Page 8 of Cowboy's Sinful Bargain

Mitsuaki's brow flickered. "No more stuff."

My eyebrows shot up. "This is all you own?"

"Yes."

Two suitcases and a box?

I didn't know what to think of that so I pushed it to the back of my mind to think about later and pulled open the front door. "Have you ever been on a ranch before, Mitsuaki?"

"Miko, please. Not Mitsuaki." There was a slight accent to his tone, but the words he spoke were clear as day.

"Okay, Miko it is." I smiled. "So, have you ever been on a ranch before, Miko?"

"No." Miko frowned again, deeper. "I have read about ranches, though. My grandfather gave me a book to read when I was ten years old."

"Not sure what books you've read, but I doubt they can give you a good idea of how an actual working ranch is run."

"Of course."

I had no idea what that meant.

"Cross Creek Ranch comprises over five hundred thousand acres. We have over five thousand head of cattle and a hundred horses at any given time. Most of the ranch hands live in the bunkhouse. We'll be living in the big house."

Miko nodded as if he understood all of that, but I doubted that he did.

His eyes were too wide.

I had no idea what to show him first so I kind of guessed. "Would you like to meet my horse?"

Miko's eyes widened even more as he glanced up at me. "You have a horse?" he asked in a tone tinged with wonder. "A real horse?"

Right then and there, I decided I'd make sure Miko had his very own horse. I would have to choose a gentle horse, something that didn't spook easily.

"His name is Bucky."

"Bucky?"

I chuckled at the small wrinkle of confusion on his face. "I raised him up from a foal. He was always running around, kicking up his hooves and bucking." Hell, he still did that and he was five years old. I was just lucky Bucky didn't do that while I was riding him.

I made a quick scan of the pasture next to the barn as I led Miko in that direction. There weren't any cattle in it right now, but there would be later. "Cows are all out in the pasture right now, but maybe we can take a ride out to see some of them tomorrow."

Miko nodded, but he was straining to get a look inside the barn.

I smiled and picked up the pace. I could easily see where his interest lay.

"There are only a few horses in here right now," I explained. "Most of the ranch hands are driving the herd up to the high meadow for the summer. A few of them will stay up there in a shack and keep watch over the herd, but the rest of them should be back in a few days. You can meet them then."

I led Miko down the wide corridor to Bucky's stall. I opened the gate and then stepped inside, reaching my hand out to pet Bucky's neck. "This here is Bucky," I said. "Bucky, this is Miko."

I smiled at Miko's gasp. "Would you like to pet him?"

"Can I?" Miko whispered.

I nodded, but made sure I had a firm grip on Bucky's halter. Bucky often lived up to his name when others were around. He was very particular about who touched him or rode him. "Go slow so you don't spook him."

Miko reached out tentatively, but the second his hand touched fur, a wide grin spread across his lips. "He's so soft. I expected his coat to be course, but it's soft."

"I have to brush him down every day after riding him," I explained, "make sure he doesn't have any burs in his fur."

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