This Hick?

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

CASSIDY

I didn’t leave the room. Not yet. I assumed Don would have some kind of assignment for me. I half-listened as Karen and Don caught up. I knew exactly who she was, though it seemed she didn’t recognize me at all.

Karen Vale. It had been a long time, but I would never forget the bossy, obnoxious girl from back then. She used to visit the ranch as a kid when she was around ten or eleven years old. I’d been seventeen, a surly teenager with a summer job on the ranch, and somehow I’d drawn the short straw when it came to babysitting the boss’s niece.

Back then, she’d been obsessed with the barn cats, of all things. Every morning, she’d beg her father, Don’s brother, to take her to see them. Half the damn cats were feral. They could be pretty scrappy, especially when a ten-year-old blonde with pigtails was coming at them.

Naturally, I was assigned to drag her around the property while I did my chores because all of the adults were too busy doing other things. Back then, I’d been the kid that got all the shit jobs—literally in some cases. I was the low man on the totem pole. So when Karen needed a minder, I’d been elected.

I remembered she was this little ball of energy, following me around and squealing with excitement every time she spotted a cat. It had been annoying, to say the least. And when I’d casually mentioned that the barn cats were there to control the mice population, she’d run off and tattled on me, claiming I’d “scared” her. I hadn’t thought much of it at the time—just another rich kid who didn’t understand ranch life.

I got scolded because she was a little girl and I should let her make the feral cats friendly. Yeah, right. As if those claws had any interest in being tamed. I personally wouldn’t have cared if she tried to wrangle one of those little beasts into her bed and paid the price.

Now, watching her walk around her room, checking the bathroom to make sure it was clean enough for her high standards, I couldn’t help but think some things never changed. She still seemed a bit particular. Maybe a little snobbish. I hoped she realized this really wasn’t the Ritz. It was a lodge on a working ranch. No one had time to clean every nook and cranny to suit her high standards.

I leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, while Don showed her the desk he’d had brought up for her to work at. She ran her fingers over the smooth surface, clearly taking it all in. I couldn’t read her expression, but I had a feeling she was used to nicer things.

“And I’m making room in the lodge office for you to work there, too, if you’d prefer,” Don said, clearly trying to impress her. “I don’t want you to spend all your days and nights locked up in this little room.”

If she didn’t give him the respect he deserved, I was going to find every spider on the ranch and put it in her room. Don was doing his best to make her comfortable.

Karen gave a polite nod, but I could tell she wasn’t sold on the whole idea yet. She was stiff, formal—like she wasn’t quite sure how to fit in here. Couldn’t blame her, really. Her jeans, heeled boots, and fancy coat with a scarf neatly tied didn’t exactly fit in with the hoodies, jeans, and dirty boots we all wore.

“Settle in, Kare-Kare. Dinner’s downstairs in the lodge hall at six. I’ll introduce you to some of our guests and the rest of the staff.”

Karen glanced over her shoulder at him, her lips already forming the words before she spoke. “I’ll just have mine brought up.”

Don and I shared a look. I fought back a grin. This was just too good. I wished I had my phone so I could record this. I’d love to post it on Instagram and watch it blow up. Rich bitch visits redneck uncle and gets taught a lesson.

“This isn’t that kind of lodge, Kare-Kare,” Don said with a chuckle. “If you want to eat up here, you’ll have to go down, fill your plate, and bring it up yourself. Or,” he added with a pointed smile as he started to head toward the hallway. “You could try this crazy thing called socializing. We don’t bite.”

Don headed out, but I lingered for a second, catching Karen’s eye. She didn’t look too pleased with the idea of having to mingle with the ranch staff and guests. I wasn’t surprised. She didn’t exactly strike me as the social butterfly type, not anymore at least. Maybe she’d lost that spark of excitement she used to have as a kid, back when every little thing seemed to amaze her.

“Some of us bite,” I said with a wink.

Her mouth opened and closed with shock and anger crossing her pretty face.

I followed Don into the hallway, closing the door behind me.

Don turned back toward me, already halfway down the hallway. “Don’t judge her too harshly, Cassidy,” he said over his shoulder. “She’s never been great with first impressions.”

“Doesn’t matter much to me.”

The boss’s niece was here for the next few months, sure. But I was busy. I didn’t have time to babysit her like I used to. If she got into trouble, that was on her. She was old enough to know better.

