, about four years ago.”

  “Does she wear it to fend off all the sharks in this place, or is she still hung up on a memory?”

  “A little of both, I think.” George filled two glasses with scotch and slid them in front of the couple sitting at the corner of the bar. “She goes out every once in a while, but she’s pretty selective nowadays. She doesn’t seem to have much free time.”

  “Did you give it a shot?”

  “Thought about it more than once.” His lips curled into a sly smile. “But she’s partial to women suitors. Besides, it wouldn’t be the best idea to mix it up with the boss.”

  It was obvious Kat wasn’t interested in anything besides the books tonight, but DJ decided to press her luck anyway. Maybe she could gain a little insight as to why she seemed to hate her mother so much. After downing the last of her beer, DJ wandered over to Kat’s table. It looked like she was busy going over the next day’s schedule and didn’t even acknowledge DJ when she planted herself in the chair next to her.

  “Can I buy you a drink?”

  “No thanks. I’m not drinking tonight,” Kat said without looking up.

  “In general or just alcohol?”

  Kat peeked up at DJ through her thick, darkened lashes, and her lips curved into a slight smile. “Alcohol.”

  When Kat’s electric-blue eyes met hers, DJ was stunned. She hadn’t really noticed the resemblance to Rebecca before, but now, with her dark hair flowing, framing her face, it was uncanny. The shape, the lines, even the expression were almost a carbon copy.

  “Have a little too much last night?”

  “No.” Kat’s voice hung on the O as her tone dropped. “I still have a lot of work to do tonight.”

  DJ stared, still trying to get over the resemblance between Kat and her sister. Her naturally arched brows were dark in color against her tanned forehead. They hung perfectly over her wary blue eyes and rose slightly as she stared back at her. Except for the tiny lines around her eyes, DJ would have never guessed her to be almost eight years Rebecca’s senior.

  “What?” Her full sensuous lips, void of any artificial color, pursed into a grimace before she swiped her hand across her face. “Do I have something on my face?”

  “Sorry,” she said with a smile, amused by Kat’s discomfort. “You just look really familiar.” She rocked her head to one side and drew her brows together curiously. “Have we met before?”

  “That’s an old one.” Kat let out a short laugh, tucked a swag of her dark, silken hair behind her ear, and focused on her paperwork again.

  “I’m serious. I think we’ve met before.” DJ swept Kat’s hand up in hers and held it firmly.

  A startling sensation shot through Kat, and she
popped her head up quickly. Her eyes went straight to DJ’s, and the warmth she’d been cursed with earlier returned in a frenetic fury.

  “Ms. Callen,” she managed to rasp out. “I can honestly say, the first time I ever laid eyes on you was yesterday.” She would’ve remembered a woman like DJ Callen, so commanding, so sure of herself in every way. A woman who made Kat yearn for every pleasure in life she’d forbidden herself in the past year. Kat slowly slipped her hand away and sank into her chair, hoping the sensation would subside as quickly as it had emerged. It wouldn’t. The feeling would linger, chiseling away at her resolve, just as it had before. The best she could hope for now was that DJ would find her company lacking and leave her to find better conversation.

  “All right, if you say so.” DJ conceded. “I’m gonna get myself a drink.” She gave her a polite smile and stood up to go to the bar. “You sure you don’t want anything?”

  “No thanks. And you can save yourself the trouble of coming back.”

  DJ’s smile only seemed to broaden at Kat’s words of rejection. “Oh, it’s no trouble, ma’am,” she said smoothly, tipping her hat as she walked away.

  Kat watched out of the corner of her eye as DJ made her way across the room to the bar. She wore fancy-pocket jeans and walked with the sort of confidence that screamed attraction. As DJ leaned against the bar, she rested a foot on the rail, leaving one long denim-clad leg glued to the floor. Following the line of her leg from boot to butt, then belt to hat, Kat noticed how she certainly had the look of a cowgirl now, which threw her into a full-blown frenzy of desire. Roping that one in was bound to bring her a whole lot of heartache.

  DJ turned abruptly and glanced over her shoulder at Kat. The attraction hit her right between the ears again, tossing her mind into a spinning haze and her eyes back to her paperwork. That was definitely not the city girl she’d met yesterday.