by Karen Kelley
She stumbled to the back porch, falling across it as she inhaled mouthfuls of sweet air. She finally had her oxygen levels back up to normal and pushed to a sitting position, frowning.
This really sucked.
Bzzzzzz.
She waved her hand in front of her face.
Bzzzzzz.
A mosquito as big as a fly landed on her arm. Nikki swatted it, but his brother attacked her other arm. Great, she’d probably end up with West Nile virus on top of an infected ass!
She jumped to her feet and hurried inside the cabin, closed the door, and reached for the lock. Not that she thought the mosquitoes could open the door, but she wasn’t too keen on burglars or whatever they had in the country. Cattle rustlers, maybe.
No lock. It figured. Not that anyone would have trouble getting inside. Hell, sneeze and the place would probably collapse into a pile of toothpicks.
Marge had told her to come home if things got too bad. Maybe she would take her up on it. She collapsed in the chair, resting her head on the table. Who was she kidding? To leave would be running away and that wasn’t in her character.
So, she’d stay. At least for a while longer.
A bath would help. She felt as though she wore at least one layer of dirt. She leaned sideways and eyed the stove.
Hot bath?
Okay, she’d settle for a cold wash. How bad could it be? Especially if she hurried.
Real bad, she found out a few minutes later. The water was freezing. More so than city water. But she did the best she could, then quickly crawled beneath the quilt on the bed to get warm again.
She was physically and mentally exhausted. She only wanted to sleep. Tomorrow would be a better day.
It damned sure couldn’t be any worse!
She yawned, closing her eyes, then smiled as she immediately visualized Cal sauntering toward her. She snuggled deeper beneath the cover. Umm, nice dream.
“Cock-a-doodle-do!”
Nikki came straight up in bed. She was being robbed! Someone had broken inside her apartment and in the next minute, the robber would be in her room to do all kinds of bodily harm. Her gaze flew around the semi-dark room.
This wasn’t her apartment.
She’d been kidnapped. Drugged and brought to this…this dump.
Escape! She stumbled out of bed, dragging the quilt with her, and rushed outside, almost falling off the porch.
She caught her balance and whipped first to the right, then left. Okay, she hadn’t been kidnapped. She was at the cabin on the dude ranch. But someone had still screamed out…or something.
She had to get out of there. Where were her car keys? Where…
“Cock-a-doodle-do!”
She spun around, almost tripping herself as the quilt tangled with her legs. She kicked it out of the way and shoved her hair out of her eyes.
“Cock-a-doodle-do!”
This was her thief? Her intruder? A friggin’ rooster?
She looked at the sun, which was just barely peeking over the horizon, then back at the blasted bird. He thrust his chest out and pranced back and forth along the top rail of the wooden fence. Several chickens stood on the ground below as if adoring this wonderful spectacle of arrogant feathers.
She jerked the quilt around her shoulders more securely and glared at the feathered Romeo. He drew in a deep breath and let loose with another screeching yodel. The chickens cackled, apparently thinking he’d performed some grand feat.
Enough was enough. She usually slept until at least eight. Her gaze fell to the ground. She smiled, picked up a rock, and when the bird inhaled again, let it fly.
The rooster squawked, fell off the fence, kicked twice, and lay silent.
Oh, crap!
Her hand flew to her mouth. She hadn’t meant to kill the blasted bird, only scare it. In all her life, she’d never murdered anything.
She let the quilt fall and rushed over to the fence. The chickens glared at her. She squatted next to the rooster. Could you do CPR on a bird? She didn’t think she wanted to try. She’d have to live with her guilt.
How proud he’d been prancing along the fence rail, and with good reason. Up close, Nikki could see how magnificent he was. Feathers as bright as a brand-new copper penny, dark red, brilliant orange, emerald green. Sniffing, she gently touched him.
In a flurry of feathers, the rooster leapt up ushering loud noises and flapping his wings. Nikki screamed and jumped to her feet. The rooster turned toward her.
