Page 14 of Taming the Wild Cowboy

“Her brother picked up the guy from the accident site just before I picked up Brooke. She let slip while we were talking at the Dillon rodeo the following year. She wouldn’t tell me the guy’s name when I asked. Just said he was married and had called her brother to help him out of a jam.”

Talk about being played. He felt stupid for not picking up on things as they were happening. Felt stupid having to have Maclyn spell things out. Stupid for not believing her in the first place.

“Are you okay?” Maclyn asked.

No. He was not okay and for once he didn’t feel like hiding it. “I might be having some thoughts about my ability to read people.”

“I felt the same way. Still do.” She pushed her damp hair over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing as she studied his face. “Do you believe me?”

He had to say the words. He owed her that much.

“Yeah,” he said in a low voice. “I do.”

*

Big tractors were not much different than their smaller cousins in general operation, but the procedure of loading large bales was new to Mac. Talk about being in a sink-or-swim situation. Screw this up and what were her options?

Desperate job hunting followed by more desperate job hunting. Once her check from Sweet Grass arrived, she’d have some breathing room, but until then—She jerked as Trev made a noise. The tractor bucket missed the windbreak by a matter of inches.

Focus, girl.

Trev cleared his throat as they headed out of the pasture, the tractor giving a puff of exhaust as she geared up. “You might want to give yourself extra room at the windbreak. Jordan and I rebuilt it over Thanksgiving, and I’d like it to stay upright.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It takes time to get used to the extra length in the front.”

“I’ll be careful,” she promised, then since she didn’t need Trev focusing on her shortcomings, she said, “Looks like you have a lot of projects in the works.”

“We do. The former foreman had back issues and Wade tried to keep up on his own instead of telling us. By the time Hayes moved home, the place was kind of falling apart.”

Mac parked the tractor and brought the bucket to the ground, lifting the big machine off its front wheels because she didn’t let up on the controls in time. She maneuvered the lever, bringing the wheels back to solid ground, then closed the grapple hook with a clang that made her jump.

When she glanced at Trev, his eyebrows were drawn together in a thoughtful frown, which in turn caused her stomach to tighten.

“I’ll get the hang of it.”

“I’m sure you will.” He unlatched the door, climbed down the steps, then waited for her to follow. Once her feet were on solid ground, she asked the question that had been eating at her.

“If someone more qualified than me applies for this job, what happens then? Are you going to let me go?”

“We both know this isn’t long term.”

She nodded, wishing her heart wasn’t slowly climbing up her throat.

“That said, I wouldn’t be too happy if you quit without notice because you found another job and left us hanging.”

She answered with a silent nod.

“Let’s call this our post-Brooke phase. We’ll be upfront with one another. No secret maneuvering.” He tilted his head. “Agreed?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll give you a guaranteed three weeks if you’ll give me the same. I’ll also keep your horses here until you find a landing spot. Even if it takes some time.”

Maclyn was grateful for that, except … “What happens if I knock over the windbreak with the tractor?”

Trev pushed his hat back. “At that point, we’ll renegotiate.”