Josie swabbed the counter with the dishrag. She knew she should go and see for herself how this place was run. Not really seeing any way to decline, she smiled at Cade. “That sounds good. Thanks for the offer.”
He told her where to meet him and left the kitchen whistling. She finished her cleanup and the prep for the next morning. Already, she was finding a rhythm here. That was good.
So the next morning after breakfast, Josie dutifully left the house at the appointed time and walked down to the barns, Hank the dog trotting after her. She’d asked Alice if it was okay, and she’d said yes. The yard sloped down to the barn area. It was a good walk. She wore jeans and tennis shoes, not real sure of the proper footwear for a barn tour, but reasonably sure her boots with the three-inch spike heels weren’t it.
Hank wandered off as she approached the meeting place. Cade came up while she was looking after the dog, trying to decide if she needed to call him back or not. Alice had told her before to let him go, but she just wasn’t sure.
“He’ll go back when he’s hungry,” Cade said, his voice cheerful. “He knows where the food bowl is. Ready?”
She turned her attention to the handsome cowboy in front of her looking at her with a warm smile. She smiled back. “I am.”
She followed him into the depths of the huge barn. It was bigger and brighter than she’d thought it would be, and smelled of horses and leather and hay, all things she remembered from her long-ago days of riding. There were a good dozen or so stalls, most with the doors open, unoccupied. It had an indoor arena, with a soaring ceiling and clerestory windows. She stopped.
“Wow. This is amazing.” It rivaled the prestigious barn she’d taken lessons at all those years ago, after her mom had gotten a good job and dated the guy who managed the facility. The outside of this barn didn’t give a clue to what was inside.
Cade shoved his hat back on his head. “We’ve put a lot into this. Patty and Jim can train in here all year round. They even hold clinics in here sometimes,” he said, nodding toward the small gallery area at one end. “We’ve all worked hard to build this.”
Josie nodded. “I can see that.”
Cade was a knowledgeable guide and clearly loved what he did here. They finished in the horse barn and stepped outside, which brought them face-to-face with Luke.
Josie stiffened at his look. His eyes narrowed as he took in her and Cade. But Cade had a smug look on his face he wasn’t bothering to hide as he rocked back on his heels.
Cade gave his brother a nod, but Josie saw Luke’s face darken a little. Was he unhappy to see her in his space? That seemed unlikely, but he was hard for her to read. Cade looked from her to Luke, and the smug look turned into a smile.
“You want to finish this, big brother? I thought it’d be a good idea to let Josie get acquainted with the ranch while she’s here.” He looked at his watch. “I’ve got to get ready for my client anyway.” He touched her arm lightly. “Is that okay, Josie? You’ll be in good hands with my brother here.”
Luke gave her a nod, but his face remained expressionless. “I’ve got some time.”
“Great. See you later.” Cade strode off whistling, and Josie stared after him for a minute, wondering if somehow they’d just been played. Cade hadn’t seemed very surprised to see Luke.
Well, of course not. They all worked here after all. And now it was just her and Luke. She looked at him and waited for him to say...anything.
“What did Cade show you?” He was ever so polite. No hint of the fun and humor he’d displayed on their trip to town a few days ago. They were back to the stiffness and formality, clearly. She swallowed a sigh.
Josie turned around and indicated with her hand. “Some of the horses, which he explained was his own business on the ranch. I’m not sure where we were going next, actually.”
“Okay.” Luke walked toward the back of the barn. “Let me show you something.”
Curious, she followed him out of the relatively dim barn into the bright light of outside.
Almost immediately her gaze seemed to hone right in on him, rather than the gorgeous scenery around them. He wore worn jeans that looked as if they’d been made just for him, hugging his rear and legs in a way that made her want to reach out and run her hand over the curve of his butt. Appalled, she jerked her gaze back up to his shoulder blades. His broad back was equally as enticing, with the henley shirt he wore stretched nicely across his back. Goodness. She slid her shades off her head and onto her nose. What was wrong with her? She’d never even looked at Russ that way, as if she just wanted to eat him up, and she’d been planning to marry him.
Maybe that was part of the problem.
Maybe. But there was no way to follow that to its logical conclusion. Frankly, just because she thought Luke was hot didn’t mean anything more than that. She stepped up beside Luke rather than walk behind him and get herself in trouble, and headed toward the large, round, fenced-in paddock where a trim woman was working a horse.
“Hey, Nikki,” he said as they approached the fence. “How’s he going today?”
The big bay horse tossed his head, but didn’t break stride as Nikki slowly rotated to keep up with him as he loped in a circle at the end of a long line. She was tall and slim, and in her sleeveless top, her arms were muscular and browned from the sun. Her long blond hair was caught in a loose ponytail under her hat, and Josie thought she bore a striking resemblance to his ex-wife.
But Nikki’s smile was wide and open as she glanced at them next to the fence, with no sign of anything flirty. And why that mattered, Josie didn’t want to even think about. Maybe after so many years of being on the sidelines and not noticed, being eclipsed by the guy with her, it was just nice to not have another woman look at her as though she was the enemy. “Good. Real good, Luke. I think he’ll be ready soon. I already told Cade.”
Luke kept his eyes on the horse and Josie sneaked a look up at him. He was clearly assessing the horse’s movement, and there was a genuine sparkle in his eye. She nearly peered closer, but that would be rude. So instead she looked back at the horse, who had slowed to a trot. She didn’t know much about horses, not really, but she did think this one was beautiful.
“Ready for what?” she asked, leaning on the fence. The smooth wood was cool on her arms. The sun was getting warm on her back, but it felt good. The pound of the horse’s hooves on the hard ground was steady background noise.
“Cade trains top-notch cutting horses here,” he said. “Nikki’s one of the best around.”
Nikki made a motion and the horse stopped, but his eye was still on her. She walked over, looping the rope up, and patted his neck as she led him to the fence. “What Luke didn’t tell you is he’s just as good with the horses as his brother is. Modest to a fault.” When Luke shifted beside her she gave him a knowing grin. “You are.” To Josie she held out her hand and said, “Nikki Thurman.”
Josie took the other woman’s hand, felt the roughness and strength of her palm from all the ropes and horses she handled. “Josie Callahan. I’m filling in for my aunt as the cook at the main house.”
Nikki nodded. “That’s right. So nice to meet you. How do you like Montana? You’re from Cali, right?”
Luke ducked under the fence and took the horse from Nikki. She stepped back, but he didn’t take him anywhere. Josie watched as he stroked the horse’s legs and ran his hands all over the horse’s body. The horse didn’t flinch.
“I am,” she said, shifting her attention to Nikki. “This is—this is different from