I passed him and he settled his feet into the stirrups. In a minute, he’d have to be ready for anything.
I arrived at the back and made eye contact with the Beauchamps. “Ready?” I called out. The men responded with various iterations of “yeehaw” and I smiled. It was goofy, but it was fun, and they were excited. Even Jane let out a whoop, and Cecelia buckled down into her saddle. Either she was terrified or focused. Or both. Either way, Colt and I knew we were going to have to keep an eye out for her just as much as the cattle.
The drive began in a blitz of adrenaline and insanity like it usually did. When it was safe, I rode up to line up with Colt and helped lead them. After a few minutes, Colt peeled off and Rubin joined me. He tried to say something, but the sound of the hooves beating the dirt overpowered it, and he waved me off when I pointed to my ear. I was sure it was some wisecrack, but since I was the king of comedy on this ranch, I had little need for suggestions.
By the time I peeled off for the third time, I lined up with Jane, who would be coming up next. Meaning I would be guiding the herd with her on the other side. We were farther back, keeping an eye out for anyone that might peel too far off, and as such, our speed was a little slower.
“Having fun?” I shouted over to her. She didn’t respond but I knew she heard me. A smile that was already plastered on her face the entire time only got wider.
Cecelia was struggling ahead of us, both at keeping on her horse and at keeping up with the herd. I rode up to her and made eye contact. She nodded at me and I returned the gesture. Occasional silent encouragement went a long way for some of them, and it seemed Cecelia was among them. Rubin had been struggling too, and it seemed to be centered on him thinking he was a lot better at it than he turned out to be. We were only a third of the way through the drive for the day and he was looking haggard and frustrated.
But Jane? She was a natural. She wasn’t afraid of the horse, the speed, or the cattle. Brownie was the horse I gave her, and it seemed to fit her better than any other rider she ever had. Sleek and fast but intuitive, Brownie wasn’t a horse that was for hauling or pulling. She was for riding fast and hard and looking damn good while she did it.
Jane was perfect atop her.
Her grin was ear to ear, and she raced up the side when it was her turn, feet in the stirrups, ass off the saddle. It was like she’d been doing this her whole life. Not for the first time, I wondered if genetic memory was a thing. Walter had mentioned his family owned land and raised cattle a few generations back, and it was as if she had gotten in touch with the souls of her ancestors atop Brownie.
I rode up to relieve Colt and he grinned at me as he peeled away. I suddenly felt like he knew, somehow, that I had my eye on Jane. As much as I had denied it earlier and as much as I reiterated that while I liked to be around the girls that came, I kept things professional, he seemed to see that there was something about Jane that got to me. And there was. A lot of things.
We pushed hard and got the cattle halfway through before Jane peeled off and Colt returned. A few minutes later, I peeled off and Lucien joined him, and then not long after that, I went to relieve Colt. We had slowed down a good bit on the last third, having entered a wooded area that was more difficult terrain to get through. There was one last open plain before the grazing area we would stop in for the night, but we weren’t there yet.
“I saw you making eyes,” Colt said when I joined him. It was low enough that I knew Lucien couldn’t hear him on the other side, no matter how hard he strained, but it still made me uncomfortable.
“It’s nothing,” I said. “She’s just a pretty lady.”
“Uh huh,” he said. “A pretty lady who happens to be