Page 73 of On the Wild Side

“You’re here!” Our heads come up at Jake’s exclamation, and then we grin when we see him run over to Katie, who’s walking his way, a huge grin on her beautiful face. He wraps his arms around her and swings her around before planting a kiss on her.

“He’ssosmitten with her,” Erin says as I chuckle. “It’s adorable.”

“I hope Ryan hadthe talkwith him,” I reply, watching as Jake gets Katie set up with the makings for s’mores by the fire. She’s so beautiful in a simple pair of wide-leg jeans and a black V-neck T-shirt. Her long red hair is down around her shoulders, and Jake brushes it back so he can whisper in her ear, making her grin.

“I hope so, too,” Erin says with a laugh.

“I got everything closed up for the night,” Katie says to Polly, who’s sitting in a lounge chair nearby. Katie works for Polly at Polly’s dress shop, Pocket Full of Polly. “There weren’t any issues.”

“Thank you, Katie. Now, relax and have some fun.”

“Thisisfun,” Katie says, smiling at Jake. “Did I miss the sad parts? With the calves?”

“Yeah, we did all that earlier.”

“Good.” Katie shivers. “I don’t like that part.”

Erin and I grin at each other.

“Are you two telling secrets over here?” I look up and see that Brady and Remington are standing behind us. Jesus, even upside down they’re both movie-star gorgeous.

“All the secrets,” I confirm with a grin, and Brady leans down to kiss me.

“You taste like chocolate and marshmallows,” he says with a devastating grin. “Delicious.”

“I’m stealing my girl,” Rem says, taking Erin by the hand and pulling her to her feet. “Come on, Doc. Let’s roast some marshmallows.”

“Yes, sir, Grumpy.” Erin winks at me, and then they’re gone, and Brady joins me by the fire.

“What did you think of today?” he asks me, linking his fingers with mine.

“It was…a lot of things. Fun, interesting, a little disturbing sometimes when those poor babies cried.” I glare at him, making him smirk.

“Aww.” He kisses my temple. “Babe, you’re a softie.”

“I mean, you did a lot to them today, and they’re just babies.”

“They’ll be okay, and everything we did was to keep them healthy. No one wants a sick ranch, Blue Eyes.”

“No, I suppose not. I liked watching everyone work together. You can tell that you all have a routine down. A system. Like you’ve been working together for a long time.”

“We have,” he confirms. “We’ve done things this way since long before I was born.”

“I do have a question, though.”

“Shoot.” He wiggles some marshmallows onto a stick and rests them in the fire. “Are you wondering about my stellar roping skills?”

“I mean, thatwasimpressive.” And it really was. The man has a way with a rope. “Also, sidebar, how are you with ropes in…other areas?”

His gaze whips to mine, his eyes narrow, and his voice is low as he leans in to whisper in my ear. “You want me to tie you up, babe?”

“Just asking a question. Your marshmallows are on fire.”

“That’s not all that’s on fire,” he mutters as he blows them out. “Ask your question before I haul you back to my cabin and fuck you, Abs.” His voice is still low, and he’s staring into the fire, but I can feel the lust coming off him in waves.

I swallow hard, my attention averted to way better things.

“Abbi.”

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