Sean’s alarm blared too soon the next morning. Groaning, he reached over and hit the snooze button. Ten more minutes and then he’d get up. Just as he slipped back to sleep, the alarm rang again.

Time to get up.

He pulled the covers off of his lap and sat up. He swung his feet over the side of the bed and opened his door. He needed a shower. That always woke him up.

When he got to the bathroom, he jiggled the handle. Locked.

He cursed under his breath. Hopefully Pops hadn’t barricaded himself in the bathroom again. He raised his hand to knock. Before his knuckles made contact, the door opened and Christine’s bright blue eyes peered over at him.

Sean took a step back as his gaze roamed over her damp hair, down her long neck, and to the top of the towel that she had wrapped around her body. He swallowed as he forced his gaze up to meet hers.

Her eyes were just as wide as he caught her staring at his chest. Suddenly, he remembered that he was standing there in only a pair of pajama bottoms. Never in his life had he felt more exposed—especially when her gaze lingered on the raised tissue of his scar on his shoulder.

Her gaze made its way up to his. Heat rushed across his skin as he peered into her eyes. She seemed just as vulnerable as he felt. Had she seen him check her out?

Speak, idiot!

“What are you doing?” Wow. Not only did his voice sound strange, he decided to ask a stupid question.

“Showering?”

He nodded as images flashed into his mind that shouldn’t. “Okay. What I meant to say was, why are you up this early?”

She wrapped her arms around the towel and glanced down at the floor. “I guess I want to see what the rancher’s life entails.” She met his gaze. “And you kind of said I didn’t have what it takes, so here I am.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You’re coming with me?”

Christine nodded. “If that’s okay.”

Was that okay? What was he supposed to say? No? That having you around me confuses and frustrates me? That the fact you’re here to investigate the one thing that I have left in my life kills me inside?

He clenched his fists. He needed to get a grip. Confessing any of those things was way too much. Besides, he wasn’t sure if he wanted her to know that much about him. So he just nodded as he stepped closer to her.

Her eyes widened as she glanced up at him.

“I’ll meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes.” He peered down at her. He’d be lying to himself if he said he didn’t enjoy how close their bodies were at this moment. Or the way her cheeks hinted pink and her lips parted as if she wanted to say something but was scared.

It made her appear real. And human. And someone he could relate to.

Christine sat at the kitchen table, waiting for Sean to come down from upstairs. She adjusted the tank top that she’d picked out. It wasn’t Emma’s plaid shirt, but she couldn’t very well wear the same outfit two days in a row. Hopefully, her clothes were somewhat appropriate for whatever they were going to do.

The thought of Sean seeing her in her outfit caused her stomach to twist. Their earlier interaction rolled around in her mind. What had that been?

Her thoughts returned to his tanned chest. Well, she’d been right. He was pretty muscular. Ripped would probably be the correct word. And his scar? It ran from the top of his shoulder and disappeared into his underarm.

She wanted to ask him about it. The more time she spent around him, the more she wanted to know everything there was to know about Sean Petty. He confused and excited her at the same time. Butterflies flitted around her stomach as she thought about spending the day with him, learning what it was like to be a rancher.

The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs filled the air, and Christine’s heart rate picked up. She shifted on her seat, hoping to appear relaxed instead of the nervous mess she’d become.

Sean walked into the room wearing a plaid shirt and jeans. His hair was damp and for a moment, Christine wondered what it might feel like to run her fingers through it.

Get your head on straight, she scolded herself.

“Get some food?” he asked.

Not sure what to do, Christine stood. “Um, no.”

He opened a cupboard and pulled out a container. “I hope you like oatmeal.”

She nodded. “Sounds amazing.” Then she winced at her words. Amazing—really?

He raised his eyebrows as he ran his gaze over her. “Do they not have oatmeal in Washington, DC?”

She leaned against the counter, hoping that she looked more relaxed then she felt. “No, they have oatmeal.”

He nodded as he grabbed some bowls. “You just really like it?”

Realizing that she wasn’t going to be able to redeem herself, she decided to just go along with it. “Yes.”

He chuckled as he filled the bowls with water and oatmeal and stuck them into the microwave. Five minutes later, they sat at the counter with their steaming bowls. Sean motioned toward the sugar at the far end of the counter.

“Feel free to use some for your amazing oatmeal.” He shot her a smile.

