Page 124 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

“Funny, Coop. Real funny.”

Bella’s eyes popped open and she glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. Yep, 2:00 a.m. She’d gone to bed at ten and four hours was all the sleep goddesses allowed her these days. While her insomnia could be her downfall, she decided long ago that rather than lie in bed and toss and turn for hours, she would get up and do the thing she loved.

The baby slept beside her, all nice and snuggled up tight under the covers, her little head resting on a pillow. Bella bent down and blew an air kiss over her forehead.Sweet girl, she mouthed softly before gently sliding off the bed. She checked the video camera set on Sienna—the most valuable invention for a busy mom—and then donned a loose-fitting shift. Tiptoeing out of the room, holding the video monitor, she made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Turning on the light, she set the video monitor on the counter and gave it a glance. Thankfully, Sienna was sound asleep, looking extremely peaceful. Bella sighed and began taking items out of the fridge and cabinets. She had an idea for a wonderful low-cal pizza, but it needed a bit of testing first.

She grabbed a head of cauliflower and quartered it using the chef knife from her new set she was still embarrassed about accepting. Next, she began grating a chunk of cauliflower against a stainless-steel box grater, and tiny pieces of the veggie showered down, covering the cutting board like fallen snow.

Just as she was picking up her second quartered piece, Jared walked in, his eyes blinking against the kitchen lights. He wore a pair of jeans. Period. They hugged his waist below the naval and showed off a washboard chest. Bruises caught her eye for a second, but the beauty of his physique wasn’t lost on her, either.

He padded farther into the kitchen. “Hi,” he mumbled, sleepy-eyed.

“Gosh, I hope I didn’t wake you, Jared.”

“That would mean I was sleeping.” His mouth crooked up in a smile.

“You weren’t?”

“No. I, uh... No. I toss and turn some nights. I figured I’d get up and get something to eat.”

“Are you hungry at this hour?”

“A little.”

“What can I get you?” She dropped what she was doing and came around the kitchen island.

Jared glanced at her shorty-short shift and then at her legs and suddenly she felt self-conscious. Especially when she could hardly keep her focus on his face while he was standing there bare-chested, his hair mussed, looking quite appealing in a devilish sort of way.

“Nothing. I’ll just grab some bread and make a sandwich.”

“I’ll get it for you,” she said, brushing by him.

He gently clamped a hand around her wrist and pulled her back a bit. She turned to find Jared’s eyes on her, felt the warmth of his hand covering hers. “You’re off the clock, Bella. You don’t need to wait on me day and night.”

His eyes were soft, his voice tender. And suddenly she was fully aware of Jared Stone, a sensation sweeping through her so raw, so impossibly alluring, that she lost her voice for a second.

He bent his head a little to get her full attention. Little did he know he already had it.

“Okay?”

She swallowed and nodded.

“So, what are you doing here?” he asked, letting go of her hand.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said. “I have trouble sleeping, so I use this time to come down and test out some recipes. Don’t worry, I eat my mistakes. So there’s no food going to waste.”

He smiled and sat on a stool at the counter. “Go on with what you’re doing. Since I can’t sleep anyway, do you mind if I watch?”

“Oh, uh, sure.” She couldn’t kick him out of his own kitchen. Not that she wanted to, but she wasn’t about to analyze why that was. “I can’t imagine it’s all that interesting, but I don’t mind.”

She went back to her workstation and glanced at the video monitor. Sienna rolled over, but was still fast asleep.

Jared caught her eye and raised his brows in question.

“I keep an eye on Sienna while she’s sleeping. This way if she wakes up, I’ll know about it immediately. Lucky for me, she usually sleeps through the night.”

“I imagine that monitor is pretty darn handy.”