Chapter Twenty

 

 

 

 

Dressed, Matt kissed the side of her head. They exited his office. He needed two of himself as he considered the timeline. It wasn’t yet seven and Miller’s door was shut. There were voices inside. “Don’t you need to speak with your brother?” Carolina asked, adjusting the hat on her head.

“I’ll get with him later.” The cell tower contract hadn’t changed. He got out his cell and sent Miller a text. “Set up meeting with dad and Calvin.”

Outside, the air was heating up and dust was beginning to swirl with each of their steps. The men had already left. No hardship there.

“What are you thinking with that smirk?” she asked.

“I won’t have to endure another session of the men on this ranch ogling your ass.”

Carolina’s eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink. “Hey, I didn’t ask for the attention.”

She wasn’t the type. Wasn’t the kind of woman who like to play that game and it was a part of her that he enjoyed. Sure in her own skin. A twinge speared him in the ribs. That idiot warning not to get embroiled in something with an expiration date.

As he and Carolina approached the horses in the pen, he opened the gate and asked, “Need help mounting?”

“Let’s see who can get seated first.” Carolina tossed the reins of Skyfall back. She used the horn to hoist herself upward, gracefully lifting her leg across the saddle.

“Hard-headed from morning to night,” he replied with a wry grin.

“Thank ya, kindly,” she mocked drawled, sitting high and waiting for him to mount.

This ride wouldn’t require any special skills as long as she didn’t intend on roping cattle. He swung Kyro around and came up alongside Carolina. “Let’s go, baby.”

They trotted past the gates into the open pasture and Matt kicked up their pace a notch. The ground rose, then flattened out. Their horses canted in a rhythmic trot across a good acre, past newly sheared grass. Hay bales were lining up and in a month this task would end. Then the slow steady melding of summer weeks would gather and their primary objective would become irrigation.

They slowed to a walk. Carolina took out her cell and snapped photographs of the herd. These were Simbrah steer and would be sold as beef. The last of the herd in this section. “Any illness in this herd?”

“Not any steer. Or young bulls.”

He enjoyed the look of Carolina in a saddle, the rocking of her hips to-and-fro. It was no wonder men were captivated by her curves. But for other reasons, he took out his cell and snapped a couple of photos of his own.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“You’ve got hips that were made for riding.” He smiled darkly. “Woman, you’d tempt a saint.”

“Get your head out of the gutter, McLemore, and you won’t need to be saved.”

“Who says I want saving?”

She frowned. “No one is past redemption.”

Matt used his knees and Kyro took off. Over his shoulder, he supplied, “I’m saying it’s too late.”

Out here, surrounded by the clear blue sky and the golden earth, he absorbed just how different Carolina was to any woman he’d ever met. From the fact that her eyes weren’t just dark gray. When he stared, really stared into her eyes, what he found was stunning. Her eyes were a mixture of swirling color: blue and green, turquoise and gold. Her eyes like her personality made him see fireworks.

“No fair!” She thundered by, trying to outrun him on his own blind race to where, he didn’t have a clue.

And that’s when the thought combusted in his skull. With Carolina, a man could go down for the count without realizing it until it was too late.

As if pushed to the brink, Matt gave into the fire in his veins. He pressed Kyro onward. When he caught up to Carolina, he pointed. “Over that ridge is the northern acreage. Race you to the top.”

It was an unfair challenge but Matt couldn’t resist tossing fuel to the burn pile of his hunger. Both he and his horse were on the chase of two supreme fillies. Kyro was very interested in tracking Skyfall. Matt let Carolina take the lead, enjoying the chase. Hearing her laughter made something in him do more than stir. It was like quicksilver in his blood. When enough distance lay between the teams, only then did Matt nudge Kyro onward. Easily his stallion overtook the younger horse.

It took some quick maneuvering to keep Kyro, who was snorting and biting at the bit, pulling against the reins, to prevent the stallion from biting the filly to mark her. No different than Matt had been this morning with Carolina, minus the horse bite.

“You’re a damn good rider, Dr. Rodriguez. And that’s not just for a city slicker.”

“It’s really exhilarating to be out here. On Skyfall.” Carolina patted her horse and smiled. “Oh, what’s going on over there?”

He glanced over his shoulder at the crew hard at work. That open and inviting expression on Carolina’s face made him want to pilot her away from the shirtless men working on the fences. “There’s the fence maintenance crew. Not much to see really.”

“Not much to see?” she echoed. “Hello? They’re working. I’d like to see what’s going on.”

“But there aren’t any cattle,” he reminded her.

“Your dad is there. I’ve got to build a connection that goes beyond polite conversation.”

“That’s wise,” he amended. “Always three steps ahead.”

