Page 105 of Hit the Ground
This time, giving it back to him was as easy as breathing. “I love you too, Caleb.” My chin trembled, but my heart was sure. “I wish I could tell you the one moment I knew I had fallen for you, but for me, it would be a list of a thousand little seconds. It’d started that first night, with Hannah, then there were small things you did without a thought, like saying my name when yougave me your order, and bigger things, like the way you love your son and family. Then there were the moments that were only ours. Laughing in bed with you, reading my favorite books and debating the story. You never letting me sit in a chair when your lap is available.”
He chuckled. “Doesn’t make sense to waste a chair when you fit just right on my lap.”
“Yeah. That’s a good point.” I grinned, the war in my mind finally, mercifully over. “Would you write it down for me?”
“Write what down?”
“The words. That you love me. I want them on paper.” I bit down on my lip, wondering if I sounded as foolish as I felt.
“So you can feel them,” he supplied.
“Yes.” My heart kicked, and my soul rested easy at being understood. “That’s it exactly.”
“I can do that for you, darlin’. Besides that, I have my mission now: I’m gonna keep adding to your list so it never runs out.”
“You just have to exist for that to happen.” I slid my fingers through the side of his hair. “You might not have noticed, but I’ve got a thing for you I can’t seem to shake.”
“I noticed. I notice everything about you.” He dragged his nose along mine. “I’ve got a thing for you too, and I have no interest in shaking it.”
For a while, we stayed there, kissing, grinning, lazing the afternoon away. Eventually, he gave a little groan and nudged his forehead against mine.
“As much as I’d like to keep you here all day, we need to get back to the ranch.” He stood and pulled me to my feet, bending to steal one more kiss, then gave my backside a pat. “Pack enough for a few nights. I don’t want you out of my sight more than you need to be.”
It didn’t take long to gather a small bag of clothes and toiletries—everything I needed for the upcoming week. Caleb waited bythe door. When I stepped out with my bag, he immediately reached for it, slung it over his shoulder, then his free hand found mine.
I squeezed his fingers as we headed out the door. “Let’s go home.”
His hand tightened around mine, the barest hitch in his stride as he stopped and stared down at me.
A slow, pleased smile spread across his face.
“Home,” he echoed, like he was tasting it. “Yeah, darlin’. Let’s go home.”
Chapter Forty-one
Caleb
Thethunderstormhadtornthrough in the early morning hours, hard and fast, leaving behind a sky scraped clean and the ranch in chaos. I bounced along the pasture in the UTV, mud flying from the tires, the smell of damp earth and ozone hanging in the air.
My radio hadn’t shut up for hours. Cows were scattered along the ridge, a fence line had flattened on the north side, a yearling bogged down knee deep in mud. Everywhere I looked, my men were spread wide, some on horseback, others on rigs, hollering and whistling as they tried to push the herds back where they belonged.
“Keep pressure on their left flank. Don’t let them break again,” I directed into my radio, spotting a cluster of steers trying to flee for freedom. Slamming the UTV into gear, I tore across the pasture, cutting them off before they could scatter any more than they already had. A group of hands surrounded them on horseback, driving the cattle back toward the corral.
We’d been at this since daybreak, but there was still nothing but trampled fences, restless animals shifting in the heat, andthick mud as far as the eye could see. Hours of work lay ahead, maybe days before the ranch was fully set to rights.
Sweat burned my eyes. My shirt was plastered to my skin. I swiped my forehead with the back of my hand, taking a moment to sip some water and check the time.
Dammit. I hadn’t even noticed how far the morning had slipped away.
I’d had plans that weren’t looking like they were going to happen. Jesse was out of school for the summer and spending the day at his buddy’s house then the library. I’d been thinking I’d head into town after work, grab Alice and Jesse, and take them out to dinner to celebrate Alice finishing the first draft of her series. At this rate, I wouldn’t be back home before dark, only to turn around and start all over again at first light.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Alice. I hated interrupting her workday, but I was hoping she wouldn’t mind hearing from me too much.
“Hey, Cay,” she answered.
“Hello, darlin’. Are you having a good day?”
“It’s fine. Quiet right now. I was looking up new recipes I might make for dinner. I’m going to run them by Jesse when he gets here.”
