I don’t fit into Cord’s world. It doesn’t take any sort of genius to see the cracks already forming between us. We’re both workaholics. Him with his ranch and the upcoming rodeo, and me with my wolves and stats and papers. Somewhere in the quiet hoursbetween, we come together for a few scant minutes before one of us crashes or Cord is called away.
Right now I spend more time with the men he employs than the man I’m here to fall for.
The boys’ poker game last night went on longer than I had energy for. Billy nudged me awake from my cozy spot on the recliner, directing me to bed. Cord’s office door stayed shut, as usual, even though midnight had already passed. The sound of his muted conversations lulled me to sleep. My snores were likely the soundtrack when he finally entered his own bedroom. Not at all sexy. Plus, I didn’t even get changed.
Doubly unsexy.
In the morning light, my doubts fade, though the house remains as empty as Cord mentioned that first day. I shower, glad of the endless hot water Coyote Falls employs, as the early hours are chilly. The house is silent after last night’s impromptu party, which still rings in my ears despite having ended hours before. I wander into the kitchen dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and my favorite moose top, promising myself that my T-shirt choices make a difference to my alertness. Cord’s office door is still shut when I pass. Trays clatter in the sink as I enter the kitchen, where I find West scrubbing away at the remnants of last night’s carnage.
“You don’t need to do that.” I yawn. “I’ll clean up before I start working.”
“You host every night, bringing the workforce together like he does during the day, but make it a family instead. It’s the least I can do,” West retorts, gentling his tone with a faint smile. “Work. Or don’t. Do you two ever see each other?”
The rough-and-ready foreman never seems to get tired or sleep. Rather like a certain ranch owner I know. I study him with a critical eye. West’s frame is stockier than Cord’s. He stands a head shorter than the rancher who tugs at my heart even when he’s not around, but the foreman is no less formidable in his own way.
“No,” I admit, toying with the hem of my tee. “Has he always been like this?”
“Working himself until he’s dead? Ever since I’ve known him.” West grins. After his initial hostility, I’m gradually getting used to his easygoing attitude. “He’ll be around for you, girl. It’s an?—”
“Insane time. Damn right.” Cord’s arms sweep around my waist, spinning me into his chest. I gape up at him, unsexy for the third time in less than a dozen hours as he stares down at me, a slow and devastating smile spreading over his unshaven face. “I am finally going to spend—” His pocket vibrates between us. Cord closes his eyes and swears. “Wait. I’ll?—”
“Ignore that.” West appears beside us, his hand extended. “Give it up. Spend time with her. I’ll be out there, fixing your shit.” His tanned, weathered hand closes around Cord’s phone. He pockets the device without looking at it and heads out, whistling his way along the hall.
“Good man,” Cord approves, catching my chin in his fingers. He dips his mouth to find mine, stealing my air and any rational thoughts I have reserved for today. “I know what you need,” he growls against my mouth, nipping my lips lightly.
I wriggle in the circle of his arms, my heart beating a too-fast staccato against my ribs. “What do I need?” I try not to squeak.Total fail.
“Wolves.” He bares his teeth, nipping the sensitive curve of my neck. This time, Idosqueal.Unsexy, the fourth.“Come on. And bring your kit.”
Cord leads me out to the barn while I’m still in recovery mode fromthat kiss. Three tactical, pristine black cases rest on his workbench, where everything else appears to have been swept aside recently. I release his hand, studying the boxes, and turn to him with wide eyes.
“Cord—is this what you’ve been doing instead of sleeping with me? Not that I’m arguing. Well, maybe.”
He laughs, a full, deep sound that turns the heads of the men working out in the yard. I blush at their renewed attention. “Only you, Lanie. Open them up.”
I cast a quick look at him through my lashes, uncertain exactlywhat I’m going to find inside as I fiddle with the latches. Images of Jenkins’s house of horrors back at Valiant Peak roil across my mind. I banish them quickly.He’s nothing like that man.My shaking fingers manage to open the first case. Finally, the three brand-spanking-new drones sit on the workbench.
“These are amazing.” I can’t help speaking in a hushed voice. “Did you rob the military?”
Cord snorts. “No. They’re mine. I know a guy.”
I roll my eyes. “Of course you do.”
An arm encircles my waist as he rests his chin on the top of my head. “But drones. Which will lead us to…wolves. I’ve only taken the little one out to get an idea on range. Do you want to try the big one, or all three? They have different settings for thermal imaging. We could try to track my pack.”
“You sound like a commercial tagline. But the idea has merit.” I bounce once on my toes. “Where have you seen them before? Do we fly it from here?”
He laughs softly in my ear. “So many questions. I thought we might take my truck up to the edge of the grassland and launch from there. That’s less invasive than charging through the underbrush.”
“I approve of your plan.” I trace my fingertips over the backs of his knuckles, learning his scars, and keep bouncing lightly.
“Good.” Cord kisses my temple. “’Cause I asked Levi to cook for our trip, and that man thinks two people comprises a small army.”
Coyote Falls stretches in every direction I look. Grasslands, like the ones near the homestead, lead us toward the more heavily treed area that called to me the first time I really looked at the property. Beyond that, high mountains tipped with white disappear into a bank of clouds that range from fluffy white to menacing gray in the far distance.
I’m blown away by how far we can see as Cord drives us to theedge of the golden pasture, where I just know we will find what I’m looking for. Whether that’s wolves or time with the man at my side, who appears relaxed for the first time in a week, I’m not sure.
Cord hoisted me into his truck, the snazzy red six-wheeler, the moment I agreed to his plan. Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl” filled the cab. I sang at least as loud as Cord as we left the yard, Billy whistling from his perch on the fence rails while West coached one of the younger hands on the finer points of bull riding.
