The Ranch (A Second Chance Romance)

“Yeah. I don’t think I can make it for just one cup.”

Nolan placed his mug on the table and picked up the coffee pot. “So, boss, what’s the plan?”

“I planned to make a quick tour of the place and hope everything is okay. Now, one of us can drive out to check on the herd, and someone needs to do a tour of the buildings to assess any damage.”

Luckily the barns and the herd were both on high ground, so was the ranch, so I hadn’t worried about flooding, but there was always a risk of wind damage to buildings, trees, and fences, which could lead to all types of problems.

“Over on the north side, the creek’s probably burst its banks.”

“Yeah, but it shouldn’t be a problem so long as the animals were clear of it. I’ll check it out if you want to take a look around the barns.”

Any other day, I’d have saddled up my horse and taken a ride out covering as much ground as possible, checking fences and animals, but with the thought of Poppy in my nice warm bed, I decided to take the truck and aim to get back soon. I wanted to keep warm and dry myself and get the job done quickly; I’d also be better equipped to tackle whatever I might find out there.

And the ranch hands would pick up the slack; they already expected Nolan and me to be gone for a wedding all day if the storm hadn’t brought an end to that.

Chapter Ten

Poppy Evans

I had no idea of the time, but I’d been floating on a cloud somewhere between dreaming and being awake while my mind drifted through all the best memories of my men, including the newest ones from the night before.

I found myself alone in the bed – the most comfortable bed, with warm sunlight streaming through the window. It was a long while before I woke up enough to wonder where the guys had gone. And when I woke up some more, I figured it was late, and my raunchy ranchers would be used to getting up early.

When I finally got up, I instinctively pulled out my phone before doing anything else.

No service.

Great.

At least I discovered that half the morning had gone by. It must have been practically dawn when we finally crashed, and it had been the longest day of my life, so I didn’t have any sense of guilt about catching up on sleep.

I opened Cooper’s closet and found a big T-shirt to cover myself, which left me still a little too exposed to leave the room, in case I bumped into a farmhand in the kitchen. I pulled out a large plaid shirt and put that on too.

Eventually, I’d have to wear yesterday’s dress again, but I could leave that for a while.

Down in the kitchen, I had the place to myself, but the coffee pot was still warm, so there had to be human life about somewhere. I helped myself to a mug and filled it with the dark, steaming liquid.

I noticed plenty of eggs piled high in a dish, so I started to rummage around looking for something to go with them. I also noticed how remarkably clean the place was, considering there were two young cowboys knocking about in this ranch built for a family.

Perhaps they have a cleaner.

Perhaps they have a woman over who has an allergy to dogs.

I scowled. For some reason, I didn’t like the thought of a dog-phobic woman helping my ranchers with any of their needs.

A cough alerted me to Nolan entering the kitchen. His hair was wet, and his clothes were neat, clean, and crumple-free. I guessed he’d just taken a shower.

“I try not to sneak up on people when they’re armed with a frying pan,” he said as he approached me. “Would you like me to make you breakfast?” But he gave me the impression food wasn’t on his mind because he didn’t stop walking toward me until he was right behind me with not a whisper of space between us.

His hands slipped under the hem of the long shirt, and he chuckled as his fingertips found my bare ass cheeks. “Two tops aren’t gonna keep you warm when you are wandering about wearing no drawers.”

“Drawers? What, are we in the eighteenth century?” I laughed but soon stopped and gasped when his one hand reached down beneath me, between my thighs, to cup my bare pussy. “I didn’t expect anything like that for breakfast.”

“I’m not used to finding anything like this in my kitchen.” His voice sounded rough and gravelly in my ear. “You wanna sit down while I make you some eggs, or...”

A single finger stroked between my folds.

“Or?”

“Or you wanna work up an appetite first? Because I’ll tell you, Poppy, I’m more hungry for what you’ve got here.”