She stepped back.
The bird advanced, no longer prancing but with a slightly off-balance, drunken gait.
Nikki turned and fled back inside the cabin, grabbing the quilt as she went. She scrambled back in bed and pulled the covers over her head.
No utilities. The toilet was outside and smelled horrible. Taking a bath meant she had to risk her life and light the black beast of an oven or wash in ice water. The rooster from hell. Maybe even a ghost—not that she believed in them. She hated it here. She wanted to go back to the city, where toilets flushed and they had real burglars, not some crazy-ass bird!
Was she ready to admit defeat?
She sniffed. Damn it, she wasn’t. Not this early in the game. No, she refused to give up. She only needed a few more hours of sleep.
Life sucked right now, but she would get her story. Scrunching down farther in the bed, she pulled the blanket even higher. Her eyes drifted closed as she yawned.
She didn’t want to think about any of it right now. She wanted to sleep and dream about ivory towers and palaces. Vacationing where they had room service. She snuggled deeper into the feather mattress. Sunning on pristine beaches. Her eyelids drifted downward. She yawned.
And sex.
How long had it been since she’d had sex? Too long. Immediately a dark-haired cowboy with smoldering green eyes filled her mind.
He walked toward her wearing only a hat, cowboy boots and twirling a rope. There he was in all his naked glory. She snuggled the quilt closer to her. Oh, yeah. This was what she wanted to dream about. It was even better than her last dream—more X-rated.
Cal would jerk the quilt away from her and pull her against him. She would caress each and every one of his delicious muscles as her hands roamed over his body.
She moaned, then stifled a yawn. God, she was so tired. Her whole body ached from being jostled when she’d driven down that damned dirt road.
Cal began to fade as she drifted further asleep.
“Don’t go,” she mumbled, but it was already too late. She sighed just before sleep overcame her.
Chapter 6
Mooooooooo!
Nikki flew out of bed, ran into the wall, bounced around, and stared into the eyes of a big brown beast that had a string of drool dripping from its mouth to the floor.
She screamed.
Cal stuck his head through the open window, shoving the animal back. “Move over, Bessie.” Then he turned his attention to her. “Mornin’. Good, I’m glad you’re up. I don’t suppose you have any coffee made.”
“Coffee?”
“No, I didn’t think so, but I sure could use another cup. Well, get dressed. I’ll get Bessie settled in the barn. Better hurry, though, it’s already past milking time and she’s getting anxious.”
“Milk?”
“Didn’t I tell you that’s part of the experience? Darn, I can’t believe I left that little detail out.” His eyes twinkled. “You’ll love it.”
He moved away from the window, but just as she started to relax, he popped his head inside once more. His gaze wandered very slowly from her head to her feet, then back up. “By the way, I like your pj’s.” He whistled a jaunty tune as he ambled away.
She glanced down. Her thin red silk teddy left little to the imagination. It was cut all the way down to her navel and the only thing holding it together was one strip of sheer lace.
Not only did it show a considerable amount of cleavage, but the morning air was cool and her nipples were pebble hard.
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br /> A wave of heat washed over her. She grabbed the quilt and pulled it in front of her but not for modesty’s sake. She felt the need to hold on to something—anything.
No gentleman would’ve mentioned her nightclothes since they barely covered her. And a gentleman wouldn’t have stared so blatantly, either, making her body grow hot, then cold, and then very, very hot.
A slow smile curved her lips. It was nice to know Cal wasn’t that much of a gentleman.
Naughty, naughty.
Her mood quickly changed when she thought about the cow. She might have the hots for Cal but she was certain she’d hate Bessie.
Her forehead wrinkled in thought. Hadn’t Bessie been black and white yesterday? Not that it mattered one way or the other at this point in time. And did Cal really expect her to milk a cow? She had a feeling he did. Then what would she do? Her job description didn’t include milking cows.
She closed her eyes. She would stay calm. None of this mattered as long as she got her story. Breathe in, breathe out. Okay, she was ready—maybe.
