Misty woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. She had an amazing dream last night in where she and Clay kissed...he called her beautiful, and was so sweet and patient with her since it was her first kiss. It was the best dream that she had ever had. The smile on her face only grew as she remembered that it wasn't a dream, Clay and she really had kissed last night and it was amazing.

     Fingering her lips as she still lay in her sleeping bag, Misty could still feel Clay's lips on hers. He was such an amazing guy. However, Misty couldn't help but wonder how much of their moment last night was because Clay genuinely liked her versus feelings only as a result of them working so closely together this week. Eventually, she and Clay would need to talk about the moment last night, but for right now, Misty just wanted to bask in the memory.

     Misty decided that she wouldn't bring the kiss up unless Clay did, and she would see how he acted towards her today to decide if they even needed to talk about the moment right away. Once this was decided, Misty grabbed her toothbrush to go outside to brush her teeth. After that was done, she went back into the tent to change her clothing. Junior was already awake, as was her dad; they were outside making breakfast for the crew.

     When Misty was buttoning her jeans, she noticed how sore her wrist still was. Bruises painted their way around her whole wrist, slightly up her arm, and down to her hand. Her knee didn't look any better. Sometime today she would need to find an ACE bandage or some vet wrap, or something of the sort to wrap it since she was certain that she had sprained her wrist when she got thrown the other day. Since it was a little chillier today than it was yesterday, Misty slipped on a hoodie over top of her t-shirt.

     After she was dressed, Misty went outside to greet her dad and brother. "Hey daddy. Junior." Misty hugged her dad then bent down, messing up Junior's hair. "Ooh, is this coffee?" Misty asked, grabbing the pot on the fire. She grabbed a mug from beside her dad and poured herself a cup of the steaming coffee. Lifting it up to her lips, Misty took a sip of the hot rocket fuel. "Ah. Nothing like a good ole cup of joe early in the morning." Misty said, beaming. Ignoring the strange looks her dad and brother gave her, Misty took her coffee a ways away over to the stream where the sun was just winking at her just above the horizon. With the mountains in the background, it made for the perfect picture. Taking out her phone, that surprisingly still had just a smidgen of battery left, Misty snapped a picture.

     Just after Misty put her phone back in her pocket, she felt two strong arms slowly slip around her waist from the back. Turning around, Misty looked into the eyes of the most handsome man ever. Misty could not form any words; Clay literally took her breath away, just like he had last night when he kissed her. The thought brought a smile to her face.

     "Good morning, beautiful." Clay greeted, that sweet smile creeping onto his face.

     Still holding her coffee in one hand, Misty wrapped her other around Clay's waist, right above where his arms rested around her waist. "Mmm...good morning, handsome." Misty returned the smile. "So I have just one question for you." Misty couldn't believe that Clay was actually here, talking to her, with his arms around her waist. He just called her beautiful; she had to ask him a question so she would know she wasn't still sleeping.

     "Anything for you." Clay said sweetly. His head was tipped sideways, and he looked deep into Misty's eyes.

     "Did last night really happen? Did you really kiss me, or was that just a dream?"

     Clay's smile got bigger. "Well, it definitely was not a dream, and I did kiss you last night." Reaching up, Clay caressed Misty's cheek. "It was the best kiss that I ever had."

     Misty grinned. "You're sweet for sayin' that." She tilted her head to the side at his comment.

     "I'm serious, Misty. There's something about you. I meant it last night when I said that you're amazing." Clay dropped his hand. Misty opened her mouth to deny the compliment, but Clay put a finger to her lips. "Uh uh. Don't even think about sayin' what I know you're fixin' to say." Clay dropped his finger.

     "I was just gonna say 'thank you'." Misty smiled.

     "I'm sure you were." Clay teased. He reached up and tucked some of Misty's lose hair behind her ear. That's when Misty realized that she hadn't braided her hair yet. This is the first time that Clay had ever seen her with her hair down since she always kept it pulled up. Running a hand down her long hair, Clay said, "I really like your hair down."

     "Thank you. I guess I never braided it this morning like I usually do." Misty replied, gazing up at Clay.    

     "You should wear it down more often." Clay said, wrapping his arm back around Misty's middle.

     "You certainly are not the first person who has told me that." Misty replied, still smiling.

     "Uh oh, is there some other guy I should be jealous of?" Clay asked with a teasing grin. He jokingly looked around, but faced Misty when he heard her chuckle.

     "No, certainly not. Only family members and close friends have seen me with my hair down. I'm a pretty self-conscience person, so I often just do what I am most comfortable with, which is usually wearing my hair up." Misty gave a lengthy explanation. Chuckling, she added, "Sorry. I'm nervous. I tend to ramble when I get nervous."

     "I make you nervous, do I?" There was that smile again. Misty had seen that grin more times on this round up then she had seen since Clay started working on the McAdams' ranch.

     "Well...I mean...I..." Misty stumbled. Part of her wished Clay wasn't so dadgum attractive because that made it hard for her to talk to him.

