Tackling Summer.

Kayla Dawn Thomas.

For the OX Ranch.

CHAPTER ONE.

Dust billowed in front of her white Ford Ranger. Whoever it was up there was driving way too fast for the old dirt road. Hayfield Road was a single track and logging trucks had a tendency to roar unexpectedly around blind corners. When her father taught her to drive at age twelve, he'd preached over and over again the need to go slow and be alert on these mountain roads. Most folks figured them to be empty and therefore, safe for speed. Aside from the logging trucks, cattle and game were often crossing or standing in the middle, and the gravel could be shifty.

The dust disappeared around a corner and Chanel Eber shook her head. She turned her thoughts to what she wanted to do when she got home. Spring semester at Doumit University had ended the day before, drawing a close to her junior year. Though she enjoyed living in a college town during the school year, her heart stayed on her family's cattle ranch. Her grandfather left the Double O to her dad, Mitch, and his brother, Gerald when he died. Chanel had been a baby, and still wished she'd had a chance to know the man. Moving onto the Doumit campus three years ago was the first time she'd lived anywhere else.

Rounding the sharp turn, Chanel spotted a dusty red sports car stuck in a washed out section of road. Her father had mentioned heavy rains back in April causing some runoff. It was no surprise the county hadn't made it out to patch up Hayfield Road yet. Its maintenance was generally pretty far down on the priority list. Most of the time her dad, or one of his guys, ended up filling in the largest of the potholes and washes.

Chanel pulled as far to the side of the road as she could while still keeping all four tires grounded. A deep draw fell off to the right. She jumped out and went up to the car. The driver was just opening the door.

"Son of a b.i.t.c.h!" A male voice cursed from within.

She bit her lip. It always amused her when city folk came out here unprepared and then blamed the mountains for their screw-ups.

"Having some trouble?" Chanel called.

A blond giant unfolded from the tiny car. His wavy hair reached his wide shoulders. He wore a gray Doumit University football t-shirt and baggy jeans. Blond stubble sprouted on his face. Chanel's knees grew a little weak. She could not believe she was standing in front Maddox Warren, the hottest tight end in their conference-both on and off the field. Doumit University was housed in a small town, so whether or not a person followed the sport, the players and staff were well-known in the community. Not a football fan, nor a fan of the players' att.i.tudes around campus, Chanel scolded herself for getting rubbery.

"Bottomed out in this d.a.m.n ditch. What the h.e.l.l is a ditch doing in the middle of the road?" Maddox ran a large hand through his blond mane.

Chanel pulled herself together, trying not to appear rattled as she stood face to face with her school's celebrity. She reminded herself how much money and attention the football program got over academics, and how most of the guys were a.s.sholes. Finding Maddox out here in her world startled her, that's all.

Before she could respond to his ridiculous question, Maddox continued his tantrum.

"Now what am I gonna do?" He threw his hands up in the air and turned a slow circle like he might find an answer amongst the trees. A cow mooed in the distance.

Chanel stifled a giggle, biting her lower lip. Big Man on Campus was pretty helpless out in the sticks. "Well," she said, "I can give you a ride to the nearest ranch. We can see if someone has time to pull you out."

Maddox turned around to face her, his expression frustrated. "Shouldn't it be a priority to get someone out of the road?"

"There's a chance everyone will be away from the buildings, but we can see." He was becoming less attractive every time he opened his mouth. Maddox Warren thought the world revolved around him wherever he went. He was in for a surprise out here.

Maddox huffed and crammed both hands into his hair, an angry glint in his sharp blue eyes. "And what if n.o.body's around? Then what?"

Chanel shrugged. "We'll figure something out." She wasn't about to tell him the next ranch was hers, and she was more than capable of finding a larger truck to tow his a.s.s out of the ditch. He could stress about it for a while. "So, you coming with me or not? You'll want to get that thing out of there before a logging truck comes along."

Maddox reached back into the car and pulled out his cell phone. After fiddling with it for a second, he crammed it into the back pocket of his jeans. Chanel pressed her tongue into her cheek to keep from smiling. There wasn't a signal for at least twenty miles.

"Probably no way this thing could pull it out?" Maddox gestured toward her little truck.

"Not a chance," Chanel said.

Muttering something she couldn't make out, Maddox reached back into the sports car and came out with the keys. He slammed the door, and she heard the locks click into place-like it was going anywhere. Then he followed her to the pickup, carefully inching his way along the pa.s.senger side to avoid falling down the steep slope.

"Might of hit that spot a wee bit fast?" Chanel said as she eased her rig around the bottomed out Miata.

Maddox looked sharply at her. "I had it under control."

"Apparently." She didn't try to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

"What's with you?"

"Nothing! I just know this road. You can't go much over forty, tops," Chanel said.

"You live out here?"

"Yep, and I've never seen you around. Where're you headed?"

"The Double O Ranch."

Chanel b.u.mped the brake in surprise, jerking them both forward in their seats.

