Читать книгу Rancher's High-Stakes Rescue - Beth Cornelison - Страница 11

Chapter 1

Twenty years later

The Colorado terrain was breathtaking, Kate thought, as she peered out the backseat window. The tiny car belonged to the Uber driver who had picked up her and her coworker, Dawn, at the Denver airport. The owners of McCall Adventure Ranch had been scheduled to give them a ride to the ranch, but she and Dawn had managed to get an earlier flight out of Dallas and hadn’t remembered to notify the ranch staff until they were about to land.

“Here’s the turn,” Dawn said, leaning forward to direct the driver with a pointing finger as well as her verbal cue.

The driver eyed her via the rearview mirror, his look clearly disgruntled.

“Thanks,” he replied dryly and reached up to shut off the turn-by-turn directions on his cell phone in the dashboard mount.

Dawn took the hint and sat back again with a sheepish “Oh. Sorry.”

Kate hid a grin behind her hand, pretending to scratch her cheek. She was well familiar with Dawn’s bossiness but knew her coworker didn’t mean to be controlling. Dawn simply had a high-energy, highly organized, highly efficient type A personality, and she let it get the best of her sometimes. Dawn got results, because she didn’t take no for an answer. She did her research, knew her business and had a plan for everything.

If you hesitated or wishy-washed around her, you were likely to get swept along by her tidal wave of persuasion and direction. Case in point—Kate’s presence on this trip.

When Dawn had brought the public relations firm’s new client campaign to her and told her about the trip to gather firsthand knowledge and have in-depth, in-person strategy meetings with the ranch owners, Kate had balked.

“So they want us to go on one of these adventure excursions?” she’d asked, the contents of her stomach curdling.

Dawn’s eyes had been bright with excitement and enthusiasm. “Yes! No charge. Isn’t it great?”

“Um...”

“The trip includes rappelling, white-water rafting, zip-lining, camping, a hands-on ranch experience—meaning they’ll show us roping and riding—and if we want, they’ll even take us BASE jumping!” Dawn had laughed and smacked the palm of her hand on the desk. “How cool is that?”

Cool hadn’t been the word that came to Kate’s mind. Terrifying was more like it.

“Um. W-wow,” she’d stuttered as her hands began to shake.

“We leave in two weeks. It’s gonna be awesome!” Dawn had gushed.

And no excuse or expressed reluctance had convinced Dawn to find another staff member to go in Kate’s place.

“No way! I want you. Don’t be a chicken. This trip is the perfect way to shake up your staid life and get your adrenaline pumping!” Then Dawn had made Bambi eyes at her, adding, “You’re my friend. I want to experience this with you, not Frank or Hattie. We’ll have a blast.”

Gauntlet thrown down. Friend card played. Pleading look employed. Yes, Dawn was good at getting her way.

So here Kate was, in the back of a tiny Uber, her heart in her throat as they bounced down the rutted drive to a beautiful Colorado ranch. She took a deep breath and squeezed the straps of the purse she held in her lap as if they were a lifeline. Maybe she could wrangle her way out of the more dangerous activities. Even as the anxious thought crossed her mind, a niggle of something long dormant kicked in her soul.

Ever since the incident at the silo when she was eight years old, she’d waged this internal battle. Her innate curiosity and longing for adventure got shouted down by the pervasive terror, the lingering memory of two gut-wrenching, pain-filled, nightmare-inducing days at the bottom of the abandoned silo.

As they pulled to a stop in front of the building with the sign that read Check In Here, the scents of manure and fresh hay greeted her. And made a cold sweat pop out on her upper lip that had nothing to do with the warm May weather. She hadn’t lived on her family’s Missouri farm for ten years, but just a whiff of the smells inherent to agribusiness stirred memories both bitter and sweet.

While Dawn spoke to the Uber driver, Kate climbed out and stretched her back. She could only partly blame her tight muscles on the narrow airplane seat and hours of sitting. Her heart beat an apprehensive tattoo as she took in the rural setting and filled her lungs with the fecund, late spring air.

