Beau was just barely holding it together. He’d been scared shitless when he couldn’t get ahold of her, and the damn snow was coming down so hard. He’d lightened the facts up a bit because she was distraught, but people had died in freak spring storms like that one. Being out in the warm spring day and not prepared for blizzard like conditions, it could get ugly quick. It was true that normally the snow didn’t last too long, but it didn’t take much time in the high altitude to get hypothermia and frostbite, or to get lost and disoriented, or fall into the river, or beaver dams, or down a cliff, or break a leg in a gopher hole.

He was making himself crazy, thinking of all the bad things that could have happened. They hadn’t because Alyssa was smart enough to stay put and ride out the storm. Using the gas sparingly was even a smart move. Covering the cattle with the warming blankets instead of using them herself? Not such a smart move, but if truth be told he might have done the same thing. At least for a while, until the calves were warm and dry. But he wished she’d used them on herself—he didn’t like the idea of her being cold and alone.

The protocol was that the rovers were supposed to go with the vet to check the herd; none of them were supposed to be alone. They did get separated once in a while, but it wasn’t a good idea. And it sure as hell wasn’t going to happen to Alyssa again, if he had anything to say about it.

“You’re not going to get all crazy about this, are you?”

Shit, could she read his mind? “What makes you say that?”

“You’re not talking to me, you’re practically steaming, and you’re so tense you can barely drive. I appreciate the sentiment, but I didn’t do anything foolish and I am just fine.”

He forced himself to relax and took her hand in his. “You did everything exactly right—well, except maybe giving the blankets to the cattle.”

“Like you wouldn’t have done the same.”

He laughed. “Maybe, but not if push came to shove. If it was me or the cattle, I would vote for me.”

“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head about that. If it started to get dark I had every intention of taking the blankets back. Survival of the fittest and all that.”

“Good to know.”

Alyssa said, “So, about that calf being too big.”

“Yeah, we’re going to have to look into what happened there. If she was really a few days late as you think she was, then we missed something somewhere. I’ll have to look at the printouts we send with the hands that have the list of which cattle to keep an eye on, and see how the ball got dropped. Another day or two with no one around and we might have lost the heifer.”

“My thoughts exactly, but even if one of the hands dropped the ball, it’s ultimately our responsibility to check and make sure nothing gets through the cracks.”

“I can’t imagine either of us missing it, let alone both of us, so we’ll need to check the database to see what happened.”

“You can do that while I eat. I’m starving. A granola bar doesn’t last too long, and pulling that calf out wasn’t the easiest thing I’ve done.” Her stomach rumbled to emphasize the point.

“Perfect, I’ll make you a plate of food while you change out of those cold, dirty clothes and into something warm and dry.” Her hands had been like ice out there and he wanted to make sure she was on her way to warming up. Hypothermia was not fun.

They got back to the house and once Alyssa had a plate of food in front of her that would feed a small army, he brought up the database and checked the birth records for this year. “Just as I thought, that heifer is showing a calf born last week. I’ll run a search and see what dams haven’t given birth that would be due this week and might have a similar number. It might be a number swapping kind of error.”

“Easy to do, but kind of scary to let happen. Have you had this type of issue in the past?”

“Unfortunately, yes. One of the hired hands, Lloyd, has dyslexia and has been known to swap numbers. It’s never caused anything other than some confusion and running around to determine the right numbering. And he’s supposed to have the other guy he’s out with check the tags to make sure they match.”

She frowned. “We had that flurry of births last week, like today, where there were so many at the same time, that they might have separated like we had happen today.”

“Yeah, we might need to hire a few more people to get the buddy system better reinforced. I found three that have similar numbers. Two of which gave birth last week and one that Lloyd was the tagger. I’m betting that’s the one. Same breed, same birth year, one is 189 the other is 198.”

Alyssa nodded. “Sounds like you found it.”

“Now we have to verify it, fix the tags and the database, and have a chat with Lloyd and his assigned buddy.” He got out his phone and sent a text to Lloyd and Kent telling them to check in with him before their next shift.

* * *

Alyssa was glad they had figured out what had caused the problem, and she was glad it hadn’t been her fault. She’d been a little concerned that maybe she’d been daydreaming about Beau one day and had mis-tagged a calf.

She didn’t want someone else to be in trouble, but if they made a mistake they needed to be more careful. That mother could have died from the calf being too large for her to push out alone. Especially if that spring blizzard had started any earlier and no one would have been there.

She was just finishing up the last of her lunch, surprised she’d managed to pack it all away, when Lloyd and Kent knocked on the mud room door. Beau answered the door and ushered the men into the kitchen, which she thought was a little odd and wondered if she should excuse herself to give them privacy.

He left the men standing and sat back down at the table. “So, Alyssa here got caught out in that blizzard this afternoon. Want to guess why?”

Kent shook his head. “No, sir. But I’m guessing it had something to do with me and Lloyd.”

Beau folded his arms. “Damn good guess, Kent. Lloyd, do you want to hazard a guess?”

