A Cowboy in Manhattan(43)
Seven
The next day, it took them two hours to make their way back down the washed-out trail. Then it took Reed four hours to dig the truck out of the muddy road. And they had to stop every half mile or so to remove debris from the road or winch the truck across a particularly rough patch.
All in all, as a “morning after” went, it left a lot to be desired. Though Reed continually told Katrina to wait inside the cab of the truck, she donned a pair of leather work gloves and helped as best she could. Her efforts were pathetic, and she ended up with scratches on her arms and a bruised knee.
It was nearly six in the evening when they pulled the mud-caked truck up to the Terrell ranch house. To Katrina’s surprise, her brother Travis was in the yard with Caleb, loading a couple of horses into a trailer. They both waved a cursory greeting and went back to their work.
As Katrina jumped from the pickup, Mandy trotted around the barn on horseback, smiling at them as she dismounted.
“You’re just in time for dinner,” she called, leading the dun mare toward the truck.
“Were you worried?” asked Katrina, keeping her back to the truck, well away from the big horse.
“About what?” asked Mandy, glancing at Reed as he rounded the hood.
“We were only supposed to be gone a few hours.”
“Did the rain slow you down?”
“It did,” Reed confirmed, halting next to Katrina.
“Did you get the pump fixed?” Mandy asked him.
“Up and running again,” he confirmed.
“So, that’s it?” asked Katrina. They’d been stranded out in the wilds of the ranch for twenty-four hours, and nobody so much as blinked an eye? What if they’d been hurt? What if they’d been trampled by horses or cattle?
“You had a phone call from New York City,” said Mandy. “Someone named Elizabeth Jeril.”
“She’s the director of Liberty,” said Katrina.
“She seems anxious for you to call back.”
Katrina’s thoughts went to her ankle. She realized she’d barely thought about it for the past two days. Through all the hiking and climbing, it hadn’t hurt at all. And the dance routines she’d tried yesterday morning had gone exceedingly well.
She was ready to dance again.
“I’ll call her in the morning.” Katrina couldn’t help a brief glance at Reed while she spoke. He was so rugged and sexy against the backdrop of the Rockies that her breath left her lungs.
“I should probably head back home,” she managed, knowing that for the first time in her life she’d have a regret at leaving Colorado.
“But I’m not ready for you to go,” said Mandy, stepping forward and pulling Katrina into a hug.
Katrina hugged back, keeping a wary eye on the mare. The animal moved, and Katrina jerked away, coming up against Reed.
“Chicken,” Reed teased under his breath.
“She’s scared of those, too,” Mandy pointed out.
“I’ll take my chances with the traffic and the panhandlers,” Katrina retorted.
Caleb and Travis approached, stripping off their leather work gloves.
“I’m about done,” said Caleb, lifting his hat and swiping the back of his hand across his hairline.
Travis nodded at the muddy truck, and Katrina remembered to step away from Reed.
“Nice,” Travis noted.
“Half the hillside came down around it in the storm last night,” said Reed.
“You stay at the line shack?” asked Caleb.
Katrina braced herself, unable to look at anyone. Would they guess? Would they ask? What would Reed tell them?
“We did,” Reed answered easily. “The princess was forced to eat pancakes and maple syrup for dinner.”
“Hey,” Katrina protested. She hadn’t been the least bit snotty about their dinner last night. All in all, she thought she’d been a trooper.
“She nearly walked out on me when she discovered there wasn’t a wine cellar,” Reed added.
She shot him an angry glare.
Caleb laughed.
“That’s my baby sister,” Travis added.
“That’s not why you’re leaving, is it?” asked Mandy.
Katrina caught something in Reed’s expression, and she suddenly knew what he’d done. He’d deflected any hint of suspicion that they might have done anything other than fight last night. She should be grateful to him, not angry.