Free Rocky Mountain Rebel by Vivian Arend Page B

wouldn’t it be nice to have a clean bed and a cool drink waiting for you?”
    “You got French-maid fantasies. Nice.”
    He laughed. “While you’re missing the French-maid costume, you do get to make beds.”
    He showed her how to clean the mess into the wheelbarrow, then he pushed it outside for her the first time.
    “Oh, man .” Vicki fanned a hand in front of her face.
    “Come on.” He left the full barrow for a moment and walked her around to the garden side of the manure pile. “This part doesn’t smell as much. It’s wonderful compost now that it’s aged. We turn it over in the fall and by the spring it’ll be ready to be worked into the garden.”
    Vicki raised a brow before a full-fledged snicker broke free.
    “What?”
    She clutched her hands over her chest dramatically and stared into the sky. “Be still, my beating heart, for I am a-swoon with delight. My new boyfriend showed me a compost pile.”
    Joel smirked. “It’s one of the ‘little things’ you’ve always wanted to experience, admit it.”
    Her eyes sparkled. “It’s been on the list forevah . What other secrets you gonna share while we toil with the behind-the-scenes shit?”
    “Ha ha. Watch and learn, my young Padawan.”
    Joel helped her empty the heavy wheelbarrow, then took her to the pile of shavings to fill up a load. She tipped the bedding to the floor in her cleared stall, but barely got the oversized contraption back to vertical.
    “I don’t suppose you have any junior-sized barrows?”
    Joel shook his head.
    She spread the shavings with the pitchfork, a little awkward with the length of the shaft compared to her arm reach, but she didn’t complain. Joel watched her for a minute to make sure she had it, but cleaning stalls wasn’t rocket science, so he went back to work as well.
    They continued at their tasks, chatting over the stall walls. Joel had a good time working alongside her. For a novice, she did a decent job. Never complained, didn’t take breaks or try to shortcut. She put her back to the task, wrinkled-nose expression firmly in place, and got it done.
    She’d gone quiet in the past ten minutes. Still bouncing, but her energy directed toward finishing. And the expression on her face when he caught a glimpse was no longer as if she were holding her breath, but more as if she was having fun.
    Well, what do you know?
    They finished about the same time. Joel stepped behind her as Vicki laid a hand on the sidewall of the stall and leaned in. She breathed deeply, and he laughed.
    Vicki twisted. “Fucking hell, can we put a bell on you or something?”
    “I must be seeing things, because I coulda swore you just sniffed the wall.”
    She gave him a hesitant smile. “Okay, it doesn’t stink so bad anymore, so I was, you know, curious. How can it make that much difference we hauled the shit out and, voila, everything is roses?”
    “It’s the new bedding. We replaced one scent with another.” He took the pitchfork from her and put it aside. “Admit it. It smells good now.”
    “I’m not going to go that far.” Vicki shook her head. “If you bottled eau de barn , I doubt it would be a big seller.”
    “You’d be surprised.”
    “Speaking of surprises…” Vicki held up a hand to put her work on display. “I finished, boss. What do I get?”
    He tugged on her sweatshirt sleeve. “Take this off.”
    Eyes going wide, Vicki grabbed the bottom and lifted it over her head without a word. As her tank top came into view, Joel decided life was damn good. This might be a reward for her, but he was going to enjoy it too.
    He tilted his head toward the stall where they stored extra hay to have it conveniently on hand. The pile was running low, leaving only a few bales, which was exactly what he needed right now. He’d placed a thick horse blanket over the pokey surface. “Have a seat.”
    She hesitated for a second before dropping to the bale and facing him. He reached to the top of the post where earlier