Surviving Love - K.F. Breene Page 0,5

before I came here.”

With the briefest of a smile peeping through, Sara unzipped her duffel bag. She’d felt better in that moment than she had in the last three years. Maybe this change was a good one. Maybe Phil had done them both a favor.

Determination steeling her resolve, she decided that, yes, he had. Sara would make this summer memorable. She would carve out her new life how she wanted to.

Starting with something as simple as smiling more often.

Chapter 2

“C’mon, hurry!” Christie was bobbing in the doorway like a fishing lure in water, an excited smile on her face.

“It’s just orientation, right?” Sara asked, brushing out her wet hair.

“Yeah, but the cowboys will be there! We get to see who’s got what so we know what we’re volunteering for.”

“What do you mean, who’s got what?” Sara tossed her brush on her bed before following Christie out the door.

“Each ranch hand or cowboy heads up different tasks. There are a couple really hot guys—I want to get on one of their teams this year. Last year I had to work for that stodgy Jake. Nice guy—I’ve heard—but you basically work the whole time in silence. Plus, he works you really hard. I mean… really hard.” She made a gesture like she was wiping sweat off her forehead.

“So you want a cute guy you can stare at while you do not a lot?” Sara asked with a grin.

“Exactly, and if you know what’s good for you, you will, too. Carrying trays with blisters is not fun!”

Christie had a point there.

They stepped out the back of the house and crossed a patch of garden, the blooming flowers as beautiful as they were fragrant. Ducking through a cluster of large trees, they emerged into a circular clearing with a large fire pit surrounded by chairs.

“This must be the place Sam was talking about,” Sara mumbled to herself.

“Oooh, you met Sam? He’s cute, isn’t he? I think he’s single, too. He had a girlfriend last year, but they were on the rocks. She didn’t like him leaving for three months. I think she gave him an ultimatum—if he came this year she’d break it off. Well… he’s here.”

“It’d be hard to miss a loved one every year.”

Christie shrugged with one shoulder as they neared a large, newly painted red barn. Murmurs floated out of the opened doors. “True. Not saying I blame her, but him being available isn’t a bad thing. Speak of the devil.”

They crossed the threshold and stepped toward a crowd of people, shifting and chatting as they waited for the meeting to begin. Leather and metal climbed the walls and littered shelves; equipment for horses and other livestock. Feed bags were stacked in the corners and hay was piled in a loft high up in the back.

“Hey, Sam, good to see you again.” Christie gave him a jubilant hug. “So… you came back, huh?”

“Hey, Chris. And yes,” Sam said in a dry voice. “Single again. I know you were going to hint until I finally admitted it.”

“Aw!” Christie made a pouty face. “Sorry to hear that. Sara’s newly single, too. It was a bad year for relationships. I wouldn’t know—I haven’t been in one in a while.”

Sam’s gaze turned to Sara for a moment. His smile held touches of intimacy. She felt her face heat and immediately pointed it toward the ground.

“Sorry to hear that,” he said, his voice full of sympathy.

Sara shrugged uncomfortably as Christie said, “Oh, here come the triangle boys! Yee haw.”

A cluster of stern-looking men entered the barn with even strides. Lean and chiseled, their bodies spoke of tough living in a wild environment. Shoulders bunched and muscles flexed as they moved, all incredibly in shape and very well defined.

“What do you mean by ‘triangle boys’?” Sara asked in a low voice so they couldn’t hear. The pack stepped to the side, looking around with hard, confident eyes.

“All their upper bodies look like upside-down triangles. You know, the broad shoulders and thin hips. Triangles.” Christie traced a triangle in the air with her fingers over one of the men’s robust upper bodies.

“Okay, great, let’s start,” an older man in a white cowboy hat said as he climbed on a bale of hay between the empty horse stalls. “Hello, everyone, I’m Dan, the owner of this ranch. For those of you who don’t know, this ranch has been in the family since 1916, when it was homesteaded as a land grant. Cattle and hay were raised until the 1930s.