Learnin' The Ropes (18 page)

Ty mounted and followed Swede to one of the pastures he hadn’t been in before. It took almost an hour to get there, although they never urged the horses above a walk. Still a little sore, Ty appreciated not bouncing on the saddle. It was hard enough as it was to keep his seat without showing his discomfort.

 When they arrived, Swede waved at Lexi before veering off to the west, leaving Ty to ride to her alone.

“Hey, buckaroo,” Lexi teased as he rode up beside her. “Looking good. How do those new clothes feel?”

“Odd, strange, and uncomfortable,” Ty said honestly, although he added a grin that made Lexi’s heart skip a beat or two.

“You’ll get used to them. Maybe even like them,” she said, knowing how different everything had to feel to him. This entire lifestyle had to feel odd and strange to him, although he fit in remarkably well. So well, in fact, she often forgot he was a city boy who had no rural experience. When Swede talked her into hiring him, she was sure they’d have a mess on their hands with a city guy unwilling or unable to adjust to the country.

Ty continually surprised her with his ability to not only adapt, but also thrive in his new environment. He faced whatever they threw at him head-on and was proving to be a very valuable employee.

In an effort to keep him in her thoughts as a student instead of a gorgeous, virile man, she talked to him about the cattle, their behaviors, and how to move them. She went over the reasons they would bring them in for branding and what she expected him to do during the next few weeks.

Together, they moved the herd to a pasture closer to the main portion of the ranch. Ty quickly picked up on what she taught him.

“Are you sure you haven’t ridden before?” Lexi asked, watching him ride Delilah with growing confidence and ease. He was a natural and looked entirely too appealing on the back of a horse.

“I’m positive,” Ty said. If he got off the horse, the odds were high he wouldn’t be able to lift his leg high enough to get it back in the stirrup to remount. He hoped Lexi couldn’t tell how much pain he felt in his posterior. After a few days, he supposed the unaccustomed position he was in wouldn’t seem so different or painful.

“You’re doing a great job,” Lexi called as she trailed after the cattle.

Ty worked the other side of the herd. He urged Delilah forward to keep one ornery cow from escaping into the brush. When he did, the horse lunged forward, bucked a few times, and sent Ty flying over her shoulder as she came to an abrupt halt.

Lexi wheeled Rowdy around and hurried to Ty. She jumped off her horse and bent near his head.

“Ty, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” Concern and something else, something Ty couldn’t define, filled her voice.

Embarrassed, he sat up and shook his head.

“I’m fine,” he said. He could wiggle his toes and fingers. Nothing appeared to be bleeding or broken and he could take a deep breath without anything hurting. Slowly rising to his feet, Lexi looked intently into his eyes before placing a warm hand on his arm.

“You’re sure?” she asked, trying to gauge if he was hurt and hiding it or telling the truth.

“I’m sure,” he said, attempting to walk normally to where Delilah and Rowdy waited. He wondered what had upset the horse. “What did I do to make her throw a fit?”

Lexi laughed and the sound of it made Ty smile.

“She didn’t throw a fit.” Lexi patted Delilah on the neck. “The ol’ girl was just feeling her oats and having fun. Besides, she only bucked a few times. You would have stayed on if she hadn’t stopped so quickly. I haven’t seen her do that in years, so I wouldn’t worry about her doing it again anytime soon.”

“I think I’ll keep my guard up just the same.” Ty stared at the stirrup like it was ten feet above his head instead of a couple feet off the ground.

“It’s okay if you’re a little afraid. Everyone gets bucked off now and then.” Lexi took his hesitance to mount for fear rather than his inability to move his stiff muscles.

Ty wasn’t sure what was worse — having her think he was afraid of the horse or letting her know he couldn’t lift his sore leg off the ground. His pride told him fear was worse than soreness, so instead of admitting to either he took a deep breath and forced himself to put his foot in the stirrup, mounting Delilah.

When he settled himself in the seat of the saddle, Lexi placed a hand on his thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m so proud of you, Ty.”

The moment her hand made contact with Ty’s leg, she realized the error of her innocent touch. She could feel the tight muscles and strength. Even through her gloved fingers, scorching heat blazed a trail up her arm and burned all the way to her mid-section. Unsettled, she hurried to Rowdy, mounted, and turned back toward the herd. She had no business entertaining thoughts about her mechanic. None at all.

