Learnin' The Ropes (5 page)

Ironically, the comments Swede just voiced about the stallion she brought home could definitely apply to the man standing in front of her. No doubt, the first trip he made into town would result in every single female for a fifty-mile radius finding some excuse to come out to the Rockin’ R Ranch to fawn over him. As it was, she was finding it hard to think of anything except the big, gorgeous man holding her hand captive with his.

Ty forced himself to let go of the soft hand with the long fingers. The brief contact had sent sparks of electricity shooting up his arm.

“Thank you for hiring me,” he said, trying not to stare at the person Swede referred to as Lex Jr. What a ridiculous name for a woman, especially one with such an attractive face. For all her oversized chore coat revealed, she could have been shaped like a stick or a barrel. However, she was unusually tall.

“Are you settling in okay? Do you need anything?” Lexi attempted to hide her perusal of their new mechanic by casting surreptitious glances his direction. The unusual shade of blue of his eyes left her wishing she could stare into them for hours. They put her mind of a deep summer sky on a still afternoon — brilliant, clear, and undeniably warm.

“I just need some parts. How do we go about getting those?” Ty braced himself as Baby spied him and raced his direction. The dog slid to a stop before she plowed him over and raised her muddy paws to his chest, giving his chin a thorough licking before Swede and Lexi got her down and scolded her for her behavior.

“Baby, that is not okay. Don’t jump on Ty. Naughty girl,” Lexi said, holding the dog’s big face in her hands and talking to her.

To Ty’s amazement, the dog appeared properly scolded and hung her head. Amused, but also sympathetic to the dog, Ty reached over and pat her on the head, giving her ears a good scratch. She perked right up, and scooted over, leaning against him with a relieved sigh.

Lexi looked at Swede with a raised eyebrow but didn’t say anything. The dog was part of the reason they lost the last two mechanics she’d hired. In addition to not liking the isolated location of the ranch, they both were terrified of the dog. Neither of them lasted more than a few days before they packed up and left.

From what she’d seen, Ty made more headway this morning than either of them had together. The other two never made it past inspecting the shop. True, it was hard to work with a hundred-pound dog growling at your every move, but over the course of a few days they should have made some progress. At least Ty had made it as far as knowing he needed parts.

“You can give me a list and I’ll run into town or you can go into Burns, whatever you prefer,” Lexi said. As she waited for Ty’s response, she tried to draw her gaze from his full lips and scruff-covered jaw line. Annoyed with her runaway thoughts, she shoved her hands in her coat pockets. Overwhelmed with a sudden and completely irrational desire to run her fingers through the mechanic’s tousled hair, she had no idea what had come over her.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to get the parts myself. I can meet the people there and if I need to phone in parts another time or have questions, they’ll know who I am,” Ty said, struggling to keep his attention on the conversation and not on his employer’s glowing green eyes or kissable lips. She had the most amazing cheekbones he’d ever seen up close. He couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful she looked, even in an oversized chore coat and cowboy hat.

“Swede can give you directions. Now, if you boys will excuse me, I’ve got some paperwork I need to take care of,” Lexi said. Briskly walking away, she felt six pairs of eyes on her back. One in particular made her neck feel hot as she went through the back gate of the yard, up the porch steps, and inside the house.

“I’ll run into town and get those parts, Swede, if you tell me where I need to go,” Ty said. After watching Lexi hurry across the ranch yard, he found it nearly impossible to focus on work. She had just enough sway in her walk to make him wish that coat didn’t cover her quite so completely.

Ten months had passed since his last date. Being unemployed and homeless certainly dampened his interest in women. It was hard to think about having a good time when basic survival seemed much more important.

As his hand continued to tingle from Lexi’s touch, he acknowledged an attraction to his boss that he’d never experienced for another woman. Ty needed this job too badly to mess it up. Any thoughts about his employer beyond a professional capacity would never do.

With a beleaguered sigh, he ran a hand through his hair. A slap on his back drew his attention to the ranch foreman.

“I’ll jes go along with ya, Ty. We can grab some lunch in town and I’ll show ya around. Ya might want to change before we go, though.” Swede pointed to the massive muddy paw prints down the front of his hooded sweatshirt.

