She scrunches her nose. “I don’t know. Last night was a rather good start,” she says, just as my arms slide around her waist and pull her close.
The softness of her body against mine sends my thoughts straight to unholy places. Honestly, everything about this woman does.
“Is that right?” I murmur.
She hums in agreement.
“We can repeat it any time you want,” I reply, kissing her lips and slowly working down her neck, fully prepared to give her an encore of last night in this office, but she places her hands on my chest.
“I’d love that, but I still have so many calls to make if we want to get new equipment delivered,” she says, and I nod, kissing her once more as we pull away.
“I’d better get to work on the barn clean-up as well and fix the door,” I say as she reaches out for my wrist, stopping me before I leave.
I look back. “Don’t hurt yourself again,” she warns, and I lean down, kissing her goodbye.
“Yes, ma’am,” I whisper as I head out the door.
“Feel free to use that as well!” she calls out, leaving me laughing all the way out of the barn.
By nightfall, the cleanup and repairs are fully sorted. Having four extra hands makes all the difference, and we got lucky—real lucky. Whoever broke in seemed more interested in stealing what they could carry than tearing the place apart, and most of the equipment isn’t exactly lightweight.
When I head back toward the barn, I peek inside and find Sloane still buried in paperwork. She’s been holed up here all day, carrying weight I should’ve taken on years ago, so I grab her something to eat before she forgets entirely.
It’s strange how easily we’ve slipped into a rhythm after months of snapping at each other—but I’m not complaining. Even I can admit we’re stronger together than we ever were working against one another.
I tap lightly against the wood. She looks up, smiling tiredly.
“The longer you stare at those pages,” I say, “the more I worry those beautiful eyes of yours might pop right out of their sockets.”
She chuckles, resting her head against her propped arm. “So, youhavebeen checking me out this whole time.”
“You’re hard to miss,” I reply as I step inside and lean against the desk. “Even when you’re a pain in my ass.”
I press a lazy kiss to her lips, realizing just how much I missed the taste of them throughout the day. How I spent months pretending otherwise is beyond me.
She hums, kissing me back. “The feeling’s mutual.” When I pull away, she looks at me like she’s caught in a daze, sucking in her bottom lip.
“I finished the phone calls. Replacement equipment should all be here by the end of the week, so we’ll be back in full operation by Friday at the latest,” she says.
Relief settles into my chest. The break-in was a major hit to production, but knowing we won’t be down for long—knowingshemade sure of that—changes everything. I’ve said it before, but I shudder to think what kind of financial blow this would’ve been if she hadn’t taken out those insurance policies behind my back.
What I don’t say out loud is that every solution comes with a price.
Money. Time. Or control.
And the worst part is, I can already see the shape of the choice forming. Either I let the county slow-walk us and bleed the ranch dry…
Or I start listening to offers I swore I’d never entertain.
And I’m running out of ways to protect this place without putting her in the crosshairs.
“That’s great.” I pause, the thought hitting me before I can second-guess it. “You wanna go out?”
Her head snaps up, surprise flickering across her face.
I know myself. A week ago, I would’ve shut that down before it ever left her lips, convinced I knew best. I’m starting to realize that just because IthoughtI was right doesn’t mean I was.
And maybe—just maybe—doing this differently starts here.
