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  Wrong. I’d seen her around all the time. She’d either have her nose in a book, be practicing her twirls, or she would look my way but not really notice. Her mind was always preoccupied. Just like my life. It was rare I left the ranch when I was younger, and as soon as I turned eighteen and became a firefighter, that was my new life. I ate, slept, and breathed the firehouse. Still did, but these days my devotion was divided with my new reality. Josh came into her life pretty young, and they started to date officially when she’d turned eighteen. He was my age at the time—twenty-two. I’d always made sure I stayed away from her. Not hanging out at any parties she went to or any social gathering. I’d had it bad for her since she was just eleven years old. She never knew. Today was proof of that.

  “Yeah, I tend to stay pretty busy with work. Don’t really do a lot of social things,” I told her.

  “I’m sure I’ve seen you in town, but it just never clicked until now. I feel really bad.”

  “Don’t.” I put my hat back on. “Like I said…I’m not always in the social scenes.”

  “All work and no play?” she teased.

  “Guess so.”

  “Well”—her eyes went heavenward—“I’d better start back for town. I have a class to teach.”

  “Let me take you,” I said, ready to go to my truck.

  “No, Luke, really, I don’t mind. It helps me clear my head.”

  “Are you sure? I will be going into the fire department later anyway.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks, though.” She got on her bike. “See you around?”

  “See you around.”

  “And, Luke?”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s really nice to see you again.”

  “You, too.” I waved and she turned her bike around, heading down the dirt road. I wasn’t ready for her to go, but we both had other obligations.

  Before I could change my mind, I called out to her. “Hey, Boots!” The bike stopped and she peered over her shoulder. “Come in clothes you don’t mind getting dirty.”

  I heard her laugh before she pedaled away, her hair blowing in the wind, and my heart going with her.

  Chapter 7

  Luke

  Last night while my teammates were fast asleep in our little dormitory-style sleeping quarters, I lay awake. Usually this never happened, unless I’d just come back to the station from a difficult rescue that involved horrific outcomes. But it was almost noon and I still had her on my mind.

  Neale strolled into the equipment room, whistling.

  “If you’re this happy, you’re not doing enough,” I said as I continued wiping down all the equipment. It was the least favorite job by everyone’s account, but it was part of the territory.

  “Done with the trucks. Came to bug you.” He propped himself up to sit on the counter while he grabbed a half-deflated football and tossed it back and forth in his hands.

  “You’ve succeeded.” This kind of banter was an everyday thing with all us guys. It kept our spirits up.

  “I do my best. What do you have planned after your shift?”

  I glanced at the clock. “You mean in another twelve hours? Haven’t really thought about it.” I had thought about it, a lot. After I finished a twenty-four-hour shift, like the rest of the firefighters here, I had forty-eight hours off—which I’d spent working at the ranch as of late. The only difference was that Maggie would be a part of it this time.

  “Group of us are going to the lake day after next. Kegs, grilling out, maybe some tag football, where we’ll then proceed to sing ‘Kumbaya’ by the fire.”

  I laughed and tossed my rag over the leg bench. I walked toward Neale and got in the cupboard for some window cleaner. “Well, if ‘Kumbaya’ is happening…”

  “Hey, man,” Neale said, his tone serious. “I know you’re really busy now, and if it helps, I’ll stop by tomorrow morning and help out at that ranch, maybe free up some time for you the next day so you can go.”

  I turned away and went to the window, spraying the cloth. “I’ll keep that in mind, but I think for now I’m good.”

  “Dude.” I heard him come up next to me. “You trying to kill yourself early like your pops?” I sent him a look and he lifted his hands, palms up. “Sorry. Too soon.”

  I started wiping the glass. “Don’t worry about it. But, nah, I have some help now.”

  “Well, hell, man. Who? One of the guys here? Because, if so, that’s awesome.”

  I didn’t want to say anything, but Neale had a habit of dropping by. Better to tell him what his meddling had done.

