His lips curved. “I could put you to work tomorrow here.”

She crawled onto the bed and lay on her side, her head propped up in her hand. “Think you could make a rancher out of me?”

“I don’t know. You do have boots, right?”

“Indeed, I do.”

He got in bed and lay down beside her, lazily stroking her hip. “Then tomorrow, let’s see what you’ve got.”

She grinned. “You’re on, McCormack.”

Chapter 16

DES FROWNED AS she was poked in the butt.

“What?”

“Let’s go. Time to get up.”

She blinked and looked outside “It’s still dark.”

“Yup. Come on. You want to work cattle today, we have to get an early start.”

She rolled over onto her back and grabbed her phone from the bedside table. “Jesus, Logan. It’s not even five a.m.”

“Welcome to cattle ranching, Des. Changing your mind?”

In the foggy part of her sleep-addled brain, she recognized the challenge she heard in his voice. She slid out of bed and yawned. “Nope.”

“You’ll need jeans. I’ll drive you to your trailer so you can grab a change of clothes.”

“Great. Coffee first, though.”

“Already have it brewed.”

“You’re like some kind of vampire.” She grabbed her clothes and, in a daze, climbed into them. True to his word, Logan had coffee made downstairs.

Martha was already there, too, and something that smelled an awful lot like food came from the stove.

“Morning, Des,” Martha said, looking not at all shocked to see her there.

“Good morning, Martha.”

“There’s bacon and egg sandwiches for breakfast this morning. Logan tells me you’re going to stay on the ranch and work with him today.”

“I’m going to attempt it. We’ll see how it goes.”

Martha handed her a brown paper bag. “You’ll do just fine. Grab yourself some coffee in one of those cups with a lid. You two can eat in the truck while you go get yourself some different clothes. I’ll see you for lunch.”

“Thanks, Martha.” Des filled her cup, slid on the lid, and took the bag from Martha. She headed out the front door, where Logan already had the truck ready. She climbed in and put the bag between them.

“Martha didn’t say anything about me being there.”

“Why would she? She likes you. Hand me one of those sandwiches. You should eat, too.”

“Who can eat this early?”

“You will. We’re going to burn a lot of fuel, so force yourself even if you’re not hungry.”

She opened the bag, the smell of bacon wafting out, which immediately woke her stomach. While Logan drove over the ruts in the road, Des unwrapped the other sandwich and took a bite.

“Yum.”

Logan nodded while busily chewing.

“I’ll dash in and change clothes. I won’t take long.”

Logan put the truck in park and turned in off. “I’ll walk in with you.”

She should be used to his manners by now, but they still surprised her. “Okay.”

It only took her a minute to change into her jeans, a T-shirt, and her boots. She braided her hair and then she was ready. She finished her sandwich and her coffee in the truck on the way back to the ranch.

“What are we doing today?” she asked Logan as they made their way to the pasture.

“Moving and sorting cattle.”

“Which means what, exactly?”

“We sort them according to size before we work them. Then when we return them to the pastures for grazing, they’re all of equal size. It makes a difference when we load them up for sale later on in the year.”

“Okay.”

“Do you know how to ride a horse?”

“Sort of.”

“That means no. We’ll go slow. You’ll get the hang of it.”

She laughed. “I love your confidence in my abilities.”

When they entered the barn, Logan chose a horse for her.

“This is Athena. She’s a sweet mare and perfect for you.”

The gray-and-black dappled mare had a thick black mane over her crest, and stood very still while Logan saddled her.

Des ran her hands over her and spoke to her in quiet tones. Logan led her out to the fence where his own horse, who Des learned was named Frosty, waited for them.

“She’s beautiful, Logan.”

Logan patted Athena. “Yeah, she is. She doesn’t get to ride as much anymore, so she’ll enjoy working today.”

“Is she older?”

“Older than some of our working horses. She’s enjoying her retirement, but she’s still got some miles left in her, don’t you Athena?”

Des admired the way Logan spoke to the horses. There was a warm respect in his voice, as if he knew the work the horses did was just as valuable as the humans’.

“Seriously,” he asked. “Have you ever ridden at all?”

“I have. But it’s been a few years.”

“At least you’ve been up on a horse before. Slide your foot in the stirrup and I’ll help you up.”

She got her foot in the stirrup, and Logan gave her a leg up. Athena was tall, and a stout horse, but Des felt comfortable on her, and the horse wasn’t skittish at all. Des knew the rein commands, so she followed Logan over to where his men were waiting.

“We’re going to head north a couple miles. Then we’ll gather up the cattle and drive them down here so we can sort them.”

“Sounds fine. Obviously, I’m going to attempt to not get in the way, and hope someone will yell at me and tell me what to do.”

Logan motioned to one of the younger hands, who rode up to them. He couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen, though he rode with confidence, just like Logan.

“This is Vic, one of my cousins. He’s home from college for the summer and getting a little work in on the ranch. Vic, this is Des. She’s an actress working the movie on the ranch. You might know who she is.”

“Hey, Vic. Nice to meet you.”

Vic blushed a hard shade of crimson, but tipped his hat. “Ma’am.”

“Vic’s going to be bringing up the rear. She’s a little rusty on riding, so stick close to her and let her know what needs to be done.”