"Well, darlin'," Jace started the next morning as they brushed out their horses for the first day that they start the ride back to the ranch with the mustangs they would train. "It looks like you and Clay have worked thangs out."

     Misty chuckled as she set down Midnight's hoof that she had just picked. "I don't know what you're talkin' about." She said, almost sarcastically, as she walked around Midnight's rear to clean out his back right hoof.

     "I'm serious. I think that he's finally noticed you. I saw how he was lookin' at you last night around the fire. And the way that he wiped off the invisible 'marshmallow' that was supposedly on your cheek? I think he's finally figured out that you're a girl...and that you even exist." Jace said in a teasing voice as he shot Misty a wink.

     Standing up, Misty threw the curry comb that she had set on Midnight's back at Jace. "Hush up. Geez." Misty smiled. She loved her friend, no matter how jealous he sounded right about now.

     "You're welcome." Jace raised his eyebrows, pointing the curry at Misty.

     Misty shrugged. "Never said thank you." She went back to picking out Midnight's hooves.

     "Oh, but you will." Jace responded, a knowing look on his face.

     "And for what exactly do I have to thank you for?" Misty asked, resting her arms on Midnight's back after finishing his hooves.

     "Well, for settin' you and Clay up." Jace responded casually from beside Bailey.

     Misty furrowed her eyebrows. "Okay, now I really don't know what you're talkin' about."

     Jace stopped brushing his horse to look at Misty. "I suggested to your dad that he should put you two together for the round up. I told him to have y'all pick up the stragglers...figured it'd give y'all plenty of time for y'all to...get to know each other...looks like it worked." Jace smiled, resuming brushing out his mare. "I said it as a joke at first, but I reckon he thought it was a great idea."

     "You little..." Misty shook her head at her friend. "I'm not goin' to thank you for that. And for your information, nothing has happened, so, sorry cowboy, but your plan doesn't seem to be workin'." Misty replied, placing her saddle pad on Midnight's back.

     "We still got a few days." Jace countered as he picked out Bailey's hooves. When he stood back up, he saw Misty carrying her saddle to Midnight. "Why are you limping?" Jace asked, walking to the other side of his mare, so he was closer to Misty.

     "Just sore." Misty lied, forcing a smile.

     "Does it have anything to do with someone ridin' up the herd to the lead stallion yesterday?" Jace asked, giving Misty a look that said he already knew the answer.

     "Um. I mean...maybe?" Misty said, slinging the saddle onto Midnight's back.

     "Misty, honey, I know it was you. I saw you ridin' up." Jace slung his saddle onto Bailey's back.

     "Then why did you ask me?" Misty smiled.

     Jace shrugged before answering. "I wanted to see if you'd tell me the truth." Smiling, Jace continued. "I knew you wouldn't keep it from me."

     "Please don't tell my dad." Misty replied as she tightened Midnight's cinch.

     "He's gonna find out." Jace replied, slipping on Bailey's bridle.

     "I know, but I want to be the one to tell him." Misty held her bridle in her hand as she answered Jace. 

     "Well, now's your chance." Jace said, throwing his head backwards to tell Misty her dad was coming over to where they were. "I'll see you in a bit." Jace said, taking Bailey's reins and leading her away.

     "Hey, Misty, we are getting ready to head out. Are you all set?" Bill asked, stroking his horse's muzzle from where he stood beside Misty and Midnight.

     "I'm ready." Misty slipped the reins off from around her horse's neck. "Hey, dad. I want to tell you something." Misty said in a timid voice. She looked down at her dusty boots.

     "Anything, sweetheart." Bill smiled.

     Misty looked up. "It was me who rode up the herd yesterday. And...I got thrown. That's why I'm limpin' today." Misty struggled to tell her dad. She didn't want to disappoint him.

     "I know what happened. And don't ask me how. Us parents just seem to know. It's almost like a sixth sense." Bill finished. He had a smile on his face.

     "So you're not disappointed in me?" Misty asked, concerned. She was daddy's little girl, and so she hated to disappoint her dad in any way, shape, or form. Almost her whole life, she had looked up to her dad and strives to be just like him. Her desire to never disappoint her daddy had in turn gotten her into trouble many times and had often resulted in her feelings getting hurt.

     "Absolutely not, Misty. I'm more concerned that you got thrown and got hurt than I am that you did the one thing that we tell everyone not to do." Bill replied, slipping the reins over his horse's neck.

     "Okay. I'm sorry, daddy. I promise it won't happen again."

