Emily let relief flood through and settle her nerves as she watched Nate sober as he told his dad the various lands they’d already searched. She was still surprised and dismayed at how much Nate’s opinion of her mattered. It didn’t bode well for their simple dating—or more likely her reaction to it.
She couldn’t stop staring at him, with his cowboy hat shielding his eyes, the Carhartt jacket covering a flannel shirt, and fringed chaps over his jeans. The scarf at his neck was bright red and fluttered in the breeze. She was so busy admiring his fine form that she almost jumped when the ATV motor roared to life beneath her.
Mr. Thalberg glanced at her with amusement, and she gave him a sheepish grin. Her legs still trembled after the half-hour ride from where they’d left the pickup. Perhaps she was going to be sore tomorrow, but it was worth it.
Nate rode off ahead of them, and Scout jumped down and bounded after his master. Mr. Thalberg turned and went another way, and she clung to him as he raced through the meadow, high grass whipping against her legs. She turned her head and watched Nate, inhaling at the beauty of the scene as he headed across the meadow, the mountains framing him, the sky so blue above the snowy peaks. She felt almost hungry at the powerful way he moved so effortlessly with his horse.
For the next hour, Emily listened in awe at the coordination between the Thalbergs as they searched for each cow as if it were a member of the family—but of course, the sale of those cows was their profit at the end of the season. Nate’s voice over the radio was one of cool composure as he coordinated the rescue. Emily gasped with delight and awe when Mr. Thalberg veered toward the thundering cattle, who obediently changed their direction, swarming together almost like bees. Nate, Josh, and Brooke rode from different directions, adding cows and calves to the growing herd.
When every cow was accounted for and guided back through the damaged fence, shared grins appeared on Thalberg faces. Josh and Brooke dismounted and went to work with the spools of barbed wire that had already been stacked near the damaged fence. Josh smiled and tipped his hat to her, and she touched the brim of her helmet in reply.
To her surprise, Nate frowned at her, and she gave him a wide-eyed look of puzzlement, as if she didn’t know what was going on. But she knew—Nate Thalberg might be a little jealous over her. She felt giddy.
Then she sobered—she didn’t want him to be jealous.
The sky slowly darkened as speeding clouds caught up with the sun. Emily looked overhead in surprise. Where had the beautiful day gone?
“We’ll let you finish here and get your horses back to the trailer before there’s too much rain,” Mr. Thalberg called. “See you at the ranch.”
Emily looked back as they rode away to see Nate staring after them momentarily before dismounting and going to help his brother and sister. The rain began in earnest then, and she was glad for the heavier clothing Mr. Thalberg had insisted she wear. Once they were in the pickup, he blasted the heat, but she was still chilled through.
Back at the ranch house, she hurried into the bathroom in the hallway near the bedrooms. After discarding her wet clothes in a heap, she hopped into the shower and let the hot water soothe her. As she toweled off, she could tell by the voices echoing through the house that the others had arrived home. And then she realized that her dry clothes were in Brooke’s bedroom. She swore silently under her breath.
Nate opened the bathroom door. “Hey, Josh, I left my—”
She gave a little shriek, thankful he only saw her naked back before she yanked the towel higher and wrapped it around her.
“Jesus, I’m sorry,” Nate said, making no move to shut the door as his gaze took in her towel-clad body. “I thought Josh had arrived before me.”
She rolled her eyes. “No knocking in the Thalberg household?”
He grinned. “Well usually, but I did hear the water shut off, and just assumed.”
That cocky grin slowly died, and she felt as if she were wearing nothing at all, the way his gaze lingered on her damp skin. She should stop him; she should kick him out. But she stood still, basking in his admiration, wishing he’d come in and shut