Not completely satisfied. That never seemed to work out in life. They still had the issues of Texas Timber and the fires to discuss and work out. But that’d wait till later, maybe at dinner.
He stroked a strand of soft hair back from her face. She was more than he could’ve imagined when he’d first flagged her down on Wildcat Road. She had depths and passions and smarts that made her even more delectable than at first glance. And that was before they’d tumbled into his bed. She might not like to hear it, but she fit him like a favorite pair of well-worn boots.
If he’d found the woman for him after his parents had pulled their little stunt to leave him lonely at Christmas, he’d never hear the last of it. It’d be “I told you so” for the rest of his natural life. But if he had found his special gal, he’d be happy to pay that small price for happiness.
He checked Misty’s hand. Somewhere between bath and bed, she’d lost the bandage. He’d take care of her injury again later. How he’d hated to see her by the Christmas tree, hurting physically and emotionally. He’d known then he’d protect her with everything in him till the cows came home.
Speaking of cows, he sat up a little straighter. Why were his prized Angus drinking from the swimming pool? He blinked to clear his eyes. No, he hadn’t been mistaken. Not one dang bit. Black, four-legged animals were definitely spending a little quality time by the pool.
If Mom found out, she’d be all over him. Those critters would eat her carefully tended pansies and mums, and then leave cow pies everywhere. Cattle tended to take water in one end and empty it out the other end at the same time. The pool could be pea green real quick.
But that was the small problem. The bigger one was that some of his cattle were loose. How the hell had the critters gotten out of the strong fence in the first place? He rubbed his forehead in disgust. Sabotage. Somebody had been at Wildcat Ranch again. First the fire. Now cut fence. But this time somebody was making a definite point that his family was vulnerable. The culprits had snuck up close to the house when they knew he’d be at the fire to do their dirty work. It was getting personal or maybe it always had been that way.
“Misty, wake up.” He gently shook her shoulder. “I’ve got a situation on my hands.”
She opened one eye and looked sleepily at him.
He couldn’t keep a smile from crossing his lips despite the outside problem. She looked delectable and he wanted to start where they’d left off. Instead he thrust his feet over the side of the bed and stood up. “Don’t figure you can ride a horse.”
“Not today.”
“Drive a four-wheeler?”
“Not even on my to-do list.”
“At least you can walk and run.”
“Not on my current agenda.” She stretched, pulled the sheet to her chin, and rolled over to present him with her back.
He patted her round butt under the red sheet. “It is now.”
She looked over her shoulder and opened both eyes. “You’re kidding.”
“Take a look at the swimming pool.” He grabbed his jeans, jerked them on, and zipped up.
“You just ruined my best view by covering up your body.” She pouted as she sat up.
“You can have it back later.” He chuckled as he stepped away from the windows and grabbed his T-shirt.
“Are you sure you want to get up so soon?”
“No choice. I’ll make it up to you later.” He anticipated making that promise last a long, long time. “Take a look outside.” He quickly tugged his T-shirt over his head and tucked the tail into his jeans before he adjusted the belt.
She looked outside, squinted, and looked again. “Does your swimming pool serve as a pond in winter?”
“Not in any world I can imagine.” He sat down on the bench, jerked on his socks, and then pulled up his boots.
“That’s not good then.”
“Nope, it surely isn’t.” He stood, picked up his cell phone, and tucked it in his back pocket.
“Do you want me to do something with the cattle?”
“Yes, I may need your help.”
“But they’re huge, dangerous beasts.”
“That’d be Brahma or Longhorn or bison. These are Angus.”
“Honestly, Trey, I’m willing, but I don’t know how I can help.” She yawned as she got out of bed and quickly started putting on her clothes. “Maybe you’d better call Slade or Kent. Even better, why don’t you call a ranch hand to help?”
“It’s late. Hands are gone. It’s not that big a problem, but I might need help. Looks like about eight have wandered over here. I’m hoping the others haven’t noticed their escape route yet.”
“Okay. But I don’t know what I can do.”
“You can sing, can’t you?” Somehow or other the situation was beginning to get funny or maybe he was just having fun with Misty when she was a little giddy.
“What?”
He stopped in the doorway and looked back at her. “Didn’t you ever watch any of the old singing cowboy movies or TV shows like Gene Autry or Roy Rogers?”
“Not on my to-do list.”
“Bet I can change your mind.”
“Only if there’s muscadine wine with it.” She picked up her phone and slipped it into her pocket.
“That can be arranged.” He pointed at her, chuckling at her reaction. “Git along lil dogie.”