Hard-Riding Cowboy (Kinky Spurs 3)

Throughout her entire shift she considered going to talk to her father and asking for the down payment for the house. Until she remembered how much she hated that idea.

And by the time she left the Spurs around midnight in the hands of Bethany to close the bar, she was damn happy she’d been working, instead of asking things from her father that she would’ve regretted.

Twenty minutes after leaving the Spurs, Megan returned to Nash’s house, dragging her sore, swollen feet in her flats against the gravel driveway. Before the baby, she’d loved manning the bar during the busiest hours. Now, not so much. She needed to rethink these late nights. Especially once the baby got there; she knew she couldn’t stay out all night and sleep late into the day. Besides, the Spurs was likely as successful as it was ever going to get. She made decent money after all her overhead. And she had a solid team who could run the late-night hours without her.

She reached the front door and opened it, feeling immensely better when Gus greeted her. He had Nash’s boot in his mouth. His tail was wagging like he hadn’t seen her in years. She really loved how happy he always seemed to be to see her. With all the anger going on lately, Gus was a breath of fresh air, no matter that Gus gave Nash grief by ignoring him.

“I’m happy to see you too,” she told Gus, giving him a kiss on his big square head.

He shoved the boot in her face.

“Daddy might kill you if he sees this.” She took the boot from Gus’s mouth, placing it back down, then shut the door and kicked off her flats. The light above the kitchen sink was left on, and she noticed a notepad on the kitchen table. She moved there, finding a list of names written in Nash’s handwriting. When she saw Beckett and Hayes’s names, she assumed the names were the guest ranch employees.

Wondering if that list had to do with the guests all coming down with food poisoning, she moved through the log home, her bare feet padding against the hardwood floors, when something on the fireplace mantel caught her eye. As she moved closer, her breath caught in her throat.

She reached for the picture frame there. Nash had developed the photograph he’d taken of her on the porch while she was sitting with Gus. Her hands were on her belly. There was a softness that even she could see. She knew why. She was happy. Nash made her happy . . . and he made her love. Hard.

Needing to get against all his warmth, she moved to the bedroom. Gus jumped onto the bed next to Nash’s feet, when another surprise squeezed her heart even more.

Nash slept with one arm tucked behind his head and the sheets rested low along his hip. Okay, sure, that view alone was breathtaking. Nash was a fine specimen of man and his muscles from being a hardworking cowboy were H-O-T. But that wasn’t what nearly melted her bones. Tucked into Nash’s side were not only the kittens, but the mother cat too. Megan stepped closer, and the moment she did, her foot squeaked against the floorboard.

Nash opened his eyes. She cringed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s—” He paused and looked down at his arm. “What the . . . ?” He looked at Megan again and frowned. “Tell no one about this.”

She laughed then sat on the bed next to him. “Don’t worry, your tough-guy image is safe with me.” She reached out to stroke the mom cat’s head, feeling so emotionally tied to her. “I didn’t know you were picking her up today.”

“I hadn’t planned to.” Nash leaned up a little, resting his head on his hand, flexing that yummy bicep. “I also hadn’t planned to have them sleeping with me. Jesus, she must have jumped on the bed with them in her mouth.”

Megan smiled. “Aw, she loves you.” And she wasn’t the only one loving all over him, Megan realized.

Nash frowned at the cat, who yawned up at him. “Don’t get used to this.”

Megan chuckled. “So, I take it Leah called?”

“Yeah, a few hours ago, so I scooted over to grab the cat and bring her home.”

Megan examined the cat. “She looks so much better than the last time I saw her. She’s so bright-eyed.” She even looked like she’d put on a little weight. But maybe that was because she wasn’t dehydrated.

“Yeah, Leah said she’s good,” Nash said with a smile. “She’s able to nurse them now, so we are off the hook on feeding them.”

Megan smiled. “I think I’m going to actually miss that. Little cuties.” She considered asking Nash about the ranch and the guests’ conditions but doubted he’d want to get into all that now. Besides, the hard set of his mouth told her he was stressed. She wanted to take away his strain, not make it worse. The cat began purring like a motorboat, bringing Megan’s attention back to her. “Does this mean you’re keeping them?” Truthfully, Megan had thought she’d have to push a bit more to even get the cat back at his house.

Nash stared down at the pile of fluff curled up against him. Megan got that. She craved being curled up against him too. “I don’t think Gus would ever forgive me if I didn’t.”

Megan stroked Gus’s head while he watched the kittens near his face. “He does seem to love them.”

Nash agreed with a nod. “I thought about keeping them here, but I figured the guest ranch could use some cats.” His gaze connected with Megan’s, and she spotted the warmth.

She knew he’d never admit he had grown fond of the kitties, but he so obviously had. “Oh, they would get so spoiled there.”

“That’s what I thought too,” Nash said. “Leah’s going to fix them for me for a decent price when it’s time, and I’ve asked Chase to build a cat house for them near the cabins.”

Oh, she could not help herself. “A cat house?”

“Don’t even dare give me that look,” Nash muttered. “I will take enough heat from Shep and Chase about this later.”

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