Ty hurried to the bunkhouse and yanked off the sweatshirt. Hastily washing his hands, he combed his hair and tugged on his coat before hustling back outside. Swede waited in the pickup that had been hooked to the horse trailer. The trailer was parked in a big open shed near the barn. A large Rockin’ R brand emblazoned the driver and front passenger doors of the truck.

As Ty climbed in the passenger side, he leveled Swede with a scornful scowl, making the foreman cackle.

“You could have warned me Lex Jr. wasn’t a man,” Ty said as they headed down the gravel road. “I thought you said it was all guys out here on the ranch.”

“I could have warned ya,” Swede wheezed between chuckles. “But thet would’ve spoilt half my fun. Sides, we all think of the boss as one of the guys.”

“So what’s the story with Lex Jr.?” Ty asked. He figured by the time they reached Burns, Swede would tell him all he needed to know about his new employer. No one ever said Lex was a man, Ty just assumed. It was the last time he would make that type of mistake.

“The boss is named after her daddy. His mama was from Kentucky and named him Lexington, for her hometown. Lexington Joseph Ryan was his given name. Everyone called him Lex. When he up and married one of the prettiest lil’ gals to ever be born, they wanted a baby somethin’ fierce.  They tried and tried, looked into adoptin’ and finally jes gave up. That’s when they found out Lex Jr. was on the way. Good goshen, that was back a few years. Almost thirty years ago. Anyhow, Lex jes knew thet baby was going to be a boy and had the rest of his life all planned. Little League, football games, college sports, and then takin’ over the ranch. Ol’ Lex was left spitless when the doc told him it was a girl-baby.”

Swede took a deep breath and went on. “They named thet baby gal Lexi Jo, and everyone called her Lex, jes like her daddy. When there weren’t more babies, people added on the junior, knowin’ she was as close to a boy as ol’ Lex was gonna git. He taught her everythin’ he knew about ranchin’ while her mama tried to teach her how to be a lady. Her mama died when she was seventeen from kidney disease while waiting for a transplant. It was a sad, sad thing to see. Lex Jr. got it in her head she was done with ranchin’. Quick as she finished high school, she skedaddled off to Portland, put herself through college and managed investments for a bunch of snooty rich folks. When her daddy got sick last year with the brain cancer, she come home thinkin’ he’d get well. But he didn’t. Thet is not a good way to die, my friend. Not a good way at all.”

“I’m so sorry,” Ty said quietly. He couldn’t imagine how awful it would be to have your brain slowly consumed by disease.

“Lex Jr. promised her daddy she’d keep the ranch runnin’ so she went back to Portland, packed up her stuff, left her fancy job, and come home to the Rockin’ R permanently. She’s been tryin’ to git things straightened out since November. Her daddy’s head was off longer than any of us realized and the ranch books are a mess, along with many other things. She’d have the dealers work on the equipment, but she decided it would be less expensive fer us to hire a mechanic and have one on hand should somethin’ break down instead of being at the mercy of someone else’s schedule. Her daddy was a fine, fine mechanic but never took the time to teach Lex or any of the rest of us. We’re mighty glad ya come when ya did. We got about six weeks before everythin’ needs to be up and runnin’.”

Ty absorbed the information. He admired Lexi for leaving her life in Portland to keep a promise to her father. It showed she was a person of honor and loyalty.

He also realized he was really going to have his work cut out for him if he had to get everything up and going in little more than a month’s time. If he was familiar with the equipment, that would be one thing, but this was going to be trial and error as he went. Tractors, swathers, combines, balers, and all the other farm equipment he’d discovered manuals for this morning were foreign to him.

“I’ll do my best to make that happen,” Ty said, wondering for the fiftieth time that day how he’d get all the work completed. Maybe things weren’t in that bad of shape. The tractor he was working on now looked to be a simple fix. Maybe the rest of the equipment would be as easy to repair.

“I know ya will, son. I know ya will,” Swede said. “Now, did Lex tell ya about yer other duties?”

“Other duties?” Ty asked. He was under the impression mechanic work was his fulltime responsibility.

“Well, sure. When nothin’s broke, she expects ya to help with whatever else needs done like ridin’ herd or helpin’ hay, thet kind of thing.”

