Alyssa pulled on a sweater over a flannel shirt and T. The key to living in Colorado was to dress in layers. Several garments would keep her warm if it was cold, and if it heated up she could remove an item or two. It could be thirty degrees in the morning and seventy in the afternoon.

She ran a brush through her hair and pulled it up into a pony tail while surveying her room. It was pleasant with a queen-sized bed she had been comfortable sleeping in. On top of the blankets and sheets there was a lovely quilt that looked like it was hand made. It sported a starburst design with red, orange and yellow, some of her favorite colors, so it made her happy to look at it. She wondered if someone in the family had sewn it, or whether it had been bought at some town festival. Back home they had a lady that made beautiful quilts and had put them in the art gallery when it opened a few years ago.

The room had a large chest of drawers, a tiny desk just big enough for her laptop, and even a fireplace. She imagined it would be handy to have a fire to keep warm if the electricity went out during a winter storm. She had a large closet that handily stored all her clothes and suitcases. There was a shared bathroom across the hall, but she didn’t know who she was sharing it with for sure—she guessed maybe Tony and Emma, because there didn’t seem to be any manly products in there. The window in her room looked over the driveway toward the main road. She wished it had a view of the mountains, but she would need to spend her free time resting—not daydreaming over the snowy peaks. She was there to work and learn, and if they started early in the day, like they did back home, she wanted to get going.

She carried her work boots with her. She would put them on when she was ready to head outside. Until then they would be in the mudroom with everyone else’s footwear. She padded through the house in her stockinged feet and set her boots by the door. She could smell coffee brewing even though it wasn’t yet light outside. Cattlemen started the day early, and that meant plenty of coffee to get the blood moving.

She was a little nervous to see Beau that morning. He’d been gracious when she’d set him straight at dinner last night, but she didn’t know his character, so he could be just biding his time to snap at her again. She turned out of the mudroom and ran smack dab into six feet of hard muscle. Of course, it couldn’t be any of the other six men in the house—it had to be Beau.

“Alyssa, good. I was hoping you were up. I need a hand.”

There was an urgency in his tone and expression that caused the snarky comment on the tip of her tongue to evaporate. “What’s up?’

“One of the cattle sounds distressed. I heard it from my room a few minutes ago. Can’t see anything because it’s too dark. We’ve had some trouble recently with wild cats—don’t know if that’s the problem, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Adam and Dad will be following me in a few minutes, but you’re up and dressed, and they aren’t.”

“Let’s go.” She started pulling on her boots while Beau did the same. They yanked on jackets. Beau handed her a flashlight, and he grabbed a first aid kit and a rifle. She switched on the light and they headed out the door to investigate. Once outside, she could hear the ruckus he’d heard from his room. Something was not happy. She shone her flashlight around, but didn’t see anything, so they followed the distressed sounds. She didn’t know where they were headed and decided it was silly of her to have the flashlight.

“Beau, trade me the first aid kit for the flashlight. You know where you’re going, and I don’t.”

“It’s heavy.”

She rolled her eyes, even though he couldn’t see it. “Don’t be ridiculous. I can manage it—we need to move quicker.”

“True.” He handed her the first aid kit and took the flashlight and was moving fast toward the sound.

Alyssa lugged the first aid kit. It was heavy, but the adrenaline from her concern for the animal carried her along in the man’s wake. They headed in the opposite direction from the barn and corral—across some land that looked like it might be a summer garden—and past a building that probably housed the tractor and haying equipment. The bellowing was getting louder so they were close.

Beau hopped over the four-foot fence in front of them like it was nothing. Alyssa pushed the first aid kit under the split rail and clambered over it. Not pretty or gracefully, but she was quick. Beau was a few yards away bending over the injured animal. Alyssa moved up next to him. The cow was bleeding and its leg caught in a trap of some kind.

Alyssa hunkered down next to the heifer. “Poor thing. She calmed right down when you showed up.”

“Yeah. Here, hold the flashlight on the trap so I can get it off her.” He set the rifle on the ground and pried the metal off the heifer’s back leg, which caused the bleeding to worsen. Beau held the wound closed while Alyssa flipped open the first aid kit. She pulled out gauze, to help staunch the blood flow, and the disinfectant. She was surprised that the cow hadn’t fought Beau.

“Hand me the antiseptic.”

She gave it to him. “That’s going to sting. Do you want me to hold her?”

“Nope, no need. Just keep the light on the wound, so I can see.” He poured the cleanser on the laceration, and other than a low moan and a small twitch there was no reaction.

Amazed, Alyssa watched the injured animal remain perfectly still while Beau stitched up and bandaged her leg.

Alyssa startled when Adam spoke from behind her. She hadn’t sensed the two men approach.

“It’s Dolly, isn’t it.”

Beau answered, “Yep.”

Adam said, “That looks like a beaver trap.”

“Yep.”

“Dad and I brought transport, so we can get her to the barn and keep an eye on her for a few days. It’s by the gate—I’ll go get it.”