"And you criticized my driving?" Maddox pushed his hair back out of his face.

"Sorry," Chanel muttered. Her father hadn't said anything about hiring extra help this summer. Mitch Eber was a major college football fan, so she couldn't imagine him bringing on Maddox Warren without bragging about it. "Why the Double O?"

Chanel gave her pa.s.senger a sideways glance and saw him roll his eyes.

"Oh, just some bulls.h.i.t idea Coach had." Doumit University's head football coach was known for his unorthodox methods for getting the best out of his players.

A light bulb went on in Chanel's head. One of her father's college friends worked in the Doumit Athletic Department. He'd hooked Mitch and Chanel up with game tickets a couple of times over the years, which didn't do much for her, but she went along because she didn't get to see much of her dad during the school year. That had to be the connection, but still, sending a spoiled city boy out to a working cattle ranch didn't make sense.

Chanel turned left off Haystack Road onto an even skinnier track with pine trees packed close. A gra.s.sy tuft ran down the center of the lane.

"Where'd you say we were going?" Maddox asked, his expression growing more concerned the deeper they went into the woods. He pulled his useless phone from his back pocket. "I can't believe there's no reception out here. I really need to call Mitch and let him know I'm running late."

Keeping a poker face, Chanel said, "You can get in touch with him when we get to the nearest ranch."

"Uh huh. Do you know everyone out here? I've heard that people who live out in the boonies like this can be a little...," his voice trailed off, and he drummed his fingers on his leg.

"A little what?"

"Off. Unstable," Maddox said.

"Do I seem a little off or unstable?" Chanel asked.

Maddox jumped when some brush sc.r.a.ped along the pa.s.senger window. Chanel almost lost it. This guy was completely out of his element, and she was enjoying his dis...o...b..bulation way too much.

"A little dendrophobia there?"

Maddox's head snapped around. "What?"

"Fear of trees," Chanel said sliding her eyes to give him a sly glance. "Psych one-oh-one."

"No," he said defensively.

"Have you ever been out in the sticks before?"

"I camped with friends several times as a kid. A bunch of guys from the team and I went white water rafting last year. So, yeah, I've heeded the call of the wild," Maddox said, his tone dripping with self-a.s.surance.

No, Chanel thought. That was just plain c.o.c.kiness.

When Chanel didn't say anything he confessed. "Okay, we were in a motor home, in a groomed campground, with a pool and Wi-Fi, and we had a guide when we hit the river."

She couldn't help herself. A snort and then a hoot of laughter burst from deep inside. When she looked at him, she saw his cheeks were flaming red.

"Don't worry," Chanel said. "Those of us who can handle ourselves out here are in the minority."

The Ranger climbed a steep hill, and when they crested, a wide green valley opened up to them. A herd of horses grazed in a lush meadow. Several large hayfields extended away from the cl.u.s.ter of buildings and out of sight. A two-story barn was surrounded with log corrals and a rodeo-sized arena. Two small wood plank houses stood side by side with a small patch of yard off their front porches. A couple of lawn chairs lay on their backs in the gra.s.s. A three bay shop with the doors open displayed a swather, a green John Deere tractor, several ATVs, and shelves and benches of tools. Two gooseneck horse trailers were lined up next to a small wooden shed with a gas pump in front. On the far end of the clearing, an A-frame cabin with windows to the eaves overlooked the whole operation.

Chanel pulled her small truck right up to the sliding barn doors, over which hung a sign with Double O burned deep into the wood. The family brand, two linked O's were branded in at the end of the sign. Exiting the Ranger, Chanel led the way inside the barn. She felt Maddox's eyes on her back pockets. A pack of dogs came tumbling over barking and wagging. Chanel knelt to pet each one in turn until a pet.i.te black and white Border Collie with one blue eye and one brown eye wiggled its way into her arms.

"There's my girl," Chanel murmured as she hugged the dog, allowing it to lick her cheeks a couple of times. So far, it hadn't worked out to bring Soda to Doumit, and it killed her every time she had to leave her companion. Thankfully, the dog never held a grudge.

Chanel looked over her shoulder at Maddox to find him kneeling and stroking the other three dogs, even Ralph, the grumpy Blue Heeler. The guy went up a notch in Chanel's mind. Most people would be unnerved by a small pack of unfamiliar dogs, and the fact that Ralph seemed to like him said something. Chanel had learned over the years animals are rarely wrong about a person's character.

Despite his small win with Ralph, Chanel still saw Maddox as a trespa.s.ser on her sacred s.p.a.ce. Without a word, she rose and walked deeper into the barn where she saw a man hunched under a horse, its foot resting on his thigh as he tapped a nail into a gleaming, silver shoe.

"Hey, Dad," Chanel said in a low voice, being careful not to spook the horse. Dust motes hung in the air between the loft above and the dirt floor where they stood.

"Dad?" Maddox's voice was too loud, and the big bay shifted and flared its nostrils.

