"You break up with your boyfriend, yet?"

Your gasp of surprise doesn't go unnoticed by Tashi as she sidles up to the fence, but then again, she's got too keen an eye to miss such a thing. It's why she's the lead ranch hand on your father's ranch and not any of the boys who've been working on the land much longer than her eight-month tenure.

But that title doesn't guarantee she's always the humble worker she conveys herself as; she doesn't need a lifted truck like Patrick's or antlers displayed on her cabin's walls like Art to prove that she's got an ego. With enough in her system, she's on-par with the boys she orders around all day.

Fixing the Stetson on top of her head, Tashi chuckles before shushing you with a snap of her fingers. "Don't get angry with me, now— I'm just askin' a question, sweetheart." She raises her hands in defense, but her expression's anything but apologetic. "I know what it looks like when a boy's not doin' his job, and I'm open to helpin' a poor girl out if I can."

God. You confide in the one other girl on the ranch besides your mom about your failing relationship, and look where that got you— getting unwanted commentary from the lead ranch hand and not being able to do anything about it. Your father wouldn't believe such a thing about his favorite ranch hand, and frankly, you're not ready to lose the only other female perspective within a ten-mile radius.

"All I'm sayin' is that I deliver on my word," she says with a shrug. Sure, she's never been shy about her interest in you, but this is a whole new level for Tashi. "Ain't no country boy quitter."

You brush her hand away from your hair after she ruffles it. "And I'm just supposed to believe you?" You follow Tashi as she steps through the fence gate and heads back towards the barn. She laughs, dusting her gloves off on her jeans.

"Well... yeah." With another look over her shoulder to look at you, Tashi shakes her head and continues walking. "I'm a giver like that— it's just in my nature."

She pays you and your consequent squabbling no mind after that. Her focus is on the paperwork waiting for her in her office, not her boss's daughter and her trying to prove she's happy in her n current relationship. It'd be way easier if you just gave her a chance.

"Look, honey," Tashi sighs, and she sits down at her desk while motioning for you to do the same. "All I'm sayin' is that I'd get the job done, simple as that." And if you weren't already a mess, you definitely are when her hand rests on your leg beneath the desk.

"When will you let me prove it to you?"