Page 32 of In Love with a Ranger

“No.”

“Would it be wrong of me to say ‘Thank goodness’…” he chuckled, looking mildly relieved, and Christina couldn’t help herself – she smiled and met his gaze.

“No, that’s not wrong,” she replied. “This is not for everyone and honestly not part of the data I’m collecting. It’s more of a curiosity because I noticed that the feed is a higher quality forage and corn silage ratio, which affects milk production. I don’t want my data to be skewed.”

“Christina?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you say forage and corn silage again slowly? Because when you start using foreign terminology, I can’t help but think you are incredibly impressive…” he whispered huskily, reaching out and touching her cheek again. “Say something else.”

“Early lactation is brought on with a high number of digestible fibers incorporated with alfalfa or grasses… are you teasing me?” she hesitated as he took a step toward her.

“No. I just think you are amazing.”

“This isn’t weird?”

“Only if those gloves are dirty,” he smiled tenderly at her. “I wanted to come by and let you know I’m going to go work with Ortega for a bit before dinner. He found a tree that would supply a lot of firewood but needs help chopping it up.”

“What about your leg?”

“I’ll be careful,” he replied and paused. “Are you worried about me?”

“I’m just being polite to my friend and husband.”

And his hand dropped away from her cheek, almost like he wasn’t a fan of the reminder that they were trying to maintain a simple friendship between them. As he stepped back, she nervously stepped forward, noting that his eyes widened slightly in surprise and backed down.

“I’ll meet you at dinner.”

“Sounds good.”

Without another word, he turned and made his way out of the barn toward the east. She stood there, watching him move until he was just out of sight, before turning to look at Larry-the-Cow, who promptly mooed at her.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Christina whispered glumly. “Sometimes I wonder if maybe all of this is just one great big mess waiting to blow up in my face. The idea of finding someone in the middle of nowhere just seems comical, but then again, so is getting married after knowing someone for such a short amount of time.”

Larry mooed again.

“You keep saying that, but I’m not that lucky, remember?”

Sighing heavily, Christina moved to fetch the samples and returned to the table where her microscope and other testers were waiting – and paused. Putting her hands down on the table, she turned and looked at the barn door where Gideon had left, swallowing in awareness. She had wanted to kiss him again – and didn’t.

What would he have done if she had?

That tiny, nagging voice echoed in her mind for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

Christina looked up as Gideon and Ortega walked in the back door of the main cabin, brushing snow off their boots and removing their jackets. She couldn’t help but gawk as Gideon’s shoulders flexed, pulling his T-shirt tight across his chest. As he took a deep breath, she remembered the feeling of his breath against her throat and lips, quickly turning away and moving to help finish preparing the table for dinner.

“Oh man, that smells good,” Gideon volunteered, his voice carrying easily as he claimed a seat at the table. Ortega took the one opposite of him, the two not pausing in their conversation between them. “That is not chili mac in a pouch.”

“No kidding…” Ortega chuckled, and his eyes immediately focused on Lena. She knew the two were sharing a cabin from Daphne’s gossiping and wondered if they were having as rocky a start as Christina and Gideon. Lena, who was obviously avoiding looking at the man, seemed quite put out. Her lips were pursed, her eyes down, and she seemed unwilling to make eye contact with Ortega.

As Houghton entered, he kissed Jill on the cheek and murmured something that caused her to smile. She immediately turned her attention from Lena to Gideon. Why couldn’t he come and kiss her on the cheek? Was that too forward or friendly? Maybe she was imagining more was there between them than what actually was.

“You gonna sit down?” Gideon took a chair near Houghton and looked up at Ortega curiously.

“I thought I might see if they need any help. It just feels weird to sit down when they are still setting the table,” Ortega started, only to speak again loudly. It was almost like he wanted to make sure everyone heard him.

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