Rugged Cowboy - Elana Johnson Page 0,11

seat, and sure enough, those broad shoulders filled the whole space. “Ready,” he said again.

Jess nodded, her voice suddenly on vacation. She got onto the dirt road that went west, toward the stables, barns, and equipment shed. As soon as she passed the shed that held the ATVs, she said, “That’s where we keep our four-wheelers. We have a large building with our tractors and whatnot, and there’s a small office there. One of the cowboys has been keeping the records there, so hopefully it won’t be too much of a mess for you.”

Dallas simply hummed, and Jess needed to fill the silence. She kept talking, detailing the beehives where they did their honey tours, the monarch butterfly programs they ran for the elementary school children, and the horseback riding lessons that Jess oversaw five afternoons a week.

Summertime was their busiest season for horseback riding, but they were busy year-round, as kids of all ages came after school for lessons.

Jess’s truck chugged along, and she went too fast for the dirt road. She could feel the tires sliding on the loose gravel, and before she knew it, she’d taken a corner too fast and the truck slid sideways.

“Whoa,” she said at the same time Dallas grunted and reached up to press his palm against the top of the door. “Sorry.” She wasn’t a great driver, and that was the last thing she wanted Dallas to know about her. She cast him a quick look, her face heating in less time than it took to breathe.

She came to a stop and gripped the steering wheel. One deep breath later, she lifted her foot from the brake pedal. The truck should’ve moved, but it didn’t, and Jess’s heart dropped to the soles of her feet.

“Oh, no,” she said.

“What?” he asked.

“Sheila does this sometimes,” she said, glancing his way again without truly meeting his eye. “I can get it going again.” She leapt from the truck and leaned back inside to pop the hood. A wisp of smoke lifted from the seam along the front of the truck, and Jess paused.

She couldn’t touch that, because it would be boiling hot. She’d put antifreeze in Sheila just a few days ago, and she couldn’t be out already. A sweet, searing smell met her nose.

“Sheila?” Dallas asked, meeting her eyes across the hood.

“My truck.” Jess indicated the vehicle. “We go way back.”

“Well, she’s on her last leg,” Dallas said, eyeing the smoke.

Jess didn’t want to believe that. She couldn’t, because if she lost her truck, she felt like she’d lose the last piece of herself that she actually knew.

“I can take a look at her,” Dallas said.

“It’s way too hot,” she said, darting around the corner of the hood to stop him. “I’ll call Hannah, and she’ll come get us.”

“I can handle the heat,” he said, nudging her out of the way. Sure enough, he fitted his fingers under the hood, released the catch, and lifted it up. He worked easily, as if working with machines was second-nature to him.

More smoke billowed out of the engine now that he’d released it, and he stepped back, waving his hand in front of his face.

“How did you do that?” she asked. “Open it when it was that hot?” She could feel the heat coming from the engine, and the hood should’ve scorched him.

“I’ve worked with a lot of hot things,” he said, stepping up to the bumper.

Jess didn’t want him examining Sheila. She had the distinct feeling she was about to be lectured for her care—or her lack thereof—of the vehicle, and she didn’t want to hear it. “Really,” she said. “I’ll call Hannah to come get us, and I can get Spence to tow me back in with a tractor.”

Dallas kept looking at the engine, but he kept his hands out. “All right.” He turned and looked at her, and their eyes met. Though it was far too hot to stand here, smoke wafting around them, staring at him, she couldn’t look away.

He finally stepped back, breaking the moment. Jess dropped her head and cleared her throat. “Right. I’m going to call Hannah.” She turned her back on him, barely remembering how to use a cell phone as her brain misfired with the nearness of Dallas Dreyer.

“Thanks a lot, Spence,” Jess said later that night. She’d ridden out with him in the tractor, every moment almost like torture. They’d broken up weeks ago, and they’d said it wouldn’t be awkward between them. She saw him around