The Rebellious Rancher. Kate Pearce

“If you want to eat and sleep safely tonight, then you might have to manage your expectations.”

      He walked over and took Ladybug’s reins out of her unresisting fingers. “I’m going to release the horses and mules into the enclosure. Do you want to help?”

      Aware that if he went away too far from her, she’d be alone in the dark, she nodded. “Sure.”

      “Come on, then.”

      She stumbled after him, leading Ladybug and Ted toward the dense group of trees. “Do we have food for them?”

      He glanced back at her. “Nope, they’ll be having beans and singing Kumbaya with us around the fire.”

      Silver took a moment to respond. “I hope they sing better than you do.”

      Ben chuckled. “I’ve got hay, and if there’s not enough grass for them to graze on, I have alfalfa pellets, which we’ll also be eating if we don’t get our camp set up.”

      He removed Calder’s saddle and placed it on the sturdy fence. Silver tried to do the same with Ladybug’s and staggered at the weight before she managed to right herself and just get it on the fence.

      “Good job,” Ben said as he took off Calder’s saddle blanket and bridle, replacing it with a halter before he turned to the mules.

      He spent a few minutes checking each animal over, picking up their feet to inspect their hooves and generally making sure they were in good shape. While he worked, he offered Silver a running commentary of what he was doing and encouraged her to get involved.

      After securing the gate of the enclosure and checking the animals had access to water, he turned back to the campsite. “Come on.”

      Silver didn’t even mind when he grabbed her hand and towed her up the slope.

      “Can we start with the tents?” Silver asked plaintively. “I don’t think I want anything to eat. I’d just like to go to sleep.”

      “Sure.” He knelt down and unrolled one of the packs. “Here’s yours. There are instructions on the top.” He glanced over at her, a challenge in his eyes, and she stiffened. “While you do that, I’m going to start the fire.”

      * * *

      When he came back with some wood, Ben tried not to look directly at Silver who was sitting on the ground puzzling over a pile of poles, a ground sheet, and the tent fabric. Usually, he helped the guests with their tents, but her expectation that they would have a support staff setting everything up for them had made him think that she needed to understand that her participation in all events was not only required, but essential.

      He hunkered down beside the two flat stones in the center of the circle and carefully stacked his wood before adding some dried grass to act as an accelerant. The wood was quite dry, so he was confident he’d soon have a decent fire going. He always carried cured wood with sap, which burned easily and kept burning long enough to start a good fire.

      “Ouch,” Silver muttered. “This is way more complicated than it looks.”

      After making sure that the fire was taking, he went to take a look at what she’d accomplished so far.

      “Push that left side pole in further and you’ve got the basic shape,” Ben said. “Then all you have to do is build the sides and the roof structure and you’re good to go.”

      She looked over at him. “You don’t think I’m going to be able to do it, do you?”

      “No shame if you can’t,” Ben said provocatively. “You can always share mine. It’s also bigger.”

      The glare she gave him made his lips twitch, so he turned away, opened up his own tent, and started construction. He set a lantern between them so that she’d be able to get a good look at what he was doing. He also slowed down so that she wouldn’t miss anything.

      “I did it!” She squealed and jumped up and down like she’d won a medal or something.

      “Go, you.” Ben handed her a canvas bedroll, a pillow, and a sleeping bag. “You can put those inside and then come out and get something to eat.”

      She disappeared inside the tent and reversed out, giving Ben a fine view of her jeans-clad ass. She sat back on her knees and looked up at him, her hair in disarray and her cheeks flushed.

      “There is one thing . . .”

      “What’s that?” Ben asked.

      “Where’s the bathroom?”

      He extended his hand wide. “Pretty much wherever you want it.”

      “You’re kidding, right?”

      “Nope.” He turned back to his pack and handed her the camp trowel. “Stay two hundred feet from the creek and the camp, and you’re golden.”

      While she stomped off with her torch in something of a huff, he set a tripod over the fire with a pot and boiled some of the water from his flask. There were a couple of sandwiches left over from lunch, but they’d definitely need something else.

      He pulled out a couple random packs of freeze-dried food and placed them close to the fire. Silver might not be hungry, but he certainly was.

      When she came back, he held out a roll of recyclable toilet paper. “I forgot to mention we have all the luxuries.”

      She sniffed. “I used my tissues, thanks.”

      She definitely wasn’t happy with him, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Either she worked out that things were different out here or she gave up and went home. He’d only had one family bail on him on a trail ride before and that was because the kids had been so obnoxious that the parents had given in to their constant whining and gone back. If it had been up to Ben, he would’ve ignored the complaints and made them follow through, but that was probably because he’d been brought up by a father who didn’t suffer fools gladly and had never let any of his sons slack off or complain about anything.

      Silver hunkered down on one of the logs set around the now-blazing campfire, her gaze fixed on the flames. She yawned so hard, Ben heard her jaw crack.

      “You should eat something before you turn in,” Ben said. He picked up the packs of freeze-dried food and squinted at the labels. “I’ve got beef stew or sweet and sour rice. Either of those grab you?”

      She shuddered. “If that’s anything like the astronaut food I’ve tasted, it’ll be disgusting.”

      “It’s not the same thing, and just remember that unless we catch or shoot our own food, this is all we have.”

      She didn’t look convinced and Ben didn’t push it. “There are a couple of sandwiches left from lunch, and Mrs. Morgan made some brownies and snuck them in.”

      “Brownies?” Silver’s head came up like one of his dogs chasing a chicken. “Where?”

      He pushed the container over to her. “I’m surprised you didn’t see them. They were right next to my boxers.” She grabbed the box like he’d handed her a lifeline. “You should eat a sandwich as well.”

      She was already on that, devouring the white bread and mayo sandwich she’d reluctantly nibbled on at lunch in five bites. Ben hid a smile as she started on the brownies.

      “Shouldn’t you be consulting your diet app?” Ben asked. She literally growled at him and he held up his hands. “Remember, we’ll be out here for over a week, so don’t eat them all at once.”

      * * *

      Silver ate her second brownie, almost moaning at the glorious chocolatey feel of it sliding down her throat. She couldn’t remember being quite so hungry before in her life, and yet she’d done nothing more strenuous than sit on a horse and listen to Ben Miller lecture her about stuff. Getting the tent up by herself had felt like some kind of victory, but she had to give him credit