Grumpy Cowboy (Single Dad Collection)

I sit up, resting my body on my elbows. “Where ya goin’?”

“I think you and I both know nothing good is going to happen if we keep lying in that bed together.”

“Yeah.” I chuckle.

“So, how about we meet in the kitchen for some pancakes?”

“You’re gonna make pancakes?” I question. “At nearly three in the morning?”

“Don’t tell me you’re too good for pancakes, cowboy.”

“Fuck no, I’m not. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t expecting me to do the cooking.”

“Smartass.” She giggles and picks up a pillow to toss at my head. “Now, c’mon, get your lazy ass out of my bed and get in the kitchen so I can distract us with food.”

As she walks out of the bedroom and down the hallway, her perfect ass sashaying with each step, I can’t wipe the smile off my face.

Damn, Leah Levee. What are you fucking doing to me?

July 13th, Tuesday

Leah

“Mornin’, darlin’,” Rhett greets as I walk out my front door.

It’s another morning on the ranch and another morning that I’ll spend riding around with Rhett, trying to help him with all sorts of tasks while tossing in some important medical care and instructions.

And the further we get into his recovery, the less I end up doing.

Now, mostly, I just serve as a spectator. Which, you’d think I’d loathe the idea of it or find the whole thing really boring, but I don’t. This time together has become something I actually look forward to.

Especially when I walk out of my cabin and find him standing outside his truck waiting for me.

Dressed in his usual jeans, boots, and T-shirt, Rhett looks like the kind of hot cowboy that Hollywood actors playing roles in Western-themed movies only dream of embodying. His smile consumes his whole mouth, and his blue eyes shine from beneath his cowboy hat.

Damn, this just might be my favorite part of the day.

“How’d ya sleep last night?” he asks as he opens the passenger door for me.

“Pretty good,” I lie. Honestly, I tossed and turned for most of the night, my body feeling more like a live wire every day that I spend in close proximity to this man.

It’s only been three days since we kissed in his truck. Seventy-two hours since we attempted to lie in my bed together, only to realize that the temptation was too strong for either of us to withstand.

That night had ended with us eating pancakes until the sun came up and checking on Joey every hour or so.

We talked and laughed and kissed a few more times, but other than that, we didn’t let anything else happen.

It honestly would’ve felt wrong if we had. I mean, Joey was sick with a stomach bug, and neither one of us wanted to get so lost in the moment that we wouldn’t have been able to hear her if she needed something, or worse, if she started to get sick again.

But fuck, I can’t deny that ever since that night, my body has been on constant alert, completely fixated on what it would feel like to be in a bed with Rhett again. Though, this time, you’d definitely want to see him completely sans clothes…

I hop into the passenger seat, and he shuts my door for me.

“How about you?” I question as he gets inside the truck and starts the engine. “Did you sleep okay last night?”

“I’m gonna lie like you and say yes.”

My mouth falls open. “Who says I was lying?”

“Darlin’, your body is like an open book,” he says, his eyes flitting over to me in amusement, and then, subtly glancing down at my chest.

I follow their lead and note that, sure enough, my nipples are so damn hard they could probably cut fucking glass.

Goodness gracious.

“Maybe I’m just cold,” I retort, and he chuckles.

“It’s already eighty fuckin’ degrees out,” he retorts with a sly, knowing grin, and I reach out to slap a hand to his shoulder.

“Shut up.”

He laughs some more and puts the truck into reverse to back us up a little before slipping the gear into drive.

But before he presses the gas, he leans toward me and whispers into my ear, “Just so you know, you’re not the only one feelin’ out of sorts for the last three days.” With one discreet hand, he reaches up to brush his fingers over my tank-top-and-bra-covered nipple. “I can’t stop thinking about the other night.”

A shaky breath escapes from my lungs.

“And I’m hoping one day real soon, I’ll get to finish what we started.”

Oh boy. Me fucking too.

Eyes back to the road, Rhett presses on the gas and pulls away from my cabin.

The sun shines in through the window, and I slip on my favorite pair of sunglasses to shield my face from its rays.

“Did you talk to your dad this morning?” I ask, in the name of changing the subject to something less distracting.