on dangerous. He was extremely good-looking, and though Jess had just bowed out of a relationship with Spencer a couple of weeks ago, she wondered if she could ask Dallas to dinner.
He has two kids, she reminded herself as she turned Marshmallow around. Not that she didn’t want children. But she barely knew how to take care of herself, and she’d never had a relationship for longer than two months. So the thought of getting to know Dallas and two children was so far outside of her realm of reality.
She tethered Marshmallow and moved back to her tail.
“What are you going to do?” Remmy asked, and Jess smiled down at the little girl.
“I’m going to braid her tail,” she said, starting to part the hair. “And we’re going to weave in ribbons and flowers. She’s going to carry the bride for the wedding.”
It was all so romantic, and Jess longed for a horseback wedding of her own. She’d have to figure out how to have a boyfriend for longer than two months, though.
So it was probably hopeless to even think about something like riding a horse toward her anxious groom.
She focused on her work and asked Remmy for the flowers when she needed them. Dallas fed them to his daughter, and she didn’t go more than a few feet from Jess’s side.
Jess eventually relaxed, and she’d dressed both horses in record time with the help of Dallas and his kids.
“All right.” She reached up and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “It’s hot.”
Something was definitely wrong in the stables, and Jess had just realized it. “The air conditioning isn’t working.”
“You air condition the stables?”
“Yes,” Jess said. “They’re temperature controlled, because it can get so hot here.” She sighed and turned around. “I need to check it.”
“I’m really handy with machines,” Dallas said. “I’ll come with you.” He started to say something to his children, and Jess took a few steps away to wait for him.
“They’re going to wait here,” Dallas said. “Lead on.”
Jess took him down the aisle to a locked door and fitted her key into it. “This is the control room.” The door swung open, and a burnt, mechanical smell met her nose immediately.
“Oh, something’s burned up,” he said, stepping past her. He went straight to the air conditioner and started fiddling with the front panel. A moment later, it came off, and Dallas coughed.
“Do you have any tools?”
“There’s a toolbox on the shelf there,” she said, pointing.
Dallas followed her finger and found it, pulling it down with authority. He came alive as he rooted through the box and came away with a wrench.
Jess sure did like watching him, as he had a lot of confidence now when he hadn’t before. He moved with precision, and only five minutes and a couple of grunts later, he swung the whole front of the air conditioner open.
“Yep, you’ve got a belt here that’s come off and burned up.” He looked at her. “I don’t suppose you have spare belts?”
“I have no idea,” Jess said.
“Do you have a ranch mechanic?” he asked. “Maybe someone we can call?”
“No,” Jess said, though Ginger had talked about hiring someone to maintain their equipment. “I’ll call Ginger.”
She really didn’t want to, but Ginger loved the horses as if they were her own offspring. She wouldn’t be happy they didn’t have the temperature controls they were used to.
“I’ll look on the shelves,” Dallas said, and Jess took a few steps away to make the call.
“What’s wrong?” Ginger asked when she picked up Jess’s call.
“How do you know something’s wrong?”
“You said you’d see me with the horses unless there was a problem.” In the background, Jess heard her sisters bickering about something to do with Ginger’s hair.
“The air conditioner in the stables burnt out a belt,” she said. “Dallas has it open and he can fix it, if we have another belt.”
“Dallas?”
“Yeah.” Jess continued to walk down the aisle, but she lowered her voice anyway. “He seems to know exactly what he’s doing with it.” He’d been a natural with a wrench in his hand, and Jess wished she didn’t find that quite so attractive.
“I know Nick bought spare parts,” Ginger said. “I’d look on the shelf.”
“He’s doing that,” Jess said.
“He’s really mechanical?”
“Seems to be,” Jess said, shrugging though her friend couldn’t see her.
“Are we still on schedule?”
“The horses are ready,” Jess confirmed. “I’ve got ten minutes, right?”
“If I don’t kill MARIE,” Ginger whispered. “The sooner, the better.”
Jess laughed and said, “I’ll do my