“Absolutely,” she replied, glad for the excuse to create some distance. “Let’s go back to the house and dry you off. I’ll write you a check.”
He jumped off the corral panel and reached up for her. Delaney sucked in a breath as he lifted her down and held it even after her feet touched the ground. She released it only when he released her, but he didn’t step out of her space. “Told you I didn’t want your money,” he said. “I’ll take a calf, but I won’t take a check.”
“Then maybe we can work something out with one of my open cows. If you could provide the bull semen, I could maybe give you that calf in a few weeks.”
He cocked his head. “Come again? Last I knew, gestation took a good nine months.”
“Two hundred eighty-three days, give or take,” Delaney corrected.
Zac rubbed his chin. “Then tell me exactly how you propose to give me a calf.”
“Embryo transfer,” she replied. “Once I get Diamond settled, I’ve got a dozen surrogate cows out in that pasture lined up for ET. I figured I’d let her settle in for a few days and then call the vet. I’ll need to get all the cows’ cycles synchronized with hers before I can breed her.”
“’Fraid I’m still not following you.”
“Don’t you know anything about bovine reproduction, Zac?”
“’Course I do,” he replied. “I’ve raised hundreds of calves in my life, but we always did things the natural way—put the bull out there and let him do his job. I never had enough interest in artificial methods to ask how it actually works.”
“Okay. It’s pretty simple actually,” Delaney began. “The donor cow is given hormones to boost her egg production and then she’s bred, either naturally or artificially. Seven days later, the embryos are flushed out of her and implanted in the surrogate cows.”
“Let me get this straight. You’re saying that heifer of yours isn’t even going to birth her own calves?”
“Nope.” Delaney shook her head. “I’ll breed her to my pick of bulls and then implant the embryos in another cow. Letting her carry to term would be a huge waste, Zac. I could only get ten to fourteen calves during her entire lifetime, but with ET, I could get dozens out of her.” She grinned. “I’ve spent several years studying this stuff. Now it’s time for me to put the knowledge into practice.”
Zac shook his head. “I understand the benefits of what you want to do, but somehow it don’t seem right to screw with nature like that. Speaking of which . . . have you given any more thought to what we discussed last night?”
“Your lips are blue,” she murmured, pulling back. “Let’s go back to the house. There’s no point in talking in the rain.”
The rain had slowed to a light drizzle, but Zac was soaked to the bone. He was glad for that as he followed Delaney back to the house. It gave him a good excuse to stay for a while. There was nothing better than time alone with her to wear down her defenses. Last night, he’d sensed that she’d wanted him to kiss her and he almost had. A moment ago, he’d gotten that feeling again. If she gave him another chance, he wouldn’t balk about taking it.
He wiped his muddy boots on the mat and followed her through the back door into the kitchen, where she hung her coat on the peg and turned back to take his hat. Her hair was falling down and her face was splattered with mud. Impulsively, he reached out his hand to her cheek. Her eyes went wide at his touch. “Mud,” he said softly, wiping it away, but not letting his hand drop.
Her gaze focused on his mouth, her blue eyes flickering with something he couldn’t identify. Was it desire? Was she thinking what he was thinking? He willed her to lean into him, just a single inch, so he could claim the kiss he’d fantasized about for too damned long.
Once more, she pulled back. “You’re dripping all over my kitchen. Why don’t you give me your shirt? I’ll put it in the dryer.” She spun away to rummage in a drawer while he peeled his shirt off. She turned back to him, dishtowel in hand. “Here. You can dry your face with this.”
He reached out for the towel with one hand and offered the sopping shirt with the other, but her gaze was locked on his bare torso. “I, uh—I probably have something you can put on,” she said, her eyes darting guiltily back to his. “Um. Just give me a minute. I’ll go look upstairs.”
Damn. Cold feet. Again.
But this time he wasn’t going to let her go. He leaned back on the breakfast bar, taunting her with a cocked brow. “Running away?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I think you’re afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” she asked.
“I think you’re attracted to me and it scares the shit out of you.”
“Last night I said you were attractive, Zac. I didn’t say I was attracted to you. There’s a difference.”
“No, there isn’t. You’re splitting hairs.”
She gave a snort. “Do you really think you’re that irresistible? Your ego is as big as Ty’s.”
“C’mere.” He jerked his head in a beckoning motion.