AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah, but I have shit to do, and it’s not walking my horse in circles.”
“Fair enough,” Dad says. “Are we going to lead them to the event space? There are some pretty shots over there, and if they use it in the ad, they have to pay more. Which will get me a nice vacation on a cruise ship with your mother. Alone.”
“Dad. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but you and Mom live alone already.”
“Not the same,” he says with a wink and hops onto his own horse, making me laugh.
“I don’t even want to think about that.” I glance ahead and see Rem and Ryan riding over on their horses. Ryan wanted to keep an eye on things here, to make sure we’re not being taken advantage of, and he always did like riding the fence line with us.
The only brother not here is Chase, but I suspect he’ll put in an appearance before the day is through.
For the next few hours, we put the crew through the paces. They’re not used to the altitude or the chilly weather, so finally around lunchtime, we take pity on them and head back for the barn to rest for an hour.
When we get there, I’m happy to see that Abbi, Erin, Polly, and Mom are here, too, and Abbi doesn’t hesitate to hug me when I get close.
“I’m sweaty,” I warn her.
“Don’t care,” she replies, burying her face in my neck. “Don’t care atall.Have I ever told you how hot you are when you’re doing ranch stuff?”
“I don’t think you have.”
“Well, you are. It kind of turns me on, Cowboy.”
I growl and then kiss her and wish that I could sneak her off to my cabin for a while, but I know that I could never get away with it.
“Break it up,” Millie says, rolling her eyes as she walks out of the barn. “We have a bunch of lunch here for everyone. Soups and bread and stuff. You should eat.”
“I think I will.” I try not to pay attention to the cameras pointed my way as we walk in to get some food. “They won’t stop following me.”
“That’s why they’re paying you,” Ryan reminds me, but then his eyes narrow. “However, if they keep taking photos of all of us, they’re going topayall of us.”
“Today is goingso well,” Designer Suit Man says as he joins me near the food. “We have some great footage already. We’d like you and your brothers to sit on the fence for some shots, since you’re all wearing Ranchers today.”
“And you plan to pay them for that?” I stare him down until he swallows hard and nods.
“Of course, yes. Now, the magic isreallygoing to happen during the golden hour, as the sun begins to set.”
“You want a bunch of cowboys to stick around after dinner?” I raise my eyebrows, but then remember the paycheck from all of this and shrug a shoulder. “Fine.”
He nods and returns to his team, and I let out a breath.
“It’ll go fast,” Abbi assures me. “And Daisy will be excited that she didn’t miss too much when she gets here. She’s coming home from school with Holly and Johnny.”
I have to admit, as the rest of the day wears on, Ilikethe crew they sent. I don’t even mind Designer Suit Guy too much, especially since he took off his jacket and tie and rolled up his sleeves. He’s way more likeable this way.
“I have a question,” I say as he and I are looking over a few of the shots from earlier. “How is it that a guy who works forRancher Jeans, shows up to a ranch in that suit?”
That seems to stump him for a second, and then he looks at me and starts to laugh. “You know, that’s a good question.”
“I’m just saying, man. You gotta loosen up a bit.” I clap him on the shoulder, and now that the damn sun is starting to go down, we can shoot the last of the shots they want.
Once again, I take Blackjack into the ring and walk him around, then I get in the saddle and ride, kicking up some dust.
As if we’re not already filthy from a long fucking day.
When Designer Suit nods at me, the signal that they got what they wanted, I lead Blackjack into the barn and give him a good wash down and brushing, and they don’t stop filming. I’m aware of them around the whole time, and the rest of my family, including Abbi and Daisy, watch from the sidelines.
Finally, I put my horse in his stall and kiss him, lay my forehead against his, and whisper, “Thank you, buddy. You did good today. Get some rest.”
