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“I suspected they would have to order some of the parts you needed, but I hoped that wouldn’t be the case. I’m sorry,” Brynn said as she and Miguel drove back to the ranch.
“Oh, don’t be. I just feel bad I’ll be imposing on you and your family for longer now,” Miguel said.
Brynn waved her hand as if she were shooing away a fly. “Please, it’s no bother at all. Besides, with all of our hands gone, and new hires not flocking in for interviews as we’d hoped, we could use some help around the ranch if you’re up for it.”
“Sure. It’s the least I could do with how generous you all have been to me. Is that why there was that poster on the door back there?” Miguel asked.
“Yep. I designed those after Blaire came up with the idea.” Brynn had forgotten all about the posters they’d hung around town advertising available positions at Firestone Falls. That was how Cole had heard about the opening, and even though he was a contractor, they’d hired him on. Mostly because Blaire had fallen in love with him, but a handy man was always useful on a ranch.
“Are there not a lot of people around town looking for a job?”
“Actually, no. A lot of places in town are family businesses so they’re already busy. And to be honest, I don’t think the people who are in need of a job really want to work for Brenda. She’s kind of tough to get along with,” Brynn said.
Miguel chuckled. “Is that why you haven’t introduced me yet?”
“Trust me. It’s for your own good,” she said sarcastically. Brynn paused. “No, Brenda really isn’t that bad. And ever since she and Justin got engaged, she’s been a lot more laid back.”
Miguel raised his eyebrows. “Oh, really?”
Brynn felt her cheeks get hot. “Oh, my gosh. That’s not what I meant.”
Miguel just laughed and shrugged.
“You think you’re pretty funny, don’t you?” Brynn quipped.
“I don’t think I’m funny, but I do enjoy making you laugh when I can,” Miguel said.
Brynn rolled her eyes. “So, now that we know you’re going to be here for at least a week. Do you think you’ll stay at the ranch the whole time? Or do you want to find a room here in town?”
“I mean, if you don’t mind, I’d love to stay where I at least know someone. That room was pretty cozy last night, and the ranch is beautiful. Of course, like I said, I’d be willing to help any way I can to try to pay back your generosity,” Miguel said.
“We were supposed to brand calves a month ago now, but with my father’s passing and then all of the hands leaving, we’ve been putting it off. I think if you agree to help, Brenda will let us get it done this weekend. I’m worried about the calves getting too big to rope and throw down. It will take so much longer if we have to run them all through the chute,” Brynn explained.
“Then I should warn you that I don’t know how to rope,” Miguel added quickly.
Brynn smiled. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll teach you. In fact, let’s work on your roping skills when we get back to the ranch.”
“All right. I can’t promise you I’ll get the hang of it in time, but I’ll try.”
“I’m sure you’ll do great.” Brynn couldn’t wait to see Miguel try to rope. She was sure he’d catch on fast, though. Baseball players at least knew how to throw well.
* * *
MIGUEL STUDIED BRYNN as she pulled a black roping dummy out of the barn and into the open area of the stackyard where he stood. There were giant bales of hay on each side of him, but where she set up the dummy there was plenty of room to practice roping the fake bull head.
“I brought you back here for your own privacy more than anything,” Brynn explained. “I’m not embarrassed of you...yet.”
Miguel’s heartbeat sped up a little when Brynn winked at him. They’d spent the entire morning together, and even though he was preoccupied with thoughts about his car and what had gone on at home, Brynn’s charms set him at ease in a way that was foreign, but welcome. “Trust me. You’ll be thankful we’re doing this in private once you see how awful I am.”
“How do you know you’re awful? Have you even tried to rope before?” Brynn asked.
Miguel shrugged. “I had a couple of friends in high school who were really into roping. They played baseball with me in junior high, but once they got into high school, they all joined the rodeo team. Every time I tried to rope with them, they’d laugh, so I’d say I’m pretty bad.”
“Well, I’m willing to teach you,” Brynn said as she handed him a lasso.
Miguel purposely grabbed her hand and pulled her closer before he took the rope from her grasp. “I think I’m going to need a lot of lessons,” he said.
Brynn stared into his eyes for a moment, then licked her lips. The fact that she didn’t look away made Miguel’s stomach dance with excitement. Ever since he could remember, he’d wanted to feel this type of connection with a woman, but he never expected this. Everything about Brynn and the ranch felt like a dream, and he wondered if he was about to wake up and realize none of it was real.
“Okay,” Brynn said as she pulled her hand away gently. She walked behind Miguel then grabbed both of his hands. “Are you right-handed or left-handed?”