What Carolina said made sense, except for some idiot reason, it struck him sideways. Harder when he took her over to see his father then his brothers had to get into the act, explaining what was going on. Within five goddamn minutes, every man on the crew had something he wanted her to see. Hell, how many hammers did they think she’d find interesting?

His father’s gaze locked with his. “Best get hold of yourself. She’s just curious and isn’t that what you want in a woman?” The old man’s bushy brows and pursed lips sent a silent message and Matt shut his trap.

As soon as Carolina was at his side, he growled. “C’mon, you can take a look at the cows over in the next pasture.”

“Is that where the straggler is located?”

They were too close to this work crew for her to examine a fallen cow. “If my father sees you near injured cattle, it won’t go over well.”

Carolina’s brows drew together. He could see her struggling. “What do you suggest?”

“I’ll text Rory to check out the straggler. We can get comparison samples from the herd to the west.”

It took three hours to weave and separate the cows in the heard. They were looking for one specific cow. But it wasn’t like he could stop and check each cow’s tag. To locate the comparison cow to sample they had to closely observe each one of the fifty. “That one,” Carolina called. “It’s her!”

“You sure?” Matt used his knees and Kyro’s skill as he tossed a rope for the cow that she’d pinpointed. They checked the cow’s tag on the spreadsheet.

“It’s the cow,” he agreed.

It took another thirty minutes to collect samples for blood, fur, skin, hoof, and saliva. From the saddlebags, Carolina removed and opened several cold packs. She placed them in the ziplock bag. “We’re done, here.”

They took off their latex gloves, which he stowed in the pouch on his saddle. “Better take these,” he said, holding out a pair of Evermore work gloves.

“Thanks. They’re pretty nifty.” Carolina pulled them on. “They’ve got the ranch brand.”

“Cory’s idea,” he supplied.

As they rode back to the crew, he pointed out landmarks, various herds and their activities while answering Carolina’s questions about the ranch routine. Scaling a ridge, they caught up with the crew far too quickly for Matt’s taste.

“Just in time,” Stephen said, hoisting a jackhammer over his shoulder.

At the sound of the lunch bell being rung, Matt didn’t waste another sun-kissed moment. “Let’s go find a place to eat.”

“Aren’t we staying here to eat with your father?”

He turned around so fast she collided with him. “I’ve had quite the time watching every Tom, Dick, and Rory try to show you how to hammer a goddamned nail. You’d think they’d invented fire, the way they explained their methods.”

“Are you jealous?” she exhaled with a giggle as if it were too funny for words. “Well, if it isn’t the green-eyed monster.”

“Keep it up.” He dipped his mouth against her ear and gritted out, “There are plenty of secluded places where I can take care of that smart little mouth. Just one more word, and you’ll have to blame your saddle for walking crooked for a week.”

She laughed, again. “I didn’t do anything but act cordial.”

“Dr. Rodriguez, you better come with me,” he snapped, unable to reel in this primal urge. He wasn’t a mouth-breathing cave dweller, yet she pegged him alright. He reached for Carolina’s arm to silence her before things really got out of control.

Except, she tore away from him. Who would believe a girl could run that fast! Her laughter rained down on him in waves until he couldn’t help but smile.

Well, if she wanted to race, he’d give her one. Matt took off after her, giving her credit for darting, employing a stop-and-go movement as she zigged, then zagged. But soon enough, he unravelled her pattern and caught hold of her. Matt encircled the good doctor in his arms as she giggled and squirmed. She squealed when he lifted her up, onto his chest and squeezed her tightly.

“Hah, that’s what you get,” he grunted. “You’re worse than a polecat caught after stealing a mess of chickens. Riled up and ready to fight, but I’ve got you.”

She suddenly stopped and gazed into his eyes. “You sure have, cowboy. More than you probably realize.”

They kissed. It felt wild and free, hot and enlivening. He never wanted this to end. He wanted to tell her to stay. Matt knew what this feeling was: he was falling. Falling too fast and too hard to stop the ground rushing up to meet him and suddenly, he no longer cared. All he wanted was right here in his arms.

“Matt,” Brandon called across the field. “Matt!”

Carolina wrapped her arms around his shoulders. The feel of her curves had him on the verge of doing something off-the-charts. They stood chest to chest. Their gazes were locked, their hearts beat hard in time. Bone deep, he knew he could never let this woman go without a fight.

She brushed her lips against his, pushing back, murmuring, “Your brother’s yelling. He sounds upset.”

Only when she pulled away, only when a good foot existed between their bodies, did Matt absorb the full-brunt of Carolina’s words. He regarded Brandon.

His brother waved his hat, yelling, “Matt, there’s an emergency. I need your help!”