“Hi. Are you staying busy?”
Wilder smirked and leaned forward.
“I have to, or I’ll want to take you to the hayloft,” he said in a low tone.
Rory laughed, then sobered when Bernie stepped from the room. A frown marred his brow, but he smiled when he saw her.
“Hey, Rory. It’s damn hot today. Wilder and I were just talking about that.”
Rory looked at Wilder to see him clenching his jaw, but when he saw her looking at him, he grinned.
“So hot that I wanted to lean against the storage tank.”
“Well, you can both bet that cooler weather will be here soon, and you’ll be complaining about that.”
Both men laughed and nodded. Bernie cleared his throat, and Rory noticed how he glanced at Wilder.
“I, uh, have to get back to the parlor. Wilder? You ready?”
Rory had a feeling that he wasn’t talking about milking, but it could just be speculation. She was so pissed that some of her workers were involved, but she also knew she had to play it cool and not blow this for Wilder.
“Yes. I’m ready,” Wilder said as he stared at Bernie.
“Good. Let’s get to it then.” Bernie touched the brim of his hat. “Rory, we’ll get back to work now. We just needed to take a break from the heat.”
“I get that, and it’s fine. You both work hard, so I don’t mind you taking breaks.” Then she muttered. “As long as that’s all you’re taking.”
She looked at Wilder to see him frowning. She shrugged.
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“I hope not. We’d never take anything from you,” Bernie stated.
“I know that. With all this rustling going on, I’m on edge.”
“We understand.” Wilder looked into her eyes. “We’ll do all we can for you.”
Rory knew he meant it, and she smiled at him.
“I know you will. You two have a good rest of the day. I’ll be riding the fence with Hal.”
“Yes, ma’am,” both men said.
She nodded, strode around them, and out the doors. Once outside, she leaned against the building, covered her mouth with her hand, and did all she could not to cry.
After a few minutes, she pushed off the wall and headed for the stable to get her horse. The last thing she wanted to do was ride the fence, but they did it every day, and it was her turn.
Once she had her horse saddled, she pulled herself up onto the saddle and rode out of the barn. She saw Hal on his horse waiting for her, and she smiled at him.
“Ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. Let’s go so we can get back. The heat is almost unbearable.”
“Almost?” Hal said with a chuckle.
“Okay, so it is unbearable.” Rory grinned. “All the more reason to get back.”