I threw my pillow over my head, fighting the urge to scream into it, and mumbled, “Stupid, sexy, cowboy.”
Chapter Eleven
Andi
I shot straight upin bed, heart racing.
“What the hell is that?” I gasped, clutching the sheets as the sound came again—shrill and warbly. Definitelynot human…but also not like any animal noise I’d ever heard.
A soft knock at the door made me flinch. “Andi? Are you awake?” Norah’s voice came from the hallway.
“Yeah,” I croaked, still groggy. “I’m up.”
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.” I tugged the blanket up to cover everything from the waist down. This family had seen enough of my underwear for one lifetime.
Norah opened the door halfway and peered into the room. “Mornin’,” she greeted with a too-chipper-tone.
“Morning,” I mumbled, still trying to calm my nerves.
“Are you okay?” Norah eyed me curiously as she stepped further into my room.
“Yeah, I just…heard this noise and it scared me right out of my sleep.”
Her eyebrows crinkled. “What kind of noise?”
Right on cue, the sound came again—longer this time and sounding like a dying kazoo.
“That!” I yelped. “What the hell is that?”
Norah stared at me for a beat, then burst into laughter. Full-on, can’t-catch-her-breath laughter.
I stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “What?”
“It’s just our rooster,” she finally said between giggles. “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard a rooster crow before.”
I groaned and flopped back on the bed.No, I can honestly say I have never heard a rooster crow likethat…ever.“Oh my God.That’swhat that was?” My cheeks burned with embarrassment. “What time is it?”
“Not quite sunrise.”
I groaned and collapsed back onto the mattress, throwing the pillow over my head. “Why on earth are we up this early?”
Norah walked over and yanked the pillow away with another laugh. “Come on, sleepy head. We’ve got work to do.”
“Work?” I groaned again.
“Yes, ma’am. Now, get up and get dressed. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.” She was gone before I could argue, shutting the door behind her.
I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. “What have I gotten myself into?”
With a sleepy sigh, I rolled out of bed and stretched. My muscles complained, but it was the rooster that really deserved violence—or a throat lozenge. I shuffled over to the chair in the corner of the room where I’d dumped my bags and rummaged around for something that could pass for whatever Norah had in mind when she said “work.”
I grabbed a pair of jeans and a baby blue T-shirt that I’d taken from the box of clothes Belle had given me and added my own undergarments to the mix. Clothes and makeup bag in hand, I walked over to the door and was about to turn the handle when I realized that it probably wasn’t the brightest idea to leave my room in just my nightshirt and underwear again. I set mythings on the dresser next to the door, grabbed the pair of jeans and yanked them on before opening the door—just in time to seehim.
Zane stepped into the hallway, all broad shoulders and stupid cowboy swagger.
My eyes involuntarily did a slow scan.
