The Rancher's Rules

“That’s a lot of pets for a single woman to have. No wonder she’s having a hard time finding a new place. I wouldn’t try to take care of so many, but I bet she never gets lonely,” Carlene said wistfully.

Grant frowned, the comment about loneliness making him wonder for the first time if Zoe had so many pets for that very reason. “She just has a soft spot for animals.”

“And then some.”

“I better go check on the bird.”

“All right.”

As he walked down the hall toward the bedroom with the parrot, he wondered what in the hell he was supposed to do about Carlene’s whipped cream and cherries. She acted like a woman ready for a night of no-strings sex, but it didn’t ring true. Maybe Carlene was the lonely one. Whatever her motives, he wasn’t making dessert with her, tonight or any other night.

And, damn it, he should have realized that before he ever asked her out. He kept telling himself he wasn’t a stupid man, but he certainly gave a good imitation of one sometimes.

The sound of screaming from the kitchen interrupted his thoughts. Grant rushed back in the room without checking on the bird.

Carlene stood on a kitchen chair, yelling loud enough to be heard in the next county. When she saw Grant she launched herself at him, literally flying through the air. “Mouse. It was a mouse.” She grabbed his shirtfront, shaking him. “He ran over my foot. He was brown and white and…” She trailed off with shuddering breaths.

A brown and white mouse? Bud. Grant pushed Carlene into a chair. “I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“Water?” She jumped up and started screaming again. “There.” She pointed at the corner. “He’s over there.”

Grant made a dash for Bud, but the hamster scurried under the cabinets. Grant turned around. Carlene was no longer screaming, but she was back on top of the chair.

“It’s okay. It’s just Zoe’s pet hamster.”

She made an obvious bid for composure. “Your friend keeps rodents for pets?”

“Well, actually it was my hamster, and she agreed to keep him for me.” Grant got down on his knees and peered under the cabinet. “Do you mind helping me find him? He could get hurt, being out of his cage like this.”

The look of horror that cast her features in stark relief could not be feigned. “I’d like to, I really would. I don’t want him hurt, even if he is a…” She swallowed. “A rodent. But I can’t. I’m sorry.”

She sounded it too. She really was a nice woman, even if a little forward.

“It’s all right. I’ll find him on my own.”

Grant heard her step down off the chair. “I think I’d better go.”

Her turned toward Carlene, half of his attention still on the cupboard Bud had disappeared behind.

She was buttoning her coat. He jumped up. “Hey. I’ll find the hamster. Relax.”

She shook her head. “No, really…I don’t think I was up to tonight anyway.” Then she was out the door before he could answer.

What had she meant by that? Damn. Where was Bud?

CHAPTER SIX

“YOU lost Bud?”

How could he lose the hamster? Guilt settled in Zoe’s stomach and made her defensive. “I cannot believe you let your date scream the place down and lost the hamster.” She jumped out of bed, the phone still cradled to her ear. “I’m coming over.”

It was not as if her idea to snuggle in bed watching old movies to keep her mind off Grant’s date was working anyway. Images of Grant and Carlene had superimposed themselves over the people on the screen.

She arrived at the Double C to find all the lights in the house blazing. She knocked at the kitchen door, not wanting to give Bud a chance to escape when she opened it. Grant swung the door open almost immediately. His hair was disheveled. Had he been running his fingers through it in agitation, or had Carlene done it before leaving in a huff over the hamster?

Dislodging the torturous thought with effort, Zoe asked, “Have you found him yet?”

They had to find the little guy. Not only for Bud’s sake, but also because she’d already promised one of her students he could have the hamster.

Grant ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. “No. I found a space between one of the cabinets and the wall.”

Zoe frowned. “You think he’s in the wall?”

Grant nodded. “Yeah.”

“I can’t believe it.” She groaned. “How are we going to get him out?”

Rubbing the back of his neck, Grant sighed. “I think we need to give it some time and some quiet. If I were a hamster, Carlene’s screams would have made me go into hiding too.”