She grabbed her clothes and began dressing. She was just tying her hair back when she heard the screen door slam.
“Hey, have you noticed anything strange about the rooster?” Cal called from the other room.
Her hands stilled and her heart began to pound. She pictured the damned bird stiff from rigor mortis, skinny legs straight up in the air.
She took a deep breath and tried to sound innocent. “Rooster?”
“Yeah. He’s acting kind of weird and walking funny.”
“No, but then, I wouldn’t know whether he was acting normal or not,” she lied, swallowing past the lump in her throat. At least the rooster was still alive.
“I guess not. Maybe he ate some bad grain or something.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. She was off the hook.
But then she looked in the mirror. Blue short-shorts and a yellow and blue top. The cute little outfit was made for walks along the beach or lazing around poolside with a tall frosted drink, not for roughing it. This was all she had that was appropriate, though.
Oh, well.
She glanced toward the door, then unbuttoned the last two buttons of the top and tied the ends beneath her bra. That was better. Slap a piece of straw in her mouth and call her Elly May Clampett. She rolled her eyes and left the bedroom.
She aimed toward the kitchen in desperate need of a strong cup of coffee and a bagel. Not that she remembered seeing any bagels in the boxes she’d carried inside.
“I don’t suppose you made coffee while I was getting dressed?” she asked as she joined him, but she didn’t smell the tantalizing aroma of a freshly brewed pot. She glanced toward the black beast of a stove and wondered how far it was to the closest Starbucks.
Cal didn’t say anything. Just stared. When he continued staring without saying a word, she cocked an eyebrow. “Do I meet with your approval?”
“That’s not exactly the kind of clothes made for roughing it.”
But that was only his opinion. Her interpretation had a whole other meaning. “I’ll need to go into town today and buy some…” Her gaze trailed over him. “Something a little more…appropriate.” She kept her voice soft and sultry as she blatantly flirted with him. “Will this be okay for now?”
He dragged his gaze up to meet hers. “You’ll do.” His words were gruff. Without waiting for her, he pushed the door open and went outside.
Oh, yeah, he was definitely interested. She grinned. Score one for the city team. She’d have her article by the end of the day.
Just as quickly, her smile faded. There was still the cow to deal with and, apparently, she’d have to wait on coffee. He could’ve brought her a cup. A cinnamon mocha latte. She really missed the city, where there was a coffeehouse on practically every corner.
She went out the back door and trudged after Cal. “You know, I don’t really like milk. It wouldn’t bother me at all not to have any.” She hurried to keep up with his long strides.
“You’ll need the milk to make the butter.” He stepped inside the dark interior of the small building.
“Butter? I thought—oomph!” Nikki thudded against his back. “Why’d you stop?” she complained but hesitated before moving away. She liked the feel of his hard, sinewy muscles against her. And he smelled nice, like soap and spicy aftershave. A thrill of pleasure ran down her spine. Now this was more like it.
“Always let your eyes adjust before you walk into a dark building,” he informed her, his words interrupting her delicious thoughts.
“Why?”
“You never know what’s crawling around.”
A shiver ran over her. She had to ask.
“Well, next time tell me before you put the brakes on.”
Her gaze moved around the interior, her eyes becoming accustomed to the dimness. To her left, hoes and shovels leaned against the wall. On the opposite side, bales of hay were stacked. The musty, not quite unpleasant scent rose to tickle her nose. She peered around Cal. More light came from the back of the barn. Instead of a wall, it opened into a pen.
Bessie glanced up when they approached and meandered over to the fence. “I thought Bessie was black and white.”
“That was the other Bessie.”
“Of course, how stupid of me not to have guessed you have two cows with the same name,” she muttered.
Cal tipped the lid off a barrel and reached inside. “This is her feed. Give her two heaping scoops twice a day, but not until you’re ready to start milking.”
“I don’t know how to milk a cow.” And the other verse was she didn’t want to learn.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you threw in the towel. This is probably more than you ever expected.”
