Parker would never be able to get the image out of his mind. He was a cattle rancher, but he was not cruel. He didn’t hurt any of the cows in his care.
“I’ll go and get my things,” Poppy said.
Stitch stayed on the floor, rolling over and staring up at Parker.
“She’ll come back, buddy. I promise.”
Shawn sighed. “It’s taking forever.”
He didn’t even pretend that he didn’t know what Shawn was talking about.
“At least I got her to enjoy spending time with Stitch. He’s going to be staying with her while we’re out at the ranch.”
Shawn nodded, taking a seat beside him. “She’ll come around, you know.”
“Yeah, I know. Casey’s having a hard time dealing with it.” At least he’d stopped snapping at their ranchers.
Parker loved working on the ranch, but he didn’t want to have to do twice the workload. All of his life he’d been busy, but that was how he liked it. He wasn’t the kind of guy to sit around all day doing nothing.
He liked to get busy, to keep his mind occupied.
Poppy waved goodbye for the evening, and Casey looked like he was being led to his death. If they didn’t do something soon, their brother was going to snap.
****
Casey glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Poppy looking at the view as he took her home. The thing about the Smith ranch was that it was set back in a beautiful part of the world. He’d never wanted to leave it, even as a young kid. The ranch had been part of him. Everything was there that he needed. Wide open spaces, the lake, work, a home, and a family. All that was missing was a family of his own.
He wanted Poppy to be part of that family. To see her swollen with his kid and smiling as he came home, and of course his brothers. The need to have her as theirs had gotten stronger as he saw her struggling with his mother’s death.
Cathy Williams had been a sweet woman. She’d raised her daughter to be as caring. Watching Poppy lose her mother, and to see Cathy wilting away, had been one of the single hardest things of his life. Not something he wanted to repeat anytime soon.
“It was great to see you with Parker’s dog,” he said.
He’d enjoyed watching her, and then when she asked if he was ready to take her home, it was like a kick to his gut.
“Stitch is so sweet. I was so scared of him. You should have seen me hiding in the kitchen window. He wasn’t even growling at me. I’m so silly at times.”
“Sometimes we can’t handle fear. Real fear.” He reached out, taking her hand, offering her comfort. The truth was, he just wanted to touch her, and if that meant taking her hand, he would.
She was driving him crazy. He’d never been an entirely patient person. He was the kind of guy to do it now rather than wait.
Poppy was testing his patience, and it wasn’t even her fault.
Silence filled the car once again.
“Are you still happy that you hired me?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m more than happy, Poppy. The guys are all complimenting your food, and I’ve got no problem with how our place looks. You’re amazing, as I knew you would be.”
He entered the trailer park, and with it, bringing their short journey to an end. This was the part of the ride he hated most, leaving without her.
“Thank you so much for bringing me home, Casey. I really do appreciate it.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I left a chocolate pie in the fridge. I know you guys love to have a midnight snack of some kind.”
“You’re fattening us up with all those treats.”
“You and I both know you’re going to love it.” She went to kiss his cheek again, but he couldn’t resist. Turning his head slightly, her lips grazed his.
Poppy froze, and he kept his gaze locked on her.
Yes, I’m a man.
Look at me like that, and baby, you’re going straight home.
“See you tomorrow,” she said.
Whatever had been going through her head had terrified her. He didn’t like it. Maybe it was time for him and his brothers to step up the seduction, to show her they were indeed men to be desired, and not to be looked on as friends.
Something had to give. His cock was rock-hard, and it was going to be another long night with blue balls. It didn’t matter how many times he took care of business in the shower. Each night he went to bed, craving her touch more than anything.
Sooner or later, something had to snap.
He hoped.
Chapter Four
A couple of days later Poppy looked in the mirror and groaned. Her nose was red, and it looked swollen to her, as did her eyes. In fact, her whole face did. Her stomach twisted, and she spun to the toilet, and threw up once again.