Page 26 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

“Do me a favor, would you? He needs it because he’ll be working out here most of today. I’ve got an extra hat in my truck. Wear mine until we can get you something of your own.”

“Will I need a cowboy hat?”

“Chances are good.”

She grinned. “You sound like a Magic 8 Ball.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time my balls have been called magic,” he countered, returning the smile.

“Lord save us from Covington humility.” Taking in all the trucks parked around, she hesitated. “I have no idea which one is yours.”

He walked her to a very nice, newer model Ford four-wheel drive pickup, opened the door and crawled inside. The gun rack on the rear window didn’t hold a rifle but instead a pristine black Stetson on one hook and a rope on the other. The hat he handed over. The rope he took down and kept.

“What’s with the rope?”

He shrugged. “Insurance.”

“You’re the strangest man,” she said, shaking her head.

“We’ll see.” He jerked his chin to the barn. “Now, go give him his hat and kick his ass. After his smart-ass remarks to me this morning, he deserves it.”

“So I’m your muscle, huh?” she teased.

He flexed and she laughed. “Put those things away before someone gets hurt,” she said lightly.

“I wouldn’t hurt a fly, sweetheart.”

“Hurtfeelings. Not many men as pretty as you, cowboy.” She reached up and chucked him under the chin, earning her a wide grin.

“You may have strange tastes in men, but at least you’re not blind.”

Laughing again, she spun on her heel and started toward the barn, switching hats as she walked.

CADEHOSEDZIGGYoff behind the barn. When the horse was sufficiently cooled down, Cade took the flat side of a shedding blade and pulled as much water off Ziggy’s coat as possible before taking him into his stall. There, Cade brushed him down with a soft brush, oiled his hooves and dumped some grain in the horse’s feed trough. He included an amino acid supplement to help the horse recover faster from the morning’s hard ride, guilt eating at him over having let the big guy run as he had without a truly proper warm-up. As a precaution, he decided to wrap his cannons. Then he’d...

Cade shook his head, ashamed of himself. He was hiding in the barn like some kid who knew he was going to get it for taking off when there were chores to do.

“To hell with that,” he muttered. “I’m a grown man. I’ll do as I see fit and take care of the ranch the way it’s always been done.”

“Right,” said a familiar feminine voice, the drawl laced with a bite.

Cade spun so fast Ziggy shied away.

“Because to do it any other way could be dangerous,” Emma continued. “It could result in sex in a thunderstorm, racing across pastures to hide in a copse of aspens, joining someone in a shower or even—”

“Enough,” he bit out.

Hurt flashed in her eyes, and he wondered at it. For her to be hurt, it implied she’d given him some level of importance. And after what she’d said last night, that left him thoroughly confused.

She’d made it clear she considered them oil and water. She considered him water—basic, predictable, accessible, flip on a tap or flush a toilet and there he was,common. She was oil—superior, worldly, offered in specialty shops, flavorful. What had happened between them had been nothing more than a shake-up. Then they’d quickly returned to where she considered they belonged.

“Cade!”

His chin snapped up. “What?”

Emma’s eyes narrowed. “Have you heard a word I said?”

“Had other things on my mind.” Talking Ziggy down, he unbuckled the horse’s halter and stepped out of the stall, closing it behind him. “Don’t suppose you’ve got a CliffsNotes version of the lecture, do you? I’ve got things to do.”