  “Maggie,” I said as I walked away to the recreation room where we kept our fridge. A few of the guys were eating their lunch. “Hey guys.” I opened the door and took out a bottled water. Neale was right back beside me.

  “Maggie? The hot blonde that you said you’d keep at a distance, which I now know to be your ex-best-friend’s girl—the one you locked lips with? That Maggie?”

  “Yep,” I said, and chugged the water before tossing it in the trash behind me. After grabbing a slice of pizza, I tossed it on a paper plate and went to the table. Neale, of course, followed. “Neale, relax. She needed a job. I wouldn’t have hired her if she didn’t, but she came all the way out on her bike wanting the position—the one you’d advertised.” I took a bite of pizza and glanced up to find Neale grinning at me.

  “How’d you know?”

  “Who else would interfere in my life?”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Your mom’s pretty chill. Well, sorry, man. I was doing it for a guy to help you out, not a woman. You can always say no.”

  “She needed a job. I had no other choice.”

  He scoffed. “If that’s what you want to tell yourself.”

  “Neale,” I warned. He knew not to press. He knew everything. In fact, the whole reason he was hired was to replace Josh. Our friendship quickly grew, and on one of my many nights of heavy drinking, I spilled my guts.

  “Hey, man, who’s arguing? Not me. I’m proud of ya. It’s about time you got over your stupid demented theories and went after the girl you’ve been crushing over since you were little.”

  “That’s not what this is, so don’t make it out to be, alright?”

  “Alright. I’m done. I’ll leave now before this turns into us swapping stories of our childhood crushes.”

  “Good,” I said as he stood. “I don’t want to hear anything else about it.”

  “Sure thing, lover boy. I have a feeling, though, that you’ll be thanking me later.” He winked and left the room. A couple of the guys at the table looked at me.

  “Don’t ask.”

  ***

  I awoke earlier in the day to get a good start on the animals and clean up around the house a little before Maggie stopped by at three. Since I got off work at midnight, I thought about going back to the apartment where I could stop by her room and offer to take her in, but I remembered she had her class this morning.

  She was due any minute and so I wanted to make sure the horses were safely locked in their stalls. They needed to be fixed. The wood was starting to rot.

  I’d add it to my never-ending list.

  The door was left slightly ajar when I checked on them last night so I just walked in. When I saw Maggie already in there, petting Penelope and talking to Cowboy, I stopped in my tracks and watched her with them. The horses were drawn to her, and she to them.

  She’d listened to my request. She had on a pair of jeans, work boots, a flannel shirt, and her hair was loosely in a ponytail at the top of her head. She glanced around as if sensing I was there.

  “Luke, hey.” There was that smile I’d been wanting.

  I walked up to her. “You’re here a little early.”

  “Yeah, I got done teaching my class, went over to check on Marybeth, and decided to just come a little early. I haven’t been here long, I promise. Maybe since around two forty-five.”

  “It’s not a problem. You could have come inside, though. You
didn’t have to stay out here with these rascals.” I patted Penelope on the side of her neck and she nuzzled my arm.

  “Oh, I know. Just wanted to say hi to them.” Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she looked away.

  “Well, are you ready to get started?”

  She shifted, facing me. “Yes, I’m actually really excited.”

  Her eagerness to learn astounded me. “Alright, we’ll start with the basics. You already know where I keep all the food.”

  She nodded. “So what will I be doing?”

  “A little bit of everything, but spring is calving season. So you’ll help with the daily feeding and caretaking when they are born, help clean them up. We’ll eventually wean them from their mothers and move them from pasture to pasture.”

  “So why do we need to feed the cattle if they have grass?”

  I looked at her while we continued toward the cattle. “The grass isn’t quite green enough yet for them to graze. So we’ll have to feed them every day until then, but I already did that earlier.”

  “You did? What time did you start?”

