a little sugar . From you. ” The blue of his eyes deepened . “ Come here. ” He opened up his arms.
After last night s he had no embarrassment about kissing him . He pushed back in the chair and spread his thighs . She came and stood between those powerful limbs, rested her hands on his shoulders and stared into those baby-blues . What would it be like to stare into them on a regular basis?
“ I intend to earn your trust, Dusty. I want more . From you. ”
Something deep inside of her let go . She believed him. She was just going to say so when an acrid smell greeted her nose. “ The fries! ”
Gratefully, they weren ’ t too burned and she was able to get the eggs finished without setting off the smoke detector. Sitting across from Clay, eating their breakfast together, it wasn ’ t hard to imagine them as a couple. But she would need to know a lot more about him first .
“ This is good, honey. ” He gave her a wink as he inhaled more food. “ I like my ‘ taters well- done. ”
She looked down at the mix of brown and blackened potatoes and cringed. “ The y ’ re a little on the crisp side. ” She squirted some ketchup over them.
He dropped a piece of bacon in Whitey ’ s direction . The dog gobbled it up in one bite.
“ We don ’ t really feed him table food. ” She sounded like her mother.
“ Hard to resist those button eyes. I was just trying to make up to him for taking his place last night in your bed. ” He gave her a nother wink .
Her stomach fluttered. But this was no time to get distracted. If he wanted a relationship with her, there were things she was curious about. “ Clay, can I ask you some questions . Some personal questions? ”
He stopped, fork in mid air , and gave her a long look . “ What ’ s on your mind? ”
“ You said you were here to earn money . If it ’ s not to get to the NFR, can I ask for what? ”
Setting down the fork, he leaned his elbows on the table . “ I ’ m not a rodeo rider— but I ’ m not exactly a cowhand either. ”
She raised her eyebrows. Possibilities swirled in her head . “ What exactly are you? ”
“ I ’ m part owner of a ranch, with my mother . It ’ s our family spread . When Pa died I inherited forty-nine percent. ”
“ A rancher? ” Rancher meant prosperous and someone tied to a place. That ember of hope was sparking . “ What kind of ranch? ”
“ It ’ s a cattle ranch, but with the price of beef and all the issues with raising cattle, we ’ re struggling with our modest spread . I ’ m considering raising and training cutting horses instead . ”
“ Like Sweet Water ? ” Sweet Water Ranch had a long history and a sterling reputation.
He chuckled and the corners of his eyes crinkled up . “ Well, maybe by the time my kids are running it we can say like Sweet Water . For now, I ’ m just trying to raise stud fees. ”
“ You can ’ t afford stud fees? ” Maybe not so prosperous.
“ Well, my mama… ” He looked up at her from under his eyebrows, “ S he isn ’ t as convinced as I am about all this . I ’ m determined to raise the money myself. I own a fine mare with good bloodlines from Cogdell stock and I ’ m hoping to breed her to a prize- winning stallion from Sweet Water . ”
“ Sundancer ? ” He was the finest at the ranch.
Clay nodded . “ He ’ s the one. ”
And very expensive. “ You can ’ t convince your mother, huh? ”
“ Kate Tanner ’ s a smart woman but change comes hard to her. She ’ s from the “ show me ” state of mind . She ’ s got to see something before she ’ s going to embrace it. In the meantime, I ’ m also looking into going organic . Costs more but you charge more for your beef and for a small outfit like us, the numbers could work out. ”
Dusty rested her back against the chair . She was impressed. Clay was full of ideas . Full of dreams. But it sounded like h e wasn ’ t just dreaming, he was doing something about them . She had to
After last night s he had no embarrassment about kissing him . He pushed back in the chair and spread his thighs . She came and stood between those powerful limbs, rested her hands on his shoulders and stared into those baby-blues . What would it be like to stare into them on a regular basis?
“ I intend to earn your trust, Dusty. I want more . From you. ”
Something deep inside of her let go . She believed him. She was just going to say so when an acrid smell greeted her nose. “ The fries! ”
Gratefully, they weren ’ t too burned and she was able to get the eggs finished without setting off the smoke detector. Sitting across from Clay, eating their breakfast together, it wasn ’ t hard to imagine them as a couple. But she would need to know a lot more about him first .
“ This is good, honey. ” He gave her a wink as he inhaled more food. “ I like my ‘ taters well- done. ”
She looked down at the mix of brown and blackened potatoes and cringed. “ The y ’ re a little on the crisp side. ” She squirted some ketchup over them.
He dropped a piece of bacon in Whitey ’ s direction . The dog gobbled it up in one bite.
“ We don ’ t really feed him table food. ” She sounded like her mother.
“ Hard to resist those button eyes. I was just trying to make up to him for taking his place last night in your bed. ” He gave her a nother wink .
Her stomach fluttered. But this was no time to get distracted. If he wanted a relationship with her, there were things she was curious about. “ Clay, can I ask you some questions . Some personal questions? ”
He stopped, fork in mid air , and gave her a long look . “ What ’ s on your mind? ”
“ You said you were here to earn money . If it ’ s not to get to the NFR, can I ask for what? ”
Setting down the fork, he leaned his elbows on the table . “ I ’ m not a rodeo rider— but I ’ m not exactly a cowhand either. ”
She raised her eyebrows. Possibilities swirled in her head . “ What exactly are you? ”
“ I ’ m part owner of a ranch, with my mother . It ’ s our family spread . When Pa died I inherited forty-nine percent. ”
“ A rancher? ” Rancher meant prosperous and someone tied to a place. That ember of hope was sparking . “ What kind of ranch? ”
“ It ’ s a cattle ranch, but with the price of beef and all the issues with raising cattle, we ’ re struggling with our modest spread . I ’ m considering raising and training cutting horses instead . ”
“ Like Sweet Water ? ” Sweet Water Ranch had a long history and a sterling reputation.
He chuckled and the corners of his eyes crinkled up . “ Well, maybe by the time my kids are running it we can say like Sweet Water . For now, I ’ m just trying to raise stud fees. ”
“ You can ’ t afford stud fees? ” Maybe not so prosperous.
“ Well, my mama… ” He looked up at her from under his eyebrows, “ S he isn ’ t as convinced as I am about all this . I ’ m determined to raise the money myself. I own a fine mare with good bloodlines from Cogdell stock and I ’ m hoping to breed her to a prize- winning stallion from Sweet Water . ”
“ Sundancer ? ” He was the finest at the ranch.
Clay nodded . “ He ’ s the one. ”
And very expensive. “ You can ’ t convince your mother, huh? ”
“ Kate Tanner ’ s a smart woman but change comes hard to her. She ’ s from the “ show me ” state of mind . She ’ s got to see something before she ’ s going to embrace it. In the meantime, I ’ m also looking into going organic . Costs more but you charge more for your beef and for a small outfit like us, the numbers could work out. ”
Dusty rested her back against the chair . She was impressed. Clay was full of ideas . Full of dreams. But it sounded like h e wasn ’ t just dreaming, he was doing something about them . She had to
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