     Bill walked forward, engulfing Misty into a hug. "Don't apologize, sweetheart. You could never disappoint me. I love you, Misty."

     "Love you too, daddy."

     "Are you sure you're alright? How hurt are you?" Bill asked, pulling away from the hug. "How bad did you get thrown?" He looked Misty up and down.

     "I'm okay. My knee and wrist are a little sore, but like I told Clay, I made a stupid risk and got hurt as a result. But, it's all part of bein' a cowgirl." Misty tried giving her dad a convincing smile even though she was almost one hundred percent certain that she had sprained her wrist during the fall. It was already black and blue. She had tried hiding it by wearing her sleeves down, and clasping them at the wrist, despite the 87 degree heat.

     "Alright, sweetheart. I have Tylenol in my saddle bag if you need it." Bill turned around when one of the cowboys told him that they were all ready to go and asked if they could let the mustangs out. Bill told them, "In just a minute." Turning back to Misty, Bill asked, "How is it goin' between you and Clay? You two still okay to ride together? Y'all seem to be workin' out well; y'all make a good team."

     Misty carefully swung up on Midnight's back as she answered her dad. "Yeah, everything is goin' surprisingly well. We do make a great team." Misty tried not to let her smile show too much.

      "I'm glad to hear that. Well, we should probably start to get a move; the sky looks like rain." Bill said, swinging up onto his horse's back.

     Misty looked around for Clay as she rode out to meet up with the other cowboys. Clay was nowhere in sight, however. Jace, on the other hand, rode up next to Misty. "Hey, where's your boyfriend?" Jace smiled, setting his reins down on Bailey's neck to slip on his leather work gloves.

     "You just don't know when to shut up, do you?" Misty asked Jace, only half teasing. "He's not my boyfriend, so I would really appreciate it if you could please stop callin' him that." Misty tightened her stampede strings when the wind blew harder, threatening to blow her hat off her head.

     "Woah. Someone's a little grumpy today. What's wrong?" Jace asked, picking his reins back up when his tired mare dropped her head and stopped walking to eat some grass.

     Misty sighed. "Nothing. I just don't appreciate you callin' Clay my boyfriend when it's clear he doesn't like me." She wasn't sure why she was suddenly annoyed at Jace. He didn't do anything wrong.

     "Okay. Sorry. I was just sayin'." Jace looked up at the graying sky. "Oh, I see what it is. It's fixin' to rain. You always get testy when it's gonna storm." He had a smile on his face.

     "You know me too well, Jace Calhoun." Misty replied, forcing a slight smile. Jace was right, storms often make her a little moody. But, also, seriously, where was Clay? Jace chuckled, then rode ahead further to where Paul called his name.

     Misty helped with the herd for at least another hour. She was by herself on the back right flank. Clay was still nowhere in sight. The sky continued to get darker and darker as the day went on. Finally, the dark clouds opened up, pouring rain down on the horses and cowboys.

     Way ahead of where she rode, Misty heard Bill shout, "Let's pick up the pace a little, y'all."

     All of the mustangs were desensitized to the rain and storms since they lived their whole lives outside in this weather, but it was the McAdam's ranch horses that had problems. Many of the tired horses, and their exhausted riders, fought to keep control over themselves, and the herd.

     After only about five minutes of rain pouring down on her, Misty was completely soaked through all of her clothes. About another thirty minutes later, a rust colored horse came trotting up beside her. "Clay, where have you been this whole day?!" Misty shouted at the horse's rider. Her eyes glared lasers at Clay through the cold, hard rain.

     Clay chuckled. "Doin' my job. Pickin' up the stragglers. A couple decided to jump the fence last night. Including that grulla horse you insisted on keepin'. Don't worry, they are all safe and sound back in the herd."

     "Good." Misty replied, short. She pulled her hat down further over her head in an attempt to keep the tiny dry spot on her face free from the rain.

     Clay looked over at a soaking wet Misty and slipped off his black rain slicker to hand it to her. "Here." He offered.

     "No, I'm fine. Thank you though." Misty shouted over the loudness of the rain, horses, and cowboys shouting their commands. She kept her gaze forward, and off of the handsome cowboy to her right.

     "Misty, darlin', please just take it. I don't want you gettin' sick. I have another jacket on, so don't worry about me getting cold." Clay still held out the black slicker.

