Page 3 of Cowboy Triplets Next Door

I pushed his hand off my arm and stumbled backwards a few steps. I tripped over the edge of the hay bale and went down on my ass. When Gray reached for me again, I slapped his hand away. “I can get up by myself!”

He glared down at me and motioned for me to do it then. His eyes moved over my body in a critical way, the two different colors leaving a trail of chills like they always did. One bright blue eye and one deep brown, he reminded me of a wolf I’d seen at a rescue one time with the same eye color variation.

I pulled myself up and dusted my butt off. “Why are you here?”

“On my ranch?” He folded his large arms over his wide chest and raised his thick brown eyebrows at me. “I heard you talking and wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

I mimicked his pose and glared up at him. “Of course, everything’s okay. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You’re always alone and suddenly I hear you talking to someone. At least, I thought it was someone. I sure as hell didn’t expect to come in and see a fucking raccoon on your head.” He looked over at Betsy and patted her neck without addressing her or what she was eating. Even as I held my breath and waited to hear him complain about the way I was treating a non-working cow, he kept his lips sealed.

I didn’t want to call more attention to Betsy so I focused on Brutus. “Brutus is tame with me. He’s never hissed at me. He was fine until you lumbered in here and scared us.”

“You’re playing with a wild animal, Bumble B.” That nickname brought a blush to my face and I looked away to hide it.

“My name is Billie.”

He grunted and then did what he always did. He went silent. His eyes shuttered and any emotion I’d spotted vanished. He reached up to run his fingers over his beard and blew out a deep breath. That was it, though. That was all I got.

“What?” I hated the silence. I hated not knowing what he was thinking. “God, Gray. Just say whatever you need to say. What’s your problem?”

His right eyebrow quirked but that’s all I got. He just watched me in that stubborn silence.

“Okay, fine. Let’s go over what you’ve already said. The animals I play with are none of your business. I’m none of your business. Don’t come in cursing at me.” I ran my hands through my hair, straightening out the knots Brutus caused. “Are we done here? Go on. Don’t you have something to do? Another ranch to buy out from someone?”

That made both of his eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously?”

I felt a sense of accomplishment at making him react. “Yeah, seriously. Just go away.”

Instead of reacting the way I wanted him to, one corner of his mouth lifted. “Tell me about your dream.”

The world stopped around me and I choked. The dream. He’d heard me talking about the dream. My body overheated and my underwear soaked through almost instantly. If I’d been alone, I would’ve looked down at my crotch to ask it what the fuck was wrong with it.

“Rabid raccoon got your tongue?” Gray didn’t blink, didn’t smirk, didn’t do anything other than continue staring at me.

I tried to go over all I’d said and the answer horrified me. I stomped past him, out of the barn. “Go to hell.”

“Come on, Bumble B, don’t make me beg. That wouldn’t be the right way around, would it?” He slowly trailed after me and I could hear a cocky smile in his voice. “Aren’t you the one who begged in your dream?”

I spun back around to him and poked him in the chest. “I don’t know what you think you heard, but you were wrong. Now, leave me alone. Don’t you think you’ve fucked me enough?”

He lifted a single shoulder in a careless shrug. “As far as I’m aware, I’ve never fucked you, but then again, we aren’t having the same dreams.”

I planted my hands on his chest and pushed him away from me. Or, rather, I tried to push him away from me. He didn’t budge. “Ugh! Just go away, Gray.”

“I’ll go away when we have an understanding about you not contracting rabies.” He caught my wrists and held them between us. “The last thing I need is for you to be even more rabid than you normally are with us.”

“This is the most you’ve ever said to me and now I’m realizing how lucky I’ve been all this time.” I yanked my arms from him and spun away. “Whatever you think you heard, you didn’t.”

I didn’t wait to see if he’d say anything else. I stomped back toward my house and growled when I saw Gray’s brother, Keaton walking my way. He nodded at me and I scowled at him. I would’ve been so happy if they all screwed off and left me and my family ranch alone.

I had more work to do but that didn’t stop me from marching up my steps and back into my house. I called Joanie, my good friend and owner of the bakery that saved me with muffins.

She answered on the second ring, sounding out of breath. “If this is about the muffins, I’m making them.”

I let out a breath I’d been holding. “Thank god. I need them today, Joanie. I’m going to commit murder if I don’t have them.”

“What happened? It’s too early for you to be homicidal.”

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