The Surgeon and the Cowgirl (Harlequin American Romance)
Page 20
“We can have it delivered to the McCulloch ranch by Wednesday,” Jeff promised.
Two days from now. “And in the meantime...?”
“The dealership will loan you a tractor and tiller.”
Rose smiled gleefully. “By tomorrow morning?”
Jeff nodded. “Just tell me what time you want it out there.”
She turned to Clint. “9:00 a.m. okay with you?”
In for a penny, in for a pound. And given the fact he’d wanted to mow down all those bushes anyway—and did not have a working tractor of his own—Clint figured this would give him a head start. “Sure, why not.” Jeff handed him a set of contracts that covered all manner of product endorsements and included an extensive general liability clause. Clint had expected it to be a generic fill-in-the-blank document. Instead, his name and address were preprinted on everything.
He frowned suspiciously at the two people standing opposite him. “How the heck did the manufacturer know I would say yes?” The company’s legal department had set the first advertising component of the work to begin ten to fourteen days after signing. Which—he noted by the date on the documents—they had expected to be today?
Rose flushed guiltily.
It wasn’t hard for him to jump to the next assumption. “You said yes for me?” Clint asked in disbelief.
Rose cleared her throat and made a dismissive gesture. “Tentatively. But only because I knew I could talk you into it.”
Damn, but she had moxie.
The prettiest sage-green eyes.
And the softest, most kissable lips.
Oblivious to the nature of his thoughts, she defiantly stood her ground. “With the crop ripening any day, there was no time to waste. And it wasn’t that big of a gamble. You’re a businessman as well as a rancher. I figured it wouldn’t take long for you to see the light. You’ll get sixty-five cents from my operation per pound of fruit.”
He stopped her with an imperious lift of his palm. “Make it a dollar.”
She scowled. “Now, wait just a red-hot minute, cowboy! I still have to clean, sort, package and market the berries for you.”
“Not to mention pick up and deliver,” he added. “Since I don’t have a produce truck, either.”
She stared at him. “Seventy-five cents, McCulloch. And that’s my ceiling.”
He stared right back, then shrugged. “Done.” He extended a hand.
Rose slid her palm into his. The sensation of her surprisingly soft and silky skin, coupled with the strength of her grip, sent heat pouring through his veins.
He hadn’t been this aware of a woman in ages. If ever. And judging by the stunned look in her eyes, she was feeling the same.
He thought about how long it had been since he’d been close to anyone and swore silently to himself. What had they gotten themselves into?
Copyright © 2015 by Cathy Gillen Thacker
ISBN-13: 9781460381991
The Surgeon and the Cowgirl
Copyright © 2015 by Heidi Hormel
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com