Learnin' The Ropes by Shanna Hatfield

know.” Ty moved to the office door, followed by Lexi.
    “Thanks, Ty. I really appreciate it.” She placed a warm hand on his arm that made them both jump when heat snapped between them.
    “You’re welcome. And don’t worry. I won’t say anything to anyone. Cal and Jimmy would start digging holes all over the ranch looking for a treasure if they found out.”
    “That they would,” Lexi said with a grin as Ty walked out the door. He stopped in the yard long enough to put all of Baby’s stuff back in her house before returning to the shop.
    An hour later, his focus remained on Lexi and the vision of her digging around in Baby’s house. Annoyed with himself, he shook his head to clear his thoughts. He turned his attention to the part in his hand just as Gus popped his head inside the door.
    “The boss is making lunch for us today. Said to be at the house at noon, dude,” Gus said then hurried on his way to the barn.
    “Thanks,” Ty called after him. The day was getting better and better. Aware of  Lexi’s culinary talents, he looked forward to the meal.
    At a quarter of twelve, he took off his coveralls and washed up. In the small bathroom, he looked in the mirror and combed his hair that had grown too long again. He stopped at barbershop in Burns last week to have it trimmed, but the guy that cut it assured him women went wild over hair like his and didn’t cut it as short as he wanted. Ty didn’t feel like arguing with him, so he resigned himself to getting it trimmed again in a few weeks.
    After making sure he didn’t have any grease on his face, Ty decided he looked presentable. He whistled to Baby as she lounged on her bed in the corner. The dog followed him to the house where she plopped down on the back porch.
    Lexi was outside grilling burgers. An assortment of chips, dip, fruit salad, buns, and all the fixings needed for a great hamburger spread across the checkered cloth covering a big picnic table in the yard.
    As the rest of the crew ambled into the yard with clean hands and faces, they all tipped their hats at Lexi and thanked her for inviting them for lunch.
    “It’s too nice a day not to barbecue something,” Lexi said with a laugh. “I’m not quite as handy with the grill as Ty, but I think I can make an edible burger.”
    “I’m sure it will be dandy,” Swede said, fishing a bottle of pop out of a cooler Lexi had left near the table. “Ya didn’t need to go to extra work for us.”
    “It’s my pleasure,” Lexi said, flipping burgers. “You have all worked so hard. Let’s just call this a little thank you.”
    The conversation was lively as they sat down to eat. Ty thought he might actually give in to his desire to kiss Lexi when she brought out a huge chocolate cake with ice cream. None of the cowboys were good at baking, so his sweet tooth had been extremely deprived.
    “This is so good,” Ty said as Lexi offered him a second piece of cake and he gladly accepted it.
    The men helped clean up the dishes and leftovers then sat around the yard resting in the sunshine and enjoying a rare mid-day break. Lexi told them to relax as long as they wanted before she disappeared into the house.
    Ty opened another bottle of soda, teasing Jimmy about something he’d done the previous day. Jimmy didn’t pay him any mind as his gaze focused on the back door of the house.
    Ty followed his stare as he tilted the bottle of soda upward, missed his mouth, and slowly poured the sticky drink down his shirtfront before he realized what he was doing.
    Lexi strode across the porch looking like she stepped out of a photo shoot for a fashion designer. Her long black hair floated around her in glossy waves, her lips were ruby red, and trendy sunglasses covered her eyes. She wore a black sequined cocktail dress that hugged her curves to perfection and hit her a few inches above her knees. Her legs, her crazy long legs, carried her toward Ty one swaying step at a time on a pair of heels that made his