Learnin' The Ropes by Shanna Hatfield Read Free Book Online Page B

accomplished in the week and a half he had been at the ranch.
     Since Sunday was his day off, he took a drive in his pickup and parked on the side of the road so he could talk to Beth without any interruptions from humans or animals.
    Baby, that overgrown lapdog, had adopted him as her own personal human and followed Ty everywhere. She decided the shop was her new domain and spent hours hanging out with him there. He wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he enjoyed her company, as long as she kept the slobbers to a minimum.
    As Ty talked to Beth, he watched Lexi drive by in a pickup Swede had said was her dad’s and waved. She wore her hair down and he almost didn’t recognize her. He’d seen her drive the pickup before. Since he was parked at the end of the ranch road where it connected with the county road, he knew it was her. She smiled as she drove past him, heading toward the ranch.
    After seeing all her lustrous dark hair around her face, he could hardly concentrate on what his sister said.
    “Are you listening to me?” Beth finally asked with an indulgent smile in her voice.
    “Yes, I am, but I better run. Call me if there is anything I can do for you,” Ty said. He planned to send a sizeable portion of his wages to Beth as soon as he received his first paycheck next week.
    “I will, Ty. Be safe and have fun learnin’ the ropes,” Beth teased. “Love you.”
    “Love you, too.” Ty disconnected and turned the pickup around, deciding to go back to the ranch. He really didn’t have anything to do and the thought of driving around aimlessly, wasting gas, really didn’t hold much appeal.
    Back at the ranch yard, he parked his truck and strolled into the bunkhouse. Everyone else was gone and the place seemed quiet. Too quiet. He needed something to distract him from thoughts of his lovely boss and all that glorious black hair. Quickly changing into work clothes, he went to the shop, turned up his music, and worked on the engine he’d pulled out of a tractor on Friday. 
    Although the first tractor he fixed was simple, this one was proving to be a much bigger challenge. If he only had a computer in the shop, he could compare photos of parts, do some online diagnostics, and make much better time in getting things repaired.
    As it was, he kept referring to the owner’s manual. When he got stuck, he called the dealership with questions. They referred him to a website that was helpful, but he either had to use his phone or the computer in the bunkhouse to pull up the info and neither was very conducive to quickly accessing the information he needed.
    With all the great equipment and tools in the shop, he was hesitant to ask for anything although Lexi had inquired a few times if there was anything he needed. The next time she asked, he might suggest an inexpensive laptop.
    Baby opened the door and came inside, greeting Ty with a friendly yip. He closed the door, patting her on the head and getting a slobbery lick on his neck.
    “Are you staying out of trouble today, Baby?” he asked the dog while he worked. Her giant tail wagged in response to the question.
    “Is everyone else gone?”
    Another tail wag.
    “Is Lexi home? Did you tell her hello when she came back?”
    The dog barked and turned around in a circle before settling onto an old blanket in a corner on the shop floor.
     

     
    Lexi was surprised to see Ty in his pickup at the end of their road, talking on his phone. He looked happy. Her new mechanic didn’t smile much and she couldn’t help but think how good it looked on him.
    She wondered if he was speaking with a girlfriend. That thought made her grasp the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white.
    This was ridiculous. Why should she care if he had a girlfriend in Portland? Or in Burns? Or a dozen between here and there?
    She shouldn’t care, but she did. Lexi cared far more than she wanted to admit.
    Since her fiancé called off their wedding a year ago, men had been the last thing on