Page 2 (1/2)

"Macie, darlin’, I know you just pulled in and we’ve got so for a bit and wait for me by the main entrance until after I have a private ith Miz Jansen"

"Fine I hate being a third wheel anyway But don’t be surprised if I hter a warning look "Stay away from them cowboys, Macie, I mean it"

Macie rolled her eyes "You wish Later" She vanished around the corner

They were alone

"You finished with your snit?" he asked softly

"It wasn’t a snit," Ge hands over her shoulders "So, happy as I aain, it pisses me off that you think I’d be knockin’ boots with a wohter"

The warles down the center of her body "Far as I know, the young bunnies hovering around an experienced cowboy like yourself could be exactly your type"

"Wrong But I don’t think you tracked ht’ve been rockin’ my horse trailer" His hands fell away "So why don’t you cut to the chase and tell al bone structure in his face highlighted the intriguing crosshatch of facial lines, courtesy of the years he’d spent working outdoors When he sed good looks

"I heard you quit rodeoin’ fulltime"

"Yeah? Who’d you hear that from?"

"Colby McKay" She paused "Is that true?"

"Pretty old buckle and silver spurs until you were a grizzled old an’s career endin’ injury and Colby bein’ da stomped by a bull, I decided to quit while I still had a choice In the last two years, rizzled old ?"

Color darkened his cheekbones and he raised his chin a notch "Whatever I can"

"Like?"

"Like I spent the winter fixin’ houses on the rez Then I helped a buddy down by Hot Springs during calvin’ season Lately I’ve been wranglin’ rodeo stock for the contractors

I ain’t got a place of o anywhere at the drop of a hat"

Gemma overlooked his embarrassment It was a point of pride for white-line cowboys to own a chunk of land, to have a place of their own to call ho theht about it, why hadn’t Cash ever talked about why he didn’t have a place of his own? Was that a conscious choice?

"Does thataround rather than have a steady income?"

"No" His eyes narrowed "Why?"

"The reason I came here is to offer you a job I had another foreman quit onby yourself"

"Most of it Carter McKay is helping me out this summer But he’s just part-time"

"Carter McKay? One of Colby’s brothers?" His eyebrows knit together "I don’t know hiest Been away at school for a number of years He’s a hard worker, but his heart ain’t really in it I need someone I can count on"

"And you think that so You kno to handle livestock You know that ranching is hard work And I could use an expert opinion on soet into the circuit Not that those s me a chance"

Cash frowned

"Plus, I’ve discovered I need testosterone around Things run smoother even if a man just stands there lookin’ pretty with his "

He stared at her without speaking for the longest time

"What?"

"I ain’t pretty, and I ain’t interested in standin’ around with my mouth shut That ain’t who I am"

"I didn’t say that you were"

Cash raised his eyebrows

Two short horn blasts signaled the start of the wild horse race in the arena "Anyway, I can’t afford to pay et rooht want to stable I assu seven days a week No days off at least until late October and haying season ends"

"I know Ain’t the first ti like this has been offered to me"

"Recently?"

"Yeah"