The Rancher's Rules

She found Alexander and Princess and put them in the cat carrier. Walking into the bedroom she had slept in the first night, she stopped to talk to Bud, the hamster. “Things are looking bleak, Bud. I’ve finally decided to stop pussyfooting around my feelings for Grant and he’s got a date with another woman.”

He ran on his little exercise wheel, ignoring her. Males.

Zoe wondered if Carlene liked rodents. She racked her brain, trying to remember if she had ever met the woman. An image of deep cleavage and incredibly tight, short skirts rose in Zoe’s mind. The weekend bartender at the Dry Gulch. The woman went through men faster than Grant went through relationships—or at least that was what people said.

Zoe wanted to scream. She smiled instead, and loosened the door on top of Bud’s cage.

Whistling a Christmas carol, Zoe picked up the cat carrier and left. She didn’t bother saying goodbye to Grant. She could do without another dose of his sexy, tight T-shirt.

Grant put the finishing touches on the table. The roses looked good. Romantic. So did the rest of the dining room, thanks to his mother’s penchant for French provincial décor. She’d been gone for more than two decades, but because Lottie had only been interested in changing a few rooms of the ranch house, her influence remained.

The front doorbell rang and he rushed to answer it. When he opened the door, cold air and perfume assailed him. It wasn’t an unpleasant scent, but it wasn’t Zoe’s either.

Which was the point, he reminded himself.

“Hi, Grant,” Carlene said softly, smiling. Her dress wasn’t nearly as revealing as the gear she wore to work in, but it accentuated her voluptuous curves all the same. “There’s one more bag in the car if you’d like to get it.”

“I’ll get it. You go on in.”

He moved back, but she still managed to brush his arm with her chest. He was surprised when she jumped and apologized. When he walked into the kitchen with the bags a minute later, he found her rummaging through the cupboards.

She smiled, her expression a cross between nervous and welcoming. “I was looking for a pot to boil the pasta.”

“Over here.” He pulled out the pot he had used to make dinner for Zoe the night before.

“Thanks.”

“Sure.”

She turned to the sink and started filling the pot with water. “Want to make the salad?”

“Okay.”

She tossed him a bag of salad.

Zoe never bought premade salad. She said it was a drain on the environment’s resources. And that was the last comparison he was going to make between his date and his best friend tonight. After rinsing the lettuce and tossing it in a bowl along with the pre-mixed dressing, Grant had to admit it sure was easier than cutting everything up.

“I’ll have to make Zoe try this sometime. It’s a snap.” He grimaced, wishing he hadn’t brought her up.

Carlene gave him an inquiring look. “Is she the schoolteacher? The one that dated Tyler?”

Grant frowned. “Yeah.”

Carlene laughed. “I would never have picked those two for a couple. She treated Tyler nice, though. He was always going on about what a lady she is.”

“That’s Zoe.”

“She even introduced him to his new girlfriend. Another teacher. I think Tyler’s really in love.”

The last thing Grant wanted to do was talk about Zoe, love and Tyler, the man in leather. “Want me to do anything else?”

“Sure, sugar,” she said flirtatiously, her Texas accent drawing the words out. “Only it will have to wait until after dinner.”

Maybe this whole date thing was not such a good idea after all. He wanted sex, but the knowledge that it wasn’t going to be with Carlene hit him between the eyes with the force of a hammer. She was a lovely woman, but right now the only female who attracted him was Zoe.

So much for his great diversionary tactic.

“You can make dessert.” She said it nervously, and he wondered why.

“Sure.”

“I brought whipped cream, chocolate, and maraschino cherries.”

“I don’t have any ice cream.”

Carlene winked at him, but her face looked like she’d just added a whole layer of blusher. “I’m sure we’ll come up with something.”

She moved forward almost awkwardly, her bee-stung lips parted for a kiss. Grant started backing away and she kept coming. The sound of an earsplitting screech came from down the hall.

Carlene jumped and let out a pretty good screech of her own. “What was that?”

“Zoe’s bird.”

“What is her bird doing here?”

Grant explained about Zoe getting evicted. He left out the part about Bud, not proud of the fact that he had been instrumental in getting his friend evicted from her apartment.