“Bye, baby.” She got to her feet when the mama’s fussing told them she’d had enough of sharing her baby for one day.
He opened the stall door for them to exit and closed it behind them. “You liked the foal?”
“She’s beautiful.” She took a handful of animal crackers from Jack and opened her hand flat like he had shown her, offering the cookies to the mama. “Oh, that tickles.” She giggled as the horse lipped them from her palm and crunched through her treats. Rose wiped her hand on the back of her jeans and flipped through the photos she’d taken. “Look.” She turned the phone toward him. “These are so awesome.”
“They are fab.”
Rose surprised the crap out of him when she spun on her heel, threw her arms around Jack, and hugged the stuffing out of him. “Thank you for letting me see her.”
Jack patted her back awkwardly. “You come on back anytime you want to love on my babies. The more they are handled, the better. Just make sure you close every door behind you and double-check them twice. We don’t want anyone to escape and hurt themselves.”
“I promise,” she replied seriously.
He decided he much preferred to see her like this, happy, laughing, showing him photos, and chattering up a storm with Jack. It was so much better than the unease that he saw trying to push in around her eyes more times than he’d like.
The dinner bell clanged loudly in the distance. “That’s our cue to go to the mess for dinner.” He reluctantly pulled her toward the barn sink to wash her hands. “You coming, Jack?”
“Nope, I’m going into town tonight.” Jack handed them a towel and caught the bar of soap as it tried to escape. “I have to meet up with Jasper.”
“Sheriff Jasper?” He stilled when Jack nodded. “Is there a problem?”
Jack shook his head. “Nope, I just gotta kick his ass about something.”
Caleb winced. He had no idea what the sheriff had done to piss off Jack, but as someone who’d been on the receiving end of one of an ass-kicking from him, he didn’t envy the sheriff at all. “Have fun,” he called over his shoulder as he tugged Rose from the barn.
16
She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting from a place called a mess, but it wasn’t organized chaos. It looked like a canteen or an all-you-can-eat restaurant, with a food counter running down one side. The tables were spread out and filled with people. She followed Caleb to the food counter, and her eyes widened. “That’s a lot of food.”
“There’s a lot of us, and most of us are growing boys who eat a heck of a lot.” He grinned at her. “Pick what you want. It’s all free. Part of the perks I told you about earlier.”
“I prefer this to the plane.” She took the tray he offered and picked up a plate. “Imagine never having to worry about cooking again.”
“Are you telling me you can’t cook?”
Was he teasing her? Well, two could play that game. “Says Mr. Grilled Cheese.”
“Hah.” He started loading his plate and hers with food when she’d only grabbed a portion of some kind of savory pie. How many people did he think she was eating for? Ten, maybe a dozen, apparently, because he wasn’t done with adding potatoes, vegetables, or even what looked like stuffing balls. But he also grabbed dessert and put half the plates on her tray and the other half on his. “Umm, are we stocking up for a famine?”
“Nah, but if you want seconds, there might not be any left.” He led her across the floor to a table with some free chairs.
She returned Becky’s smile, placed her laden tray on the table, and slid into a chair next to her, breathing out a sigh of relief when Caleb took the spot next to her.
“Girl, thank Gawd you are here,” Becky whispered. “Because there is so much hawt testosterone in this room, I need some queens to help balance it out.”
She never thought she’d say there could be too many hot men in one place, but kudos to Becky for calling it. There were way too many of them. She scanned the room. “Is smokin’ hot a requirement to work here?”
Becky snickered. “Right? Because there isn’t an ugly one in the bunch.” She munched on a French fry. “Now, if you’re talkin’ messed up ones, those we’ve got a whole bunch of, starting with the one next to you.”
I knew it. He was too perfect.
She side-eyed Caleb. “What’s wrong with him?” She couldn’t wait to hear Becky’s answer. “Do I need to run?”
“No more running.” Caleb glared at Kentucky. “Control your woman, Smith.”
“Hah.” Kentucky rested his hand on Becky’s back. “Not a chance. She rules me, not the other way around.”
“Pussy.”
