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“Let me care for you, dammit,” he said under his breath.
I was so fucking gone for him. That one muttered command might as well have been an expression of love as far as my stupid heart was concerned. I closed my eyes and lectured myself.
You do not belong in this world. This rancher doesn’t need a spoiled rich kid in his life. This is temporary. This is nothing more than a hookup. Don’t be an idiot and expect anything more.
I took a deep breath and opened my eyes again before plastering a smile on my face. He must have been able to tell it was forced.
“Where’d you go?” he asked, pinching his forehead together. He reached out to trace his thumb along my cheek.
“Nowhere. I’m fine,” I said, flashing him a flirty wink as I stepped out of reach. His eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something. The honk of a horn broke through the trees before he could.
Boone quickly dressed himself and reached for his water bottle before handing it to me. Instead of turning away and immediately seeking out the truck, he stayed in front of me and ran fingers through my hair as if brushing it back in place. The look he gave me held the same kind of tenderness he’d shown while I was on my knees, and I didn’t know what to make of it.
“You okay?” he asked softly.
I nodded. He pulled me in for a searing kiss that lingered for a moment before his lips caressed the edge of my jaw. He pressed his forehead against mine, his fingers tight around my neck. “If I get my way, I aim to make you better than okay.”
My heart leaped out of my chest and got lodged somewhere in my throat. I could only nod and stumble after him when he turned and made his way through the trees to the dirt access road, where the pickup truck and a long trailer were in the process of making a tight turnaround.
When Harrison finally got it in place, he hopped out of the truck and stretched, giving us his trademark grin and tipping his hat in greeting. “That drive fucking sucks,” he said with a laugh. “There’s absolutely nothing between here and home, I’ll tell you that. McQueen—you interested in keeping me company on the way back?”
The suggestion startled me. I couldn’t help but feel flattered that he would voluntarily want to spend eight hours in a truck with me.
I glanced at Boone, who looked just as calm, cool, and collected as always. “Nah,” Boone said nonchalantly. “We have some unfinished business to take care of.”
His eyes were full of heat and promise as they flashed to meet mine. I practically choked at the baldness of his innuendo. His words from earlier about wanting to make me feel better than okay echoed through my head and made me blush.
He grinned a little at my startled expression before turning back to Harrison and adding, “We found one of the missing heifers roaming free. Thankfully, she was close to a pasture, but if she’d wandered any farther, we probably would have lost her. Made me realize I need to check the northern edge of the ranch for any other strays, and McQueen can help if we come across any fence breaks. After calving’s done, we’ll need to audit the stock.”
Harrison nodded. “Makes sense. We could be missing some backgrounders and not know it yet.”
“Norma loaded us both up before we left, so we’ve got plenty of supplies,” I began, but Harrison cut me off with a grin.
“You know better than to think Norma’d let you make do with yesterday’s sandwiches, Boone,” he chided. “She sent along a fresh cooler just in case.”
Boone laughed, and the two of them kept talking, but all I could think about was another night spent alone in the shared sleeping bag with Boone. Another night naked against his muscular body. Another night of his kisses and questing hands.
Fuck. I needed to steer clear of these thoughts before I embarrassed myself.
Finally, Harrison moved off toward the trailer.
“What do you need me to do?” I asked Boone.
The answer was to man the gate. Watching the two of them manipulating the stock, Boone on Victory and Harrison riding Branson, was a sight to behold. Harrison’s playful attitude dropped away, and he became all business, calling out commands to Birdie and moving Branson with only slight squeezes of his thighs and shifts of his weight.
Boone’s intense scowl was startling, mostly because I finally realized it was a sign of focus, not anger. He was concentrating on moving his animals as safely as possible to protect everyone involved.
Separating the new cow-calf pair was the trickiest part of the whole endeavor since the cow was protective and the calf was terrified of the horses and the trailer ramp. I could hear the strain in Boone’s voice as he calmly directed me to move over beside the ramp to try and keep the calf from bolting in that direction. When we finally got all three adults and one baby in the trailer, Harrison let out a whoop of celebration.
