Page 50 of Cowboy Elite 2: Mike

They'd been riding for maybe twenty minutes when Liv realized she'd stopped gripping the saddle horn like it owed her money. Her shoulders had dropped. Her breathing had evened out. And somewhere between the pond and the far pasture, fear had gotten replaced by something else.

Wonder, maybe.

"This is nice," she said, surprising herself.

Mike looked up at her, and the pride in his eyes made her chest go tight. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." She let herself smile. "Who knew?"

"Told you Sally was magic. See that fence post?" Mike pointed to a charred section of rail. "That's where Kenny tried to smoke out a hornet's nest with a shop torch last summer."

"Tried?"

"Well, he got the hornets. Also got the fence, half a hay bale, and his own eyebrows." Mike grinned. "Lyle said he looked like a startled egg for a month."

Liv laughed and the sound echoed across the open pasture. "Did he learn his lesson?"

"Hell no. Three weeks later he tried it again with a different nest. That's Kenny. If it didn't work the first time, it must've been operator error."

They rode in comfortable silence after that, and something had shifted between them. The air felt charged, full of possibility and promise. When they finally circled back toward the barn, Liv didn't want the ride to end.

Mike helped her down from Sally's back, his hands lingering on her waist, and for a moment they stood close enough that she could count the flecks of gold in his eyes.

She looked at him, this man who'd given her a job without questions and made her feel safe enough to be terrified on top of a thousand-pound animal.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For forcing me out of my comfort zone."

Something shifted in his expression, went soft and fierce at the same time. "Anytime, darlin'."

The afternoon passed in a blur of contentment. Liv and Charlotte spent an hour planning elaborate cookie designs for the bake sale, Charlotte's suggestions growing increasingly ambitious.

"What about cookies that look like fire hydrants? Dogs love those! And maybe ones shaped like squeaky toys!"

Heather joined them on the porch with sweet tea and her own ideas. "We'll need help," she said, studying the list that had grown to three pages. "The McGrady ranch might donate some beef for the barbecue. And Cooter's always looking for an excuse to fire up his smoker since his wife put him on a diet."

"I can reach out to suppliers in Austin," Liv offered. "There's a chocolate distributor I used to work with who owes me a favor."

“Is that safe?” Heather asked.

For an instant she’d forgotten. “I’ll use the ranch’s name, not mine.

It felt strange, using her old connections for something so purely good. In New York, every favor had come with strings attached, every relationship calculated for maximum benefit.

This felt different.

Clean.

Charlotte bounced in her chair. "This is gonna be the best bake sale ever! The puppies are gonna have so much money for food and toys!"

"Speaking of puppies," Heather said, “I’ve got one waiting for me who needs some excess energy worked off.”

“Mo?” Liv asked.

“That’s the one. Little stinker. Still gets distracted by every leaf, bug or rock in his path.”