     "I'm just messin' with you, darlin'." Clay chuckled. He took a deep breath, then asked Misty, "Do you want to go sit down?"

     Misty nodded and Clay dropped his arms from her waist, but held out his hand; Misty slipped hers into his hand as he led her to the bank of the stream. Once they were standing at the edge of the bank, Clay let go of Misty's hand to slip off his jacket, setting it down on the cold dirt. Clay sat down on the edge of his jacket, leaning back against a tree, and held out his hand to Misty, inviting her to sit with him. Misty smiled, joining Clay on the ground. Once she was seated, Clay let go of her hand again to wrap his left arm around her behind her. Then, with his right hand, he grabbed Misty's, interlacing their fingers.

     Misty took a sip of her coffee to hide her smile. Watching the sunrise, cuddled up with a handsome man, drinking coffee, and on a roundup...this had to be a dream. There was no way this was real. Closing her eyes for a second, Misty whispered, "Pinch me."

     "What was that?" Clay asked, looking at Misty.

     Misty jerked her eyes open. She had meant to keep the comment to herself; Clay wasn't supposed to hear it. "Um, I just said, 'how beautiful.'" Misty smiled at Clay.

     With his eyes locked on hers, Clay said, "I was just thinking the same thang."

     The smile on Misty's face grew. Letting go of Clay's hand, Misty snuggled closer to him, laying his right arm across her waist; she rested her arm on top of his. Laying her head back on Clay's chest, Misty stared straight ahead as she asked, "How did you know that I was out here by the stream?"

     "Your dad told me. He said that you always come out here during the roundup." Clay kissed Misty's hair.

     Misty smiled. "Yeah, it's become my thang. My dad and you are the only two people who know about this spot. Every year, I come out here before everyone is awake and I sit in this exact spot and pray and just think about life."

     "I hope that you're okay that this year I joined you?" Clay asked, resting his chin on the top of Misty's head.

     Misty shifted slightly so she could see Clay's face. Reaching up a hand, she fingered his light, brown beard. "It's more than okay that you joined me this year."

     Clay's eyes wandered from Misty's eyes, and down to her lips. He leaned in, a little quicker than Misty was expecting. Out of instinct, Misty slightly moved her head to the side, causing Clay's lips to contact with the corner of Misty's lips. Misty chuckled. "I swear I am the worst kisser in the world." Misty started to laugh. Dropping her hand from his cheek, Misty added, "I'm so sorry, Clay."

     "I'm the first person you have kissed. You're new to this. You're fine." Clay paused. With his right hand, he reached across Misty's waist to take her coffee mug out of her hand. Setting it on the ground to his right, Clay said, "Kiss me."

     "What?" Misty stopped laughing.

     "You kiss me. Trust me on this." Clay smiled a knowing smile.

     The swarm of butterflies returned in Misty's stomach as she shifted again so she was facing Clay more. Slowly, Misty leaned in. This time, the kiss was absolutely perfect. Clay received Misty's kiss, kissing her back once, twice more.

     Pulling back, Clay rested his forehead on Misty's. "Told you it would work." Clay winked, placing a kiss on Misty's blushing cheek.

     Misty smiled at Clay and teasingly slugged him before turning back to watching the sunrise, snuggling back up against Clay's chest. With his right hand, Clay softly touched Misty's knee. "How are you feelin' after your wreck yesterday?"

     "Really sore." Misty replied, holding up her bruised wrist.  

     Clay made a face at the sight of Misty's wrist. "That's not good, Misty. It looks like you sprained it." Clay carefully held her wrist in his hand.

     "That's what I was afraid of."

     "We will have to find you some vet wrap or a brace or something to wear until we get back and get you to a doctor's." Clay said, carefully laying Misty's wrist back in her lap.

     "I know. Thank you for your help when I got thrown." Misty leaned her head back against Clay's chest.

     Letting out a breath, Clay responded. "You're welcome, just never do that again." He fingered Misty's arm that was laying on her waist. "You really scared me, Misty." Clay placed a comforting kiss on the top of her head.

     "I'm sorry, Clay. I didn't mean to..." A smile creeped on Misty's lips. "I did what I did because I had a dream the night before the roundup."

     "Oh? What was the dream about?"

     "You..." Misty paused. "And the roundup. I had a dream that the lead horse was leading the herd straight for the cliff and barbed wire fence, so I rode ahead and was able to get them to turned away and after that you came up to me and was flirting and such." Looking up at Clay, Misty added, with a smile, "It was a great dream."

     "I mean it had to have been a great dream if I was in it." Clay winked at Misty. Chuckling, she teasingly slugged his arm with her unhurt left hand. "That's pretty ironic that something exactly like your dream happened in real life. Was I scolding you in your dream for riding ahead?"

     "No. In fact, you were actually praising me. It was you who told me to ride ahead."

