twisted around in his seat again, worried that Jeri might be fretting. Or maybe he just wanted to look at her. She’d pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck, covering her ears. Those big brown eyes stared at him from beneath the brim of her hat. He’d never seen anything prettier. He felt like he was fifteen again, trying to work up the nerve to speak to the most popular girl in school.
“I hope you won’t be too cold out there,” he finally said. He just couldn’t think of anything else.
“I’ll be all right,” she told him, pulling a long red muffler from a coat pocket and draping it around her neck. She held up her hands, showing him the leather palms of her matching red knit gloves. “See? All toasty.”
He reached behind him and pulled out his own gloves then held up them up to show them off. Made of thick, supple leather with slit cuffs that could be rolled down, they were the best work gloves he’d ever possessed.
“Stark turned us on to this brand. The linings can be removed for washing. Or for summer.”
She nodded but said nothing. So much for putting her at ease with conversation. He pulled on his gloves in silence.
Wyatt opened the door and got in. He slowly guided the rig into the pasture, making sure to clear the horses before putting the transmission into Park again.
Ryder opened his door. He wanted away from Jeri Bogman for a few moments to clear his head. He couldn’t figure out what to make of her. She looked as sweet as cotton candy, but she had a certain coolness about her that he found puzzling. “I’ll close the gate.”
At the same time, she said, “Let me get it.”
She opened her door and bailed out just as he attempted to pass by. They collided. She bounced off him, reeling backward. He caught her before she could hit the truck, his hands clamping onto her upper arms. She looked up, her eyes huge in her sweet face. Something hot and electric flowed between them. Gasping, she jerked back as if he’d burned her.
“S-Sorry!” She made a face as if to say, “I’m such a klutz.” Then she turned toward the gate and trotted away.
Frowning, Ryder got back into the truck.
“That woman is dangerous,” Wyatt muttered.
“You’re telling me,” Ryder said with a chuckle.
She was the most dangerous woman he’d ever come across.
With the gate safely closed behind them, they drove through pasture after pasture, passing big round hay bales. Wyatt stopped the truck and got out to set down mineral blocks, stripping them of their plastic covers and tossing the resulting detritus into the back of the truck for disposal later. They’d put out water troughs at the sites with windmills next to the fenced plots where their late uncle, Dodd, had started growing sod, which had turned out to be a major cash crop for the ranch. As long as the water was pumping, they didn’t have to worry too much about ice forming, but it was safer to lock down the windmills in cold weather like this. Ryder used a ball peen hammer to break up the ice on the surface of the troughs so the cattle could drink.
At every stop, Jeri checked the horses and surveyed the surrounding land with curious eyes. She had lots of questions, which Wyatt answered, succinctly at first and then with growing detail as he responded to her enthusiasm. It was obvious that cultivating grass as a cash crop intrigued her.
“Raising cattle is a risky business,” Wyatt told her. “You have to hedge your bets any way you can. How Dodd came across this idea, I don’t know, but it’s a good one if you’ve got enough land and the right soil compositions.”
Ryder noticed that Jeri became much more relaxed and animated when she was talking about ranching, animals or grass. She warmed to each subject as it arose, engaging happily with Wyatt, but she ignored Ryder pointedly. He didn’t know whether to be glad or sad about that.
When they got to the ravine that would serve as their staging area, they parked the truck and got out to load the hay and remaining mineral blocks onto the sledges, which they lined up side by side. Ryder worked to secure the load on the middle sledge with rubber tie-downs while surreptitiously watching Jeri struggle to do the same on another sledge to his right. She reached across with her left hand to secure the hook at the end of the tie-down in a small metal loop on the sledge, but the loop popped free, allowing the rubber strip to snap back in Jeri’s direction.
Instantly, Ryder lurched to the side, knocking her out of range of the rebounding tie-down and the metal hook attached to its end. She hit the ground with an “Oof!” and Ryder landed right beside her, the heavy rubber strap snapping over his head.
For a moment, nothing and no one moved. It was as if the world simply stopped for the space of a heartbeat. Then suddenly, fear hit Ryder. He knew too well how quickly tragedy could change everything. He scrambled to his knees, shaking off his gloves, and laid hands on Jeri to make sure the metal hook hadn’t somehow caught her. As stunned as he, she stared at him while he checked her head and shoulders for injuries. He found no lump or gash, but before he could explore further, she rolled away.
Suddenly, Wyatt was there, reaching down a hand to each of them, his face set like stone, lips taut as he hauled them up.
“Anyone hurt?”
They both shook their heads while dusting themselves off.
Wyatt closed his eyes and sucked in a deep, calming breath. For a moment, Ryder feared that his big brother was about to blow his stack. Of all the Smith brothers, Wyatt had the hottest temper, though he kept it under control. He could, in fact, be exceedingly patient. Tina’s pregnancy, the coming storm and the biting cold had combined to fray his nerves, however, and Ryder wouldn’t have been surprised if any little thing pushed Wyatt over the edge.
“Are you two trying to maim each other?” Wyatt growled.
Jeri shook dust from her hair and bent to snatch up her hat.
“The anchor came loose,” Ryder said quickly, picking up his own hat and gloves. He paused to watch her slap cold, red dust from her clothing. “You sure you’re okay?”
She nodded and sent him a wry smile. “Guess it’s my day for accidents.”
He chuckled and reached out to sweep away a blot of dust that she’d missed on her sleeve. Her eyes widened. The next instant, her face hardened, as if a mask had slipped into place, and she jerked back. Ryder dropped his hand as Wyatt started beating the dust off him. Embarrassed, Ryder brushed off his brother’s hands. He wasn’t five years old anymore, and Wyatt had no reason to treat him as if he was. Besides, a little dirt never hurt anybody.
Muttering, “I’ll get the harnesses,” Ryder trudged over to the truck bed while Wyatt helped Jeri secure her load.
With the load safely tied down with rope, Wyatt took a harness from Ryder and went back to his own sledge and horse. Ryder helped Jeri hitch up her horse.
“This is an ingenious rig,” Jeri commented, stepping up beside him as he went to work on his big red dun, Handy. “Simple. Efficient. Best of all, I see no way this could harm the horse.”
“It’s a good system,” Ryder agreed. “Our uncle invented it. There was talk of a patent, but we’re not sure he ever did anything about that.”
“Maybe
