Still Irresistible

He shot his gaze to hers. “Cal’s fond of her.”

“And…”

“I don’t know her well,” he said, clearly choosing his words with care. “She keeps him…busy.”

“I found her kind of overwhelming, but she was nervous about meeting me. You were right about the peppermint tea, by the way. Her other teas are nasty?”

“Oh, yeah. She gave me one that was supposed to be good for my organs. Shriveled my tongue and I couldn’t taste for a day.”

“But did it help your organs?” Too late, she realized how he might take that.

“They survived.” He shot her that wicked half smile again. “I’m sure she means well. Cal seems happy enough.”

“He does. And kind of…dazed.”

“Maybe that’s how love works. Like a punch in the solar plexus you never catch your breath from. What do I know?”

Did that mean he’d never been in love, either?

They’d reached a barbed wire fence, beyond which she saw dozens of cattle, brown and black, most bent to chew the grass. Several rested under the roof of a ramada, others drank from a water trough beneath a slowly turning windmill. She used to ride out to check the herd with her father. She’d loved the huge eyes, the patient faces, the slow grind of their jaws on grass.

Tell him you’re selling them all. She opened her mouth to break the news, but an animal bellowed loudly. They both looked over to see a bull mount a cow, which staggered under the weight, but didn’t move away.

“Ah, romance,” Deck said.

“Is that what you call it?”

“No?” he asked. “Maybe that’s my problem with women.”

She laughed. “You have problems? I find that hard to believe.”

“I do all right, I guess.”

“No one special?” None of her business, but she had to ask.

“Not really. How about you?”

“We broke up a couple months back. He’s my business partner, actually.”

“Ouch. That’s got to be awkward.”

“Not as much as you’d think.” And that still bothered her. “So how many head do we have?”

“Couple hundred, mostly black Angus, a few red. A decent number of wild Corriente from Mexico. They do well with drought. Not nearly enough cow-calf pairs, though.”

“The supplemental feed costs are through the roof, Deck.”

“That’ll be offset by the alfalfa we’ll plant. The real problem is the herd is down. Like I said, your dad’s been hard to pin down. We had a chance at a bunch of steers and some pairs, but I couldn’t get his okay on the buy.”

Just as well, since we’ll be selling….

Deck dismounted to open the gate and she saw they’d be heading to the top of the hill over the river. She’d tell him there, when they stopped.

As they climbed, Brandy bucked and lunged and backtracked, though Deck patiently worked with her, training her as they traveled. Wiley conserved his energy with a slow, steady pace. She’d missed this, Callie realized, enjoying the slow roll of the horse beneath her. She’d loved even more the wind in her face on a full run, riding the surge of the horse’s lope. She used to feel part of Lucky, running free and feeling so alive.

They’d reached a wider section of trail so they could be side by side. “You enjoying yourself?” Deck asked.

“Yeah,” she said softly.

“You look good on a horse.”

“I can’t believe how long it’s been.”

“You stopped after Lucky died.”

“It was middle school and there was too much happening in school and with my friends in town. I got bored.”

“You rode that horse everywhere,” Deck mused. “I couldn’t believe you painted his hoofs pink with little daisies. And put glitter on his hide. Talk about humiliation.”

“Come on. Lucky didn’t mind.”

“You charmed him. But then you charmed everyone.” He smiled at her the way he had, as if he’d never met anyone like her, as if he couldn’t get enough of her.

“I can’t believe you remember that.”

“Of course.” He held her gaze, telling her he remembered that and a whole lot more.

She shivered, feeling a rush of memory herself. Deck had made her feel special. And safe. Something she’d needed after her mother’s death, when the world seemed an unpredictable and dangerous place. She’d depended on Deck, on his arms, his kisses, his comfort.

Until he decided it was over. That had stung. She’d bounced back a bit and suggested they hang out in town, get a Coke at Ruby’s with her friends a few times. He’d declined, saying he had chores. A few days later he said they should end it. She was back to normal and it was time. He acted like he’d been doing her a favor.

Hurt and angry, she went back to her friends, to Taylor, who’d missed her terribly, and Deck went back to managing the ranch, and that was that. She’d be off to college soon anyway, what was the point in dragging it out?

All the same, the memories stuck. To this day, the smell of cedar blocks in her sweater drawer made her miss him.

Now they reached the top of the hill and she saw the Triple C spread out at her feet. Ahead lay the river, a lazy S curve lined by cottonwoods. Her heart lifted with pride. “It’s so beautiful,” she breathed.

“Yeah,” he said. “It is.”

Her father had worked and loved every acre for thirty years. She would make sure he kept it if it killed her. “I hope we don’t have to sell off this section,” she said, speaking before she’d thought through her words.

“What?” Deck turned to her abruptly. Brandy snorted.

“The river makes these acres attractive to developers. They’d be perfect for ranchettes.”

“We need these acres for grazing, not to mention deed and density restrictions and water rights. This is a desert, Callie.”

“I don’t want to sell if we don’t have to, but it’s an option. This is the future, Deck. In the last decade, half the guest ranches in the country have been sold off and developed. The land’s too valuable to leave raw.”