  I laughed. “Early.” We got to the gate and I stepped on the metal bar and leapt over. Maggie’s eyes went wide and darted to every single one of the cattle.

  “We’re going inside?”

  I rested my arms on the fence. “Yes, are you okay with that? You’ll be with me.”

  “Oh, okay.” She sounded unsure, the eagerness from earlier not so prominent.

  “Ready?”

  She bit her lip then nodded. “Yes.” She was determined.

  “Alright, Boots. Hop on.”

  Maggie braced her hands at the top of the fence while stepping on the bottom bar. She lifted her leg and started to climb over. I kept my hands up, ready in case her landing wasn’t successful. With as much ease as she could manage, her feet hit the dirt, and a grin formed.

  “Not bad,” she said, pretending to dust off her hands.

  I smiled thinking about the view I had, while having the same thought. “I think I might have a true ranch hand after all.”

  “Let’s not go that far.” She looked behind me and I turned to face the cattle. It wouldn’t be long before they’d give birth. More cattle meant more work, and I wondered if she could handle it.

  “I already have the hay chopped and bagged over there,” I said, pointing along the fence on the outside, “along with pelleted grain.” I looked back at her. “So, in case you wondered, no, you do not come in here to feed them.”

  “Is this for all the cattle?”

  “The hay, yes, since they aren’t able to graze a lot yet. But mainly this and the grains are for these ladies here. They need a lot more nutrients and energy for their growing calf. And since the average cow needs between twenty and thirty pounds of hay per day, it can get a little much.”

  “Wow, that does sound like a lot. So why are we in here, exactly?”

  “Just checking to make sure they are doing well. They can go into labor any time now.” I started walking, but didn’t hear any movement behind me. I looked over my shoulder and found her rooted in the same spot. She looked scared. Her wide eyes flashed to mine.

  “Are they going to be mean? Since they’re pregnant?”

  “Nah, cows are pretty tame. They can be skittish if not used to people, but these ones are fine.”

  “Okay.” I watched her tiptoe around all the piles of excrement. She looked up, bashful.

  She was beautiful.

  “Maggie, never come in here alone, okay?” It was a dumb thing to tell her, given how uncomfortable she was, but I had to make sure she knew the rules. Her getting hurt on my land was not something I wanted—her getting hurt at all was not something I wanted.

  She half smiled. “I’ll try to resist.”

  I didn’t remember her ever joking. Then again, I’d never really got the chance to be around her like this before.

  We approached the cows and I looked them over, making sure they were handling themselves well. They were a little sluggish, but that was to be expected at this point in their pregnancy. Maggie stayed off to the side as I continued my inspection. I was stalling in asking her to Neale’s party tomorrow. Despite my talk to myself earlier, I wanted her to come.

  ***

  Maggie

  Luke led a busy life—a demanding one. I watched him with the cows. He looked them over with precision. He was focused, but he still took the time to talk to me and fill me in on what he was doing. I could see he was tired, but the strength he possessed was too strong for him to give in.

  “How often do you work, Luke?” I asked as we started toward the gate.

  “Here?” He hopped back over the fence and I did the same.

  “Here and at the fire station.”

  He was silent for a little while as we walked through the pasture. I wasn’t sure where we were going next, but was content to just be near him. Several times throughout the afternoon I caught myself staring at his naked chest. Guilt tugged at my conscience.

  “Well, the ranch is an everyday thing. No sick days,” he said, looking my way and smiling. “The fire station…long hours, but I get a couple days off in between.”

  “That sounds like a lot.” That sounded like torture. And the fact that he had to train me on his days off somehow didn’t make me feel good.

  “It’s life. Come. I’ll show you the rest of the chores, and then, if you’re lucky, I’ll take you to meet Cheyenne.”

  I wasn’t sure if Cheyenne was an animal or a person, but all I knew was that I was having a good time. And it felt good.

  He took me to see the goats, pigs, and then the ducks. He told me they would also be ready to start hatching their eggs soon, and I couldn’t wait.