Ty tried to focus on moving the herd but it was difficult when he could still feel Lexi’s touch on his leg. When he removed his jeans, he was sure he’d see her handprint embedded in his skin. He had to quit thinking about her as a woman, an incredibly desirable woman, and focus on the fact she was his boss.

Throughout the rest of the morning, Ty didn’t have any problems and managed to stay on Delilah. Other than being saddle sore, he thoroughly enjoyed himself. It was a perfect spring day, he was out in the fresh air learning something new, and a pretty girl kept flashing him her beautiful smile.

Life was pretty darn good.

Just before noon, Ty found himself trying to herd a stubborn cow and her calf out of the sagebrush. The cow went willingly, but the calf got himself caught in the middle of a big sagebrush. Ty stepped off Delilah and begged her not to run away while he picked up the calf and carried it out of the sagebrush. When he set it down, the calf bawled loudly, bringing his mama on the run. Ty hurriedly mounted Delilah before the cow got any ideas about running him over. Lexi and Swede had both warned him the only thing worse than tangling with a mad mama cow was a mad mama bear. A smart man avoided both.

He chased the cow and calf back to the rest of the herd. A loud growl from his stomach let him know it was time to eat. Resigned to missing lunch, he grinned when Lexi rode over and handed him a bag of jerky, a candy bar, and a bottle of water that was closer to warm than cold.

“Not much of a feast, but better than nothing,” Lexi said, taking a bite of jerky.

“Thanks,” Ty said, accepting her offerings. “I’m so hungry, I’d eat just about anything.”

“Anything?” she asked with a saucy grin.

“Almost anything,” Ty corrected. He wondered what hideous thing Lexi thought she could feed him.

“I’ll keep that in mind for the next time I make you dinner,” Lexi teased. From her seat on Rowdy’s back, she watched Ty. She couldn’t believe how at home he looked not only in the saddle, but on the ranch — as though he was meant to be there.

Shaking her head to dislodge her ridiculous thoughts, she took another bite of jerky.

“You’re a great cook, so I’m not too worried.” Ty finished his jerky and candy bar. The sunlight on her golden skin sent his thoughts skittering in a dangerous direction, so he grasped the first topic that came to mind as a distraction. “How’s the treasure hunt progressing?”

“I found the yearbook in dad’s room with another clue. It said ‘the power of the horse.’ I haven’t quite figured out what that one means. I think I need to dig through his tack but I haven’t had time.”

“Does anyone use his tack?”

“No. He moved all his tack into a little storage room off the main part of the barn and locked it after his mind had started to go. I’ve got a key and gone in a few times, but I haven’t cleaned it out like I should.”

“I can help you look sometime, if you like,” Ty offered.

Lexi nodded. “Thanks. I might have to take you up on that offer.”

The two of them went back to trailing behind the cattle. In another hour, the cattle were in the pasture where Lexi wanted them.

Carefully shifting in his saddle, Ty thought he might end up crippled for life. The distinct possibility existed that his sore legs would refuse to hold him when he finally got off Delilah.

They rode back to the house and were almost to the barn when Baby ran out to greet them. She barked once and trotted over close to Delilah, gazing at Ty adoringly.

“Well, I guess we know who her favorite is,” Lexi said as the dog ignored her.

“I wouldn’t take it personally.” Ty dug a piece of jerky out of his shirt pocket and tossed it to Baby. She devoured it without even chewing. “She knows I come bearing treats.”

Lexi laughed and Ty’s heart warmed at the sound. He could listen to her honeyed voice for the next sixty years and never tire of it.

At the barn, Ty managed to swing his leg over the horse’s back and step out of the saddle without groaning in pain. He removed Delilah’s saddle, brushed her down, and turned her out to pasture before hobbling to the shop.

The lawn mower was ready to test out so he started it up and drove it over to the ranch house. A pass around the edge of the lawn provided the machine worked fine. He went ahead and mowed the lawn, cleaned up the clippings and the lawnmower. After filling the tank with gas, he parked it in the shed behind the garage where Lexi kept garden tools and equipment.

Back in the shop, he started working on the posthole digger that hooked on to the tractor. Cal and Keith worked to install a new section of fence and gave the auger a demanding workout. Before being put back to use tomorrow, the machine needed a thorough service and the blades sharpened.