“Right.”
“Good. It’ll be easier for me to teach you because I’m right-handed too. Now, you’re going to want to hold your left hand down by your side with your extra rope. You’re going to take your right hand and hold your lasso like this,” Brynn said as she demonstrated the way Miguel should hold the loop.
“All right. Now, lift your arm above your head and swing the rope, then when you’re ready, throw it out over the target.”
Miguel was having a hard time focusing on the directions Brynn was giving when he could feel the warmth of her body so close to him, but he did his best to remember what she said as he swung the rope over his head, then threw it out toward the dummy.
They both watched as the lasso sailed through the air, hit the head of the dummy, and fell onto the hay-covered ground.
“Oh! So close! That wasn’t bad at all,” she said, punching Miguel in the arm playfully.
“I mean, I didn’t get the loop around the bull’s head, did I?”
“Well, no. But, you hit it! You’re so close and that was your first time. Here, watch me once, then try again,” Brynn said.
Miguel had no problem studying Brynn’s every move. He watched carefully as she pursed her lips slightly in concentration, and he stared at her strong body as she adjusted her stance and started to swing the lasso. Brynn threw the rope quickly then pulled the slack out, and before Miguel even realized what had happened, she’d successfully pulled the loop tightly around the head of the dummy.
“Wow, Brynn. You’re a professional,” Miguel said, truly impressed.
Brynn scoffed. “Nah. That would be Brenda. She was the rodeo queen in our family. She mainly barrel-raced, but she’s a dang good roper too.”
“Well, it must run in the family then. Here, let me try again.” Miguel walked over to the dummy and removed the rope, then coiled it up so he could practice.
Brynn stood nearby as he threw the lasso again, and again, and again. As he practiced, Brynn continued to give him pointers. Then pretty soon he got a one horn, then two, and then after a few attempts he finally got the whole head.
“Yes!” Brynn shouted. “I knew you could do it!”
Miguel chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Only because I had such a wonderful coach.”
Brynn threw her arms around him. “You’re going to get even better before this weekend!”
Miguel put his hands on Brynn’s back, and tried to memorize the feel of her embrace. There was an open warmth radiating from her and enveloping his every sense. He’d never felt so drawn to a woman, but he worried about getting involved with her. The more he started to care for Brynn, the more he realized the two of them developing a lasting relationship was highly unlikely. He couldn’t let this initial attraction run away with all of his reason. He didn’t know enough about Brynn to know if they were compatible, or if she was just a beautiful girl who made him feel good about himself.
* * *
BRYNN COULD FEEL MIGUEL opening up to her as they spent more time together. When they first met, he’d been incredibly jumpy and hesitant to talk about himself, but after spending the day together, Miguel had opened up about his family and his life back in New Mexico. Brynn had never met anyone who was as smart and talented as Miguel, yet struggled so much with feeling accepted and loved by those around him.
Although Brynn’s story was different, she had felt similar feelings at various times in her life, and having that in common was pulling her toward him. Brynn had surprised herself by hugging him so impulsively after he’d successfully roped the dummy in the stackyard, and it scared her. She’d always been someone who acted on her feelings without really thinking, and she was starting to wonder if she was setting herself up to be disappointed by hoping Miguel would stay.
For all she knew, Miguel was there to fix his car and get back home. What made her think she could convince him to stay?
“What are you thinking about?” Miguel asked Brynn as they walked back to the shop from the barn. He’d helped her put the roping dummy away after a few hours of practice, and now they were going to get some food.
“Oh, nothing,” Brynn insisted.
“Doesn’t seem like nothing. You were completely lost in your thoughts,” Miguel said.
“I guess I was just speculating about the future,” Brynn admitted.
Miguel raised his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? What about it?”
Brynn kicked a small rock and it bounced off the dirt road in front of them several times. “I don’t really know. I’ve found that what I want for my future has changed so much, that I don’t know what to hope for anymore. I’m never sure what’s going to make me happy, because as my plans have changed, I’ve found I’ve been satisfied by things I never dreamed would fulfill me.”
“Like what? Which dreams of yours have changed?” Miguel asked.
“Basically, all of them,” Brynn said with a nervous chuckle. “When I went to college, I wanted to be an artist. I dreamed of travelling the world with a suitcase full of paint and canvas, painting everything I saw. I would actually save all the money my parents would send to me at school up in Rhode Island and travel as much as I could on the weekends. I went to New York City, Vermont—to paint the maple trees in the fall, DC—to paint the cherry blossoms in the spring, and even Prince Edward Island. I painted waterfronts and cityscapes and trees and skies and people. Then my mom got sick.”