“Hello there!” a male voice called, and she pivoted to face the tall, broad-shouldered rancher striding toward them with a sexy grin. “Welcome to the Double M! Can I help you with your bags?”

“Sure.” She smiled at the cowboy, whose black hair was neatly trimmed and whose bright blue eyes stood out against his tanned complexion and dark eyebrows. “We’re checking in. For the adventure excursion.”

He paused, looking confused. “Wait. Are you Dawn Fetzer?”

Dawn strode over to him with her hand out. “I’m Dawn. This is my colleague, Kate Carrington.”

He stuck out his hand to Dawn. “I’m Zane. We’ve talked several times.”

“Of course. Nice to meet you in person.”

He shook Kate’s hand as well before turning a look of dismay to Dawn. “Did I miss a message about a change in your flight schedule? I was going to pick you up.”

He hurried to the trunk of the small coupe, where the Uber driver was unloading their suitcases. Hoisting one suitcase in each hand, he moved the bags out of the driveway while Dawn explained about the opportunity to take the earlier flight.

“We had to hurry to board, and I completely forgot to call you before we turned our phones off for the flight. I’m sorry!”

Zane waved off her apology. “Forget it. Just glad to have you here safely. Let me show you to your rooms.” He pulled out a small two-way radio receiver and held it to his mouth. “Hey, I need you out front. The reps from the PR firm are here.”

A voice on the radio answered, “Already? They’re early!”

Zane flashed an embarrassed grin to them. “Yeah, I know. Get out here.” Then to Kate and Dawn, “This way, ladies.”

He led them across the hard-packed dirt yard toward a freshly painted clapboard building with a wooden sign over the front door that read Guest House.

As they followed their host, Dawn leaned close to Kate and whispered, “This trip just gets better and better. High-adrenaline adventures and a hot cowboy as our host.”

Kate grinned and elbowed Dawn in the ribs. “Flirt.”

Dawn waggled her eyebrows. “You know I’m faithful to Dean. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a nice fling.”

Kate’s pulse tripped. “What?”

Dawn sent her a sly grin. “Look at him, Kate. Don’t tell me you don’t want a little bit of that cowboy action.”

Kate shifted her gaze to the admirable posterior encased in blue jeans and square jaw of their swoon-worthy host. “I admit he’s good-looking—”

“Mmm-hmm.” Dawn’s hum of agreement held a lascivious overtone.

“—but I’m not a fling kinda girl, vacation or otherwise.” Two mistakes of that nature in three years cured her of that bad habit. She had a talent, it seemed, for allowing herself to get hurt in more ways than just physically.

“This used to be the bunkhouse for our hands when the ranching operation was bigger,” Zane said. He set their suitcases down and swept a hand toward the front room. The living room had been decorated with shabby-chic ranch decor and homey furniture in warm shades of beige and chocolate with brightly colored accent pillows from red to rust. “This is a community area for relaxing. The TV remote is on the coffee table just there.” He pointed it out then, rubbed his hands together and continued, “No room assignments. Just pick whichever one you choose. We do have two other small parties coming later in the day who’ll be in the last two rooms. Dinner will be—”

His spiel was interrupted as another cowboy burst through the door they’d just entered, lugging the last of their bags. “Hi, ladies! Welcome,” he said, sounding winded.

Kate caught the frown Zane directed at the other man, and she turned toward the new arrival. She eyed the cowboy in surprise, understanding Zane’s displeasure. The out-of-breath cowboy wore dusty jeans and a stained white T-shirt, and his boots had definitely seen better days. He removed his hat to rake his fingers through shaggy black hair that grew past his earlobes with wisps that drooped messily over his eyes. He was the opposite of neat and trimmed Zane in so many ways...and yet he was a carbon copy. Same startlingly blue eyes, same ruggedly cut jawline—though this cowboy’s chin was dusted with a couple days’ worth of stubble—and the same broad-shouldered, muscular-legged physique.

Kate’s mouth dried as she studied him, unsure why his disheveled appearance unsettled her.

Zane cleared his throat. “Ms. Fetzer, Ms. Carrington, this is my brother, Josh.”

