Page 133 of Downpour

CJ had been putting me through my paces for the better part of the afternoon, making me jump from horse to horse to get used to riding all of them. Some of the old faithfuls—like Bree’s horse, Dottie—were easy as pie.

The new ones? Not so much. They were in unfamiliar territory with unfamiliar people. It would take time and peppermints. Luckily, I had plenty of both.

Riot whipped his head back and forth when I tugged on the reins, but he trotted back to CJ without much more fuss.

“I gotta head out,” he said. “You good getting back to the barn?”

“Yeah,” I said as I grabbed a canteen off the top of the fence post and took a long drink. “I’ll get him untacked and turned out.”

Riot’s attitude seemed to calm down when we strolled into the shade. The barn was blissfully quiet. Dusty, the barn cat, snoozed away in the corner of Indy’s stall.

“Are you gonna give me trouble?” I asked Riot as I started to remove the riding equipment. He didn’t seem bothered by me talking away as I brushed him down.

I officially had a week at my new job under my belt and it was … going.

Working for Cassandra was like working for a porcupine. Frankly, she seemed like the kind of animal who would eat her young. But Christian stopped by the office a few times a day to make sure I was still alive.

Ray stopped by too, but he had more or less settled into the routine of letting me go every morning. But as soon as the clock hit five, if I wasn’t home, he would be in the office pestering Cassandra to let me clock out.

Frankly, I was a little surprised he hadn’t shown up at the arena when I was out with Riot and CJ.

I finished up in the barn and headed to the office to clock out. Some days it still felt strange to leave Ray during the day. I had grown so accustomed to being with him nearly every waking moment, that watching him leave the ranch with Bree, Claire, or one of his brothers was an out-of-body experience.

I felt like I was missing out. For the longest time, it was him and me hiding out together and sneaking off to his appointments in town. The transition back to working a real job where I wasn’t paid to ignore my boss was brutal.

I liked the routine of caring for the horses, doing chores, and tackling scheduling and a budding business launch. The physical labor helped me sit still and focus on the office work. I would have never thought that living and working on a cattle ranch was the right fit for me. But with each passing day, I realized how perfect it was.

Even more so since I got to go home to Ray at the end of each day.

Mickey wandered into the office as I was punching my timecard in the archaic machine. I gave him a scratch under the chin and readjusted the pool noodles on his horns that kept him from breaking everything in sight.

The walk home was my favorite part of the day—that, and the fact that I called it home.

Part of me, an incessant part of me, was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Ray to realize he wanted someone older, someone settled, someone who could bring more to the table.

But every day I walked through the door, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Ray made me feel wanted like I had never been before.

“I’m home,” I called out into the house as I hung my bag on the hook by the door. “Ray?”

No answer.

Maybe he was out with Christian or something. I shrugged it off and dipped into the shower to rinse off.

I swear, I took more showers now than I ever had. Between the heat, animals, and dust, I was filthy in seconds. I had no idea how Cassandra managed to waltz around the ranch in crisp white pantsuits. Either her dry cleaning bills were outrageous, or the dirt was simply afraid of her.

The calming aroma of eucalyptus and lavender floated in from the bedroom as I slipped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around my chest.

Candles had been lit, and the lights were dimmed. Ray was sitting on the bed, waiting for me.

“There you are,” I said as I tiptoed to the stack of clothes sitting by my side of the bed. I really needed to ask him if I could move the dresser from the guest room into the room we shared. “Were you outside?”

Ray leaned back on his elbows. His eyes raked over me as I dropped the towel. “I was up at Momma’s house waiting for a package I ordered.”

“How was your day?” I asked as I pawed around for a pair of underwear.

“Better now,” he said, reaching over and curling his hand around my hip. “You don’t need those.”

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