Ty finished  just in time for dinner. He removed his dirty coveralls and washed up before setting his cowboy hat on his head and hurrying to the bunkhouse. It looked like Gus was cooking which meant meatloaf with mashed potatoes or hamburgers were on the menu. Those were the only two things he seemed to be able to make that were somewhat edible. Since he hadn’t eaten much lunch, Ty hoped Gus made meatloaf.

He left his hat on a peg by the door and joked with the rest of the guys. He gave Cal and Keith a bad time about their abuse to the posthole digger, and teased Jimmy when he leaned back too far in his chair and tipped it over.

After dinner, Ty went back out to the shop and worked until it was nearly dark before returning to the bunkhouse and taking a long, hot shower. In the midst of drying off, he glanced in the mirror and saw something on the back of his shoulder that made his eyes go wide. Straining to get a better look in the mirror, whatever it was appeared to be some kind of insect. Although he tried to brush it away, it remained firmly attached.

Panic began to set in as he tried to think what it might be and how to get it off. He hated to ask any of the guys, but he didn’t know what else to do.  With a towel wrapped around his waist, he dashed across the hall to his bedroom, pulled on clean underwear and a pair of running shorts, and slid his feet into slippers. He strode down the hall to the big main room of the bunkhouse. Cal and Keith were the only two around, watching a rodeo on the television.

“Hey, do you guys know what this thing is?” Ty asked, bending down close to Cal. Keith leaned over and whistled.

“Looks like you get one whopper of a tick,” Keith said, moving off the couch so he could see it better. “He’s a hungry sucker, too.”

“Yep, that’s a tick,” Cal said, offering his expert opinion. “No doubt about it.”

“How do I get rid of it?” Ty asked, fighting to remain calm while a case of the heebie-jeebies raced through him. He wracked his brain trying to remember anything he’d ever heard about ticks. Obviously, they sucked blood. He recalled reading something about them carrying diseases.

“We could burn it off,” Cal said with a grin. Ty wasn’t sure if he was teasing or serious.

“Best way is to pull it out with a pair of tweezers. Swede has a pair,” Keith said, resuming his seat on the couch.

“Swede’s still gone, isn’t he?” Ty asked, staring out the window at Swede’s darkened house. He went into town for a meeting and said he’d be back late.

“Yeah, you could ask the boss. She might be able to help,” Cal said, no longer interested in Ty’s tick as he turned his attention back to the rodeo.

“Thanks.” A hint of sarcasm dripped from his voice as he jogged out the door and hurried toward the ranch house. Baby met him at the gate, licking his hand as he walked up the porch steps and knocked at the front door.

Muffled noise came from inside the house and he waited a minute before knocking again. Lexi finally answered wearing a buttery-yellow bathrobe with her hair wrapped turban-style in a towel. The scent of flowers floated around Ty as she opened the door.

“Ty, what’s up?” she asked through the screen door. She’d just stepped out of the shower when she heard what sounded like a knock at the door. The men didn’t come to the house unless there was an emergency Swede wasn’t around to handle. Quickly yanking on her robe and wrapping her hair in a towel, she ran down the stairs to see what disaster had befallen one of her crew.

When she looked out the window and saw a shirtless Ty on her porch, she thought twice about opening the door. As hard as it was for her to resist him fully dressed, seeing him without his shirt made her pulse race while her insides bubbled into a molten mess.

“I seem to have picked up a tick today and Cal thought you might be able to get it out. Swede’s gone or I’d ask him.” Ty refrained from adding the only two humans awake at the bunkhouse weren’t particularly interested in providing assistance. The next time they asked him for a favor, he’d remember their lack of helpfulness in his hour of need.

“Certainly, come in.” Lexi held open the screen and stepped back as he moved inside the house. “Go on into the kitchen and I’ll get my tweezers.”

Ty went to the kitchen while Lexi ran upstairs to the bathroom, collecting tweezers, cotton balls, and a bottle of rubbing alcohol. She hated bugs, spiders, and anything that could be considered creepy-crawly, but growing up on the ranch, she had plenty of experience removing ticks.

She hastened down the back stairs to the kitchen. The sight of the half-dressed man waiting for her made her catch her breath.