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obsession. It was well ingrained by her eight-year-old self’s unquenched desire for Cowboy Cody. It didn’t help that the man next to her looked uncannily like him, right down to the intense blue eyes beneath the brim of the white hat. The exact eyes that were focused on her now.
    He expected her to fail at this ranching stuff, for her to run crying back to the city. She could tell that just by the ever-present smirk and the way he watched her. That was not going to happen. Casey Harrington didn’t give up.
    On the other hand, she might well be fired if she didn’t prove herself to Jake Maverick. She knew she could do this job. She just had to make sure he knew that too. And if not blinking an eye at this insane cow rectum inspection was what Bonner Blue Boyd needed to make a favorable report to Mr. Maverick, then so be it.
    She folded her arms and leaned back against the fence, settling in for a long haul. “So, how many are there to test?”
    “Couple hundred.”
    Her eyes opened wide. “A couple hundred? This is going to take all day.” The shock of that shook her resolve to handle whatever Bonner and the Maverick ranch threw at her.
    “Yup.” The man of few words was observing her reaction again. Fine. Let him. She forced herself to look unfazed.
    “Blue! You gonna help us or what?” Justus was out of breath as he yelled over. It was his job to slam the gate shut behind the cow once it was in the chute. He, Dakota and the dog were scrambling to keep up with the veterinarian, who seemed to be able to check the cows as fast as the cowboys could herd them into the chute.
    “You two can handle this just fine on your own.” Bonner leaned back against the fence next to her and crossed his arms.
    Justus made a face but didn’t argue. The kid had other things to worry about since the barking dog was running a cow right at him. That might have helped with his compliance.
    Casey watched with a grin. “You enjoy bossing them around, don’t you?”
    “No.” Bonner glanced at her with a frown. “Young cowboys are like young horses. They need a strong hand. I was no different at that age. We’re all cut from the same piece of leather.”
    That was one hell of a good line. She could use that in the Maverick marketing. She wasn’t sure exactly how but she would. Somehow. Somewhere. Casey pulled out her smart phone and opened the note application. Her fingers flew over the keyboard.
    “What are you doing?” A crease knit above Bonner’s ice blue eyes.
    “Writing that down.”
    “Writing what down?”
    “What you said. About being cut from the same piece of leather.” She glanced up at him again and was tempted to laugh at how deep the furrow between his brows had grown.
    “Why?” His frown turned into more of a scowl.
    “Because I’d like to refer back to it for my marketing plan. Lines like that, right out of a cowboy’s mouth, will lend flavor. Believability. Buyers will love it. Besides, you heard Mr. Maverick. He’s concerned I’m from the city. I have to prove to him I can market a western corporation or I could very well find myself on the unemployment line.”
    Bonner shook his head. “He wouldn’t have hired you if he didn’t think you could do the job.”
    Wow. Phone still in her hand, Casey turned her full attention to Bonner. “Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that.”
    “It’s the truth. From what I’ve seen so far, you’ll be fine.” Bonner shrugged and gazed at the action as the cowboys continued to herd the cows to the vet.
    Casey had received lots of compliments from many men throughout her career. Some sincere, some pure flattery and bullshit, but none of them had made her want to jump the man, not like Bonner’s plainly spoken words just had. Her heartbeat sped.
    She realized they were in the midst of an awkward silence as he glanced back at her, and she tried to talk her woman parts out of inviting Bonner’s man parts over to play. Damn, she felt like a horny