Page 36 of Long Hard Fall

“Are we done?” Abbi didn’t sound like she wanted it to be over.

“Way more cattle, honey.”

“I’ll drive on the way back.”

Abbi’s fatigue drained away. The sun was peeking out behind thin clouds, cows meandered across the field for breakfast, and the drone of the tractor wasn’t unpleasant.

Suck it, Ellis. His incessant texts had woken her up early. If she’d continued sleeping, she would’ve missed this.

How exhilarating.

She’d left her phone on silent in the guest bedroom. The day was hers—early morning fresh air, no one but her and a hot rancher.

Thank you, Ellis.

Cash maneuvered the tractor across an expanse of pasture that had tire tracks and paralleled the dirt road that ran past his house.

She leaned in. “Where are we going?”

“To the bull pasture. We keep them separate from the cows.” He slid her an amused look. “After they’re done fuckin’.”

“How scandalous! You said you were bringing them into the stockyard around the barn for the winter. What do you do with the bulls when they can’t, you know, fraternize?”

“We drive them over to Travis’s house. I can’t give ’em enough room in my place.”

“Drive?”

“Gate.”

Drive a gate? She followed Cash’s gaze. Oh. Abbi playfully scowled at him before she jumped down and opened the metal gate between pastures. Cash idled through and stopped to wait for her.

“We could load them up into a trailer and literally drive them over,” he explained, “but it’s easier to take the horses and herd them. It’s not far.” He flashed her the panty-melting grin she lived for. Only this time, his eyes were fully engaged, too. “And it’s fun as hell.”

“A real cattle drive. Awesome.” So much better than counting someone else’s money all day.

She was in the wrong profession. Could she change it? What would her parents think if she came home and told them she was done at the bank?

No, they’d want her to have an alternate in place first. What else could she do? Sell her sketches at a street fair?

Shoving her worries away, she lifted her face to the sun. The temperature had risen, promising another vibrant Midwest autumn day.

They wrapped up feeding and Cash stopped the tractor.

“Your turn.”

They switched spots without her jumping down and it involved his hands on her hips and getting really close. She flushed, and it had nothing to do with the sunshine.

Last night, she’d been close to him, too. It messed with a girl’s mind. She had never felt that flustered around a man or been that…anticipatory. The feeling amassed the longer she was around him. The commitment-phobe player loved his family hard, was passionate about his work, and treated her like…herself.

She didn’t want to go back home. Never mind the mess with Ellis and either finding her own place or moving back in with her parents. She didn’t want to go back and deal with any of it. She had no desire to return to her boring, plain life.

And today, she didn’t have to worry about it.

She settled into the seat warm with Cash’s body heat. She’d rather be personally enveloped in his heat. “Okay, what now?”

“Have you ever driven a stick shift?”

She scanned the dash and levers. “Absolutely. My high school car was a standard.”

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