Page 77 of Cash

“This is a workout, but I’m okay.”

Cash trots over, his shirt plastered to his chest and stomach. “Take a break if you need one. Drink lots of water. More’n you think you need.”

“Who made you boss?” I say with a smirk.

“Your daddy did. You best listen.”

I wag my eyebrows. “Yessir.”

Wyatt eyes us. “Is this some kinda weird foreplay y’all got going on?”

“Nah.” I sip water from the thermos Cash dropped into my saddlebag earlier. Bless him, he put ice in it. “Just your brother pretending to be in charge.”

Cash’s forearm flexes as he guides his horse closer. “That a challenge?”

“Just a fact,” I clip.

Wyatt throws back his head and laughs. “She’s got more Garrett in her than I gave her credit for.”

I expect Cash to scowl. Say something underhanded and mean at the very least.

Instead, he just looks at me from under the brim of his hat. “Surprisin’ us all, ain’t she?”

My back hurts from riding. My face hurts from smiling. Having Wyatt and Cash compare me to Dad makes my chest swell.

I really, really wish I’d made more of an effort to see Dad. To get to know him.

I’m really, really proud of the fact that I inherited some of his traits.

Loving this land just might be one of them.

Loving thislife, more like it.

My phone vibrates in my saddlebag. By the time I manage to pull it out, there’s no service, so I don’t get to call Mom back.

Honestly, it’s a relief. I doubt she’d have nice things to say about the fact that I’m on a cattle drive with fifteen cowboys in the middle of nowhere.

Really, she wouldn’t have nice things to say about the fact that I’m enjoying it.

But my heart does this funny little somersault when I wonder if she has news from her lawyers. Of course I want to go back to Dallas. I want access to my inheritance so I can make my dreams for Bellamy Brooks come true. That can’t happen soon enough.

The thought of going back to my quiet condo alone,though…I don’t love it. And I don’t know what to think about that.

I chalk that up to the newness of all this. Of course I want to stay on the ranch right now. It’s exciting and fun because it’s new. And there are hot cowboys here. The shine will wear off eventually. Let’s be real; that’ll happen sooner rather than later. I set my alarm for three thirty this morning. I can’t wake up that early forever.

I’m ravenous by the time we load up the trailers and head back to the house for lunch. I inhale one of Patsy’s pulled pork sandwiches from the fridge, which I piled high with homemade slaw and the tangiest, most delicious barbecue sauce on earth. I wash it down with lemonade and one of Sally’s brownies, which Cash begs me to try.

I end up having two. I’m amazed my stomach can handle all this food. It’s kind of a miracle. And I figure I’m burning the calories anyway. It’s nice not to deny myself for once.

It’s nice to use my body in such a physical way. Although my hamstringssingwhen I get up from the kitchen table. No wonder these cowboys are bow-legged. A few hours in the saddle, and I’m already waddling around, back screaming, feet aching.

“You need some ibuprofen.” Cash joins me at the sink, taking my empty plate out of my hands. “And a rest.”

I shake my head, determined to make it through a whole day of cowboying. If I’m going to take the literal and proverbial reins here, I’m going to give it my all. “I’ll be fine. Where to next?”

He eyes me. “You sure? I don’t want you hurtin’ yourself.”

“I’m sure,” I say, heart doing that swelling thing again at his concern.