"This week."
Kaia raised one eyebrow.
"That's what you said last week."
Garrett shifted slightly in the saddle.
"I've had spring work."
"So have I."
There was no anger in his voice.
That somehow annoyed her more.
Kaia folded her arms.
"I'd like it repaired by Friday."
Garrett looked toward the broken section.
Then back at her.
"All right."
She blinked.
She had prepared herself for an argument.
Instead, she had received agreement.
"And the grazing," she continued.
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
"I have another request."
"I figured."
"I'm not asking for money."
"Good."
"I need two weeks' use of your north meadow in June."
Garrett's expression changed.
"The north meadow?"
"It borders the creek. You barely use it during summer."
"You checked."
"I'm practical, Mr. Callaway."
She leaned slightly forward.
"I don't ask for what isn't fair."
Garrett studied her for several seconds.
Long enough that Kaia became painfully aware of the fact that his eyes were an unusually clear shade of gray.
She immediately disliked herself for noticing.
Finally, he nodded.
"All right."
Kaia straightened.
"All right?"
"Fence repaired by Friday. North meadow is yours for two weeks in June."
She waited.
Something in his expression softened.
"And I apologize for the bulls."
The simplicity of it caught her off guard.
No excuse.
No argument.
No attempt to blame someone else.
Just an apology.
Kaia swallowed.
"Thank you."
Garrett nodded.
She turned Rain around.
Then she heard him behind her.
"Miss Storm."
She looked back.
"You don't have to ride over every time there's a problem."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Why not?"
"Send another letter."
"I did."
"Then send three."
Kaia stared at him.
For the first time, the corner of Garrett's mouth moved.
Barely.
Almost a smile.
It was gone before she could be certain she had seen it.
She turned away.
"Friday, Mr. Callaway."
"I remember."
She rode toward home.
Garrett watched her go.
Only after she disappeared behind the cottonwoods did he look toward the broken fence.
He sighed.
Then he whispered to himself.
"Storm by name and storm by nature."
What he didn't say was that Kaia Storm had been the last woman he expected to see riding across his land.
And the only woman in three years who had made him forget, for several minutes, the promise he had made never to let anyone get close again.
The North Meadow
By Friday morning, the fence was fixed.
Kaia discovered it while riding out to check her cattle.
Every post stood straight.
Every wire was tight.
The broken section looked better than the original.
She stopped Rain beside it.
For some reason, she smiled.
"Well," she murmured.
A voice came from behind her.
"Good enough?"
She turned.
Garrett sat on his bay gelding several yards away.
Kaia looked at the fence.
"It'll do."
"High praise."
"I didn't say it was beautiful."
He smiled.
This time she definitely saw it.