The Duet(18)

“Brooklyn?”

I heard my name and glanced up to see a cowboy, like a real cowboy, standing in front of me. He had on tight jeans, a white t-shirt that was adorably dirty and even a low-slung hat. He looked like a stripper I’d hired for Cammie’s twenty-first birthday party. Fun fact: Cammie hates strippers and wouldn’t let him take his pants off, so we just played Would You Rather with him for like an hour and then I paid him the thousand dollars I owed him before he left. And that’s how I played the most expensive game of Would You Rather ever.

“Brooklyn?” he asked again. Oh right, there was a hunky cowboy waiting for me to respond.

“Yes. Hi, that’s me,” I said with a dopey smile.

He grinned, a wide grin full of confidence and sex appeal, and then I noticed that he had twinkling blue eyes. Oh, good grief. I guess they knew how to make ‘em in Montana.

He reached his hand out for mine. “I’m Derek — a ranch hand over at Jason’s. I was the only one free, so I offered to come pick you up and drive you back.”

For some reason, I hadn’t considered the idea that there would be other people at the house besides just Jason and me.

Derek reached for my bags. “How many people stay at the ranch?”

He mulled over my question as he walked toward a beat-up red truck sitting idle on the curb. Without a second thought, he tossed my bags into the cab and I heard an audible clink as my bathroom items crashed against the metal. Strike one, cowboy.

“It changes all the time, but usually it’s just me and LuAnne. She manages the house for Jason. Y’know, makes sure everything is running well while he’s gone.”

Ah, so there was a lady. LuAnne.

“Are you guys together?” I asked as he held the passenger door open for me.

That question earned me a barking laugh. “Lu turned 55 this year and she has no time for my nonsense.”

“Huh, I like her already,” I joked, throwing in a little wink.

Derek appreciated the wink; his smile widened even further as he helped me close my door.

So maybe Montana wouldn’t be all that bad. If Jason hated me, I’d just hang out with Derek and LuAnne.

As Derek pulled out onto the open country road, I grabbed my phone and shot off texts to Summer and Cammie so they’d know I arrived in Montana safely. It took three tries to get the texts to send; the signal bars on my phone were sitting at a one out of five. Lovely. I rolled down the truck’s window and held my phone out in hopes that that would help.

“What are you doing?” Derek asked, peering over at me for a second before looking back at the road.

“Trying to get these text messages to send.”

“By holding your phone out of the car? Is that an LA thing?” he asked with a rich, deep laugh.

My cheeks stained red. “No, it’s, well I’m holding it closer to the satellite.” Right? Is that why people held their phones up when they were struggling to get signal?

“The satellite in outer space? You realize we just have a few cell towers between Bozeman and Big Timber. I doubt your iPhone has the power to transmit signals into outer space.”

All right, yes when you put it like that, I feel very dumb. Brooklyn: 0. Cowboy: 1.

Just then my phone pinged in my hand and I glanced down to read the text.



Cammie: FINALLY. We’ve been out of contact for like 5 hours. Have you picked up any Montana hookers yet?



I laughed, holding my hand over my mouth to block the sound.

“Did it send?” Derek asked.

“Yes and my crazy sister already replied.”

His eyes widened. “There are two of you?”

I laughed. “She’s younger and has brown hair and brown eyes, but other than that we could be twins.”

“You have blue eyes, right?” he asked, squinting at me.

I nodded as I glanced back down at my phone.



Brooklyn: Had one in the airport bathroom and now I’m riding a cowboy.

Cammie: WHAT?!

Brooklyn: Sorry, I’m riding *with* a cowboy… to the ranch. Hehe



“You and your sister close?” Derek asked from the driver’s seat.

I purposely positioned my phone so that he couldn’t read what I was saying about him over text.

“Very close. She’s the only family I have.”

Before he could ask for more details, I continued with a question I was wondering about. “How long have you worked for Jason Monroe?”

He tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel as he thought of the answer. “At least seven years, maybe more. I was jobless after high school and Jason needed help on the ranch so it worked out.”

So Cowboy Derek was younger than me.

“He seems like a private person.”