Page 16 (1/2)
Cash punched the clutch and shifted "I’d planned on cuttin’ hay this afternoon, but it’ll be too wet Not that I’m complainin’ ’bout the moisture It’ll have to wait at least a couple of days"
"So what are you going to do?"
"Thought about workin’ with that two-year-old Is he halter broke?"
"Barely Ornery thing runs whenever he sees me with a halter And I’ve been so busy this year I haven’t had ti a horse was as bad as not taking proper care of one
"I’d sure like to take a crack at him"
"By all means"
Cash stopped the pickup and Geate He parked in front of the house and sauntered back to where she waited by the water pump for the bucket to fill
"What are you doin’ today?" he asked
"Thought I’d clean the horse trailer Why? Did you needelse?"
She hoped he’d say yes, that he needed her naked Right now
"Nah I’onna round up that roan" He unlatched the door to the horse trailer, which housed the saddles, blankets, halters, bridles and other horse paraphernalia
Whistling, he unhooked a blue nylon halter and draped it over his shoulder "See you in a bit"
Hiding her disappoint But while she was cleaning, she couldn’t help but obsess on what had happened last night
Or rather, what hadn’t happened
Cash had been quiet on the drive to Beulah They’d left right after he’d talked to Macie, and Gemma didn’t know if that was the reason for his introspectiveif he wanted to talk to her about it he would
Once they’d arrived at the Nelson ranch to look at the bucking horses, Cash stepped up and handled every bit of the financial negotiations The crusty old rancher even dropped his price by a couple of hundred bucks Gemma knew she wouldn’t have had the sa out the check, the man’s wife came outside to warn them severe thunderstor were already without power due to windstorhway 23 was temporarily closed because of excessive hail
Since the horses were essentially wild, they decided to wait out the stor They hadn’t planned to stay overnight and Ge quarters of the horse trailer
On the drive to Spearfish to find a ot no answer Gemma snuck in a call to Carter and explained the situation while Cash checked them into the room
After a nearly silent dinner, they returned to the motel Gemma’s hopes sunk a little when she noticed two double beds It didn’t help lued to The Weather Channel And Gehter
Telling hi time
Frustrated, Ge fully clothed
When Cash didn’t offer up an explanation on why he hadn’t touched her, the paranoid part of her psyche supplied reasons
Regret
Disappointust
The situation between them didn’t improve after they’d loaded the horses and were on the road Once again, Cash insisted on driving, leaving Geht--albeit with Carter in her bed--seemed to alleviate some of the tension between the cows
But as noret it He’s doing what you hired hied to block the past twenty-four hours fro up, her shirt and boots were sopping wet and her jeans were daed the bucket and broo to the light bulb Probably the fuse blew in last night’s storht briefly permeated the darkness like a flash bulb
"Gemma?" Cash called "Where are you?"
"By the tack roo"
She didn’t hear him come up behind her so she jumped when he placed his hands on her shoulders
"You scared me"
Cash didn’t answer He didn’t move either
"What?"
"Your shirt is wet"
"Yeah, I know Don’t stand too close I probably sood tois bound to sood when you’ve been in the pen and around wild horses for a few hours"
"Your shirt is wet"
"We already established that"