Page 64 of The Wildest Ride

Both greenies hopped back into the truck. The engine turned over and then they drove off, empty horse trailer rattling as they sped away. The van stayed behind, maintaining a discrete distance from Lil and AJ, as they’d been told to expect.

Lil and AJ stood next to their horses, watching the truck and trailer disappear.

Somewhere along the way, AJ had swapped out his baseball cap for his Stetson, and standing there, he was tall and gorgeous and everything a cowboy should be.

Lil groaned internally.

With one last pat on Becky’s neck, she said to him, “Well. We better get to it, then.”

She checked the saddle before mounting. Her granddad had always been fond of saying,Never let another man saddle your horse.

She noted that AJ did the same and wondered if it was his habit as well or if he’d just noticed her doing it.

They rode for an hour before they found their first sign of the herd. Sure enough, it happened when they came downwind.

All twenty cows had stuck relatively close together—hence the pungency. Lil held up a hand, signaling they should stop, and AJ stopped, eyes on the cows.

Lil spoke low, slow, and evenly. “Remember the basics. Herd animals want a leader. Be that leader and everything else is easy. Stay calm and firm. They’ll respect someone solid and dependable. You don’t need to shove, yell, or make loud noises at them. That scares them and they won’t follow something they’re scared of. That said, don’t be afraid to tell them what to do with your body—repeat yourself if you have to.”

AJ gave a small nod and she continued in the same even tone, “When you want them to turn, pull wide to the opposite side. Otherwise stick closer in. Don’t move fast and don’t come up on them from directly behind where they can’t see you.”

“And if something goes wrong?”

Lil shrugged and grinned. “Depends on what goes wrong.”

AJ’s eyebrows came together as he scowled at the cows.

Afraid he would scare the cows if he kept glaring at them like that, Lil leaned in toward him and whispered, “They can sense your emotions—at least the predatory ones.”

AJ plastered a terrifying fake smile on his face and asked through clenched teeth, “Better?”

Lil laughed and the sound whistled across the pasture, alerting the cows. A few mooed their disapproval, but none bolted. That was good—a sign the cows were well trained. Of course, she and AJ would find out for sure soon when they went in closer, but things were off to a good start.

It was just past one o’clock in the afternoon, which meant that if the cattle were amenable, as they seemed to be, and if she and AJ pushed it, which they could, there was a slim chance they could get the drive done just a few hours past nightfall. No need for any overnighting after all.

Lil nosed her horse more directly toward the cattle.

“Since you’re newer at this,” she said, “you take point. Usually that’s a position for the experienced drivers, but I’ll need to watch from the back to troubleshoot. Ride big, steady, and calm and they’ll follow you. I’ll catch any wanderers or stragglers and worry about turning them when the time comes. It’d be better if we had three more of us—that way we could put two up front, two on the sides, and one in back, but we’ll make do...” The last lines she said more to herself than AJ, mentally calculating how fast they could move the herd with what little manpower they had.

It wouldn’t be a good idea to rush—not underhanded as they were. So they wouldn’t rush.

Lil looked up at the sky, trying to breathe away the urge to try. The sun was still high, but past its zenith. There was no way they’d cover the full fifteen miles before sunset—which was part of the point of starting so late in the day. It upped the drama to force them to overnight. Making the contestants show off their cowboy camping skills, as well.

All skills, though, that she and AJ were strong enough in to get away with pushing it a little.

The cows seemed docile, she was seasoned, and their route was straightforward.

She turned to AJ. “You know where we’re going?”

He patted his saddlebag. “Doesn’t matter. They gave us GPS devices, chargers, a map, and a compass.”

Lil laughed, “Well, get yourself pointed in the right direction and get to it, then.”

He gave a nod and nosed his horse toward the front of the herd while Lil followed him down the slight hill toward the dip where the cattle grazed.

Their paths split as they drew nearer to the cows, AJ ambling away confidently, clearly at ease in the saddle, a fact that Lil was relieved to see, since they had hours of riding ahead of them—he needed more than eight seconds of riding in him.

The thought brought with it a rush of heat to Lil’s cheeks as well as the part of her pressed against the molded leather of her saddle. Shuddering, she gave herself a little shake and stern set down.