Dawn stepped closer to Josh with her hand out. “Nice to meet you, Josh. Call me Dawn.”

Josh flashed a lopsided grin and held both hands up out of Dawn’s reach. “I’m gonna pass on the handshake for now. When you arrived, I was in the stable with one of our first-calf heifers, overseeing the latest birth for our herd. I’ve mostly washed up, but I’m still kinda grimy.”

“Aww,” Dawn cooed. “A baby?”

“Yes, ma’am. We’re a working ranch, and replenishing the herd is our livelihood.” Josh spared Kate a glance, and his boyish grin slipped a little before returning to full wattage. Holding her gaze, he added, “If you want to meet the new calf, I’d be happy to take you to see him once you get settled.”

Kate swallowed the flutter of disquiet that she could feel pulsing in the vein in her neck. “That sounds great.”

Dawn wagged a finger between Zane and Josh. “You two are...identical twins?”

Zane nodded. “We are. And we have a sister, who rounds out the set. Triplets.”

Kate blinked and goggled at Zane. “Triplets! Wow. Does your sister live here, too? Will we meet her?”

“She does now. Just moved back from Boston. You’ll meet her at the welcome dinner tonight. Which, I was saying when Josh stormed in, is at six p.m. Out in the side yard.” Zane directed them with a finger pointing out the window. “That way. Can’t miss it.” He clapped his hands together. “Well, we’ll get out of your hair, let you unpack. The refrigerator has soft drinks and bottled water. Help yourself. Can we do anything else to get you settled before we scoot outta here?”

“I’m good, thanks,” Kate told Zane, and when she glanced back at Josh, his piercing gaze was still riveted on her, the playful twitch of a grin tugging the corner of his mouth.

Her heart bumped, and her breath snagged in her throat. His stare was unnerving, both because of the intensity of his sky blue eyes and because of the mysterious smile he gave her. As if he knew a secret about her. As if he were undressing her with his eyes. As if he could read her fears and reluctance about being there and was privately mocking her.

She calmed her edginess with a deep inhale and slow exhale, the way her therapist had taught her after the trauma of being trapped in the silo. Center yourself by focusing on something near you, something real, something safe.

Kate tore her gaze away from Josh’s and concentrated on a whimsical rooster figurine above the kitchenette cabinets until the uneasy feeling passed. She could hear Dawn telling the brothers goodbye and thank you. Heard the screened door slap closed followed by the squeak of hinges as the main door closed.

“Wow,” Dawn said, returning to the living room area of the guesthouse. “Twice as nice! Two for the price of one...” She gave Kate a play-punch in the shoulder as she strolled past on her way to check out the bedrooms. “I do believe we need to get you into some double trouble.”

With a grunt of disagreement, Kate followed her friend toward the bedrooms. The last thing she wanted from this trip was trouble. Double or otherwise.

Josh McCall scrubbed his hands and fingernails with the small brush at the stable’s wash station, while the hot water sent billowing steam up in his face. His motions were mechanical, habit, which was good, because his thoughts were miles away. Or rather, a few dozen feet away in the guesthouse.

He was not sure what he’d expected from the two representatives from the Dallas PR firm Zane was working with, but the wheat-blonde beauty, even now unpacking in the old bunkhouse, had not been what he’d pictured. Kate Carrington, Zane had said her name was. Kate, with her heart-shaped face, full lips and nervous smile had left him awestruck. He wasn’t as sappy as to believe in love at first sight, but lust at first sight, or intrigue, or captivation—whatever you wanted to call it—he was pretty sure had just happened. His body was thrumming, and his brain was clicking, anxious for the chance to talk with her again, get to know her. And yes, possibly sample those pink lips that had trembled a little when she’d smiled at their introduction.

He’d stared. He knew he had, and maybe his rapt attention had unsettled her. Maybe she wasn’t used to guys openly, unabashedly admiring her. Maybe—his heart stuttered—crap, was she married? He hadn’t thought to look for a ring. Gorgeous as she was, beguiled as he was, he would put his attraction on ice before he messed with a married woman.