Miguel exhaled loudly, and the noise reminded Brynn of the feeling she’d gotten when her mother had called and told her the news—like someone had punched her in the gut so hard it had knocked all the air out of her.
Brynn sighed, alleviating a little of the pain that still resided in her heart from the loss of her mom. “I realized after her diagnosis, that if I wanted to be with my mom, I needed to figure out a way to contribute here. I tabled my dreams of traveling the world with a paintbrush in my hand, and changed the focus of my studies to graphic design. When I graduated, I moved home to help my dad and sisters take care of my mom.
“Once I got back, I was so grateful to be around for her last couple of years. Those dreams of traveling and painting seemed so insignificant compared to my relationship with my family that I started to question if living out my original dream would have ever made me happy at all,” Brynn explained.
Miguel nodded. “I think most of us focus on what we think will make us happy, but then life has a funny way of showing us and leading us to what really will.”
“I agree, and I guess that’s what I meant when I brought all of this up. Sometimes it feels pointless to ponder the future when it’s constantly changing.” Brynn said.
Miguel stopped, then grabbed Brynn’s hand so she’d stop too. “I think we still have to dream, even if it’s not going to work out in the end. There’s no way to tell what’s coming next. The world can change in an instant, but you still have to move forward with faith in the future.”
Brynn let herself get lost in Miguel’s dark brown eyes for a moment, before she cleared her throat and looked away. No matter how much she wanted to fall into the deep pool of his soul and explore the connection she felt to him, she knew better.
She couldn’t control the future at all, and she didn’t want to, but it was easier to dream when she was the only one involved. She’d been playfully flirting with Miguel, and she definitely felt something between them, but she wasn’t about to risk her heart.
Brynn looked back toward the shop. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”
* * *
EVERYONE WAS EATING lunch together in the shop, so it was the perfect time to introduce Miguel to all of her sisters and Cole. Since the housekeepers had less work to do with less apartments to clean, they’d been getting extra hours by cooking meals for the rest of the employees, and Brynn wasn’t sure if she ever wanted it to end.
First Brynn introduced him to Brenda. It was better to get that out of the way so he might forget how awful of a boss she would be by the time Brynn asked him to stay and work for them.
After Brenda, Blaire and Cole were introduced. Then Cole called Russel over and introduced him to Miguel by saying, “This is my brother from another mother, Russ. He was my best man at our wedding, and he’s going to be our first child’s godfather.”
Blaire’s eyebrows shot up so fast that Brynn burst out laughing. “Is that an announcement?” Brynn asked.
Blaire glared at Cole. “Definitely not.”
“Uh, oh. Trouble in paradise?” Brynn asked, remembering their conversation about marital bliss from the day before.
Blaire rolled her eyes.
Bridget, who was the quietest of all of Brynn’s sisters, didn’t say much. One of the housekeepers interrupted them with a question, though, so maybe she would have had more to say.
“He’s really cute,” Brittany whispered to Brynn after Miguel walked away. Brittany was the last of her sisters—besides Brooklyn who was still at school—to meet him. After they’d been introduced, Miguel went off to chat with Justin since he was the only person Miguel had met beforehand.
Brynn grabbed Brittany’s hand and squeezed it with excitement. “Oh, isn’t he?” she said quietly, trying to stifle her squeal. She was grateful for the chance to talk to one of her sisters about him alone.
“Seriously. Where did he come from again?”
“Literally found him on the side of the road.” Brynn giggled. “No, but really, he’s from New Mexico.”
“Gosh. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I could stare at him all day,” Brittany admitted.
“Oh, don’t worry. He’s so cute, and super nice, but I just can’t be interested,” Brynn said.
Brittany’s eyebrows shot up. “Why not?”
“Because I’m hoping that he’ll be a new hire for Bridget, and I don’t want to complicate the situation. If staying will make him happy, he’ll stay. If not, he’ll go back to New Mexico. I don’t want him to know I like him and let that influence his decision,” Brynn insisted.
Brittany shrugged. “All right. You keep telling yourself that. I can already tell that you like him, so that probably means he can too.”
“No way.” Brynn said. But not even a second after the words had left her mouth, she found her eyes drawn to Miguel across the room. He was deep in conversation with Justin, but almost as if he could feel her eyes on him, Miguel turned his head. He smiled immediately when he caught her looking at him, and right then Brynn knew she was wrong. He knew. Oh, but she really didn’t want him to. But she also really wanted him to kiss her.
Her thoughts were certainly fickle. Weren’t they?