“No real allergies or aversions?”
“Nope.” She laughed a little, remembering their friendly banter from the night before. “No allergies. I just don’t like pepperoncini, but everything else is fair game.”
“Same. Nothing like a pepperoncino to ruin a perfectly good sandwich,” Seth said around a laugh that was so full and rich it made Josie’s heart trip up. “I’ll be back in just under an hour.”
“You know where to find me.”
She tried not to stare while her gaze tracked Seth as he galloped back toward his house. He looked like a cowboy from an old western. White hat. Tan jacket. Decent amount of scruff lining his strong jawline. An effortless command over the horse beneath him.
“What are you doing, Jo?” Josie muttered under her breath, a reprimand that did little to erase Seth’s image even when she refocused her attention back onto the horses. On her job. It wasn’t her job to ogle the man. She wasn’t even sure that’s what she was doing, really, but there was something about Seth that made her palms sweat and Josie didn’t often get that way.
Rather than spend the morning thinking about Seth in ways she certainly shouldn’t, she came up with her game plan for the horses. The stallion would need to be gelded sooner than later. No reason for him to stay a stud, especially if she hoped to turn him into a riding horse and rehome him at some point in time. Same went for the colts. The mares needed to put some weight on their bones and she knew just the grain that would do that. It was obvious that feeding their babies had taken a toll and depleted their resources. Josie made up a list of items to grab from the feed store later that afternoon. She didn’t love the idea, but she’d have to take Seth’s truck if she hoped to haul everything home in one trip.
She was still lost in thought a half hour later, so she almost didn’t hear the trucks rolling to a stop, nor the crunching of gravel under the tread of multiple boots. It was the voices that pulled her out of her reverie, but more than that, the conversation that made her whip her head up in the direction of the sound.
“What’d’ya think? Looks like he managed to keep the place afloat, huh?”
“Didn’t burn it down, at least. S’pose that’s something.”
Josie shaded her brow. Two men—one roughly double the age of the other—walked up to the nearest cow pasture and, in unison, hiked a leg up on the lowest rail to peer into the valley. They had matching ten-gallon white hats, Wranglers, and plaid flannel shirts—one in red, the other in blue. There was no question they were father and son, and there was also no doubt as to the subject of their conversation.
“One week isn’t long enough to get into any real trouble,” the younger said. He turned his head and spit into the dirt.
“Oh, son. You’re forgetting it’s Seth we’re talking about here. That brother of yours could mess up putting his shoes on his feet in the morning.”
Josie’s stomach soured at the comment. She didn’t know him well—or at all, really—but she felt her defensive hackles raising when it came to Seth and the derogatory way they spoke of him. Her wits told her to keep quiet, but she wouldn’t heed their pestering. She marched right up to the men with a determination that made her belly feel like fire.
“I can’t imagine you two could possibly be speaking so negatively about your own flesh and blood, now, are you? I sure hope my ears are deceiving me.”
“And just who might you be?” The older gentlemen slunk off the fence and sauntered toward her like a cowboy in an old, gold-town saloon. His dark eyes raked over Josie with a judgment she could feel on her skin.
“That’s Seth’s girl.” The younger man gave Josie a nudge of his head. He paused, as though combing his brain for her name and coming up blank.
“Josie.” She thrust a hand into the space between them. Seth’s father quickly grabbed hold, his massive grip meeting hers in a near-bone crushing shake. “Josie Friar.”
Seth’s brother waggled his index finger. “That’s right. Josie. You run that—”
“Horse shoeing business,” Josie answered before he could fill in the blank with the false information she knew was coming. She wasn’t Bridgette—Seth’s ex—and certainly could never be passed off as the beautiful woman. Still, she had a hunch these two weren’t the most perceptive of men. She took her chances and rolled with it.
“Right.” The man nodded. “I knew it had something to do with animals.”
“And you’re dating Seth?” Seth’s father narrowed his eyes under wiry, thick, charcoal-hued brows.
“They’ve been dating for years, Dad.” Suddenly, the brother was the expert on this fictitious relationship.
“Sure, sure.” Even though his words affirmed his belief, his wary gaze that continued to study Josie with scrutiny made her palms itch. She hated to lie. But she really didn’t like the unkind way they spoke of the man who had been nothing but completely kind to her. She had to stand up for him. “You guys pretty serious?”
Josie tried to nod, but the movement turned into a twitch instead. “Serious enough that I just moved onto the property. That’s my fifth wheel parked on the other side of the dairy barn.”
The man lifted a hand to stroke his scruffy jaw, the only part of him that bore any resemblance to Seth. “Oh yeah? Well, you know what? That’s good to hear. Really good to hear. Maybe Seth has finally decided to grow up and plant some roots.”
“Doubtful,” Seth’s brother snickered. He spat once more. “Nice to finally meet you, though, Josie.”
“Same.” Josie paused.
“Name’s Tanner. And this is Dad, otherwise known as Mitch.”
“Glad to finally put a couple faces to the names. Seth’s talked about you both a lot over the years.”
“Wish I could say the same, but as you know, Seth’s a private man,” Mitch said. Josie could sense the insult meant to come across in that statement. “You know what? I say it’s time we change that. How about you come over for dinner at the main house tonight? We’ll cook up some steaks. Throw them on the grill. Crack open a bottle of wine and celebrate Seth finally becoming a man.”
Like the lie grew wings and took off with her in its clutches, Josie clung to her story and held on tight. “Seth’s actually taking me out tonight, but I’d love a rain check.”
“This Thursday, then.”
Thursday. Not a lot of time, but hopefully enough to fill Seth in on the outrageous tale, grovel, and then ask his forgiveness, which she knew she didn’t deserve. Josie had plans to borrow his truck that afternoon, but maybe she should use it to hook her trailer up and get the heck out of Dodge. Even though she hadn’t been at the ranch a full day, she feared she’d already overstayed her welcome.
7
Seth
“I’ve got something I need to get off my chest.”
Seth drug his napkin over his lips and then crumpled it in his fist before dropping it onto the wood planked picnic table. Josie sat across from him, but had yet to make eye contact during their lunch. He’d tried, but she diverted her gaze each time his eyes attempted to latch onto hers, evading connection at every turn like a politician dodging a question. “You don’t actually like turkey sandwiches, do you?”