“I think you missed a spot,” Dave Giblan, one of the Double M’s ranch hands, said as he sidled up beside him to wash his hands.

“Huh?”

Dave chuckled. “Geez, where’s your head? You’ve been scrubbing away over here for like ten minutes. Your skin’s gonna be raw.”

“Oh.” Josh passed the scrubbing brush to Dave and stepped aside. “Just trying to be thorough.”

Dave grunted and gave his boss a skeptical side-eye. “Heard the first guests arrived. You meet them?”

“Yeah,” Josh said, drying his hands on a clean towel from the shelf above the industrial-sized sink. “Couple of ladies from the PR place that’s handling our advertising and marketing.” He put the towel on a hook near the sink where Dave could use it next and hitched his head toward the back stall. “How’s mama doing?”

Dave nodded. “Great. She’s tired, but she’s taking care of her baby like she’s supposed to. Calf weighed in right at seventy pounds. Vet says he looks good.”

“Excellent.” He slapped Dave on the shoulder. “I’ll leave them in your capable hands. Let me know if anything changes with mama’s or the little guy’s conditions.”

Dave shut off the water. “Will do, man.” Dave hesitated, then asked, “Say...what’s this adventure tour biz mean for me?”

Josh gave him a puzzled look. “For you?”

The hand jerked a nod. “I’m already busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest since Karl left. And now you, Brady and Zane have your hands full with the adventure tours. Are there plans to hire a new hand? Get me some help?”

Josh grimaced and ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “Not that I know of. Sorry. We don’t plan to leave you hangin’. Brady’ll only be involved in the new business in small ways, and Zane and I’ll do our best to give you extra help when we’re around.”

Dave looked skeptical, but said nothing more about it.

Josh left the stable, pondering the truth that Dave had raised. The ranch did need more hands. But where would they find the money to hire more help? As he crossed the ranch yard, he heard the familiar squeak of the guesthouse’s screen door hinges. He glanced over to find Ms. Fetzer hurrying over to him.

Changing direction, he moved to intercept the woman, whose red-brown hair had been pulled into a single braid at her nape and whose ample curves jiggled as she trotted toward him.

“Hi. Josh, is it?” she said cheerfully, her dark brown eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

“Yes, ma’am. What can I do for you?”

“Well, you can call me Dawn instead of ma’am for starters. We are going to be working together, after all.”

Josh grinned and poked his hands in his front pockets. And, yes, they were a little raw from his distracted and extended scrubbing. “Dawn, then.”

She toyed with her braid—auburn, that’s the name of the color he’d heard Piper use for that shade of brownish-red hair—and she gave him a coy smile. “I’m really looking forward to trying all the adventures. Especially the rafting. That looks like so much fun!”

“It’s a blast,” he returned, nodding and giving her a schooled smile.

The guesthouse screened door screeched again, and when he glanced toward the small porch, his blood surged and heated. His smile grew as Kate walked toward them. She had a graceful stride, but even her poise didn’t mask the sexy sway of her hips. When she met his gaze, her cheek dimpled with a quick grin before her attention shifted to her friend. “Dean just called you. I answered it and told him I’d get you, but he said he was just checking that we arrived okay.”

Dawn pressed a hand to her full bosom. “What a sweetie. Did he want me to call back?”

Kate shrugged. “When you get a minute. The connection wasn’t good, so...”

“Yeah. Cell reception out here stinks. The landline in the guesthouse might be the better option for phone calls.” Josh got his first up-close look at Kate’s mossy green eyes, and something deep inside him kicked.

She tucked her blond hair behind her ear and moistened her lips with a quick swipe of her tongue. Josh’s mouth watered, and he clenched his hand inside his pocket.

Damn but he wanted to kiss those pink lips!

Instead, he motioned toward her, saying, “You’ll want to keep some lip balm close by. The air here is pretty dry, and it can be brutal to lips.”

She seemed a little startled by his non sequitur, and a wrinkle of confusion creased the bridge of her nose briefly before she nodded. “Okay. I will. Thanks.”

Her gaze went to his mouth before darting away.