I doubted she’d last that long out here. The ranch wasn’t for everyone, especially not someone who seemed so polished. No one was bringing her spoiled ass breakfast in bed. There wasn’t a nail salon on the property, and if she thought those boots she was wearing were going to hold up out here, she had another thing coming. She was going to break an ankle if she tried walking around in those damn things.

Although they certainly looked good on her.

As we made our way downstairs, I decided to bring up Rouge. “Rouge still doesn’t seem like herself,” I said.

Don stopped walking and turned to me, his brow furrowed. “You think it’s time to call in the vet?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I do. I don’t want to take any chances with her. I checked that leg and it might be a little tender, but it’s not enough to be making her this grumpy.”

He thought for a moment, then gave me a curt nod. “Do it. Whatever she needs.”

He knew he could trust me. He was the one that taught me everything I knew. “Thanks,” I said.

“Give her some extra oats,” he added with a soft smile. “Lord knows she deserves it.”

I grinned, feeling exactly the same way. “Will do.”

Rouge was important to the ranch—and to me. I wasn’t about to let anything happen to her on my watch.

I went back outside ready to get back to work. There was still plenty to do before the evening set in—mainly getting the horses settled for the night. It was another reason I hated the winter. The days were too damn short. As soon as that sun started to fade, the temperature dropped. The cold bit at my skin, but I was used to it. Ranch work didn’t stop just because it got a little uncomfortable. We had to work in the worst conditions, violent thunderstorms, tornadoes, snow, rain, and even when the owner’s niece showed up.

I reached the field and spotted Kenny already working on coaxing Bessie out of the pasture and toward the warmth of the stable. He saw me approaching and shot me a grin.

“Got the princess all settled?” he asked, his tone dripping with amusement.

I snorted. “Coward,” I shot back.

Kenny laughed, tugging Bessie’s lead gently, and she finally started moving. “Man, I’m not about to get stuck in a truck with a spoiled chick like that. Those types just rub me the wrong way. They’re nice to look at and they smell pretty, but no thank you. You should’ve seen your face. Pure joy.”

I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t help the grin tugging at my lips. “She’ll be fine. It’s just gonna take her a minute to realize this isn’t some spa retreat.”

Kenny shook his head. “I give her a week before she’s crying to Don to send her back to wherever the hell she came from.”

“Five days,” I countered.

“Deal.”

We both laughed, though there was a part of me that wondered just how long Karen really would last out here. The ranch wasn’t for everyone—especially not someone used to the comforts of city life. But something about her told me she wasn’t the type to quit that easily. Beneath that polished exterior, there was a toughness. I remembered it from when she was a kid, even if it had been buried under layers of whining and tattling back then. Who knew? Maybe she would surprise us all.

I walked out to the pasture, put my fingers to my lips, and let out a loud whistle. Rouge perked up at the sound and started trotting over, her hooves kicking up clumps of earth as she moved.

“You get extra oats tonight,” I said, rubbing her nose. “Boss’s orders. What do you think about that?”

She snorted and threw her head back like she was nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, you like that? And I’m going to get the vet back here. You know you’re a favorite when the boss is laying out the big bucks for you.”

I walked her to her stall and filled her feed bucket. While Kenny worked on getting the other horses locked in for the night, I grabbed the liniment from the medicine cupboard and took it into her stall. I gently ran my hand down Rouge’s leg. I still didn’t feel anything, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. She shifted weight onto her good leg, giving me a clearer shot at the tender one. “Easy, girl,” I murmured, working the liniment into her skin in slow, circular motions. She relaxed under my touch and went back to eating her dinner.

Once I was done, I gave her a gentle pat on the flank before stepping out of the stall. Securing it behind me, I glanced down the row of stalls at the other horses, all munching contentedly on their evening feed. The barn was quiet except for the occasional snort or hoof scrape. There was a peacefulness to it that I rarely found anywhere else. It was one of the reasons I loved this job, despite the long, hard days.

One of the barn cats I had just been thinking about darted across the floor and scurried up to the loft where they lived.

I walked into the small office, turned on the space heater, and reached for the phone to call the vet. I knew it was an expense Don hated, but I also knew he would spend whatever necessary to keep his animals healthy. I wouldn’t work for him if he didn’t.