     Hesitating, Misty took the jacket from Clay and slipped it on over her cold, soaking body. "Thanks." She mumbled, turning her attention back to the herd. Clay's jacket was big on her, especially the sleeves, which made it hard for her to hold her reins without grabbing some of the sleeve. Slightly irritated, Misty attempted to partially roll up the sleeves. After setting the reins over her saddle horn so she could have both hands, Misty finally succeeded in folding up the slick sleeves so they were out of her way.

     "It was fun playin' cards with you last night." Clay stated after a few quiet seconds of riding beside the rambunctious herd.

     "You too." Misty said, giving Clay a forced smile. She was exhausted and it was only around noon. This was going to be another long day.

     "Did you sleep well?" Clay asked another question.

     "Yes. You?" Misty kept her responses short. She was really not in the mood to talk to anyone, not even Clay.

     "Yeah." Clay seemed to be thinking over his next question. Finally, he decided to settle on, "Is everything alright? You seem a little...untalkative today."

     Misty looked over at Clay. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm sorry; storms seem to make me grumpy."

     "Oh, I see how it is." Clay smiled, looking at up the sky. "Looks like the rain might let up soon."

     Misty chuckled, annoyed with the weather. "Not a chance. It'll slow down soon, but that won't last long. It's gonna rain for at least another thirty minutes or so." Misty stated. She was right, too. The rain did let up to a sprinkle, but only for five or ten minutes, then it went back to pouring, driving rain.

     By the time they got the horses to camp for the night, all of the cowboys were exhausted, soaked and covered in mud, amongst other things. Jace, seeing how sore Misty was from her fall the other day, offered to untack and brush Midnight for her. Misty willingly allowed him to do that for her; this gave her the freedom to go sit down by the campfire to get warm and dry. She was surprised that anyone was able to get a fire started despite the soaking ground. Sure, the fire was small, but nonetheless, it was a fire.

     All of the cowboys were plum tuckered from the long, exhausting day. Several had even fallen asleep around the fire pit; the only ones still awake were Misty and Jace. Misty glanced around to see if Clay was still awake, but she didn't see him, not that she cared...that much. This week of working with Clay so closely had made her little crush on him grow to what it is now...nearly overtaking. She knew that it wasn't healthy to let a person take up that much space in someone's mind, but there was just something about Clay.

     After ten minutes of shivering in chilly air, still in her soaking clothes, Misty heard someone walk up beside her. It was Clay; he took a seat next to Misty on the log without a word. Even close to the fire, and Clay, Misty still felt cold. She had really wished that she hadn't given Clay back his rain slicker once the rain let up.

     "Are you cold?" Clay asked the obvious. He must've heard Misty's teeth chattering, or something of the sort.

     "Yeah, I never got the chance to change out of these wet clothes once we set up camp." Misty replied, turning to look at Clay in the little light that was left.

     "Here, I'll go grab you a blanket." Clay said, standing up before Misty could protest. After a minute later, Clay walked up behind Misty, wrapping one of his dry jackets around her shoulders. Coming back around front, Clay plopped back down, handing Misty a blanket, which she put over her legs. Clay let out a chuckle that instantly warmed Misty's insides. "Why is it that you girls always tend to get so cold so easily?"

     Misty teasingly elbowed Clay. "Hey, that's not always true. And, for the record, I hardly ever get cold. I'm just chilly now because it's nippy out and my back is on the cold wind when my front is facing the fire. So, I have to keep my back warm too. Plus, I'm still sitting here in freezing cold, soaking wet, clothes."

     Clay chuckled and looked over at Misty. The sky was still bright enough behind them that Misty could still see Clay's smile. "What?" She asked.

     "You're amazing, you know that?" Clay's voice was serious, but his smile still remained.

     Misty almost scoffed, but instead gave Clay a confused look. "What do you mean?

     "You are the only female out on this roundup, you keep up with us as well, if not better than, us guys, you aren't afraid of taking care of your little brother in front of us and you're definitely not embarrassed by him. You don't try to be cool, or show off, but you're very humble, which makes you amazing." Clay took off his cowboy hat, setting it close to the fire so it could get dry before he continued his list of compliments. "I mean, you got thrown and acted like it was nothing, and to top it all off, somehow, you manage to always look beautiful even in the soaking rain."

     Misty laughed out loud. She glanced over to a very serious looking Clay. "Wait, are you serious?" Misty asked, her smile fading. She had been known for turning down compliments, never accepting them. Even when people complimented her, she didn't believe them, and so she always just brushes them off, just like she did now.