“Okay.” Ty wondered what riding herd and haying entailed. He was certain it would be way out of his comfort zone.

“Ya’ll take to it like a duck to water. I’d bet on it,” Swede said as he pulled in at the John Deere dealership in Burns. Inside, he sauntered over to the parts counter where he introduced Ty to the parts manager and let them know Ty could charge anything he needed to the Rockin’ R account. After discussing the tractor and what he thought was wrong with it, the manager put together the necessary parts and gave them to Ty.

“You can always call and see if we’re out that direction to save a trip into town,” the manager said as Ty thanked him for his help.

“Thank you. Nice to meet you,” Ty said before Swede left. After loading the parts, they drove through town.

“How about we find some lunch?” Swede pulled up at a building that appeared only marginally better than condemned.

Ty wisely kept that thought to himself and followed the older man inside. Although it was only slightly less dilapidated inside than out, the food was delicious. Ty ate his fill, followed by a large piece of berry pie. Ready to pay for his share, Swede grinned and motioned for him to put his wallet back in his pocket.

“Lunch is on the ranch. This is an official business trip, ya know.”

Content and full, they drove though town. Swede pointed out the store where they purchased clothes, tack, Baby’s dog food, and an assortment of other things completely foreign to Ty.

As they left Burns and passed through Hines, heading back into the sagebrush-covered landscape, Ty asked more questions about Lexi, the ranch, and his duties. He answered a few questions Swede asked. By the time they got back to the ranch, Ty felt more at ease with the foreman and more confident about handling the job.

“If ya need anything, jes come down to the barn. Me or one of the boys will be down there. We’re headin’ into calvin’ season so we got to keep an eye on the lil’ mamas,” Swede said as he walked out the shop door.

Ty buried himself in his work and before he realized it, Swede hollered in the door that it was suppertime.

The big clock on the shop wall confirmed Ty had been working steadily for several hours. With a few more, he hoped to have the tractor repairs complete. He planned to return to his work after dinner and see if he could finish before he turned in for the night.

After a pleasant meal with Swede and the crew, he called Beth and gave her a brief run-down of the job, assuring her everything would be fine. She laughed as he related meeting Lex.

“To say it took me by surprise would be the understatement of the year,” Ty said with a grin.

Beth laughed. “I wish I could have seen your face.”

“I’m sure it would have made you laugh.” Ty sat down at a stool at the shop’s workbench. “Everyone calls her Lex or Lex Jr., but I don’t think I can do that.”

“Why?” Beth asked.

“She’s beautiful, sis. It just seems all wrong to call someone that lovely by anything other than a pretty name.”

“Ty, don’t you go falling for your boss,” Beth teased, knowing her brother took his work very seriously.

“No worries about that. I need this job too much.”

She sighed. “I know. Take care of yourself. I’m glad you called. I miss you already.”

“You always were my favorite sister,” Ty said, hoping to chase away the somber mood that had settled over them both.

Her light laughter assured him he had. “I’m your only sister. Love you, Ty. Stay out of trouble.”

“I will. Bye, Beth.”

After hanging up with Beth, he set the speakers for his phone on top of the microwave, out of the way.

He chose a song from the band Poison from his downloaded tunes and turned the music loud enough to keep him revved up but not loud enough to blast anyone walking by.

Lost in his work, he buried himself in finishing the repair to the tractor. Finally realizing the lateness of the hour, he was washing grease from his hands at the sink when the shop door opened and Lexi stuck her head inside.

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were in here,” she said, stepping in and closing the door to keep the warmth from escaping. “I saw the light on and thought maybe someone forgot to turn it off. You don’t have to put in such long hours, especially on your first day.”

Enchanted by the sight of her, Ty tried to remember how to speak. Lexi’s hair was a rich, raven black and hung down her back in a long braid. Although she still wore the bulky coat, she literally stole his breath away.

“I… uh, just wanted to finish what I was working on. I’m heading in now,” Ty said, walking across the shop, turning off lights and taking his phone off the speakers as he went.

“You’re a big hair band fan?” Lexi asked as she turned off the overhead lights and closed the door behind her.