Kaitlyn: It’s simple. Jump them. You know they want you. Tucker can’t stop talking about you.
Me: That’s reassuring, but I can’t just drag them into the back of the store when they stop by tomorrow and go at it while other men are at the counter waiting for their grain order to be filled.
Kaitlyn: Go to them.
Me: No way. Not brave enough for that.
Kaitlyn: Have an excuse to go to the ranch. Deliver something. They order hay or feed or whatever from the store, right?
Me: Every time they’re in. I swear, they have enough alfalfa pellets for the next two years.
Kaitlyn: See? They’re into you.
Me: Most women get flowers when a guy’s interested, they buy alfalfa pellets.
Kaitlyn: (smiley face emoji) They tell you they want you, don’t they?
Me: Daily. Heavy on the innuendo.
Kaitlyn: The Duke boys’ dicks are named after cuts of meat. Duke doesn’t disappoint. I’m sure T-Bone will be quite a mouthful.
Me: OMG
Kaitlyn: And Colton? God, he smolders.
Me: Fine. I’ll deliver something to the ranch. Then what? Show up in just a trench coat and heels? Tell them I want to tame them like two wild mustangs? Ask to see their beef?
Kaitlyn: Just say yes.
* * *
Just say yes. Tucker had said the same thing. That’s what they were waiting for, would continue to stalk and wait for me to say. And that was why I was here, closing the store early so I could make a delivery myself.
Kaitlyn had her men. It was time for me admit what I wanted and go after mine. Driving past the iron archway to the Duke ranch, I took in Tucker’s world. Through Kaitlyn, I knew he was the sibling who’d taken over the family’s cattle ranch when Mr. and Mrs. Duke retired. When they’d been hurt in the accident, all the Duke kids had been teenagers and had worked the ranch. The kids had kept it going as the parents recovered. They knew ranching inside and out. But Tucker seemed to have it in his blood.
I passed the house, a two-story stone and white clapboard behemoth. It had to be considering they’d had four kids. The roof was metal, the steep angle allowing for the piles of snow Raines got each year to slide off. The setting was lovely, a creek lined with old Cottonwoods meandered along the back. The drive followed the creek toward the ranch buildings in the distance and I bumped along slowly in that direction. A barn—which was where I was headed—and several other structures were set further back. I’d guess they were a stable and a bunk house at a minimum. While my father’s ranch dealt in thoroughbred horses, it was familiar, like going home, in a sense. I felt comfortable on a ranch. Welcomed, even from the setting alone.
Colton had stopped in the other day to do his usual stalking and had ordered an open sweep cattle tub. Yeah, one of those fence things that cattle ranchers needed to get their livestock lined up for, well, branding, ear tagging and even immunizations. Ranchers might know what one looked like, but everyone else in the world would look in the trailer and see lots of metal fencing.
Since it was thousands of dollars, I assumed it was something the ranch really needed. And I used that big piece of equipment as my excuse to drop by and say yes to Colton and Tucker. While I couldn’t load the trailer myself, or take the parts out because they were ridiculously heavy and required brawn from several big men, I could deliver it, especially since my usual driver was taking pig feed to the Barnes property. I was disgusted by Roscoe for flirting with me since he was married. I didn’t know his wife, but I didn’t want to be that woman. So Hank was dealing with all the pigs. I huffed out a laugh. Yeah, Roscoe fit right in with his livestock.
I parked the truck near the stable and hopped out, looked around.
“Ma’am, can I help you?”
I spun around at the voice. A curious cowboy. He took off his hat, held it by the crown and pressed it against his jean-clad thigh, offered a smile I knew could tug down the panties of lots of ladies. He was large, brawny in his snug t-shirt, jeans and sturdy boots, but he didn’t hold a candle to his boss. Or Colton—who just also might be his boss since he was foreman here.
I felt an odd disappointment because it wasn’t Tucker or Colton. Colton, I knew, was somewhere about and lived in the bunk house. That little gem I’d gotten from Kaitlyn, my inside source to all things Duke. Sure, I’d taken extra time with my makeup before I drove out from town. No other delivery driver probably had the hots for a customer, but they were getting to me. I was interested… eager even, to see Tucker and Colton.
Realizing the guy was waiting for me to answer, I pasted on a smile. “I’m Ava from the Seed and Feed and I’ve brought your cattle tub.” I thumbed over my shoulder to my payload.
“Well, Ava from the Seed and Feed, I’m Ryan. I’d be happy to get some of the others to offload that for you.”
“Thank you.”
He took a step closer, settled his hat back on his head. “And anything else you might need, just ask. I’m at your service. Anything.”
“Ryan!”