Bringing the flat of his hand to his forehead, Seth squinted into the sun that silhouetted the ailing vehicle. A shadowy figure slipped out from the cab and slammed the door into place. Seth could barely keep in a laugh when the driver stomped up to the front tire, swung a leg back, and then kicked the rubber tread.
“Can I help you?” With his bandana still in his grip, Seth closed the distance and walked toward the visitor, surprised that the figure coming into focus was that of a woman. An incredibly attractive woman, at that.
“Sorry,” the stranger apologized, registering Seth’s obvious hesitation. “I’m a little early.”
“Early?” Seth’s gaze connected with honey brown eyes tucked under the brim of a tattered ball cap.
“For our appointment?” The woman dialed up the volume of her voice. “You texted me?”
A flash of understanding jolted through Seth. “Yes! You must be Joe!”
“Josie, actually. Very few people still call me Jo.”
“I was expecting you to be—”
“A man?” She slunk her arms across her chest, but the bulky cast wrapped around the left one made the gesture more awkward than assertive.
“I’m sorry.” Seth quickly located his manners. “That was really presumptuous of me.”
The woman shrugged and relinquished her standoff position. Her arms dropped to her sides. “Nah. Not really. If your name was Pat or something, I’d probably assume you were a woman. Jo is ambiguous. I’ll give you that.” A humorless chuckle left her mouth. “Your name isn’t Pat, is it?”
“No. Not Pat. Seth.”
Shoving the hand without the cast into his, Josie gave it a no-nonsense shake. “Good to meet you, Seth.”
“Good to meet you, too, Josie.”
Seth’s gaze hung on her face for a beat, running over the light freckles scattered across her cheeks and the bridge of her pert nose. His eyes instinctually traveled toward the heart-shaped mouth that looked purposefully clenched, like it was ready to flip into a frown at any given moment. Even with that hard edge, she was beautiful in an unassuming, natural way.
He dropped eye contact and twisted the cloth in his hands before shoving it into his back pocket.
“You have some horses you want me to take a look at?” Josie stepped closer.
“Horses. Right.” Seth blinked. “Yes. I have horses.”
“Is now a bad time?”
“Not at all. Now’s a fine time.” He paused and squinted. “I’m sorry. I really was expecting you to be a guy.”
“Listen, I know I told you I’m out of commission for the next month, but I can assure you I’m a better shoer than any male farrier you’ve ever worked with. But if me being a woman is going to be a problem for you—”
“It’s not a problem at all. I’m just embarrassed that I’m not a little more cleaned up. More presentable.” Like his horse, Seth was covered in a fine layer of sweat and grit and he figured he smelled just as pleasant as the cows he’d rounded up that morning. “I’m a bit of a mess.”
“I’m not here to look at you, Seth. Just your horses.”
“Of course.” He laughed but Josie didn’t reciprocate. “Let’s go check them out. They’re over near our old milking barn. As I mentioned in my text, they’re not really used to people.”
Josie nodded as she followed behind. “What’s your plan for them?”
He angled a look over his shoulder, meeting her eye. “Honestly? At this point, my only plan is to keep them alive. You’ll soon see, it’s a better plan than their previous owner had.”
“Gotcha. Well, I can take a look at their feet but I hope you’ve also got a vet coming out to do a thorough check up.”
“I do. This afternoon.”
“Glad to hear it.” Before they were even within ten paces of the horses, Josie let out an incredulous little huff. “I don’t think you’re going to need my help here, Seth. Those are mustangs.” When Seth didn’t respond right away, she continued, “See the freezemark brand under that sorrel’s mane? My guess is someone either adopted them directly from the Bureau of Land Management, or picked them up after they were dumped at auction. If they’re wild horses, then the one good thing they should have going for them is their feet.”
Dropping down into a crouch, Josie squinted her eyes as she peered through the slats in the stall.
“Yep. Those are definitely mustang hooves. I can come out and trim them in a month when I’m back at work, but those horses aren’t likely to ever need shoes.” She popped back up and swiped the front of her jean-clad thighs with her hands. “Shoot me a text once you’ve got them gentled and I’ll get you on the calendar.”
“Yeah.” Seth rubbed the back of his neck and wrinkled his nose with a grimace. “I’m not so sure that’ll happen within the month.”
“You don’t know how to break a horse?” The challenge in her tone made Seth’s defenses shoot up, like she’d implied he didn’t know how to change a tire or split firewood.
“I mean, I know my way around a horse. But if you’re asking if I’ve ever trained one—start to finish—then the answer would be no.”
“Ah.” Josie clicked her tongue. “So you’re the type of cowboy that likes to buy a horse that someone else has already put all the grunt work into. Got it.”
Seth’s eyes narrowed. “I’m the type of cowboy that likes to buy a tried and true horse who won’t get me killed when I’m out working cows.”
Something a bit like grief flashed across Josie’s features, but she rallied quickly and said, “Fair enough. You know someone who can break these horses then?”
“I could make a few phone calls—”
“Or I could do it.”
Seth’s head twitched. “You want a shot at breaking these mustangs?”
“If it’s on the table.” She set her shoulders, but her stony expression dissolved when her eyes met Seth’s. “I could really use the work right now. And I’m good. I know how to train a horse. Halter break and get them under saddle and all of that. I can do it.”
Something in the hopeful tone of Josie’s voice snagged on the heartstrings Seth didn’t even know he had. “Alright. We could work something out. But I’ll expect you to be here at the ranch, working with them everyday.” Tossing a glance toward her broken down vehicle in the driveway, Seth added, “If you’re confident in your abilities, then so am I. But I’m not confident that truck will get you back and forth reliably.”
Josie’s lips parted like she wanted to say something and when they clamped shut instead, Seth felt the need to prod. “What is it?”
“There’s another option.” She vacillated just a brief moment, then blurted, “I have a fifth-wheel. I could park it at your ranch. Stay here while I work with the horses.”
Oddly, the forwardness in that offer wasn’t off-putting. Seth realized his willingness to say yes said more about him than it did Josie. If any other stranger had asked to park their trailer on his land, he would’ve scoffed at the idea. But there was something undeniably intriguing about this woman, something that made his reservations, and all hesitation, fly out the window.