     "Wow. That's surprising. You know that I care way too much about you to tell you to do something like that in real life, right? That's why I got so upset when you got thrown. I was scared that you would be seriously hurt. Trampled or something."

     Misty shifted, reaching across Clay to get her coffee. Clay, realizing what she was doing, handed Misty the mug before she could reach it. "I know that now. But I still really appreciate your help...and the fact that you didn't tell my dad means a lot to me."

     "You're welcome." Clay responded. Behind them, there were a few audible shouts coming from camp. Looking behind him, Clay told Misty, "It sounds like the men are getting ready to move up. As much as I wish we could stay here longer, we probably should start heading back."

     Misty groaned in teasing protest when Clay shifted, standing up. Making a pouty face, Misty said, "Do we hafta go back?"

    "Unfortunately, yes." Clay held out his hand to Misty, pulling her up so she was standing. Once she was on her feet, Clay said, "But tonight, once we make camp, I'm sure there will be time for us to do this again. Especially since I know how you get cold so easily."

     "I do not get cold easily! Last night was just an exception because of the rain." Misty defended. "You're so mean to me." She added a wink so Clay knew that she was teasing.

     Clay grabbed his jacket off the ground, then grabbed Misty's hand, leading her away from the stream. Misty tried to take a step, but her hurt knee gave out. She let out a wince from the pain, and Clay immediately spun around. "You okay?" He asked, concerned.

     "Yeah," Misty plastered a smile. "My knee is just stiff from the fall." Just to try to prove that she was okay, Misty tried to take another step, but failed.

     Clay, seeing that Misty was in more pain then she was letting on, said, "Here, I will give you a piggy back ride back to the camp."

     Misty chuckled. "I'm too heavy for you."

     Clay gave her a look, and shook his head. "No, you're not. It's either you let me give you a piggy back ride, or I carry you over my shoulder, or bride style. You pick, but I am not letting you walk back with your knee."

     "Okay. Okay. I'll let you give me a piggy back ride."

     "Smart girl." Clay said, bending down for Misty to hop on his back. Once she did, Clay wrapped his arms around her legs, and Misty wrapped her arms around Clay's neck, still holding onto her coffee. "Don't spill your coffee. I don't wanna get burned." Clay smiled.

     "I'll try not to." Misty chuckled. She was thoroughly enjoying the piggy back ride, especially when Clay teasingly began to act like a horse, trotting and nickering.

     Clay gave Misty a piggy back ride all the way to where the tents were set up. All of the tents had been disassembled and packed up except for Misty's. Misty saw Jace pulling out the stakes of Misty's tent right as Misty and Clay walked up. Jace and Misty made eye contact, but as soon as they did, Jace looked away, almost disappointed.

     Once they arrived at camp, Clay stopped, letting Misty jump off his back. Clay, still laughing, tried asking Misty if she was okay to walk, but he was still laughing too hard, which just made Misty laugh even harder.

     "Yes, I will be fine to walk. Thank you for asking, though." Misty replied to Clay, the smile still on her face.

     "Okay. I'm gonna go tack up the horses and such while you tear down your tent. You sure you're gonna be okay?" Clay asked, wrapping an arm around Misty's waist as if to stabilize her in case she lost her balance again.

     "I'm positive. Thank you for carin' though." Misty smiled, placing a hand on Clay's chest.

     "Here, I'll take your coffee mug with me, too." Clay pulled back to grab Misty's mug.

     "Thanks." Misty smiled up at him.

     Clay responded by placing a kiss on Misty's cheek. "I'll be back in a bit."  

     "Okay." Misty said, turning to walk over to her tent to help Jace tear it down. When she got to the tent, she smiled and said hi to Jace, but he didn't look at Misty. Bending down to pull out a stake right next to where he was, Misty asked, "How did you sleep last night?"

     "Fine. You?" Jace stood up and walked to the front of the tent to pull down the roof.

     "Great." Misty shifted her weight, so she wasn't standing on her bad knee. "Something wrong, Jace?"

     "Nope." Jace replied with a clenched jaw.

     "Sorry, but I know you better than that. What's bothering you? Is it the rookie?"

     For the first time since she and Clay walked up to camp, Jace spun around and looked at Misty. "I saw you and Clay kissing last night."

     That was certainly not the response that Misty was expecting to hear from Jace. Her smile, which she didn't know was still plastered on her face, turned to a frown. "What? You saw us? How did you-"

     "It doesn't matter, Misty. I just can't believe you would do that." Jace was clearly irritated at Misty. They had had their fair share of fights in their friendship, but never once about a crush.

     "Do what?" Misty asked, her voice raised.

     "Kiss Clay, Misty. Why would you do that?" Jace was talking with his hands, something he does when he's mad. He had stopped tearing down the tent to give Misty his full attention.

     "Because I like him?! You were the one who set us up. You told my dad to make us ride together in hopes that we would tell each other how we felt." Misty paused, lowering her voice slightly. "I thought that you would be happy for me." Misty said, her voice sad.

