Major Pecker lets out a low, satisfied cluck and closes one eye, like he’s decided I’m trustworthy.
“That’s it?” I murmur. “You terrorize everyone on this ranch, but I get your stamp of approval?”
He presses closer, feathers warm against my leg, utterly unbothered.
I swallow the sudden lump in my throat. “Huh.”
Somehow, being chosen by the antisocial rooster feels oddly… wonderful.
By the time I make it back to my office to grab my things that evening, the day has evened out. It didn’t start well, but I handled it. Every curveball, every moment I wanted to bolt. That counts. And as small as it sounds, it’s enough to remind me why I fought so hard to stay.
The lock—the one that’s been sticking for two weeks, the one I’ve been meaning to report but kept forgetting—turns smoothly under my hand. No resistance. No jamming.
I frown. Open the door. Close it. Try the lock again.
Smooth as silk.
I don’t remember anyone fixing it. Don’t remember putting in a work order. But someone did, because locks don’t just fix themselves.
I grab my bag and head for my truck. I survived another day—another day of proving I belong here. That I'm more than the rejected bride. More than Kitty’s caretaker. More than a woman with nowhere else to go.
The drive back to Havenridge is peaceful. I should be mentally preparing tomorrow’s schedule, the supply order that needs adjusting, the hundred small tasks that keep this ranch running.
Instead, I’m thinking about Daniel Sutton in ways I shouldn’t be. Because he’s my boss. And a pain in my ass. With big hands that promise sin and thighs that look like they’ll deliver it.
I blow out a shaky breath and turn up the radio to drown out the awareness humming under my skin.
This is fine. Nothing to worry about. Just proximity and adrenaline. My body being an idiot because I haven't been around an attractive man in… well, ever.
I grip the steering wheel and watch the road unspool ahead of me.
The way he watches me doesn’t mean anything. He’s just making sure his charity hire doesn’t screw up the ranch his family built. Now isnotthe time to start believing in fairy tales where the grumpy cowboy sees something in you that no one else ever has.
Because falling for Daniel Sutton isn’t part of my plan.
Chapter 2
Daniel
I check the north fence line for the third time this morning. Splinters bite through my work gloves as I grip the fence post. The cut wire from earlier is clean—too clean. Deliberate. But that’s not what’s got me wound tight enough to snap.
Delaney Phillips took our clusterfuck of a morning and turned it into pure efficiency. No panic. No hand-holding required. Just competence that made me so hard I had to adjust myself twice behind the barn.
The background noise in my head never stops except?—
Except when Delaney’s close enough that her addictive scent overrides everything else.
When she brushes past me in doorways, and I have to lock my knees to keep from pulling her against me.
When she says my name in that exasperated tone that makes me want to give her a real reason to say it.
Truth is, I’ve barely taken my eyes off her since she and her sister Kitty arrived at Havenridge Ranch a few months ago. Iimmediately knew she had the potential to destroy me in the best way possible.
Dark hair, velvet brown eyes, and curves that could make a man weep. The way she keeps her hair pulled back in a severe bun and her shoulders squared like she’s constantly braced for battle should be a deterrent. But it’s not. Her strength and fortitude only make her more attractive.
And that voice, steady and controlled, with a husky edge. What would it take to make her lose that control? What sounds could I drag from her smooth throat if I pushed her against the office wall and showed her exactly what she does to me?
And the way she stood her ground when I tried to override her system, chin up, eyes flashing?
