High Country Cowgirl. Joanna Sims

until the sun rose and it was officially morning.

      * * *

      Gabe drove for hours without his usual music in the background. Bonita had fallen asleep quickly and he didn’t want to disturb her.

      It wasn’t ideal that he had someone else to consider on this trip. He had his routine, his way of doing things to make the trips easier, but he also found some upsides to having a passenger. Even though they hadn’t passed the time talking, just having Bonita’s presence had made the trip go a bit faster for him. And she smelled nice—like lavender. In fact, the last thought he had before he fell asleep was how sweet Bonita smelled when he was sitting so close to her on that tack box.

      She didn’t snore, but she mumbled several times in her sleep. He couldn’t make out the words, but he found himself wondering about Bonita Delafuente.

      She wasn’t quite as one-dimensional as he had judged after their first meeting. Yes, she was entitled, as most people from wealthy families were, but she wasn’t a snob. The way she took to Janice and Hobby Horse Farm, the kindness she had shown to all of his friends, made him realize that he had labeled her too harshly. Bonita held herself a bit stiff, and her appearance was polished—her nails perfectly done and her expensive jewelry was part of the uniform—but she had a million-dollar smile and a laugh that made a man want to listen for a long time. And she was smart. That he especially liked. It wasn’t too often that he saw a woman go toe-to-toe intellectually with Janice, but Bonita did. Easily.

      His client stirred in the passenger seat, making sounds that let him know she was waking up from her nap. Yawning long and loud, Bonita opened her eyes.

      “What time is it?”

      “Just after nine.”

      Tater, who had jumped down from Bonita’s lap some time ago, heard her voice and raced up to the front from the back of the rig.

      Sitting up, Bonita reached down to pet Tater. “I’ve been asleep for five hours?”

      “Just about.”

      She stretched her arms, groaned and then yawned again. “Coffee.”

      That one word made Gabe smile. He didn’t know why he found Bonita’s grouchiness adorable instead of annoying.

      “I’ll pull off at the next exit. Tater needs a break and we could use some gas.”

      “How’s Val?”

      “Eating hay.”

      Out of habit, Gabe glanced at the screen to his right showing a live video stream of Val. If he was eating hay and making manure, most likely all was well with the Oldenburg.

      Gabe had a feeling from his first meeting with Bonita that she had him written off as a dumb cowboy. It wouldn’t be the first time in his life that high-end horse owners had prejudged him. But his ability with horses spoke for itself and people who wrongly judged him usually paid a premium to hire him again. He’d seen a small shift in Bonita; yes, she was a skeptic or she wouldn’t have insisted on babysitting him on a road trip, but he felt her trust in him growing. And for whatever reason, in particular, he wanted Bonita to trust in him.

      “Can I get anything for you?” Bonita asked after another yawn and stretch.

      “No. I’m good.”

      He had stopped to fill up the tank with fuel and give his passenger and Tater a break from the road. Bonita wasn’t used to road trips; she was used to taking a quick flight to her destinations on her father’s private jet. Traveling on the road could be tedious, he more than anyone knew that, and they would just be reaching the halfway mark when they would pull in to Grimes later on today.

      As he watched Bonita walk toward the convenience store, her oversize sweatshirt swallowing the top half of her body and her long, ponytail swinging behind her, he was actually shocked that she hadn’t jumped at the chance to fly back to Bozeman. His first thought was that she didn’t trust him to get Val home safely, but then he reconsidered. Bonita appeared to be the type of woman who didn’t like to fail at anything. Perhaps leaving a challenging trip early would have been a sign of defeat to her. If he was right, he could respect that about her.

      He was just wrapping up his business at the pump when Bonita rejoined him, carrying two fountain drinks and a bag full of donuts.

      “I got some for you, too,” she said, unhappily.

      “Thank you.” He didn’t indulge in sugar too much with the hours of sitting he had to do when he was transporting. But he wasn’t going to turn down a nice gesture on her part.

      Still frowning, Bonita looked at her purchases. “Just look what this trip has done to me already. I’m in sweats, I haven’t brushed my hair, no makeup, and I’ve completely abandoned any semblance of a healthy diet.”

      He was about to banter back, when Bonita suddenly started to run in a circle, screaming about a bee.

      “Is it on me?” She was swiveling her head around from one direction to the other, trying to look behind her.

      Gabe walked over to her to inspect the parts of her back that she couldn’t see. “It was just a little ol’ honeybee.”

      “You don’t understand! Those little suckers hunt me down and sting me wherever I am! I’m not paranoid. They come after me in particular. I was stung three times last summer! You laugh, but it’s true.”

      “Well, he’s gone now,” Gabe reassured her. “They weren’t bothering me.”

      “Well...maybe you just aren’t as sweet as I am.”

      Gabe opened the passenger door for her and gave a little tip of his cowboy hat. “There’s no denying that.”