  “So what do you think?” Luke asked, wiping at his forehead as we walked back toward the house. “This for you?”

  I stared out at the land. The sun was starting to set behind the budded trees. It was peaceful here. “Well, I always have loved it here, and the work seems simple enough.”

  “You’ll probably be sore for a little while.”

  “Maybe.” I did a lot of stretching at home and when I taught dance, so muscles were always being worked, but my upper body was another thing. “I didn’t keep you from doing other things, did I?” I knew there were other chores he probably should have been doing, but instead had chosen to stay.

  “Nothing that can’t be done later. Here she is,” he said, causing me to look ahead where a black truck sat off to the side of the house. It was parked next to the fence under a big tree. “This here is Cheyenne. She’s a seventy-eight Chevy.”

  I laughed. “Very nice.” It was a nice truck. I didn’t know a lot about vehicles of any sort, but I could tell he kept it in good shape. Of course, men usually did.

  “I told you she’d like you,” he said as he pretended to lean in and whisper to the truck. Then he straightened and walked around to the other side and opened the door. “Well, you’re in luck. She likes you, too. So much so, she’s okay taking you home.”

  I came around the front where he was leaning on the door, waiting for an answer. “You name everything?”

  “Yes. Now hop in, Boots.” He stepped aside and I got in with a little added help from him. It felt strange being touched by another man, even if it were innocent.

  I sat back and watched him as he rounded the front of the truck. Who really was this Luke Easton? Did he have a girlfriend? And why did I feel so comfortable with him?

  He got in, reached in the back for a shirt, and pulled it over his head. Then he put the truck in gear. “I’ll pull up by your bike and put it in the back.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s not a problem.”

  After he stopped to retrieve my bike, setting it in the bed of the truck, we started for town. I absolutely loved the drive on the way there, how it was surrounded by colorful trees and an open sky. He had his own beautiful oasis out here. But as we drew near our apartment building, I c
ould see something was on his mind. He grew quiet and his smile drew into a frown.

  I found myself watching his hands as he shifted gears. Then my gaze traveled up to his tanned forearms that were lightly dusted with fine golden hairs. Realizing I was staring once again, I whipped my head to look out my window, forcing myself to instead focus on the streets of Magnolia Springs.

  We pulled up to our building, and I opened my door, but Luke made no attempt to move.

  “Well,” I said when he continued to say nothing. “Thanks for the ride.” With one foot out the door, I went to hop out, but he stopped me.

  “Maggie.”

  “Yeah?”

  He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. “There’s a group of us going to the lake tomorrow. I thought since you were just back in town, maybe you’d want to go do something.”

  “Oh, um…” Was he asking me out? No, we didn’t really know each other.

  “Think about it,” he said, finally looking at me.

  “Yeah, I’ll think about it. I can’t make any promises because I work at Marybeth’s tomorrow, but…”

  Luke draped an arm around the headrest of the passenger seat. “When is she shutting down?”

  “Soon. I think at the end of next week.”

  “Someone’s already interested in the diner, I take it?”

  “Yeah, from what she said. It won’t be the same.” And that was the truth. Marybeth’s had been around forever and her food could outshine Paula Dean’s.

  “No, it won’t.”

  We stared at one another.

  “Well, I better let you go.”

  “Here, let me get your bike.” He opened his door and came around to the back of the truck, pulling down the tailgate. He reached in and grabbed the bike with one hand.

  “Thanks,” I said when he placed the bike in front of me. I grabbed it by the handles.

  Luke took a deep breath and smiled. “Okay, well, it’s tomorrow at three. You should come.”

  I nodded, but didn’t answer yes or no. The lake on a weekend was sure to have a big crowd, and I didn’t feel ready to get back out there. I stepped back, away from the curb as Luke slammed the tailgate shut and went around the truck. He waved before getting in and took off. I waved back and stood with my bike, watching him drive over to the fire station.