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“Okay, girl. The guys can finish this later today. I need some lunch and my back needs a break from bending over.” She patted her on the flank and kissed her neck like she always did before a ride. There weren’t many people in her corner at the moment, but she could always count on her horse.

Unless there was a black bear in the vicinity, that was.

“We haven’t seen her in a while, have we?” she asked Golden, who didn’t respond. “I hope she and her cubs are okay. The creek is getting smaller by the day, isn’t it?”

She shook her head and let out a mirthless chuckle.

“And yes, I know how pathetic it is that I’ve been reduced to having conversations with a horse. No offense.”

Golden snorted and trotted toward the barn.

She tied up Golden and approached the figure on her back deck. Bennett Marshall. It was hard not to let his physical presence affect her. His arms had held her when she cried, when she was terrified, and when she wanted to explore what loving him again might feel like. Seeing them crossed over his chest, a neutral expression on his face, didn’t have less of an effect on her heart. She still loved him, even though being with him was proving impossible.

“Bennett,” she said.

“Hey.”

“Hey? How about sorry I ran you off the tracks in your meeting yesterday, Maggie?”

He didn’t respond to that.

“What are you doing here?”

He sighed. The laugh lines outlining his eyes faded and were replaced with frowning creases along his mouth. If she were stronger, she’d close the gap of warm mountain air between them and kiss those worries away. But she wasn’t, and better he knew that now.

“The timeline changed for the cattle move. There’s a storm rolling in by the end of the week, so we need to have the herds in the canyon by Wednesday or risk getting caught in a monsoon.”

It was Maggie’s turn to frown. “When do you want to push out?”

“I’d like to leave tomorrow morning if possible.”

“Tomorrow?” Her face must have gone white because she felt the rush of blood from her cheeks down her neck and into her stomach. Tomorrow was her interview with Patrick York. He wasn’t calling it that, but she knew a meet-and-greet when she saw one. “Um, that’s soon. Are you sure the storm is headed our way? I mean, weather people get it wrong all the time.”

“It’s coming through. It started in Montana and is heading south to the Gulf, picking up steam as it goes.”

“Oh, okay.” Her heart sank.

And so it began. Of course, she’d have to skip out on a promising opportunity for the ranch. Maybe the only one that would guarantee its survival. It was just what her father had warned her about.

Then why did you bring me back, Dad?

“You don’t have to make the trip if you can’t,” Bennett said. “I’ve got the men and resources to take your herd with us.”

Hope took flight in her chest. It was the same offer in a different package—Bennett acting as a white knight on her behalf—but it gave her the freedom to meet with Patrick and choose her own path. Finally.

“Thank you. That might be perfect, actually.” From the way his eyes glinted, he hadn’t expected her to agree so readily. “I want to come, but I just—I can’t. There’s something important I have to do for Steel Born tomorrow that can’t wait.”

“I understand.” His red-rimmed eyes said otherwise. “So, I guess I’ll be by with the team at seven thirty. I’ll see you then?”

Her interview started at eight.

“Rob and John will be in charge tomorrow from seven on.”

“You won’t be here?”

“I’ll be cleaning up for my… thing. But I’ll try and come out and see if you need anything before you leave.”

Bennett’s gentle peace and calm had grounded her since she was a teen. Even in San Antonio, she’d used the lessons she’d learned from him and her father to keep her focused on her goals. Now, however, his calm was frayed, evidenced by the tremor in his hands and the exhaustion straining his features.