“And sunscreen, especially when we’re on the adventure outing. It might only be May, but skin as fair as yours—” he caught himself and included Dawn with his gaze “—and yours, will burn easily, even this time of year.” He touched the brim of his black felt Tony Lama hat, adding, “A good wide-brimmed hat helps, too.” He winked at them. “And you thought we just wore these doozies because they look good.”

Both of the women laughed, and Dawn swatted his arm, clearly flirting. “That they do, cowboy!”

He stepped back from Dawn’s hand and doffed his hat as he eased away. “Until later, ladies. Duty calls.”

As he shuffled into the mudroom of the main house, he shook his head and chuckled. “Ironic.”

“What’s ironic?” his sister, Piper, said from a stool at the kitchen counter.

After shucking off his work boots, he strolled into the kitchen and snitched one of the potato chips on Piper’s plate. She batted at his hand.

“Hey, mooch, get your own!”

“Why? Yours are right here.” Man, he loved to tease her. Having her back at the ranch after seven years felt good. The McCall family was complete again. Having her part of this new business venture with Zane felt ordained.

“What’s ironic?” she repeated, sliding her plate out of his reach.

“Oh, the two women who came this afternoon from the PR firm. I was just talking to them outside and...well, one of them is not so subtle about her interest in me...”

Piper snorted. “Vain much, Josh?”

“Hey, I know flirting when I see it.” He walked around her and took another potato chip. “But the other lady, the one I actually think is pretty hot, seems...I dunno...kinda skittish.”

Piper pivoted on the stool to face him, folding her arms over her chest. “Back up, Doofus. You find her hot?”

“Damn right. She’s gorgeous.”

Piper arched a dark eyebrow at him. “This is a travel adventures business we’re trying to launch, bucko, not a dating service. The customers are off-limits.”

He paused with a potato chip halfway to his mouth. “Says who?”

“Says...everyone. Mixing business and pleasure is bad form.”

He gave her a withering scowl as he crunched the chip. “I disagree. If both parties are willing, why can’t I have a little fun on the side...if you know what I mean.” He gave her a wink.

Piper chuckled and shook her head. “Josh, even Zeke knows what you mean,” she said, referring to the family’s part–Maine coon cat, who was circling Josh’s legs, meowing for attention. “You’re about as subtle as a bat to the head.”

Josh stooped to lift the long-haired cat into his arms. Zeke immediately draped himself over Josh’s shoulder and commenced purring loudly. “You’re on my side, right, buddy? You think I should be able to romance the customers if they’re open to it, right?”

Piper grinned. “He’s been neutered. He doesn’t know what you’re talking about.”

Josh winced in sympathy for the feline, then gave his sister a wry snort. “His being neutered is not the reason he doesn’t know what I’m saying.”

“Case remains, you cannot mess around with the customers.” She stood and gave Zeke a scratch on the head, which the fur ball leaned into with relish. “It’s bound to end badly, and we cannot afford to screw anything up with the business.”

Josh shoved the cat into her arms, then took the last potato chip off her plate. “Maybe we’ll put it to a vote of all the partners.”

“Maybe we will,” she returned. “But in the meantime, we have a welcome dinner to put on and more guests arriving in another hour.” She looked him up and down. “And you smell like crap.”

“Because I was helping deliver a calf an hour ago.”

Piper perked up. “Really?” She set Zeke on the ground and dusted fur from her shirt. “Why didn’t anyone tell me? I would have helped! I love births!”

“Plenty more to come, sister dear.” He took his leave. “I’ll be in the shower if anyone comes looking for me.”

“Are you looking for anyone in particular?” Dawn asked Kate that night as they strolled into the small cluster of people gathered on the ranch yard around a festively decorated buffet table and smoking grill.

“Uh, no. Why?” Kate tucked a loose wisp of her hair behind her ear and felt a telltale prickle in her neck as she flushed with embarrassment. She hadn’t realized she’d been so obvious, craning her neck as she scanned the faces in the crowd for one in particular.

Dawn bumped Kate’s hip with hers and cackled. “You are the worst liar!”

