Page 48 of Taming the Wild Cowboy

“You’re right.” She nodded at the ground. “You’re right. I’ll …” she lifted her head to give him a business-like smile “… I’ll see you in the morning.”

He wished that he could see her when he woke up.

Mac turned and headed to the door, head high, back straight, leaving Trev alone with Killer Moo and her calf. His groin throbbed.

Unfinished business sucked.

*

Zach Marvell was as good as his word. Mike Hersey of the Dawson Meadow Arena contacted Maclyn two days after her night out with Shay, the call coming in while she was driving back from flagging weak areas along the last stretch of boundary fence.

Would she be available for an interview the following morning?

She said yes without first checking with Trev. As long as the remaining thirty cows didn’t calve at once, he should be able to do without her for a half a day. There’d been a subtle shift between them since he’d turned down her unspoken invitation in the barn that night. He was right about not muddying the waters. They had a workable relationship; he needed a ranch hand, and she needed a job. Why mess things up by sleeping together?

Because you want to.

Yes. There was that. And he was the most attractive guy she’d ever known.

But what if sleeping together edged toward something more serious? Mac had issues with relationships. Okay, maybe not so much issues as lack of practice. Her relationships tended to be short; when she felt herself falling for someone, she cut and ran. So much easier than facing inner demons. Safer, too.

Maybe it’s time to give those demons a look.

Mac wasn’t ready.

Thankfully, it had been busy on the ranch over the past two days. The vet had been called for a C-section, and they had another downed cow, this one with a foot issue. The steers had tried to escape again over a low spot, but Maclyn caught them before they breached the fence. Her solution had been to string solar-powered electric fencing across the part that was obviously a mule deer trail, and thus prone to being downed.

The plus side of the heavy workload was that it kept Mac and Trev too busy to concern themselves with more personal matters. The downside was that Wade insisted on doing his fair share and his limp was getting worse. She could tell that it was killing Trev to keep his mouth shut about his uncle’s infirmity, but he knew Wade, and she figured he had a plan of action. She also figured that plan probably involved Wade getting to the point that he was close to hospitalization before he would listen to reason.

A light rain started to fall as she pulled into the ranch yard. She opened the barn door to park the side-by-side out of the weather, then jumped when a wrench clattered to the ground. Trev, who’d gone to town that morning, was now working on yet another piece of equipment, getting ready for the spring farm chores. She pulled the side-by-side into its bay and then rolled the big barn door shut against the weather. A gust of wind hit the building, rocking the door on its overhead hinges and making Maclyn thankful that she’d beat the storm.

“It’s getting nasty out there,” Trev said.

“Forecast is a bit gloomy,” she agreed. They did seem to talk about the weather more than they used to. Safe topic and all. She put her hands in her back pockets and took a couple of steps in his direction before stopping again. Distance was key. No more sharing hay bales. “I have a job interview.”

Trev wiped his hands on the rag hanging off the side mirror, his expression unreadable. “Congratulations.”

“Want to know where?”

“Not afraid of jinxing?”

“Dawson Meadow Arena.”

“Good reputation.”

“I know.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I may not have to leave my horses here forever.”

“Don’t jinx things …”

She smiled a little. “I won’t leave you in the lurch.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

He should be. As near as she could tell, Jordan was still stuck in his project and Trev’s PTO would end soon.

“I’d best get at it.” He tilted his head toward the tractor. “I need to have this up and running before Jim arrives to fertilize the fields tomorrow.”

“And I need to wash my interview jeans.” She took a backward step. “When the weather lets up, I’ll start work on that rail corral. I might need a hand in a few places.”