Page 45 of Untamed Heart
I came back to Jesse, now approaching the flagpole, then coming to a stop by leaning on the fence. The light across his face was perfect, and even when he went against orders and turned towards me, breaking into a small smile, I knew it was perfect.
That was Jesse, right there. Confident, unafraid of who he was and willing to show it off with a smile that could melt the snow right off the mountains.
I stopped filming and almost skipped towards him.
‘That was fucking perfect!’ I cried, replaying the footage as I approached him, showing him the screen.
‘And you think this will get people to come to our ranch?’ he asked, looking over to the women that’d been staring, giving them a wink as he shrugged his shirt back on, doing the buttons up slowly.
I shrugged.
‘It’ll grab attention, that’s for sure. It might take a while to build up a following and get enough people interested, but yeah, with some editing and using the right hashtags . . . plus with videos showing off the ranch itself – a sunset wouldn’t be quite as effective as you, I imagine, but y’know, it would be close.’
He chuckled. ‘Let’s get out of here, seeing as we’ve made it this far without being sprung. We’ve seen enough anyhow. Money’s what they’ve got, that’s all we need to know.’
I nodded, barely listening, still looking at my phone and already playing with the edit.
‘You enjoy this stuff, don’t you?’ he said, a light hold on my shoulder as he guided me back to the truck, then opened the door for me.
‘It’s not bad, especially when your subject’s easy on the eyes.’
He shut the door and walked round to his side, getting in and watching as I cut up the clips, put them in order and added some easy country music – a trending Riley Green song – with the caption ‘POV– cowboy forgets his shirt’. Replaying it before I posted it, Jesse shook his head.
‘I mean, I’m biased but that looks . . . good,’ he said, shaking his head.
‘And . . . posted!’ I replied, waiting a few seconds for it to upload. Clearly Elk Creek also had the resources to ensure perfect phone signal even halfway up a mountain.
Clicking my phone off, I turned to him.
‘Thanks, and I’m sorry. Think I’m just about the only person here that would turn you down.’
‘You’re welcome. Maybe you could invite some of your friends out here instead? What about your girl, Hestia?’
I laughed as we swung out of the ranch and headed back onto the interstate. I imagined her here, actually picturing her in a black felt cowboy hat, ripped jeans . . . Yeah. It’d work – and she wouldLOVEJesse.
‘That’s not a bad idea, actually,’ I said. ‘Maybe I’ll invite her out sometime.’
He glanced at me as we roared down the road, a knowing smile on his lips.
‘That mean you’re staying?’
I shrugged.
‘For a little bit. See if I can make this work,’ I said, holding up my phone. ‘But I need to get a job again – living in London is expensive.’
He nodded, slipping into thought.
We arrived back and pulled in to see Cole and Bailey standing by the corral as Lil rode Bambi. The sound of the truck made her skitter sideways, but Lil easily corrected her.
Cole turned, continuing his conversation with Bailey but glancing over as we got out. Jesse and I began walking over to them.
‘Could we do a bit more filming before we lose the sun?’ I asked as we approached. ‘The sky over there looks heavy; we might lose the light soon.’
‘Need me to change, or we not bothering with clothes again?’ he asked, winking, right as we reached Cole and Bailey.
‘Goddamn, whatwasthat party at Elk Creek?’ Bailey asked, breaking off from her conversation with Cole, eyebrows raised. She had dirt smudges across her cheek, and more dirt on her chaps and jeans.
‘Lottie just getting frisky is all,’ Jesse teased, elbowing me as Bailey grinned.