     "Happy for you? You barely know the guy!" Jace's voice was still raised, but he took a deep breath and lowered his voice as he took a step closer to Misty. He didn't want to draw any attention to themselves. "You know I'm going to need to tell your dad, right?" His jaw was clenched as he pointed a finger at Misty.

     "Jace, please don't." Any anger that Misty had was gone as she pleaded with Jace.

     "Misty, you were making out with Clay. Your dad is gonna find out." Jace turned back around to fold up the tent.

     "It was me and Clay's special moment. Please don't ruin it for me."

     "Misty, I just don't think that it's right that you hardly know anything about the guy, yet when he says he likes you, you put all that aside and kiss him, acting like you've known him forever."

     "I have known him for over two years, Jace." Misty stood with her hands on her hips as she watched her friend help her tear down her tent.

     Jace spun around, facing Misty. "And you've known me practically your whole life!" He said in a raised voice.

     "So? What's your point, Jace?" Misty paused, having a realization. Taking a step closer to Jace, Misty asked, "Are-are you jealous of Clay and I? Is that where this is coming from?"

     Jace looked away from Misty and resumed folding up the tent. Shaking his head, Jace said in a lowered voice, "I just want what's best for you, Misty..."

     "I don't understand why you're upset with me, Jace. You're the one who kept pushing me towards Clay." Somebody behind Misty called her name. After she told them she would be right there, Misty turned back to Jace and said, "This ain't gettin' us anywhere. We will talk later, okay?" Misty walked away before Jace could respond.

     Limping over to the corral where all the horses were saddled up and ready to go, Misty smiled as she greeted Clay. "Thanks for saddling up Midnight for me." Misty grabbed her chaps that Clay held out to her.

     "You're welcome." Clay smiled at Misty. He was wearing his black Stetson with the silver buckle on the band; it was Misty's favorite hat on him. Clay's dark sunglasses that he was wearing instantly made him that much more attractive. Misty still couldn't believe that he liked her. "So what was that about back there?" Clay jerked his head back towards camp, where Jace was putting the tent on the trailer of the truck that was used to haul the feed for the horses, and other random necessities.

     Misty tore her eyes away from handsome Clay to slip on her chaps, using Midnight to steady her because of her hurt knee. "Nothin'. Jace was just upset about sumthin' is all. It's fine."

     "Okay. If you need me to talk to him for ya, I don't mind." Clay replied, from between his horse and Misty's.

     "I appreciate that, but it's alright." Misty said, buckling her chaps. Next, she decided to try to put her hair in a ponytail. This posed to be much harder than she expected because of her hurt wrist. 

     "You need help there, darlin'?" Clay asked, walking over to Misty.

     "You know how to put my hair up in a ponytail?" Misty chuckled.

     "No, but I would rather do it for you then have you hurt tryin' to put it up." Clay held out his hand, telling Misty to give him her hair tie. "Besides, I have a younger sister, a niece, and a lot of little female cousins. Not to mention all the horses' manes that I have braided."

     Misty chuckled. "Alright, cowboy. Here ya go." Misty handed Clay her hair tie.

     Clay stepped behind Misty, carefully gathering all her hair. After a couple tries, he finally figured out how to hold the hair tie, and successfully get all of Misty's hair in it. It was a decent ponytail, once Clay was finished. She was impressed, too, that Clay didn't even pull her hair.

     "Thank you. I appreciate it." Misty replied, turning to Midnight, grabbing her ball cap out of her saddle bag, and slipping it on. The task hurt her wrist, but her back was to Clay so he couldn't see her wince.

     "Oh! That reminds me." Clay jogged over to the saddle bag on his horse. "I found you some Tylenol and an ACE wrap." Clay walked back over to Misty, the items in hand. "Here, give me your wrist." Misty held out her bruised and swollen right wrist. Clay carefully pushed up the sleeve on Misty's sweatshirt, and unwound some of the blue vet wrap from the roll. Asking Misty to hold the ACE wrap and pill bottle in her left hand, Clay softly held Misty's wrist as he wrapped the vet wrap around it. At one point, Misty winced when Clay wrapped the most tender spot of her wrist. "Shoot, sorry hon. You okay?"

     "Yeah. It's not your fault." Misty replied, giving Clay a smile.

     Once Clay successfully wrapped up Misty's wrist with the vet wrap, he did the same with the ACE bandage before opening the Tylenol bottle, handing Misty two pills and his canteen of water. "You sure you're gonna be alright to ride?"

     Misty nodded after swallowing her pills, handing Clay back his canteen. "Yeah, I'm positive. I've ridden with worse injuries than this. But, I may need your help mounting up."

     "Absolutely." Clay walked over to Misty, and before she knew what was happening, Clay swooped her up, bride style. 

     Laughing, Misty looked around, hoping to not bring too much attention to themselves, but secretly, Misty hoped that everyone saw her and Clay together. "Clay, I meant that you could have just given me a leg up." Misty said, once she was safely sitting in her saddle.

