“Sure,” he said, keeping his tone casual. “You’re right. I hired you for a reason. Look, I haven’t worked with horses in this capacity. Not for a long time, at least. And the whole point of having you here is to make it so that I don’t have to be here.”

There had been a time when he’d wanted her job. When he’d wanted that life. Working on a ranch. Working with horses.

He’d let that go a long time ago. He’d had to.

And he’d found something else. A tarnished kind of glory that he’d managed to get lost in for years. On the other side of it, he didn’t know who he was or what he wanted.

But he could get the ranch up and running. It could do some good whether he was here or not.

“Well,” she said. “I don’t know how long-term I can necessarily...”

“You’re the person that I need to get things going here. I never made you give a certain commitment time frame. Don’t worry about it.”

“Right,” she said.

“Show me how it’s done.”

She urged the horse forward, and horse and rider moved in one fluid motion together. Jamie’s connection with the horse was instant. And it was damned impressive. She struggled to get him to make some changeups, but eventually, he would comply. And she was right. It took significantly less pressure on the bit than he’d been giving. When she came back around and dismounted, he nodded.

“That was a damn fine ride,” he said. “You’re going to have to give me a rundown of your take on the horses we have so far. It would be helpful if we were on the same page.”

“I...I could do that.”

“Great. Why don’t we get Gus squared away?”

He didn’t make a move to take the lead rope, and Jamie grabbed hold of it quickly, turning toward the barn and walking in that direction. He was happy to allow her to think that he was following her lead. Just like the horse was. When they walked back into the barn, Jamie began to remove Gus’s tack.

“Let me get that,” he said, stepping between her and the horse and taking care of the saddle himself.

She gawked at him, her brown eyes wide, her lips dropped open slightly. “I can get it,” she said finally.

“Sure,” he said. “But I can, too.”

“I work for you,” she said, elbowing her way back in and seeing to the rest of the work.

She knelt down, lifting Gus’s foot and checking his hooves, digging out any rocks that had lodged there with the pick. “I’m fully capable of lifting anything around here that’s going to need lifting. Ranch work is kind of my thing,” she added.

“But there’s no reason I shouldn’t carry something heavy for you if I’m here,” he said.

“Sure is. I don’t need you to. You’d do the same for one of your brothers?”

He shook his head. “Well, no. Because they’re my brothers. And they’re assholes.”