Page 25 of Rough Ride

She tried to hide her reaction but knew he’d seen it. Whenever he was around these days she tensed. She was worried he would sense her attraction.

When she glanced at Eli, she tried not to sigh, but it was close. He wore just ordinary clothes, his every day work gear, but damned if they didn’t make him drop dead gorgeous. His jeans were soft and worn and molded to every bit of that perfectly rounded ass.

Jerry chuckled breaking into her thoughts. “She makes the best coffee around. Plus, it’s oatmeal day.”

“Oatmeal is good for you,” Crysta said as she opened the fridge. She had planned on eating some cereal but she knew what Jerry wanted.

“I’ve got stuff to do,” Eli said, grabbing his travel coffee mug and filling it up.

She set the bacon on the counter and grabbed the egg carton. “You’re going out without eating?”

He nodded but didn’t make eye contact.

“You need to go check the fence on the far east side, next to Sam’s place. Mike over at the Sunshine Plantation said he saw some of it down late last night.”

“I was just out there yesterday morning.”

Jerry shrugged. “You want me to send a hand out there? I know Danny would be keen on going.”

“Nope. I’ll take care of it.”

He walked out the door without another word. It slammed shut behind him and silence descended for a few moments.

“Did you two have a fight?”

She shook her head as she turned the heat on the stove. “Not that I know of.”

He patted her on the shoulder. “Eli’s like that. Deep waters and all that.”

“It’s not my fault he fell out of bed this morning.”

As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn’t.

“Is that so?”

“Okay, I am assuming he fell out of bed.”

“So, you didn’t witness this?” he asked as he studied her over his coffee cup.

“Witness?” Then she realized what he meant. “Oh, no, not witnessed. I wasn’t in his room.”

“Is that right?”

“Yes. I was up and getting ready and I heard a thunk. Maybe he didn’t fall.” Now she realized she was making him sound like a klutz. And more than likely, the man who ran a ranch didn’t want to be seen as a buffoon.

“Ah, alright.”

“Still, he’s been grouchy since I knocked on his door. Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed so to speak.”

Good lord, she was getting worse. She decided not to say anything else and applied herself to the bacon.

“Boy just needs a trip to Oahu. Then, he’ll fix himself right up.”

She said nothing to that. Jerry probably had no idea she knew exactly what he was talking about. Eli needed to blow off some steam and the best way to do that was sex. Sex meant Rough ‘n Ready.

And why did that make her sad?

The bacon had started to sizzle and because she knew Jerry liked his eggs scrambled, Crysta pulled out a bowl and started to work on them.

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