Page 37 of Roping Her In

“Yep,” he said. “Since I was about ten years old, and my daddy started taking me out to work on the ranch with him. I love being outside, and I love animals, especially horses, but even the goats and sheep and chickens.” He smiled, the gesture sitting softly on his face in a way that made him twice as handsome as before.

“I went to undergrad at Amarillo State and moved down to Texas A&M for my veterinary degree, though they have a program in Amarillo now.”

“Yeah, they do,” she said. “My cousin Smiles Glover finished there and is back at Shiloh Ridge now.”

“Yeah, I know Smiles,” Jake said. “We vets in the area talk a lot.”

“I bet you do.” Hailey finished eating, and Jake got up and took their paper plates into the kitchen. She collected the mugs and handed him his when he turned back toward her.

She moved into the living room and waited for him to sit on the end of the couch. She then took the space next to him and curled into his chest, lifting her mug to her lips again for another sip of coffee.

He put his arm around her, and everything in the world simply turned slower, as if someone had poured maple syrup over her, forcing her to think about and make each movement deliberately.

“Where’s Hartford this morning?” she asked.

“He had his own date in town,” he said. “I guess he got a last-minute reservation at the bistro at the apple orchards, and he said no one in their right mind turns that down.” Jake chuckled.

“Have you been there?” Hailey asked.

“No, ma’am.”

“I have,” she said. “And it’s nice. I’m pretty close with Colt and Elaine, and I bet I can get us in there anytime we want.”

Jake tilted his head down to look at her in that super-sexy way he did that made her heartbeat bump faster.

“Do you want to try the bistro at the apple orchards?” Hailey asked, suddenly feeling flirtatious when she’d never possessed much of that before.

“With you, sure,” he said.

She smiled at him, then tucked herself into his chest again. “I suppose I could be persuaded to go to the trendiest bistro in town if you were with me.”

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her hairline. “All right,” he drawled out. “I’ll call Elaine and figure out when we can go.”

Hailey’s pulse pounced through her body, because if he called Elaine to get a reservation at the bistro at the apple orchards, she’d find out that Hailey was dating Jake.

So what? she asked herself, and that blissful relaxation spread through Hailey again. She didn’t need to hide her relationship with Jake. In fact, she couldn’t wait to text those closest to her that she’d just had a pretty spectacular first date with an amazing cowboy.

15

Finley Ackerman padded around his kitchen, putting together a pot of coffee and then one of oatmeal. His wife and boys hadn’t stirred, as the wintery darkness remained outside the cabin windows. Finn felt the cold down in his bones, but somehow it made him smile.

He fed their zoo of pets and still hadn’t seen Edee, so he poured her a cup of coffee, put in a heavy splash of cream and a small spoonful of sugar, and went down the hall to their master bedroom.

She still lay in bed, though her alarm had to have gone off by now, and a low alarm sounded in Finn’s mind. “Baby?” he whispered as he rounded the bed on the far side of the room. She rustled slightly, and Finn perched on the edge of the bed. “Are you okay?”

He set the coffee precariously on her stack of books on the nightstand and swiped his hand through her hair. She didn’t feel too warm, and he could barely see through the darkness. “Edee?”

Her eyelids fluttered open, and it took her a long moment to register him in front of her. She pulled in a breath. “What time is it?”

“Six-forty-five.” He smiled gently at her and leaned down.

She relaxed back into the pillows. “I’m so tired.”

He pulled her blanket up and tucked it in around her. “You stay in bed, okay? I’ll get the morning chores done and get the boys to school.”

Edith would never do that, but this morning, she rolled onto her side and snuggled into her pillow, clearly going to do what he’d just said. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek, then stood and left her coffee on the nightstand. She wouldn’t drink it, but it didn’t matter.

Finn found his middle son, Bubba, in the kitchen, pulling on his boots. “Morning, Bubs.”