Mitch Eber straightened and gently placed the horse's foot on the packed dirt floor. "Easy there." He ran a large hand along the horse's sleek neck. Mitch was well over six foot and solid. No beer belly on this cowboy. His salt and pepper hair was flat from the hat he'd removed before squatting under the horse.

"Chel!" His eyes twinkled as he crossed the barn in three easy strides. He picked up Chanel and spun her around. "You made good time."

"Yeah, I was ready to get home. I skipped lunch, though, so I'll need to see what you've got at the house."

"Lucky for you, your Aunt Christine sent home leftover chicken and dumplings last night, and I haven't gotten around to eating yet either," Mitch said.

Chanel smiled. Mitch's sister-in-law often kept him fed while his daughter was at school. Breast cancer had taken Chanel's mother, Margo Eber, when Chanel was ten. Like Mitch, Christine had lost her spouse young. The two had kept each other company and worked together to raise their kids. There'd been whispers around the county about them being romantically involved, but Chanel and her cousins knew better.

"I hope you aren't wearing out your welcome," Chanel said. Sometimes when Chanel was at school, Mitch could get lonely and spend an awful lot of time at Christine's farmhouse over the hill. What would happen when she stopped coming home at regular intervals? This could be her last full summer at home. She would be graduating next spring.

Mitch waved off her worry. "That's what's so great about Christine. She'll speak up if I'm pesterin' her."

Maddox sneezed behind her, a reminder her of his presence. "Oh! Dad, meet Maddox Warren. I found him bottomed out a couple miles before our turnoff."

Mitch shook hands with the football player. "Mitch Eber, glad you made it."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Maddox said. He turned to Chanel. "Mitch is your dad? You could've mentioned that in the car. And I didn't tell you my name."

A wicked smirk planted itself on Chanel's lips. Messing with this guy was too much fun. "No, you didn't."

"Then how do you know it?"

"I just drove in from DU," she said.

Maddox's tanned face lost some of its color.

"You're a bit of a local celebrity around campus," Chanel said.

Maddox swallowed and nodded.

"What're you drivin'?" Mitch asked.

"Mazda Miata," Maddox said sticking his chin up a bit. Chanel suppressed an eye roll. On campus, a shiny sports car was a big deal. Not so much out here.

"Uh huh," Mitch responded keeping his face impa.s.sive. "Well, Chanel here can give you a ride back out there in my ranch truck. Chel, you know where the towrope is in the shop. You ought to be able to pop that little thing right out of that wash. By the time you get back, I'll be done here, and we can have lunch."

Chanel drove her pickup over to an A-frame log house that overlooked the barn, some other buildings, and corrals. The green roofs on two small houses reminded him of the houses in a Monopoly set. She led Maddox to a large gray Silverado. He noted the keys dangling from the ignition and reminded himself there was no one around to jack the truck. Even in his gated community in urban California, things had to be locked up tight.

They drove to another building constructed of the same dark stained wood as the barn. This one was filled with workbenches and rows of tools hanging from pegs on the wall. The ceilings soared overhead, and he wondered what kind of monstrosity would require so much s.p.a.ce. There were grease spots covered in sawdust on the cement floor, and the air had an acrid smell. Chanel moved with confidence around the benches and quickly fished a towrope from a plastic tub tucked under a dusty counter.

His curiosity was piqued about what all they did in here, but there was no way he was going to show this girl his interest. She was way too much of a smart a.s.s. That stunt she pulled revealing herself as the farmer's daughter had thrown him for a loop. He had a sinking feeling he was going to be stuck with her all summer. She didn't seem like the kind that was just around for a quick visit that she'd spend sunbathing on the A-frame's deck. She was fun to look at, but there was an air about her that set his jaw on edge.

As they drove back down the dirt road, she finally spoke. "Where do you come from?"

"L.A." Maddox stared straight ahead. Small talk. If she went to Doumit, she had to know where he was from. He was a bit of celebrity, and his details had been in the student paper several times over the last three years.

"Little bit different here," Chanel said.

Maddox blew out a long stream of air. "Ya think? It's creepy how there isn't anybody around."

"Really? It makes me feel safe."

They reached the bottomed out Miata. Maddox relaxed a bit to see that his car was still sitting in the ditch. He'd hated leaving it unattended. It could've been crushed by one of those logging trucks Chanel had mentioned, or someone could have found a way to steal it or its parts. Then he thought about how the keys to the pickup had been left in the ignition and realized his pride and joy was useless out here. That truck was more likely to be messed with.

Maddox jumped out of the truck when Chanel did and watched as she expertly hitched the towrope between the Silverado's. .h.i.tch and the tow point behind the Miata's b.u.mper. Impressive. He'd never known a girl who could do something like this. The ones he knew would have been panicking over their lifeless cell phones because they couldn't call AAA. In all honesty, he wasn't certain he could've gotten the two vehicles connected properly. He would've called AAA, too.

"No one would ever know something had happened to you out here," he said.

"What?" Chanel looked up from her task.