     Before she could reach down, Clay was next to Misty's right side, carefully placing Misty's foot in the stirrup. "I know, sweetheart, but this way was much more fun." Clay winked at Misty before making his way to his horse. After tightening the cinch on his saddle, Clay swung up onto Rusty's back. Adjusting his lariat, Clay asked Misty, "How are you going to rope if you hurt your wrist?"

     "I don't know, to be honest. I guess I didn't think about that..." Misty picked up her split reins, adjusting them to the length she wanted. "I reckon just pray we don't need to rope today."

     Before Clay could respond, Bill called all of the hands together for their daily meeting. After explaining that today is the day to start heading back to the ranch with the mustangs, Bill said, "Let's all say a prayer before we head out."

     All the hands joined Bill in the prayer. Once he was finished, all the cowboys put their hats back on their heads, then Bill smiled, saying, "Alright, y'all. Let's head out."

     Nearly every day, all of the cowboys would hoot and holler whenever they would head out, but not today. All of the men were more focused on keeping the herd in line. Misty followed Clay and two of the other hands over to the large corrals where the horses were being kept. In as much of an orderly fashion as they could, the hands opened the corral gates, and let the horses out, doing their best to keep them calm so the wild mustangs didn't take off and scatter.  

     Casper, the gray grulla that Misty had named, was the first horse out. Now, after all the problems they have had with him escaping and whatnot, Misty was starting to realize that maybe Waylon was right when he told her to just let the horse back out to the wild. Seeing Casper now, in all his crazy glory, Misty was still in awe, and, despite his wildness, she still wanted him to come back to the ranch so she could train him. 

     "There's that dang grulla." Clay mumbled atop his horse beside Misty.

     Misty, smiling, looked over at Clay. "Isn't he beautiful?" She walked her horse out in front of Clay after all the horses were safely out of the corral.

     "He's stubborn. And wild." Clay glanced over at Misty. "Kinda like you."

     Misty teasingly glared at Clay. "That's not nice."

     "I think we should call him Misty." Clay said in a playful voice, looking back to the herd.

     Misty playfully slapped Clay's arm. "That's really not nice." Looking back straight ahead of her, Misty added, "Besides, his name is Casper."

     "Casper?" Clay looked back to Misty. "Like the friendly cartoon ghost, Casper?" Clay's mouth was turned upward in a smile.

     "Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Misty, too, was now smiling. Clay's smile really was contagious, and it made her smile even bigger because she knew that she was the reason he was smiling.

     "You named a mustang. How did you come up with that name? He's really not all that friendly." Just as Clay said that, Casper pinned his ears and acted like he was going to try to bite the mare next to him.

     "It's more his movements. He looks like a ghost whenever he moves. Just look at him." Misty pointed at the stallion, but Clay kept his gaze focused on Misty.

     "So you're the one who convinced Waylon to keep him. I figured it was you."

     "Well, technically, I didn't convince Waylon. I actually disobeyed him. He told me to let him go, but I didn't." Misty said it nonchalantly, like it wasn't a huge deal.

     "You really are something else, Misty McAdams." Clay said. He steered Rusty a little closer to Midnight. Reaching out, he grabbed Misty's hand, and held it as they rode.

     "You aren't half bad yourself, Clay." Misty smiled.

     After riding side-by-side, holding hands, Misty and Clay heard hooves trotting up beside them, smacking the wet ground with every step the horse made. Looking to their right, Misty and Clay saw Junior. "Hey pal." Clay said to Junior.

     "Hey, y'all. Can I ride beside y'all? It's boring riding the lead with dad. He just talks on the radio a lot, making sure the dude who drives the truck with all of the horse food and supplies knows where to meet us. And him and Pokey talk about adult stuff and it's confusing." Junior explained. 

     Misty wanted Clay all to herself, but she remembered her promise to herself, that she wouldn't put Clay before Junior. Just because she is holding hands with the guy in her dreams does not mean that she gets to stop being a sister.

     Before Misty could tell Junior that it was okay, despite her wanting Clay all to herself, Clay said, "Sure man. I would love some help teasing your sister." Clay squeezed Misty's hand, which he was still holding, and gave her a wink.

     "Junior I'm fine if you ride with us, but no teasing your sister, or else I will make you go ride with dad." Misty teased Junior.

      "Okay. I won't tease you." Junior said. He looked over to his sister and Clay, then his eyes wandered down to their interlocked hands. "I'm goin' to go ride back there and see what the view is like." Junior said, taking a hint. He turned his horse, leading him further back in the herd.

     Clay's chuckle warmed Misty. Once Junior had ridden a good distance away from them, Clay said, "Your brother is a smart kid. He saw we were holding hands and he took a hint."

     "Yeah, he's a good kid." Misty smiled back.

