Des turned to Logan. “I assume you’ll be leader of the pack?”
Logan’s lips curved. “I’ll be back and forth. Ben will run lead. So I’ll be back here to check on you.”
“I’m sure Vic and I will do just fine. Won’t we, Vic?” She smiled at him, and his blush deepened.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Call me Des, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Des quirked a smile. Vic was awfully adorable, with his tall, lean body and oh, God, those dimples. He probably had a lot of girlfriends at school.
“I’ll see you later?” Logan asked.
Des nodded. “Yes. I’m looking forward to this, so you just do your thing.”
“Take good care of my girl, Vic.”
“Will do,” Vic said.
Logan turned his horse and galloped away. He and Frosty moved as one, and Des had to admit he looked damned sexy riding.
“This way, ma’am.”
“Vic. If you’re going to call me ma’am all day, we’re going to have a problem. Call me Des.”
Vic gave her a crooked smile. “Okay. Des.”
Oh, yeah. Definite lady-killer material. What was it with these McCormack men? It had to be in their genes.
She followed Vic as they set up behind the cattle. She figured they’d sit and wait until Ben, Logan, and the others got them moving, but Vic took off right away, inching the cattle in the direction he wanted them to go, which in turn got the ones ahead of them moving.
“Stay on their left,” Vic told her. “Our job is to keep them in formation. Cattle like to wander, so holler if you see any stragglers, and I’ll take care of them.”
“Will do.” The entire herd started their trek south. For the first part of the trip, everything seemed to be going fine. It might have been several years since Des had ridden, but Athena was a joy to ride. She took direction well and wasn’t spooked by any of the noises of the men’s whistles or shouts or the constant mooing of the cattle. Obviously, this horse was well versed in what to do. Des stayed abreast of the cattle at the tail end, keeping her gaze peeled for any that might look like they were about to bolt.
When one did, straying off as they passed one of the ponds, she hollered over to Vic, who came around from his side in a hurry and herded the wayward heifer back toward the herd.
Crisis averted, and back to smooth sailing.
It took a while to traverse the two miles back to the ranch because a large herd of cattle didn’t move as fast as horses. Once they returned, they directed all the cattle into a large holding pen, and she followed Vic to the barn where Logan was waiting for them.
“How’d she do?” Logan asked Vic as he held his hand out for her.
“She did good. She was alert and noticed one of the heifers trying to make a dash for the lake. She’s a good hand.”
Logan helped her off the horse. “Good for you. I knew you’d catch on quick.”
It had been hot as blazes out there and sweat dripped down her back. Grateful for the hat Logan had given her, she took it off and swiped the sweat from her brow. “Thanks.”
“Let’s go take a break. We’ll have lunch and something cold to drink before we start on sorting the cattle.”
She was glad he’d insisted she eat breakfast because between the heat and how much leg work it took just to manage her horse, she was already exhausted and had burned off all those calories from her sandwich.
Just the thought of heading inside to Logan’s cool, air-conditioned house made her want to cry with joy.
She followed along beside him, hurrying to keep up.
The air-conditioning hit her as soon as they stepped inside. “I think I’ll go wash up a bit first.”
“I’ll do the same. You can take my room if you’d like.”
She nodded. “If I’m not back downstairs in fifteen minutes, it means I’ve passed out, facefirst on your bed.”
He smiled and tipped her chin with his fingers, then brushed her lips with his. “Don’t fall asleep. We haven’t even started on the hard work yet.”
“That’s not tempting me to stay awake, Logan.” She turned and headed up to Logan’s room, staring longingly at his bed before moving into the bathroom to wash her hands and splash cold water on her face.
She stared at herself in the mirror, horrified by her beet red face, the splotches of dirt kicked up on her arms and neck by the horses and cattle, and her hair . . . well, there was no help for her hair. Between the sweat and the cowboy hat, her hair was flat and stuck to her head, and she couldn’t understand why in the world Logan had wanted to kiss her.
Ugh. Her appearance gave new meaning to the phrase “rode hard, put up wet,” which she had never appreciated until she looked at herself in the mirror.
And the hard work hadn’t started yet? She was never going to make it, and she mentally praised every single female working rancher, because they were way tougher than she was. It wasn’t like she was some sissy, either. She was a runner. Hell, she’d run a half marathon. She worked out regularly, had learned several forms of martial arts.
But this? This was a real workout.
Doing what she could to smooth out her hair, she went back downstairs and found Logan and Ben in the kitchen with the rest of the guys.
“There you are,” Martha said. “Logan said you might be taking a nap.”
She poured herself a glass of iced tea and nearly downed it in two gulps. “No, I was just washing up.”
“You lost that bet,” Ben said to Logan as Des slid into one of the chairs at the oversized table.
“What bet is that?” Des asked.
“That you wouldn’t make it past this morning.”
Des turned to look at Logan. “You bet against me?”
“Yeah. Sorry. But this heat wave is an asskicker, and I’ve seen your trailer.”
She frowned. “What about my trailer?”
“It’s a luxury item. It has a whirlpool tub.”
“Your bathroom has a whirlpool tub, too,” she shot back to Logan.
A chorus of oohs and ahhs broke out. Des ignored them.
“Yeah, but I’ve never used it,” Logan said. “I’ll bet you’ve used the one in your trailer.”
Irritation prickled her skin. She knew he was baiting her, teasing her. And normally, she could handle it. But right now she was tired and hot and just damned pissed off. “Bring it on. I can take whatever you can dish out.”