Kate bumped her back. “Shut it.”

“You know you don’t need to look for him. I guarantee Josh’ll find you before this shindig gets started good.” Dawn straightened the neon multicolored scarf she had draped around her neck to accent her bright green blouse. “You need only sit back and wait.”

Kate questioned her friend with a furrowed-brow glance.

“Oh, come on, Katie! You did see the little heat waves rising off him when he looked at you this afternoon?”

Kate pulled a face and dismissed her friend with a buzz of her lips.

Dawn stopped walking and faced Kate fully, taking her by the arm. “No, seriously. His tongue was dragging the ground. Eyes popping out of his head. You didn’t catch all that?”

Kate laughed and brushed past Dawn. “You make him sound like one of those cartoon characters when they see the femme fatale.”

“Uh...bingo!” Dawn took a few quick steps to catch up with her. “He was seriously interested, sister, and you’d be crazy not to act on it.” Dawn tipped her head and narrowed her eyes. “Unless you have some problem with hunky dark-haired cowboys with eyes straight out of heaven. Or is his more clean-cut brother the one you’re considering?”

“Would you stop?” Kate said with a chuckle. “I’m not considering either. I’m here on business, not pleasure.”

“So?” Dawn persisted. “You could have both.”

“I was just telling my sister the same thing,” said a deep voice behind them.

Kate whirled around with a gasp. “Josh. Hi.”

The subject of their discussion gave her a devastatingly handsome grin and tipped his hat.

Dawn didn’t try to hide her smug grin as she muttered in a quiet singsong, “Told you...”

Josh had changed into clean jeans and a light blue polo-style shirt that set off his straight-outta-heaven eyes and hugged his muscled torso. His raven hair was still damp from his shower and combed back behind his ears, where it then curled slightly at his nape. And he smelled divine. Something woodsy and fresh, without the cloying and pretentious scents of the colognes the men in her Dallas office wore.

“Did you ladies get settled in okay?” He slid his fingers in the front pockets of his jeans and divided a look between them.

“Yeah. Just fine,” Kate said and clutched the thin straps of her purse so that she didn’t fidget. Good grief. She felt like some junior high girl with a crush on the school’s quarterback. “I love the way you’ve decorated the guest rooms.” Doh! Could you sound more banal?

“Thanks, but I had nothing to do with that. My mom and sister were the bosses of that part of the renovation.” His smile dimpled his cheek, and she felt her stomach swoop and her knees soften.

“Well, they have good taste. They split the difference between masculine and feminine decor perfectly.” She sensed more than saw Dawn easing backward, leaving her alone with Josh. She snuck a hand out and grabbed her friend’s arm before she could duck completely away.

“We have time before dinner is served if you’d like to go see the new calf now.” He waved his thumb toward the stables.

Kate couldn’t help but smile. She may have some bad memories of her parents’ farm, but she missed the animals. “I’d love that.”

Dawn lifted a foot to him, waggling her high-heeled sandal at him. “I’m not sure I’m in the right footwear. You two go ahead, and I’ll see the baby tomorrow.”

Kate tightened her grip on her coworker’s arm, sending her a look that said, Stop playing matchmaker!

“Are you sure? We have boots you can borrow down by the stable,” Josh said.

“Yes, Dawn,” Kate said through her teeth, “you can borrow boots. Come with us.”

Dawn pried Kate’s fingers from her forearm and gave her a disgruntled look. “No thank you, Kate. You two go on. I’ll just go get a drink and wait for you up here.” With a wiggle of her fingers to wave goodbye, her traitorous friend backed away, wearing a victorious grin.

“All right then. Guess it’s just us.” Josh put a warm palm on her back to direct her toward the stable.

Her pulse jumped at his touch, and a tremor of acute awareness shimmied through her. She walked beside him, silently cursing Dawn and mentally fumbling for conversation that didn’t sound as lame and juvenile as she felt. She was awestruck and tongue-tied like some smitten kitten, and she hated the sense of vulnerability and hesitation that held her. Why did he make her so nervous? While he didn’t look a thing like Jason, her most recent mistake, her attraction to Josh was similar. Maybe that was why she was battling this odd mix of lust and wariness. Internal warning lights were flashing and sirens blaring. Don’t go down that path again! Danger ahead!