     "Why would I kid about that?" Clay asked, but Misty didn't respond. Instead, she just looked at him in the firelight. Holding her gaze, Clay asked Misty, "No one has ever told you that before, have they?"

     Misty shook her head. "Never...well, besides my family and friends, but they don't really count."

     "Well, do I count?" Clay asked slowly, scooting closer to Misty.

     "I-I think I would have to hear you say it again." Misty accidentally allowed to slip. She had meant to keep the flirty comment in her head. Seeing how close she and Clay were now, Misty had forgotten all about being cold and wet.

     Clay reached up slowly, caressing Misty's cheek with one hand as he brushed away some damp hair with the other. "You're beautiful, Misty McAdams." Clay said, his voice sincere, and his eyes true. This time when he said it, Misty believed him. The night was beginning to get darker, but the fire light allowed Misty to clearly see Clay's eyes look down at her lips. Clay started to lean in to kiss her, but right before their lips could meet, Misty pulled back and looked down, Clay's hand dropping from her face. She had remembered her promise to herself to not put Clay before her family...but, he could come second, right?

     "I need to go check Junior." Misty whispered, and stood up, the blanket falling off her legs. Clay grabbed her hand, making Misty turn to him.

     "Will you come back out?" Clay asked, almost in a begging voice. Misty hesitated, but then nodded. Seeming content with her answer, Clay let go of Misty's hand.

     Misty crawled into the tent and saw Junior sound asleep. He must have been too tired to remember that he was afraid of the dark since he had fallen asleep on top of his blankets, boots and all. Grabbing one of her blankets, Misty covered up her little brother. Bending down, she placed a kiss on his forehead before whispering, "I love you." She then crawled back out of the tent.

     Looking over to where Clay still sat on the wooden log beside the fire, Misty couldn't help but think about what just about happened. It was the moment that she had been waiting for since Clay started working here. Afraid she had given him the wrong impression, Misty knew she owed Clay an explanation. Glancing between Clay and the tent, Misty sighed, and eventually made her way back over to where he sat, sitting down next to him. Laying the blanket over her legs again, Misty began her explanation, "Clay, the reason I pulled away is because I hardly know you. We only started really talking about five days ago, and you didn't even notice me until the day I got thrown." Misty managed to make eye contact with Clay.

     "No, Misty, I noticed you long before you got thrown. I was just way too stubborn to admit that I have feelings for you. And, I really want to get to know you better. After this roundup is over, what do you say you let me take you on a date?" Clay asked, a smile on his face.

     Misty couldn't help but smile at him. She could feel herself blushing as she let out a breath she didn't know that she was holding. "I think that would be great."

     Clay smiled and grabbed Misty's hand, lacing his fingers through hers. It reminded her so much of the morning of the roundup back at the ranch house when they said grace before breakfast. So much had changed since that day, even though that was only about five days ago.

     Misty rested her head on Clay's shoulder as they sat there silently staring at the fire. Eventually, Misty lifted her head from Clay's shoulder. When he looked at her with those blue eyes, Misty said, "Okay, the real reason that I pulled away when you leaned in to kiss me is because I have never been kissed before. Ever. But...I like you, and I was worried you would think I was a bad kisser if I didn't pull back." Misty sighed, then let out an awkward chuckle. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said all that. I guess I'm just nervous." Misty's free hand lifted and fell, slapping her thigh. She let out an awkward chuckle. "I don't know why I said that either."

     "It's okay. I respect that." Clay smiled. "I like you for who you are, whether you have kissed someone before, or not. And, even if you are a bad kisser, which I know you won't be, it won't make me like you any less. But Misty, I would be more than obliged to be your first kiss."

     Misty was now smiling uncontrollably. "So, umm..." Misty started to lean in. Clay followed her lead. Before their lips could meet, Misty closed her eyes and expected to feel Clay's lips on hers, but instead, she hit his nose with hers. Opening her eyes, Misty chuckled awkwardly and pulled away slightly, looking down. "I'm sorry. See, I told you I would be a horrible kisser."

     Clay chuckled and caressed her cheek again, bringing Misty's eyes back up to look at him. "It's okay." He said quietly before leaning in again. This time, Misty made sure to keep her eyes open, but only until right before their lips could meet. Clay's hand on her cheek seemed to keep Misty's nose from colliding with his again. Finally, Misty's lips found Clay's and it was perfect. Sure, the second and third were a little rough until they found what was most comfortable, but Clay was very patient with Misty each time. A couple kisses later, it was safe to say that Misty was a good kisser.