Page 17 of Unforgettable Cowboy
She loved the Copper Mountain Rodeo.Ten years ago, she and Hayes had had a wonderful time there.So wonderful that she’d panicked.Left him that awful note before driving back to her dorm in Missoula.And come to find out, it had been for nothing.
This rodeo would be different.She and Hayes may spend some time together there, but she knew the score, as did he.They’d be okay.
No need to panic.
Chapter Five
It’d been ahell of a morning.Andy had issues fixing the tractor, but after sending Hayes to town on another emergency parts run, had got the big machine back in action.Hayes hadn’t seen Bailey that morning.He’d hoped that she would arrive early again to spend time with the kidnapped mare, but she hadn’t and by the time she had shown up, Hayes was on the phone with his brother Trev, who’d finally surfaced.
Trev planned to arrive on the ranch the Friday of rodeo weekend, along with his roping partner, Dylan Kent, then stay on to help Hayes unless he managed to find another day hand by that time.With Bailey hitting the road, they’d need additional help until Parker returned to work.
The question they bounced around was how much help was Parker going to be six months after major surgery?And how long was Wade’s recovery going to take, and was he going to get back to one hundred percent?He would behave as if he were no matter what, which could lead to additional problems in the future.
“I’m not looking for a job until we get this all sorted,” Hayes concluded.Which meant he’d be there through October, when Parker was slated to return, and possibly longer.Two older guys recovering from infirmities might not be able to handle everything even during the slower winter season.
“I’ll stay as long as I can, when I can,” Trev said.“I have a ton of PTO coming, but we just implemented this new security system at a big ass company and until the bugs are out of it, I’ll have trouble getting approval.”
“No worries.”Right.“I’ll keep posting ads.Some of the bigger ranches might be letting their seasonal help go.”Hayes had waded back into Facebook to take advantage of the Marketplace there, as well as posting on Craigslist.The response so far had been underwhelming.The few bites he’d had were from guys he knew by reputation—not guys that he wanted in charge of the Tree Fork.It was a busy time of year with fall calving and harvest, so maybe, when things cooled down, he’d have better luck.Or maybe he’d have to advertise on a broader level.He’d prefer a local person, but that may not be possible.
He had marginally better luck with the house maintenance/caretaker position that he and Jordan decided to chip in on.Wade was going to hate having someone invade his space during the day, but he needed help in the house and Hayes had too much to do to care for his uncle and run the ranch.In two days, there’d been two answers to his Marketplace ISO ad but only one had agreed to an interview.It probably wasn’t a coincidence that the other person bailed after hearing the name of the ranch where they’d be working.Wade could be the most reasonable guy on the planet, except for when he wasn’t.
“I’m interviewing a caretaker tomorrow.”
“Someone answered that ad and not the cowboy ad?”
“Go figure.Anyway, if I think she has even the remotest chance of handling Wade and if she agrees to the job, I’m hiring her on the spot.”
It was a temporary position, until his uncle was back on his feet, so Hayes didn’t feel as great of a need to find the perfect candidate—especially since there appeared to be only one.He was going to have to do his best not to scare her off.
“Keep me in the loop.”Trev sounded as if he wasn’t certain that Hayes could pull off this maneuver.
Hayes had a few niggling doubts of his own, but instead of voicing them, he simply said, “Will do.”
*
True to herword, Bailey worked late to make up for leaving early the previous afternoon, pulling up outside the barn as Hayes was finishing up corral repairs.She sauntered over to where he was putting the last screw into a new rail, and he pretended that his body wasn’t reacting to her approach.There was still a ridiculously strong tug of attraction between them and, honestly, he didn’t know how this would play out.Would they ignore it?Pretend there was nothing to see here?
Probably.
Bailey was leaving in less than two weeks.He should be able to fake ambivalence until then.
“You look different than yesterday,” he said, lowering the drill.
“I’m so very proud of not driving into a bog.”
He set the drill in the canvas bag at his feet, then tossed in the box of long, ridiculously expensive, screws.“Did you make it to the post office on time yesterday?”
Oh yeah.Just making lame conversation here.
“I did,” she replied brightly.Bailey wasn’t normally a chirper, so she was probably feeling the same vibe he was.They’d addressed the elephant in the room, but apparently there was a new elephant in town.What to do?
Continue with business as usual, of course.
He picked up the heavy canvas tool bag.“Do you know Estelle Mendoza?”
Bailey frowned as she thought.“Isn’t she Paige Mendoza’s mom?”
“The quiet girl?”