     "Well that's because he has a great older sister as a role model." Clay held Misty's gaze. "Gosh, I really want to kiss you right now." The moment he said the comment, Clay's face turned a rosy red as if he didn't mean to say it out loud.

     "Then why don't you?" Misty flirted.

     Clay pulled Rusty to a stop, and Misty did the same. Letting go of Misty's hand, Clay leaned across the gap, close to Misty. Clay reached a hand out, holding Misty's face in one hand. Right before he could kiss her, Misty took Clay's cowboy hat off his head. "I ain't gonna mess this kiss up because our hats hit each other."

     "Yes ma'am." Clay smiled as he kissed Misty. As he leaned in for a second kiss, Rusty took a step forward, causing Clay to pull away.

     "You realize something happens every time we try to kiss?" Misty let out a chuckle, plopping Clay's cowboy hat back on his head.

     "I don't think I have every been so excited for a roundup to be over as I am right now." Clay fixed his cowboy hat. "I hope that we will get to spend more time together once we get back to the ranch."

     "I certainly hope so too." Misty smiled. This time it was Misty who reached out and grabbed Clay's hand. Clay reciprocated the action by swinging their hands back and forth.

     After several more minutes had passed, Clay turned and looked at Misty. "How are you feeling?" There was a smile on his face.

     "I feel great. Look who I am holding hands with." Misty smiled back.

     "I meant how is your knee and wrist feeling?" Clay asked.

     "Oh." Misty chuckled. "They're alright. My knee is pretty sore, but my wrist is feelin' alright, especially since you wrapped it for me."

     "Clay! We need your help up here!" A voice from up the herd shouted before Clay could respond.

     Clay groaned, looking over to Misty. "The herd is callin'. Better go see what they need." He said, letting go of Misty's hand in order to prepare his lariat.

     "Be safe." Misty said. Her hand instantly felt cold now that Clay wasn't holding it anymore.

     "Of course. I have you to come back to." Clay winked, then asked Rusty into a trot.

     Misty smiled, watching Clay ride away. Beside her, she heard another horse riding up. Looking to her right, Misty saw Jace. Immediately, she turned her eyes back to the herd. "Hi." Misty said to him.

     "Hey. Misty, I just wanted to apolo-." Jace started.

     "Frankly, Jace, I don't want to hear it. You've always been the one who told me that I will have a guy like me and to follow my heart and everything. You told me that you just want me to be happy. But then I found a guy who likes me and you get mad at me for pursuing the relationship." Misty ranted; she didn't realize just how frustrated she was until she finished her rant.

     "Misty, I'm glad that you and Clay like each other, and I am tryin' to be happy for you, but it's hard because I watched you just jump into this relationship without taking a step back to look at the situation. You don't even know Clay that well." Jace said, talking with his hands. His voice was irritated, too.

     "I do to know him, Jace! He's lived on the ranch for two whole years." Misty defended.

     "Really? What's his favorite color? How many siblings does he have? What is his biggest pet peeve?" Jace questioned.

     Misty hesitated, trying to think of an answer. Truth be told, she didn't know the answers to Jace's questions. "Well, I mean..." Misty stumbled. "I don't know those things only because we don't talk about that kind of stuff."

     "My point exactly, Misty. Think about how much you know about me. You know practically everything about me."

     "Yes, Jace, because I have known you for a long time, and you're my best friend, so of course I would know that stuff about you." Misty's voice was raised. Her and Jace were no longer paying attention to the herd. Their attention was focused on each other and this fight. Way up ahead, Misty saw Clay use his cutting skills on the stubborn and tired herd that were trying to go out of line, and move to places they shouldn't be. It was a potentially dangerous task for Clay and the other cowboys that were up in the herd, which made Misty concerned for his safety, but she knew he would be okay. If she wasn't mad at Jace, Misty would've chuckled at Clay because he was doing a lot of what he had told her not to do the other day before she got thrown.

     Jace's voice brought Misty's attention back to him. "My point exactly. We have taken the time to get know each other. One big difference between you and me and you and Clay is that you and I actually talk."

     "Clay and I talk too. We have talked more this week than ever before. We know each other pretty well." And by talk she meant that they have kissed; and by saying that they know each other well, she meant that they know how each other likes to be kissed for the most part. Misty raised her hand, letting it hit her thigh when she let it fall. "What are you tryin' to say, Jace?" For the second time since he rode over, Misty looked at Jace.

     "I'm sayin' that..." Jace looked away, trying to choose his next words carefully. "Maybe you should get to know Clay better before you start a relationship with him."

     "Jace, I'm not startin' anything with Clay. We like each other. That's it. He said that we will talk more about everything once we get back and he can take me out on a date."

     "Have you thought why he doesn't want to make anything official with you yet? Have you thought that maybe it's because he's just...maybe, using you?"

     Before opened her mouth to yell at Jace, but before she could, Clay came riding up beside them. "Hey, what's goin' on, y'all?" Clay asked, looking between Misty and Jace. The tension between the two must've been that visible.