“...are you from? Besides the Dallas firm, I mean,” Josh was saying.

“Oh, um, I grew up in Missouri. On a farm. And then I went to school in Georgia and got my job in Dallas a couple years ago. How about you?” She kicked herself as soon as the question left her mouth. Idiot!

He chuckled. “Born and raised right here at the Double M.”

“Of course. Stupid question.”

“Naw, there are no stupid questions,” he said with another of his lopsided, dimple-producing grins. She almost stumbled when she saw that dimple reappear.

“Maybe not. But mine comes close. Just...habit. You know, throw the same question or compliment back at someone to keep a conversation going. I...didn’t think. I...”

Shut up. Shut up! You’re babbling now.

She was going to kill Dawn. She wanted no part of a vacation tryst or her friend’s misguided matchmaking, no matter how heartbreakingly handsome Josh was. Heartbreaking being the key word. She’d had her fill of short-term, lack-of-commitment, heart-wounding relationships.

“Well, truth be told, I actually spent the first three weeks of my life at the hospital in Denver. Zane, Piper and I were all less than four pounds when we were born.”

She nodded. “You wouldn’t know it by looking at you now,” she said, then grimaced. “Not that you’re fat... I, ugh!”

He laughed and patted his flat belly. “Well, thank you. I’ve been eating my meat and vegetables for years to get this size.”

She waved a hand, feeling her flush creep back up her neck and into her cheeks. “I’m rambling like a moron. Ignore me.”

As they reached the entrance to the stable, he reached over and brushed a wisp of her hair back from her cheek. The scrape of his knuckle on her face sent delicious shivers through her and backed up her breath in her lungs. When her gaze darted up to his, she met the smile that shone from his eyes as brightly as from his lips. The piercing look he gave her made her feel desirable and feminine all the way to her core. “You’re kinda hard to ignore. And I wouldn’t want to try.”

Oh, lordy. Her toes curled inside her slip-on shoes, and she wiped her palms on the skirt of her buttery-yellow sundress.

After a few seconds, staring back at him with her heart pounding in her ears, she managed to stutter, “Y-you said you had...boots I could borrow?”

“Absolutely.” He stepped away and fetched a pair of rubber work boots. “You can probably just wear these over your other shoes if you want.”

She nodded and slipped her feet into the man-size boots. She clumped along behind him as she followed him inside the stable. The oversize boots made her feel awkward and silly, yet a tingle still lingered on her cheek where he’d touched her.

“Back here.” He led her to a stall at the back, away from the bulk of the bustle and activity, and opened the gate. “Come on in. It’s okay.” He stood aside and motioned her into the stall, where a brown-and-white cow stood over a small brown calf.

Warmth filled her chest, along with nostalgia. She’d seen numerous newborn animals through the years on her parents’ farm, but the preciousness of new life never got old. “Oh, my goodness! She’s precious!”

“He. It’s a bull calf.”

“Oh, he, then. He’s adorable!” She cast a side glance to Josh, who was beaming with pride as if the baby were his.

“You can pat him if you want.”

She gave the mama cow a dubious look. “Really? It won’t upset mom?”

Josh grasped the straps of the mother’s halter and tugged, urging the bovine to step away. Then, stooping, he lifted the calf and brought it closer to Kate.

She lifted a hand to the curling fur on the cow’s head and melted inside. “Aren’t you the cutest thing?”

“Yeah, I am,” Josh said with an impish grin, “and the calf’s kinda cute, too.”

Kate snorted a chuckle. Then, when he laughed at her indelicate snort, she joined him in full-bellied gales. Even as she shared the moment of levity with him, she studied his handsome face, the spark of life in his startlingly blue eyes, and her heart flipped. She didn’t need a crystal ball to know the combination of his charm, good looks and ability to put her at ease were a lethal combination versus her ability to resist him. Today was only her first day in Colorado, and she was already in deep trouble.