play button, and the sound of cattle stomping echoed through the room. The memory of my time with Ray was so strong, I could practically smell the dust rising in the air and feel the rocking of the horse underneath me.
The screen panned over the cattle and then zoomed into two guys—Ray and his brother, Colton. In the background of the video, Ray’s voice played, talking about cattle and how they were removing them and why. The screen changed again to the cattle stretching their tongues to gather hay from the hay bale as we drove into the corral. There was a shot of Laura making sure the tank was full and another of Colton getting off his horse to shut the gates. At the end, it went straight to Ray, his face on the screen even bigger than he was beside me.
I glanced over at him to see how he was reacting to this, but his visage was a blank slate. I did notice his Adam's apple bob, though, the only hint at all of the depths that lay beneath his still-water surface.
He spoke on the screen about the importance of raising cattle and how ranching had invited everyone to his family table. At the end, I watched the credits roll over the screen, introducing us and his siblings, and finally, listing that the filming had taken place at the Sadler Ranch. When the screen froze, Mr. Davis clapped his hands together emphatically. “Very good, students. Very well done.”
I carefully watched Ray, and finally, he met my eyes with his blue gaze. The one that was so clear but also so difficult to read. He cleared his throat and whispered, “Good job, pardner.”
My lips quirked up. “Thanks, pardner.”
“Hey, you left something at the ranch. Would you come by my locker and get it?”
Mr. Davis began explaining his plans for the next lesson, so I simply nodded and turned my attention back toward the front of the room. Soon after the bell rang, Ray stood and waited for me.
I went to Jordan and whispered, “I need to go get something with Ray.”
Her eyes sparked with excitement, but I shook my head. Nothing was happening between Ray and me. Nothing could.
I followed him down the busy hallway, hardly saying a word but feeling like everyone was listening to us. The silent cowboy and the heavy AV nerd... Why would we be together?
“Where's your locker?” I asked him.
“We just passed it,” he said with a smile.
My eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean? You said you wanted to go to your locker.”
He reached the custodial closet and glanced around to make sure no one was watching before getting out a key and unlocking it. “Step into my locker.”
I glanced back into the emptying hallway. “I feel like I'm definitely the girl in the scary movie, going where she obviously shouldn’t.”
“You watch too much TV.”
He stepped inside, and I took a breath before joining him. He closed the door behind us, secluding us in a grungy but well-lit closet filled with all of the various cleaning supplies a school could ever need. I perched atop the floor-waxing machine. “How did you get the keys?”
“Just got to know the right people.”
Of course Ray knew the janitor.
He leaned back against the sink and folded his arms over his chest, making his jacket strain at his muscles. Now that I had seen him so at home on the ranch, I realized how out of place he felt here.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” Ray said, his eyes soft, his voice gentle. “After what that guy said...”
I shook my head. “I'm fine. Really,” I added at his skeptical look. “That happens all the time. Practically every day on the way into school. You know, just the way the world works. You can't be a redhead with freckles and a size 18 without catching some flack.”
His brows drew together. “What does your size have to do with it?”
I gave him a look. “You might be a gentleman, but you don't need to pretend to be stupid.”
“I’m not stupid, and your size is...” He cleared his throat. “You look good.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Ray Sadler, is that a... compliment?”
He grinned, shaking his head, and I could have sworn there was ghost of a blush on his cheeks. “If you want a compliment, here’s one. That video was really good. My mom even said so too.”
My smile grew wider. “Little Ray showed off the video to his mom?”
“My