She glared at him, grabbed the scoop, and tossed the feed over the fence into the wooden feed box. Bessie went directly to her breakfast. “Now what do I do?”
With a very snarky grin, he handed her a stool and a bucket. “You milk the cow.”
Smart-ass. From his expression, she knew he was just waiting for her to run screaming from the barn. Well, she’d show him a thing or two. She jerked the stool and bucket away from him. Opening the gate, she tromped through to the other side.
When she stood next to the cow, her bluster disappeared. The animal was huge. Her back was almost shoulder high.
But her brown coat looked like the softest suede she’d ever seen. And the cow had big doe eyes with long black lashes. A big, brown Bambi. She was beautiful. She was…
Bessie’s huge, saliva-dripping tongue emerged and partially disappeared up the cow’s nose.
“Gross!” Ugh! Nikki almost gagged.
“What?”
She glanced at Cal, who seemed quite unaware that anything out of the ordinary had happened. “Nothing.” She swallowed past the lump in her throat.
Cal opened and closed the gate, joining her in the small enclosure. He calmly waited for her to start. She gritted her teeth and set the stool beside the animal.
How hard could it be? Obviously, quite a few people milked cows because there always seemed to be a plentiful supply in the stores. She’d never heard of a death associated with milking a cow. Not that there couldn’t be a first time.
Gingerly, she squatted on the stool and stared at the cow’s bag. Four appendages, like fat fingers, pointed downward. Now what should she do?
As if he’d read her mind, Cal took the bucket from her. He walked to the trough and dipped some water. “The weather is warm enough so the water isn’t too cool. Don’t ever wash a cow’s bag with cold water, though.”
“How will I know if it’s too cold?”
“Oh, she’ll tell you. If it’s cold to you, then it’ll probably be cold to her.” He handed her the bucket.
Nikki looked at it, then at the cow’s bag. “Uh, do you have a washcloth?”
Cal grinned. “You don’t need one. Just reach in the bucket, scoop some water up, splash it on her bag, and wipe with your hand.”
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“Oh.” The instructions didn’t sound difficult. Then why did she hesitate? She could answer that easily enough. She didn’t want to touch the damned cow!
“At this rate Bessie will never get milked.” Cal squatted beside her, took the bucket, and began to wash the cow’s bag. “Bessie won’t hurt you. A jersey is usually pretty docile.” He quickly finished and tossed the unused water. “There, that wasn’t hard.” He turned to look at her.
Nikki forgot all about Bessie. His face was so close that his warm breath fanned her cheek. Shivers of excitement ran over her body.
He leaned closer. His lips brushed hers, like butterfly wings. Shock waves erupted inside her. He tasted like peppermint toothpaste and heat. Sweet and sexy. Spasms of pleasure stole over her as he deepened the kiss, his tongue caressing hers while his hand slipped around to the back of her neck and lightly massaged. Swirls of heat coiled inside her, then erupted, fire licking her in all the right places.
Cal pulled away all too soon.
She almost fell off the stool. Okay, take a deep breath, girl. She was the one in control.
Her flirting had worked. He’d fallen beneath her spell. It still took her a few seconds to regain her senses. He was a fantastic kisser.
“You kissed me.” She leaned a little closer to him. One more and she’d have him completely bewitched.
“You wanted me to.” He shrugged nonchalantly as he straightened. “Can’t get your research done if all you’re thinking about is kissing me.”
Her thinking about kissing him! The only thing she’d been thinking about was seducing a story out of him. Of all the self-centered…. Before she could do more than sputter and spit, Cal grabbed her hand and wrapped it around one of Bessie’s teats. Then he grabbed her other hand and did the same thing.
“Now, squeeze and pull, alternating hands,” he told her.
Ugh! It was worse than she could’ve imagined. “I can’t.” Because she didn’t want to!
“Pretend you have your fingers around someone’s neck that you don’t like. I’m sure there has to be someone in your life who pisses you off.”