Travis took the flashlight from her hand. “Alyssa, go with Adam. You can help with the gate.”

Alyssa stood and noticed the sun was almost up, illuminating the uneven ground. She followed Adam and when they were twenty yards away from Beau she asked him about the animal.

“I’ve never seen an animal lie perfectly still like Dolly did. Is Beau some kind of heifer whisperer?”

Adam laughed. “No. When Dolly was a calf a big cat went after her and clawed her up pretty bad. Before her mother took on the cat. We heard the commotion and rode in to see what was happening. Dad got out the rifle and shot the cat, but Dolly’s mother didn’t make it. We took the calf back to the barn and had a vet come in to look at her. He suggested putting her down, but Beau pestered him enough that he dressed the wounds, but still told Beau he didn’t think she would make it without her mother. Beau made the vet tell him everything he needed to do to save the calf, and then he followed those instructions to the letter. Beau saved her life. She’s past child-bearing age, but there is no way we are doing anything but letting that cow live out her natural life in luxury.”

Alyssa marveled at the story. “But he had to be just a child at that time.”

“Yeah, he was about ten, I think. You’ve never seen a kid so committed to a task as Beau was to Dolly. That’s how she got her name—we teased him about his giant dolly. It never fazed him, he was dedicated to saving her life. Beau became a vet in order to have the knowledge to save other animals like Dolly.”

Alyssa groaned inwardly. She was going to be spending every day with the man. He was clearly a talented veterinarian, but she would have picked any of the other brothers, over him, to work with twelve hours a day.

They got to the transport vehicle which was already through the gate. She laughed. “So why did your dad want me to come with you? You don’t really need help with the gate.”

“Nah, we left this here so we didn’t startle the animal with it. If we’d known it was Dolly, we could have driven it right up to her. But Beau was pissed.” Adam ticked off on his fingers the strikes against the perpetrators. “The trappers are using an illegal device, they didn’t ask permission to be on our land, and Dolly got caught in something that should have been submerged, not on dry land. Dad’s going to talk Beau down, so he doesn’t go off halfcocked looking for the people who hurt his cow. Beau’s a good guy and normally pretty laid back, but he’s got a short fuse where his animals are concerned—especially Dolly.”

Alyssa had not seen Beau being laid back, so she had to wonder at Adam’s definition of the phrase. She got into the transport vehicle and they headed back to Dolly. It didn’t take long to get the animal loaded and headed back to the barn. Beau was silent the whole way as he sat in the back with Dolly. Alyssa didn’t know what to say or do, so she just rode along in silence. When they got to the barn, the rest of the family was waiting to hear what had happened.

As they all gathered around Beau and Dolly, Alyssa slipped off to go get some coffee. She was glad the cow would be fine, but this seemed like a family moment and she wanted to give them time and space.

* * *

Beau got Dolly settled in an empty stall. He gave her a little something for pain and made sure she had food and water readily available. He was still pissed at the cause of her injury, but decided to let the law handle it, as his father had suggested. His brother, Drew, would get an earful as soon as possible. They probably wouldn’t be able to find the poachers, but Beau would make sure they had every bit of information he knew, just in case.

He was damn glad Alyssa had been up and dressed when he hit the back door. She’d been a trooper—he would have needed to wait for his father or brother if she hadn’t been ready, and that would have been dangerous for Dolly. He didn’t know when Alyssa had left the group—probably when his family had descended like a horde of locusts. But he wanted to find her and thank her for her help. That was quite the initiation for her first few hours on the ranch. But she’d handled it just fine. She hadn’t questioned him or complained about carrying the thirty-pound first aid kit. She’d kept up with him and hadn’t driven him crazy with a million questions. But she’d been prepared to help hold down the hurt animal if he’d needed her to. He was quite impressed with her. She was a whole lot more than just a pretty face.

Alyssa sat at the kitchen table, shoveling in breakfast. His mother dished him up a plate while he washed his hands. After setting his food and a large mug of coffee on the table, his mother left the two of them alone in the kitchen. He was glad, since he had some things he needed to say to Alyssa.

After a large gulp of coffee, he said, “Thanks for going with me this morning. You were a big help.”

“I’m here to work,” she said sweetly.

He groaned. “I’m really sorry for my attitude yesterday. It was uncalled for. I said a lot of things I would like to cut my tongue out for saying. Can you forgive me?”

“I can, and will, but I reserve the right to throw it in your face from time to time.” She grinned up at him. “You good with that, cowboy?”

“I can be.” He held out his hand. “Pacts?”

She shook it. “Pacts.”

Beau didn’t want to let go of her hand. It was soft and warm and just that small touch sent a flood of warmth through him, pushing the anger and frustration of the last few hours away. He pulled back reluctantly, and Alyssa looked down at her breakfast like she was doing surgery. He didn’t know what to think either, so he followed suit. What in the hell was that about? He’d never felt anything like it from simply shaking hands with a woman. Okay then, no more touching the girl.