Lloyd looked down at the floor. “I’m guessing I screwed something up again. I’m sorry boss—and you too, Alyssa.”

Beau said firmly. “Now Lloyd, we all know you have trouble with getting your numbers mixed, and that’s nothing to be ashamed of, and nothing I am going to be angry about. However, it’s been our policy to have Kent verify your tags. Can either of you recall a time recently when that didn’t happen?”

Lloyd nodded. “I have an idea when it might have happened, but it wasn’t on purpose.”

“If I thought it was on purpose, you’d already be collecting your last paycheck. Both of you. Tell me what happened.”

Lloyd looked down at the floor then he looked up and squared his shoulders. “Last Wednesday when we went out to patrol the herd, we were coming up on the last quadrant, when we ran into a group of heifers that all decided to give birth at the same damn time. Oh, excuse me Alyssa, the same darn time. So, Kent and me split up. I took half, and he took half. We were just finishing up and Kent was checking my half, when one of those drones flew overhead. Only it was too damn, um, darn low and it startled all of us. The cattle scattered seeking shelter or trying to get away from the darn thing. Kent and I looked around to see if we could find anyone in control of the robot, but couldn’t see anyone. The drone finally took off, but by then the cattle who’d given birth were scattered and Kent and I had both lost count as to how many of mine he’d checked. We thought maybe he’d been done, but I’m guessing that maybe we were wrong about that.”

Kent nodded. “Yes sir, we really thought we’d gotten them all done, but that drone scared the bejeezes out of all of us.”

Beau had unfolded his arms and nodded at the men. “I can understand the problem and most of it wasn’t your fault. But there are a couple of things I want you to do differently if it ever happens again. First, if you see a drone over our land I want you to let one of the family members know about it asap. We need to check it out. Best way to handle it is to send the family a group text with the coordinates of where you are, and the direction the thing is heading. Second, when you turn in your reports at shift end, write up what happened and let us know that we might need to verify tag numbers on your group from that day.”

“Yes, sir,” both men said in tandem.

Beau then told the guys what had happened today with the late heifer and asked Alyssa to elaborate where needed. He wasn’t unkind, but he wanted them to know the cause and effect of their actions. When the story was finished, both of them apologized to Beau and Alyssa again and said they would do better, if it happened some other time. Beau shook hands with the men and dismissed them to get back to work.

“What do you think that drone was all about?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but I think the whole family needs to know about it. It could just be someone playing with it and hiding when they spooked the cattle. But we’re pretty isolated out here so that seems a little odd. Best not to speculate and wait to get everyone’s opinion tonight.” He looked down at his phone and sent a group text.

“But I like to speculate,” she whined.

“Then you can do so at the family meeting.”

“What if I can’t make it to the meeting?”

“It’s at dinner.”

“Still. I might be busy.” She turned her back to him and started to sashay away.

He growled, grabbed her arm and whirled her around to face him while simultaneously backing her up against the cupboard.

It was a smooth move while at the same time kind of cave-manish, and she liked it. A lot. “You’ve got some hidden talent with those actions.”

“Woman, you have seen nothing yet.” His voice was rough and sent a thrill through her.

He pressed up against her and she could feel his body responding to hers. She reveled in her femininity and rubbed against him, which caused him to groan and harden even more. So, she did it again.

“Now, stop that Alyssa. We’re in the kitchen and anyone could walk in at any moment.”

“Do we need to go back out to work?”

He blinked at her question, like maybe his brain couldn’t catch up. “No, if they need us they can call me.”

“Good. Then let’s take this to a more private area.” She rubbed against him again just to remind him what she was talking about.

He sucked in a breath. “Where did you have in mind?”

“My room.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Your room, then.”

Beau groaned. “Alyssa, are you sure you want to go down this path?”

She thought back to her time in the truck and the fears she hadn’t allowed herself to think of. She thought about what might have happened. She remembered seeing the truck he was driving come into view and the relief she had felt. “Yes, Beau. I am certain. I want to be with you in every way. I want to celebrate life. And I want to do it with you. Now."

“If you put it that way. I can understand your thoughts. I was feeling pretty stressed when I couldn’t contact you and that spring storm was hitting us.”

“Is that what we’re calling it? That blizzard was a spring storm?”

He laughed. “Yes, that’s what it was. A winter blizzard is much worse. Can last for a day or a week and dump several feet of snow.” Glancing at her he asked, “So, do you have any supplies in your room?”

“Supplies?”

“Protection.”

“Oh. No. I guess I don’t.” Darn it, how could she forget something so crucial? He was going to think she was an idiot and too young. It wasn’t her fault—she hadn’t thought she was coming to the Rockin’ K to have sex, she thought she was coming to work. It wasn’t her fault he was so hot, and she’d gotten caught in a blizzard and had been scared to death. It wasn’t her fault she hadn’t been off the ranch since she’d arrived weeks ago. Well, maybe that part was her fault, and her work-a-holic-ness, but still.

“My room, then.”

She grinned at him. “Yay. Let’s get moving before someone comes in and distracts us.” Grabbing his hand, she tugged him out of the kitchen toward the bedrooms.