Free Rancher's Deadly Risk by Rachel Lee

barking wildly. They knew he’d give them treats after their hard work, chewy stuff that tasted like bacon and turkey, which they gobbled down before even going for their kibble.
    The horses were calmer, coming to the pasture fence at a more sedate pace. Of course, they’d probably done a lot more running during the day than the sheep or goats.
    He heard Cassie crunch across autumn-dry grass toward him as he watched the gathering.
    “You have more animals than I thought,” she remarked. “Are goats friendly?”
    “A goat would move in with you if she could. At least these would. They come closer to being pets than the sheep, actually.”
    “How neat! What can I do to help?”
    That was a question Martha hadn’t asked, not the first time. In fact, come to think of it, he couldn’t remember her ever offering to help without being asked.
    Cassie, on the other hand, dove right in, seeming glad to do everything he asked. And when she went to feed the dogs for him, the six big gangbusters managed to knock her to the ground in their eagerness. Kibble flew everywhere. She sat on her butt, looking astonished, and he started to race toward her, but then she laughed and accepted all the gentle butting and didn’t even complain when she got her face licked.
    No, she dug her hands into dusty fur and scratched every animal she could reach. They approved, clearly, and ignored him for the moment.
    “A love affair begins,” he drawled, leaning against the fence post.
    She grinned up at him. “But I spilled their food. How will they eat? Do I need to get more?”
    “They’ll find it. That’s what they have noses for.” He pulled a bag of treats out of his pocket and tossed it to her. She caught it. “One each.”
    The dogs knew what was coming. They swarmed her anew, and her laughter filled the night. He could feel his own face stretching into a grin. He hadn’t expected this at all. Not for one second.
    She struggled to her feet before opening the treat bag. There was one bit of manners Linc insisted on, and he said, “Tell them to sit before you give them treats. Just hold out your hand palm down and say sit .”
    She followed his direction and instantly had six dogs sitting facing her. They jostled each other a bit, but kept their butts on the ground.
    She giggled again.
    “Don’t let them snap it from you. If one of them tries just say ‘no’ sharply.”
    Barking had turned to impatient whines, but much to his relief they behaved perfectly. They were big dogs, part herders and part other breeds, certainly one that wasn’t afraid of bears. He had no idea anymore. These dogs had all descended from the first dogs on the ranch and whatever else they’d mated with over the years. Letting the dogs pretty much have free rein outdoors meant that litters were often indeterminate. There might even be some wolf in there now among the younger dogs for all he knew. He even suspected some coyote. He kept the population down, though, by neutering all but one breeding pair. As it was, he still had plenty of requests for puppies from other ranchers.
    “They’re good dogs,” he remarked. “They do most of the hard work for me.”
    “The best helpers in the world, I imagine.”
    She petted them some more, seeming almost reluctant to leave them, but when he moved on to tend to the sheep and goats, she followed along and helped. She appeared enchanted by both, never made a complaint about them being smelly, and then was delighted when she was able to help him stable the three horses.
    “Horses are so beautiful,” she remarked while he checked hooves then gave them all fresh hay and a little bit of oats. “Do you ride often?”
    “As often as time allows. Not so much in the fall, what with football.”
    “I’ve only ridden once, when I was little kid, and was led around by a bridle.”
    “We’ll have to do something about that.” As soon as the words popped out, he could almost see them written in the air. What the hell