Chapter 6 #2
“Hey, watch yourself,” I call out, dropping Maverick’s and the other horse’s reins and moving toward her. “That bank is a ten-foot drop into a rocky creek.”
“I see the problem already,” she says, ignoring my warning.
She’s leaning out over the edge, her hand braced against a rusted iron bolt that doesn’t look like it’s doing much to hold the damn thing together.
“The piling has shifted because of the spring runoff. If you put another cattle trailer over this, the whole thing is going into the water.”
“Ohhh, she’s good.” I hear Kassie drawl from a significantly safe distance away. She’s got her arms crossed, looking like a know-it-all, enjoying the show way too much.
Emily huffs a small laugh, her eyes never leaving the sagging bridge. “Yeah, well, I have a fuck-load of student loans that prove just how good I am. I kinda need to get further down to see better.”
I stiffen my shoulders, my eyes darting from the crumbling edge of the bank to the rusted iron bolts. The bank isn’t safe, the mud is slick, and I sure as hell don’t trust the old bridge not to collapse on her the second she gets under its shadow.
“How far do you need to get?” I ask, stepping closer. My voice is tight with concern. “That thing doesn’t look stable, Emily. One wrong move and the whole mess is coming down.”
“It’s okay, Wyatt,” she says, dismissing my concern with a wave of her hand as she starts to pick a path down the slope. “I can see where the weak points are. If I head down the bank to the left, even if the old thing gives, the load-bearing tension means it’ll fall in the opposite direction.”
I blink, watching her. Load-bearing tension? Fuck does that mean? Jesus, she could tell all that from looking at it for thirty seconds?
Maybe she really is that good.
But as she takes a step on the loose shale, her boot slides. She lets out a gasp, and her arms fly out for balance. My heart does a violent shove against my ribs. I reach out and snag her by the waist, my arm locking around her middle to yank her back against my chest.
She’s small, but she’s solid, and for a second, the only thing I can feel is the heat of her back against my shirt and the frantic thrum of her heart under my hand, which is splayed across her abdomen.
“Easy,” I growl near her ear, my breath hitching. “I told you the bank was soft.”
She stays still for a heartbeat, her body flush against mine. I should let go. I really should. But the scent of her hair, that summer and expensive shampoo smell, is right there, filling my senses, and my hand is splayed across her stomach, feeling every shallow breath she’s taking.
She shifts her weight forward and regains her balance. I let go of her waist as if I’ve been burned, acutely aware of how tightly I was holding her. The sensation of her heat lingers on my palm, and I have to shove my hands deep into my pockets to keep from reaching for her again.
“It’s okay,” she says, smoothing her shirt. “I was just going to have to slide down to get to it anyway. I know what needs doing. Let me just take some photos, and I can draw up some plans, then I’ll come back up another day. Your dad can find a contractor who can complete them.”
“Nice one, Blondie!” Kassie shouts over, her voice echoing across the ravine. “You just saved us a couple of grand in consulting fees.”
Typical Kassie. Always looking at the bottom line.
I nod, trying to force my breathing back into a steady pace.
I’m not sure if I’m impressed by her or slightly terrified that she’s so used to putting herself in danger that she didn’t give it a second thought.
She doesn’t have that helplessness I expected.
If anything, she has the kind of reckless competence that usually gets people in trouble on a ranch.
She pulls her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans and stands tall to snap a few photos from different angles.
I tell myself I’m watching to make sure the bank doesn’t give way again, but it’s a lie.
I’m watching her too closely. My eyes take her in from the bottom of her boots, up the shape of her thighs, the curve of her hips, and the way her shirt pulls tight across her stomach as she reaches up for a shot.
I notice her nails, which are perfectly manicured—clean and pink. Yeah, those won’t last long in Montana. But the rest of her? She looks like she’s used to manual work, or at least she spends enough time in a gym to handle herself.
I quickly shake my head as she turns, averting my eyes to the horizon to avoid how obviously I’ve been gawping at her.
She makes her way back up the path to me, her hips swaying with an unintentional seduction that makes my throat go dry. As she brushes past me to get back to her horse, she catches my eye and gives me a half-smile.
“You’ll quickly learn just how clumsy I am,” she says softly.
I look at her, my jaw tight. “On a ranch, clumsy gets you hurt, Emily.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’ve got fast reflexes, isn’t it?”
She doesn’t wait for my comeback. She moves to the bay, and this time, she grabs the saddle horn and hauls herself up without a single bit of help from Wes or me. She looks back at me from the saddle. There’s a challenge in those blue eyes.
“See you later, boss,” she shouts back over her shoulder as she turns the horse following Kassie’s lead back down to the ranch.
I take a deep breath, exhaling loudly into the open. I haul myself up into Maverick’s saddle, trying hopelessly to steady my hands. “Now I gotta go fix that damn water pump.”