     "Nothing!" Misty shouted, squeezing Midnight's side, asking him into a lope. She just had to get away from guys for a moment. Looking over her shoulder, Misty waited for Clay to ride up to her to comfort her and ask her what's wrong, but Clay held back. Jace and Clay seemed to be having their own heated discussion.

     After a few more minutes of riding solo, Misty wished that she didn't ride ahead; she should have just stayed back so she could be with Clay. This day had just gone from bad to worse. It seemed like just when the herd started to behave, something else would go wrong. Once everything calmed down for a minute, something else would happen that needed attention.

     Horses were exhausted, using the energy they had to attempt to buck off their riders. The herd was tired of being driven in a direction they didn't want to go. Tempers between cowboys were beginning to flare, the walkie talkies were running out of battery, so communication back to the guy driving the truck with the supplies was difficult. In addition to everything that was happening, storm clouds up above turned more and more gray and the thunder grumbled, threatening a good storm to start any second now. It seemed like everything that could go wrong in a day went wrong.

     Misty was thankful when, five long hours later, the day was done. As Misty untacked Midnight, she did everything she could to put as little weight as possible on her knee. The extra long day had taken it's toll on her body. After Midnight was untacked, fed, and put in the corral for the night, Misty set up her tent, grabbing her duffle bag of clothes from the supply trailer. Then, Misty made her way over to where Pokey was making supper for all of the hands. "You need help over here, Poke?" Misty offered. Her exhausted body hoped that he would say no, but she knew that he, too, was tired, and knew he would enjoy the company, if anything.

     "No, Misty, I am just about finished here. But you're more than welcome to stay here and keep me company while I finish cooking." Pokey said to Misty.

     Misty did just that. Plopping down in a chair beside Pokey, she watched as he expertly prepared the food for several hungry men. Once it was all finished, Pokey held out a plate to Misty. "Ladies first." He said, waiting for Misty to take the plate with two steaming tacos and corn from him.

     "Thanks, Pokey. You're the best. It smells delicious." Misty said, taking the plate. "I'm not sure if I will be able to eat it all though." Misty told him honestly. Surprisingly, despite the extremely long day, Misty did not feel all that hungry.

     "Well that's alright. You just give what you can't eat to your boyfriend. I'm sure he would be happy to finish it for you." Pokey smiled a knowing smile at Misty.

     Almost choking on the bite of taco she was chewing, Misty chuckled. "My boyfriend?"

     "Clay." Pokey said his name in a sing-song voice.

     "How do you know-" Misty started. She could feel her face heat up with embarrassment.

     "Honey, everyone knows that you and Clay have somethin' goin' on. It's undeniable." Pokey stirred the taco meat heating over the fire before calling the rest of the guys over to get their grub while it was hot and ready.

     Misty sat patiently beside Pokey for a while as the hungry cowboys filed through the line, getting their tacos. Her plan to wait for Clay was aborted when she realized how bad she needed to use the restroom. After finding some toilet paper in the truck, Misty began her trek over to the woods.

     Once she was done, Misty walked back to the fire, sitting down on a log. A little ways away, Misty saw Clay talking to some of his friends; at the moment Misty looked over, Clay was looking around the fire, as if trying to find Misty. Smiling when they made eye contact, Clay waved at Misty. After saying something to the guys he was talking to, Clay walked away from them, disappearing from Misty's sight monetarily.

     Less than a minute later, Clay reappeared beside Misty, holding a cup out to her. "Coffee?"

     Misty smiled up at him. "At eight at night? I won't be able to sleep if I drink it."

     "It's all we had left. There's no more hot chocolate left." Clay said, still holding the cup out to Misty.

     "Okay." Misty chuckled, taking the mug from Clay. "Thank you."

     Clay plopped down next to Misty, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Placing a kiss on her temple, Misty curled up close to Clay. "You cold?" Clay asked, letting out a chuckle.

     "No, I just like being close to you." Misty said honestly, laying her head against Clay's chest.

     Placing a soft kiss on the top of Misty's head, Clay said, "I missed ridin' with you today."

     "I missed you too. I'm sorry I yelled at you and rode off. I was mad at Jace." Misty said, pushing some hair out of her face.

     "Yeah, I tried askin' him what happened, but he kind of blew me off." Clay looked down at Misty. "You wanna talk about why y'all were fighting?" Clay caringly asked.

     Misty thought about what Jace and her were fighting about. She wondered why he was so defensive; it almost seemed to Misty that Jace was jealous of her and Clay. It almost made Misty smile when she thought about how Jace said that her and Clay "never talk." She knew what Jace meant, but her and Clay were talking right now, with Clay genuinely concerned about Misty. "Jace was just concerned about me is all. He said that we don't talk that much and that we don't know a lot about each other." Misty sat up a little bit so that she could see Clay better.

     "We are talkin' right now." Clay stated.

     "I know. I think we are both just tired...I'm honestly not sure why he was so upset." Misty snuggled back up against Clay, taking a sip of her coffee. "But I don't want to talk about Jace right now."

