She looked away and swallowed hard. He had a bad feeling she was battling tears. When she faced him again, two bright spots of color dotted her cheeks. “I need a job, Wyatt. Sheriff Adams called me this morning to tell me I can have my position back, and he even suggested that I take a short, paid vacation before I make a final decision.” She swallowed again. “But I’m done. Law enforcement is slowly killing me on the inside, where no one can see.”

After talking with her last night, Wyatt figured he understood that better than most people. “I guess it can’t hurt to give you a fair shot,” he finally said.

She closed her eyes for a moment. Upon lifting her lashes, she said, “Thank you. I promise to work harder than anyone else on the ranch. You won’t regret taking a chance on me.”

Wyatt already regretted it, but his reasons had nothing to do with Erin’s future performance. He just wasn’t sure how he would handle being around her all the time. “Where will you sleep? I don’t mean to sound sexist, but the bunkhouse is no place for a lady.”

“Aunt Vickie says I can have the whole upstairs to myself now that Brody and his family have moved into their own house.”

Wyatt nodded. “Okay. Well, that’s good.”

“You’re not happy about this. I can tell. Is it because you’re afraid I can’t do the work?”

“No, absolutely not. Ranching is hard labor, but a woman can do it as well as a man. This just came as a surprise to me. The first time I met you, you weren’t exactly another Calamity Jane. More like just a calamity.”

She finally smiled. “A-hole.”

He laughed. “Well, you were a calamity, the way I saw it. Making me cut the twine on expensive, certified weed-free hay. Refusing to believe I was deaf. Trying to walk back to the trailhead barefoot. You were awful.”

“And you were as well. You didn’t like me at first sight. You felt that I’d been neglecting my uncle and didn’t love him.”

“Guilty as charged.” Wyatt picked up the pitchfork and rammed the tines back into the dirt. “I was wrong about all that. But you were wrong about me, too.”

Her cheek dimpled in a grin. “I’m glad I was.”

Wyatt really, really wished she wouldn’t smile at him like that. It made him feel like he’d just lassoed the moon for her or something. “I’m glad I was wrong, too. Even though Brody is here now, and Slade’s got plenty of family to love, he still holds you in high regard. He’ll enjoy having you at the ranch.”

And wasn’t that just the problem? Wyatt knew he was between a rock and a hard spot about hiring Erin. He’d be damned if he did and damned if he didn’t.

Chapter Eleven

Seemingly oblivious to Wyatt’s turmoil, Erin squinted against the sunlight. “So,” she said. “Where do I start?”