Page 39 of Wrangled

“Paul wants you to groom the horses before lunch.”

I blinked. “What—allof them? That’s a lot of horses.” I’d counted at least nine that morning, and that didn’t include Rusty.

He grinned. “All part of the experience, right? Besides, he didn’t think you’d mind being around the stables.”

Paul caught on fast.

“Sure.” It would be hard work—I recalled that much from doing it as a teenager—but I didn’t mind that.

“And while you’re at it, you’ll be cleaning out the stalls too.”

I arched my eyebrows. “I see. Anythingelseyou want done? Maybe I should shove a broom up my ass and sweep out the stables too.” Then I grinned right back at him, to let him know we were good. Hell, I knew what I’d signed up for.

Teague batted his lashes. “Would you? That’d be great.”

Well, what do you know?Teague also had a sense of humor.

“And what will the others be doing while I’m shoveling shit?”

“Declan’s coming with me. I need to check on the herd. Had a call this morning from Hank Quaid. He runs helicopter trips out of Bozeman for tourists. Said he spotted part of the fence was down in the north pasture, and some of the cattle had gotten through. Declan’s done this before. Walt’ll come too.”

“What about me?” Garrett demanded as he approached us. “What will I be doing?”

“We’re gonna put you on Lucy,” Butch told him as he walked up behind him. “But… you gotta relax, dude. Horses sense that kinda shit.”

I stared at Butch. “‘Kinda shit’?” I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure that’sreallygoing to help him relax.”

Butch narrowed his gaze. “If he gets on a horse and it senses he’s nervous…”

“So he falls off a few times. It’s part of the process.” I addressed Garrett. “Can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen off a horse. And look, I’m still here. It won’t kill you.”

Behind Garrett, Zeeb flinched.

“And you sayI’mnot helping?” Butch retorted.

Garrett’s wide-eyed stare darted from Butch to me, and then he walked into the bunkhouse, slamming the door behind him.

Teague glared at us. “For fuck’s sake, guys. This might be asking a lot, but can you guysnotbutt heads around him? And don’t talk about him when he’s standing right in front of you.”

Butch gaped. “Who are you, his mom?”

“No, I’m the guy who’s here to make sure he has a good experience. You know, so he leaves a five-star review on Trip Advisor, and makes this place look good?” Teague glanced toward the bunkhouse door. “I’ve been watching him. Conflict makes him uncomfortable. He was the same last night when you were dicking around.” He squared his jaw. “Youmight not have noticed, butIsure did. And right now I’m guessing he’s feeling uncomfortable as fuck, which is why he just hightailed it back to his bunk. So in future…” Another glare. “Cut the locking horns crap, all right? At least until he settles in. I’ll go see how he is. Paul, you take Toby to the stables and make sure he has everything he needs.”

“Hey,” I called out as he walked toward the bunkhouse. “I’m a guest too. Aren’t you supposed to kiss my butt?”

Teague came to a halt and turned to face me. “You don’t need support—he does. And no, I’m not about to kiss your butt.”

“Why not?”

His eyes glittered. “Because I get the feeling you’d enjoy it too much.”

Teague caught on fast too.

I knew it was almost time for lunch by the rumbles coming from my stomach. I’d cleaned out all the stalls and groomed all the horses except for Rusty. I figured Paul would’ve done that before Robert had taken him out that morning, but I was going to do it again, because hey, the boss’s horse needed that little extra, right?

Maybe it would correct Robert’s first impression of me too. Lord knew we hadn’t gotten off on the right foot. And then it hit me.

I want him to like me.