We make it down the porch steps and halfway to the barn before my attention is caught by a woman—no surprise there—a short, curvy brunette with her hair tied back in a neat ponytail. She’s wearing jeans and what looks like one of my dad’s flannels, and she smiles widely at Jenny.
“Morning!” she calls out in greeting. “Thanks for helping me out today, it’ll just be easier with someone who knows a bit more about the history of the area.”
“Happy to help,” Jenny says, passing the thermos of coffee over to the brunette. “Mary, this is Wayne. Wayne, this is Mary.”
I hold out my hand to shake hers before the realization hits, and my eyes blow wide.
“You’remy dad’s girlfriend?” I blurt, dropping her hand instantly. “Aren’t you… young?”
She looks closer to my age than my dad’s, and I shoot Jenny a confused look. There’s no way my sister is justokaywith this, is she?
“Fuck’s sake,” Jenny says, her eyelid twitching in annoyance. “Ever heard of inside thoughts, Wayne?”
She and Mary share an amused glance that I don’t really understand, and I look between them in confusion. The fuck has happened since I’ve been gone?
“Everett and I don’t pay much attention to the age gap,” Mary says, her blue eyes twinkling with mirth. “You’ll get used to it.”
I hear a lyrical laugh followed by my dad chuckling from off to the side, causing me to look over toward the calf pens. The first shock comes in the form of my dad actuallysmiling, and the second comes in the form of Katie McArthur’s bubble butt. Why isshehere? I blink in shock as Katie—the same girl who used my hotel room last night—bends and runs her hand over the flank of one of the calves to calm it before lifting its leg up to check its range of motion.
She looks considerably less hungover than I feel, but I can see the edge of a bite mark on her shoulder when her shirt shifts a bit.
Seeing proof of my claim on that perfect body makes my blood go hot.
Jenny and Mary continue idly chatting, but my attention is mostly on Katie. How does she look just as good in jeans and boots as she did in that tiny skirt last night? I wasn’t planning on a repeat performance, but she was a fantastic lay. If she’s around the ranch regularly, it’ll be convenient, and I wouldn’t mind hearing her scream my name again. She’ll probably trip over herself to wind up in my bed again, especially after last night.
Hell, she’s probably never cum that hard in her life.
“Eyes off the doc, creep,” Jenny says, kicking lightly at my ankle.
She seems to be in a better mood, and her comment comes across closer to teasing than a genuine insult.
“Doc?” I ask, not looking away.
“She’s our vet,” Jenny replies, with a sneer. “You went to school with her, and were probably awful. Don’t chase her off. We like her.”
I bite back my grin at Jenny’s implication that I don’t remember Katie—I spent all fucking nightrememberingher.
Still, I wasn’t expecting her to have a medical degree. That’s pretty impressive, actually. She was always a bookworm in high school, all thick glasses and baggy sweaters, spending all of her time in the library. I guess it makes sense for her to have made progress like that since we graduated.
“You should go shower. You reek,” Jenny says mockingly as she looks over me witheringly. “I know we live on a farm, but if you’re going to be staying… you should take care of hygiene. We do have standards here.”
I roll my eyes, but she’s probably right. Besides, I have no interest in wandering around the ranch. If I stay out here too long, someone will try to rope me into helping out, and I’m not in any mood for physical labor.
“Yeah, whatever,” I scoff, already turning on my heel to head back toward the house. “See you later, Jenny. Oh… and uh, good to meet you,Mary.”
They call out their own goodbyes as I wander back home, my hands shoved into the depths of my pockets. The summer heat is oppressive, and the bugs sing loudly as I make my way back up the porch steps. I wasn’t excited about coming home, but if Jenny and my dad can get over their attitudes, I might be able to actually relax on this trip.
At the very least, I can spend most of my time here in Katie’s bed. I can’t seem to get how good she felt out of my head, and I’m definitely looking forward to more.
KATIE
Last night was pretty great, which isn’t something I thought I’d ever be saying about Wayne Riggs.
He wasn’t in the motel room when I woke up this morning, which was more of a blessing than a curse. Sure, it stings for it to be so obvious that last night was nothing more than a hookup for him, but that’s all I wanted it to be. I love Everett to death, but I have no desire to get involved in anything serious with his jerk of a son.
Speak of the devil. As I’m at work, Everett leans over the fence of the pen I’m in and waves me over. I pat the head of the calf I just finished checking, chuckling when it immediately dashes off to join the others. I head over to the fence with an easy grin.
“What can I do for you, boss man?” I ask.