     "What do you want to talk about?" Clay asked, fingering Misty's shoulder.

     Again, Misty thought back to when Jace said that Clay was just using her. She really wanted to ask Clay about their relationship, but the rest of the cowboys came over, having finished their supper. Misty shrugged in response. 

     "Have you eaten yet?" Clay asked Misty.

     "Yes, you?"

     Clay nodded. Marshall came over to Misty and Clay. "Y'all playin' a couple rounds of cards with us?"

     Clay gave Misty a look that told her to make the decision. "I think I'm gonna turn in for the night. I'm pretty plum tuckered." Misty looked at Clay. "If that's okay."

     "I think I am going to play a couple rounds before I turn in." Clay said.

     Misty nodded, standing up. Once she stood up, Clay grabbed her hand. Glancing at Clay, Misty held out the coffee mug to him, thinking he wanted some coffee. "Come here." Clay smiled, not taking the coffee.

     Taking the hint, Misty smiled as she bent down, giving Clay a kiss. "Goodnight, beautiful." Clay smiled. Multiple hoots and hollers came from around the bonfire circle from the cowboys who saw Misty and Clay kiss. Instead of pulling back like Clay did a couple days ago when Misty had marshmallow on his cheek, Clay placed a quick kiss on Misty's lips again.

     "Goodnight." Misty said when Clay finally let her go. A huge smile spread across her lips as she walked back to her tent.

     Even though she was tired, Misty knew she wouldn't be able to sleep well because of everything that happened today. To hopefully help her fall asleep quicker, Misty got out a book she was reading and her flashlight. Careful to not wake Junior, Misty turned her back to him as she read, or tried, to read her book.

     Just as she was about to turn off her flashlight for the night and try to go to bed, Misty heard her name being called from outside. Realizing it was Clay, Misty crawled over to the tent zipper. When she unzipped the tent, peeking her head out, Clay asked, "Are you still awake?"

     "Yeah, what's up?" Misty whispered. The air was cold around her.

     Bending down, Clay smiled, "You up for a little stargazing?"

     Instead of answering, Misty smiled, slipping back into the tent to put her book down and grab a blanket. Once she was out of the tent, Clay walked over to his tent, grabbing two more blankets and a pillow. With the pillow and blankets in hand, Clay turned his back to Misty. "Come on, I'll give you a piggy back ride."

     Giggling, Misty played along, hopping up onto Clay's back. The two laughed as Clay walked further out into the darkness. "Where are we goin', Clay?" Misty asked, her hands around Clay's chest as he carried her. She shined her flashlight ahead of them, trying to see in the darkness.

     "Right over here. You'll see." A couple minutes later, Misty realized that Clay had taken her over to where the mustangs were in the corral. When Clay stopped walking, Misty hopped down from his back. Clay laid out one of the blankets on the ground, setting the pillow down too. Sitting down, Clay offered a hand out to Misty, asking her to join him on the blanket.

     Once she laid out on the blanket, Clay put his arm around her, pulling her close. "It's really cold out here. Oh my goodness." Misty said, her teeth chattering. She snuggled up closer to Clay and his endless warmth.

     Clay's chuckle warmed Misty even more. "I no longer believe you when you tell me that you're never cold."

     "Maybe I'm not actually cold. Maybe I just like to snuggle up close to you and have you hold me." Misty smiled at Clay.

     Clay closed the gap by giving Misty a quick kiss before grabbing the blankets, covering her up. "There, that feel better?"

     "Much. Thank you." Misty replied, looking up at the dark, star filled sky. She loved the silence of the night. It was quiet enough that Misty could hear the horses munching on the grass and hay beside them.

     "Look, Misty! Shooting star." Clay exclaimed, pointing up at the star that darted across the sky. "Man, isn't God amazing? He made all of those stars, put them into a formation that we call constellations, and He still makes stargazing even better by allowing me to be here with you, watching shooting stars."

     "Mhm." Misty mumbled, her head against Clay's chest, and her eyes closed.

     "Are you sleeping?" Clay chuckled as he looked at Misty. "Honey, we have to get back to camp soon so I don't get you in trouble."
 

   Misty made no sound; her breathing slowed, and her body relaxed. She had fallen asleep in Clay's arms. Not wanting to wake the beauty sleeping next to him, Clay decided to take a few minutes to pray and watch the stars. Then, in a few minutes, he would carry Misty back to camp. Or, at least that was his plan. What he did not plan, however, was the warmth from the blankets, and the stress of the long day making him extremely tired. He could only hope that he would be able to stay awake so he could get his sleeping beauty back to camp. The last thing he needed was someone coming out tomorrow morning and see them together; it would only give them the wrong idea.

      Promising himself he would just close his eyes for a short time, Clay relaxed completely giving in to what his exhausted body was telling him. Within seconds, Clay had fallen asleep under the star filled sky.