Christine merely nodded as she began spooning some oatmeal into her mouth. Just as the heat touched her tongue, she winced. Yeah, that was a bad idea. Shoving her face full of food with the hopes that she wouldn’t say anything stupid again was pretty dumb.

Maybe she should crawl back into bed. Was she ridiculous to think that just maybe, she could prove herself to this cowboy? That she just might have something she could offer him? That she could be something other than just a pencil-pushing auditor? Sometimes she could be such a fool.

After their bowls were empty, Sean grabbed them both and put them into the sink. He turned around, cracking his knuckles and smiling over at her.

“Well, let’s get to it then,” he said, motioning toward the door.

Christine nodded and made her way over to slip on Emma’s boots.

When she turned back around, she noticed Sean’s gaze.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” he asked, motioning toward her camisole and jeans.

“I don’t really have anything else.”

He raised an eyebrow as he reached past her and opened up a door. His arm brushed her shoulder, sending shivers down her skin.

“Here,” he said as he handed her a grey hoodie.

She took it and slipped it on. It was big—the sleeves hung down past her fingertips. She shoved them up to her elbows. The part that was throwing her off guard was how good it smelled. She had figured that ranchers stunk from the animals they were around all the time. But Sean’s hoodie didn’t.

It had a woodsy smell with a hint of flowery detergent. She wanted to close her eyes and breathe deep. But he would probably think she was crazy, so she decided against it.

Sean turned the handle and pulled the door open. “Let’s get to it,” he said, motioning toward the back steps.

Christine made her way out onto the porch as Sean joined her. He shut the door and then went down the stairs and led her over to the barn. The morning air was crisp and the beginning burst of light from the sun could barely be seen above the horizon.

Even though they were the first ones up, it seemed as if the wildlife had been awake for hours. A few cats meowed and rubbed themselves against her legs. She reached down to pet them.

Sean opened the barn door, which startled the cats and they bolted. He waved her over. “Come on,” he said.

Christine walked into the barn to see two four-wheelers parked along the wall. “We’re riding those?”

Sean picked up a helmet and handed it over to her. “Scared?”

She shook her head. Which was a lie. Truth was, she was terrified of crashing and losing a limb. She liked all her appendages and didn’t want to give any of them up.

Sean winked at her as he shook the helmet at her. “It’s okay. I’ll go slow.”

Christine nodded as she took it from him and slipped it on. Once she tightened the strap, she glanced over at Sean. He’d already gotten on the machine and was flipping buttons.

He nodded toward the spot behind him. “Climb aboard.”

She hesitated but then walked over. Not sure what to do with her hands, she finally pushed away all her fear and rested her hands on his shoulders. She felt his muscles tighten and then relax. It intrigued her that he had responded to her touch.

She swung her leg over the seat and sat down. She shifted, pulling her hips closer. He tensed again when she bumped into him.

“Wrap your arms around my waist,” he said. It might have been the helmet, but it sounded almost as if his voice had deepened. Like he too, was having a physical reaction from her close proximity.

Despite her better judgement—which was screaming at her to get off the four-wheeler and get back into the house—she held onto his broad chest. She pushed the thoughts that were rolling around in her mind away. The ones that said only pain and heartache came from having feelings for a cowboy.

She held her breath as her fingers grazed the muscles under his shirt. The warmth he gave off surrounded her and caused her heart to hammer in her chest. Even though her mind was screaming at her to run, she was frozen to this spot. Everything felt so right in this moment.

Sean counted down and in a few seconds, he peeled out of the barn. Christine had to hang on as the momentum of the four-wheeler tried to pull her back.

When Sean finally got to a good coasting speed, she shifted away from him and took in the sights. The tip of the sun was now visible on the horizon. There was a slight haze to the ground from the mist that still lingered in the air.

Grass spanned out in front of them. In the distance, she could see the dark figures of the cows moving around the fields. Trees dotted the terrain that rose and fell. It was peaceful and serene. Her chest swelled at the sight.

Sean neared the cows and drove around them. She couldn’t quite tell what he was doing, but it almost seemed as if he were looking for something. Most of the animals had their heads down, eating the grass. To her, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

After they circled the cows a few more times, Sean peeled off. She saw his head tilt toward her.

“I’m missing one,” he called to her.

Christine looked back. How did he know that? Was she supposed to believe that he knew each and every one of his animals? But, trying to have a conversation with their helmets on was pointless, so she just nodded as she held tighter to his back.