My face is so hot I feel like I need to jump in the lake. I’m seriously considering it.
“So? That doesn’t mean we need to do it as adults also.” I realize too late how sexual that sounds coming out of my mouth, and I roll my eyes in frustration.
Jared just winks at me.
“I’m honestly so pissed off at this situation,” I say. “I have serious jetlag. You know how I hate to fly.” I hold up a lock of my shoulder-length hair. “My hair’s a damn mess with all these flyaways. I’m sweaty and dehydrated. I just want to take a nap and then get up and go to a bar for some beers and fried food.”
Jared’s got a fond smile on his face as I vent. When I finish and take a breath, he leans over to pat my leg.
“Go take a nap, Ash. I’ll figure this out while you’re asleep. When you wake up, I’m going to take you out for drinks and a good meal.”
“Are you sure you can find a place for one of us to live, starting tonight?”
“I’m sure. Right now, I’m going to go check on the cat.” He stands up.
“Okay.” I stand too.
He steps closer and gives me a gentle kiss on the head.
That was unexpected.
I look up at him. “Thank you.”
“Sure.” He looks like he wants to say more, but all he does is wave before turning for the door. “Have a good sleep.”
As soon as he’s gone, I head straight for the divine-looking bed, throw myself under the cozy quilt and cool sheets, and do just that.
CHAPTERFIVE
Jared
I park my truck haphazardly outside the main house of Wild Ranch.
Luke and Declan are grilling on the back porch, and they wave at me as I hop out of the truck and head toward them. They may not be brothers, but the two oldest Wild cousins look so much alike with their tall, muscular builds and dark hair. Yet, Luke’s blue eyes and the jagged scar on his cheek, not to mention his cowboy hat, make it obvious which one’s the cowboy.
“Your cat is in my office,” Luke says as I reach them.
“I’ll get her in a minute,” I tell him.
“How’s the cabin?” Declan asks.
“The cabin itself is fine. But we’ve got a problem,” I say.
Luke offers me a burger, and I accept. Even though I’m going to eat with Ashley later, as a professional athlete, I’m pretty much always hungry.
I bite into my burger and moan. Local, grass-fed beef is so damn good.
“This from one of yours?” I ask in between mouthfuls. I’m saying it to fuck with him because I already know what the answer will be.
Luke shoots me a look of disbelief. “Of course it is. Where the hell else would we get it?”
One thing I’ve learned since moving to Montana is that ranchers are particular. My brothers and I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, so any food was good food. And beef was beef.
But here at Wild Ranch, produce is either home-grown or comes from their brother, Brayden’s, ranch. And the meats? They usually come from their own livestock. Cattle ranchers are competitive as hell, a fact I can relate to and appreciate. After all, I didn’t get where I am without one big-ass competitive gene.
“What’s the problem?” Luke asks as he finishes at the grill.
I take a seat on the patio couch. Declan joins me, and Luke sits down in the wooden rocking chair across from us.
