Page 12 of Thaw My Heart

Weekends for ranchers are quite different. There is no set “time-off” as the cows don’t just vanish on weekends and holidays. But we shuffle rotations on weekends, to give the workers family time, and rest so they don’t burn out.

And I’m definitely close to a burnout.

My lack of sleep has been playing tricks on my mind. I desperately need the weekend to catch up on all the rest I’ve been missing since Sadie moved in, changing my entire peaceful existence. I wanted to complain to my uncle about her many times, but I didn’t want to make waves. Cole has done so much for me, and I didn’t want to challenge him. He had his reasons for hiring her, so instead, I swallowed all my frustration, drowning it with beer every night.

Except tonight, Ryker guilted me into going to Elkhorn Tavern, but it would be a quick beer and then straight back home. I couldn’t wait to kick off my boots and enjoy the sounds of the leaves rustling in the breeze. Might even take a nap on my front porch on Sunday. It sounded like heaven.

For most of the day, Ryker and I moved 200 head of cattle to a new field, with the help of my dog Bandit and his black and white Border Collie named Oreo. The perfect working pair. Ryker asked me a handful of questions about Sadie, which I responded to with grunts of irritation. But other than that, he’s been quiet today.

And Ryker being quiet is concerning. That twenty-five-year-old man-child is never quiet.

I glance at my watch, realizing there’s only an hour left of the day. A good time to take a break, and my poor knee could definitely use one. With the cold weather settling in, it’s been giving me a bit of grief the past few days, locking me up uncomfortably. Arthritis that I’ll have for the rest of my life because of a car accident when I was thirteen.

An accident that changed my entire life.

I stretch out my legs. The cows continue to graze in the pasture, with what’s left of the grass for the season, and Ryker stares at the ground covered in fallen leaves.

“Got your mind on something?” I inhale the last puff of my cigarette, tucking the used butt in my coat pocket.

“Took you long enough to ask,” he turns to me.

I frown, narrowing my eyes at him.

Ryker fidgets with his cowboy hat. “I’m just a bit nervous about tonight.”

“Nervous?” Why would he be nervous? “About what?”

But before he can respond, the sounds of hooves approaching pull us away. Ryker smiles, taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

None other than Sadie Lane is heading towards us, astride her golden buckskin horse.

A feather sticks out of her tan cowboy hat. Her blue flannel shirt is unbuttoned and open, revealing more of her chest than I feel is necessary. It’s an unusually warm afternoon, and she’s clearly taking advantage of it. Blake rides next to her, wearing his usual aviator sunglasses and a black hoodie, smiling at us.

Ryker grins like a fiend, with trouble on his mind. I don’t even have time to tell him to keep his mouth shut before they approach.

“Hey, Blake,” Ryker slaps his hand as he comes up.

“Blake,” I nod. But he knows I’m still pissed he knew about Sadie for weeks and didn’t tell me.

He grins at me like it’s funny, but it’s not.

“Hey, Cowboy,” Sadie smiles, pursing her pouty lips with a tilt of her cowboy hat.

Ryker laughs, loud enough that he bends at the waist. “Cowboy? Oh, I bet you hate that.”

I glare at him, not amused.

“Sadie,” I offer a rigid wave, hiding my sullen expression under my navy ballcap. Definitely not thinking about her perky tits, almost visible through the lacy tank top she’s wearing underneath her flannel. A similar shirt to the one she’d answered her door in last night.

Goddamn, I need sleep.

Ryker’s eyes go wide. “Oh, so this is the infamous Sadie Lane. Kit speaks highly of you,” he grins.

I jab him in the ribs, and he winces.

Sadie’s eyes narrow on me. “Really?” She doesn’t seem convinced. “I doubt Kit has any high regards for me,” she huffs, adjusting a vintage blue belt around her waist.