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I nip at my lip, hiding a smile as I extend my hand to the cow. Banana, according to the writing on the shed.
“You named her,” I whisper.
Banana presses her wet nose to my palm, and I suck back a laugh, not wanting to come off too strong.
“If you don’t like it, we’ll change it. It’s not like she’ll be able to tell.”
“You got me a miniature fluffy cow,” I say, almost to myself.
He snorts. “I did.”
I lift my eyes, staring up at him with my heart open, exposed. “Nobody’s ever done something like this for me.”
“I’m happy to be the first, then.”
And the last, I beg him to say.Tell me you’ll be the only one to do these things for me. For a long time to come. But he doesn’t say that, and I hate the way that hurts me. A small fleck of doubt doubles in size.
“Hey.” Fingers thread through my hair, turning my head until I’m forced to stare into his deep blue eyes. “Where’d you go?”
Banana twists her face into my open palm, trying to steal my attention back to her. I would have laughed at that had I not felt twisted up inside. The instant adoration I feel for her helps stabilize me.
“I think that if I’m not careful, it would be so easy to love you.”
It’s out before I can stop it.
The air around us stills. It grows so, so quiet.
Then, he’s moving. Cow forgotten, he holds both my hips in his hands and tugs me close, groin to groin, chest to chest. I shiver at the contact and realize I’ve just lied to him.
Turns out that I wasn’t careful after all. Considering I’m already in love with him.
The words he speaks next have me grateful he’s gripping me so tight as my knees wobble.
“It’d be easier to fall in love with you, Annalise Heights. And I’ve never been a fan of careful.”
I don’t keeptrack of how long we spend out in the pasture with Banana. I’m tucked between Brody’s legs, his back to the inner wall of the shed, as our cow bites down on a pink rope,alternating between trying to eat it and trying to tug it front my hands.
I’ve already fallen in love with the sweet girl. It didn’t take much time at all for me to want to move out here with her. Of course, that’s not exactly possible. But if I could, I would.
I was pleased to learn that Brody’s thought ahead when it comes to her and her new life.
He built this shed himself, with help from a few willing ranch hands who didn’t mind staying late after already long days. It’s not for much more than just a shelter if she or any of the other cows ever needed or wanted it. There’s another shed much like this one but bigger and further out in the pasture. She’d fed with the other cows but, of course, gets far more treats than they do. And in the summer, she’ll have an unlimited supply of grass to mow down on all day.
She’s spoiled. Utterly spoiled. Almost as much so as I am.
I lean back further in Brody’s embrace, exhaling happily when his arms flex around my middle. He sets his chin on my shoulder, and his bearded jaw scrapes my cheek in a dangerously sexy way.
As much as I love my new hat—a gift from Poppy—I’m grateful he took it off when we sat down. Nothing’s in the way of his ability to touch me so freely now.
“Are you going to keep your beard when you go back?” I ask, unable to help myself.
He drags said beard harder against my skin. “Yeah. I figure I’ll keep it for a while.”
“Good. It suits you.”
“Makes me look a bit more rugged than the first time you saw me.”
“More rugged but just as handsome.”
