by Laura Ann
Newton had been the geek next door that Chloe had played with growing up, but their interests had driven them apart as they’d gotten older. Chloe spent all her time living her own adventures, while Newton spent his time creating them online.
One day, on a whim, Chloe had videoed herself copying some parkour moves at the city park. It had gotten a few nice comments online and her channel had been born. Since Newton was the only person she knew who was techie, she’d grabbed him out of his gaming den and pulled him along for the ride. A ride that had been fun and lucrative for both of them until recently.
“Any idea what you’re going to offer?” Newton asked, his eyes on the road.
Chloe shook her head. “Nope. But it’s gotta be good. I’m not ready to let this job go just yet.”
“Me either,” Newton grunted. He pushed his hair out of his face.
Chloe grinned. Ever since she’d gotten him away from his beloved computer, she’d noticed that he was slowly changing. His hair, his clothes, even the sunglasses he wore were more stylish. And his flirting skills have definitely improved, she mused. He wasn’t the awkward, skinny geek he used to be, and Chloe wasn’t sure if she should be impressed or frustrated. Sometimes his playboy ways got a little too distracting when they were trying to film. Good thing he’s like a brother to me, or his antics would be much worse than distracting.
She sighed and grabbed her phone, determined to google some opportunities. “What about going undercover somewhere?” she asked as she scrolled.
“For what?” Newton asked, making a face. “That works if you’re looking for something specific or if you’re the boss, but why would you have to be undercover?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Geez. Never mind. I’ll keep looking.” Her thumb kept pushing the screen up. “There’s a modeling agency in Denver. We could see if they’d let me be a model for a day.”
Newton gave her a look. “Would you be willing to be a model for a day?”
Chloe shrugged. “Why not? Pretty clothes, tons of make up...sounds like a dream come true.”
“Sounds like your worst nightmare.”
Chloe laughed. “Maybe so, but I’d do it for the viewers.” Her eyes went back to the screen. “Ooh! There’s a ranch here that lets people come be cowboys for two weeks.” She looked up. “What do you think? Want to ride horses and slop the hogs?”
“Two weeks is a long time. Would we have to stay the whole time?”
“Probably. If we wanted the whole experience.” Chloe searched the details. “Yikes, it’s not exactly cheap, but we could make it work.”
Newton shrugged. “If enough viewers wanted it, we’d make up the money.”
“True enough.” Chloe made a note. “Great. We’ve got two ideas. That’s a good start.”
“YOU WANT ME TO WHAT?” Owen put down his shovel and pushed his hat back so he could see better.
Mr. MacMillan sighed and pushed a hand through his salt and pepper hair. He was the owner of Sagebrush Ranch and Owen’s boss. The ranch had been in the MacMillan family for multiple generations and someday, David MacMillan would pass it onto his son Noah. Hopefully. “Owen...I know you usually keep to yourself and take care of the fields, but I need you to help out with the summer camps this year. Noah’s gone. He took off after things went haywire with Ms. Dylan and he’s not coming back any time soon.” He grunted. “It means I’m down a man with a full load of campers coming tomorrow afternoon.”
Owen almost choked. “Tomorrow?” he rasped.
Mr. MacMillan nodded.
“And you want me to be a, a...guide for one of them?” Owen shook his head. “I’m not a cowboy, David, you know that. I’m the farmer here. I keep my feet on the ground and my hands in the soil. I’d be useless for the job you’re describing.”
Mr. MacMillan put his hands in the air. “Now don’t get all worked up. These camps don’t last forever.”
“Only the whole growing season,” Owen grumbled. He rubbed the long scar that decorated the right side of his face, a habit he didn’t even realize he had.
“You’ve got plenty of workers who take care of the land,” David said firmly. “I know you like to be out here with them, but the truth is, you don’t have to be. As foreman, your job is mostly behind a desk and I think you can manage to help me out during the day with the campers, while taking care of your stuff on the side.”
“Being over the agriculture of this ranch is a full time job,” Owen said through clenched teeth. “You’re asking me to work double time.”
“And I’ll pay you for it,” David said with a nod. “You can put a bit more away for that farm you plan to have someday,” he added.
Owen paused. He’d been saving for his own farm his entire adult life, but land and equipment were far from cheap. Being paid extra could be a large boost to his savings. He glanced up at David, who was smirking as if he’d known he he’d won. “How much extra?”
“Same as I pay the other hands,” David said.
“I want another fifty-percent on top of the regular pay,” Owen said.
David narrowed his gaze. “Ten.”
“Forty.”
“Ten.”
Owen rolled his eyes. “No one else is pulling double duty, David. Take it or leave it.”
David glared harder. “Twenty.”
“Done.” Owen smiled wide and put out his hand, which his boss shook.
David chuckled. “Good thing I know you’re a man of your word,” he mumbled good naturedly.
Owen laughed. “Same. So who exactly will I be helping?” When David’s cheeks turned red and Owen stiffened. What now?
“See...there’s a gal coming—”
“Nope, nope and nope,” Owen said, dropping his shovel and putting his hands in the air. “I’m out.”
“You shook on it,” David pointed out. “This girl is coming with her cameraman and they plan to do a video while they’re here.”
“That’s not helping your case,” Owen pointed out. He wanted nothing to do with being an individual guide to a woman all week. There were only two things Owen was afraid of. Heights and women. His tongue always felt like cotton and his brain turned to mush every time he spent time with either of those things. At least when it came to heights, he could stay away from them fairly easily. Women were harder to ignore. But Owen had gotten pretty good at it over the years. His crops were much better company than a female.
Plants never teased or poked fun at his studious nature. Nor did they call him names like ‘geek’ or think that being a farmer was a bad thing. Plants didn’t complain if he had dirt under his fingernails or if he wanted to spend hours looking through the latest hybrid developments. In short? Plants were superior in every way.
“Now, son.” David put a hand on Owen’s shoulder. “You’re a man. You can handle one tiny little woman for a few days.” He grinned. “You're not a chicken are ya?”
“Yes. I absolutely am.” Owen stepped back and picked his shovel off the ground.
David’s expression dropped and he glared. “Fine. Thirty percent.”
Owen growled. “You don’t play fair.”
“You’re right. It’s not fair. It’s in your favor,” David pointed out.
Leaning on the shovel, Owen rubbed his scar again. “I’m gonna regret this.”
David chuckled. “Can’t say I’ve ever regretted spending time with a beautiful woman.”
“You don’t know that she’s beautiful,” Owen pointed out.
“Every woman is beautiful,” David said, turning to walk away. “Just in different ways.” He yelled over his shoulder. “I’ll see you at the barn tomorrow at five. You’ll get your assignment then.”
Owen hung his head and let out a long sigh. “This is so dumb. Why am I letting this mess me up?” He grabbed his shovel and began to dig again, throwing some extra weight into the action. “She’s probably married, or old, or at least dating someone,” he muttered as he worked. “Just because Noah went AWOL doesn’t mean
I have to.” He took a deep breath. “I can play it cool for a few days, especially if it means getting extra money for my farm fund.” He made up his mind with a firm nod. For two weeks he would conquer one of his fears in order to further his long term goal of farm ownership. Now he had to hope it was worth it.
Keep reading Owen and Chloe’s story
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