Page 23 of No Bones About It

Grover seemed less antsy when they spoke, so they kept their voices normal as they went about bringing their bags and settling themselves onto the impromptu bed.

His body had all kinds of ideas about what they should do on that bed, but he wasn’t about to seduce Kimi in a barn with an open door. He wanted to take his time to explore her, and that wouldn’t happen here tonight.

Instead, he set out his cooler bag and pulled out water bottles, a container of cheese, and another of grapes. From the other bag, he grabbed crackers. “I’m going to have to head into town tomorrow and grab some food. I’m on the last bits of what I brought from Tennessee.”

Kimi smiled and opened her backpack. She brought out a container of homemade cookies and another, holding two cupcakes covered with sprinkles. “When I dropped off the puppy at the birthday party today, Rachel gave me these. I need to make a run to Phail Phoods soon too. One of these days, I’ll make a food run when I’m not looking at completely bare cupboards.”

He wanted to ask her if her middle-of-the-night missions were part of the reason, but he didn’t think she was ready to answer that yet. After her earlier reaction, he didn’t believe it was a regular vet call. He also didn’t think Kimi liked to lie. He wanted to gain her trust so that she would tell him.

Instead, he told her more about the ranch where he’d worked in Tennessee and about the horses he’d worked with. She told him stories about some of her calls, including a time she’d had to untangle a bull moose from a barbed wire fence.

“He was pissed off and in more than a bit of a panic. Moose figure they can solve most problems by charging them at full speed. He didn’t like being trapped. Took a couple of hours to get him free.”

“No injuries on your end?”

She shrugged. “A couple of bruises and plenty of scratches from the wire, but nothing worse that I get on a lot of my calls.”

“How did he react when you got him free?”

“Didn’t even look at me. Just strode off into the bush with a cocky stride as if he’d never been stuck at all. Ungrateful beast.”

But she was laughing. She laughed often and easily, and Garrett found himself using facial muscles that hadn’t got much of a workout in years.

The horses didn’t need much looking after. They settled well into their new stalls. If things got too quiet, they became more nervous. “I think I’ll get a radio set up in here. They seem to be happier when we’re talking.”

Kimi agreed. “All signs point to them having a lot of happy years before whatever traumatized them. If they have no good memories associated with humans, it’s much more difficult to acclimate them.”

Which meant he could probably set up a radio now, and they could head to their respective beds for the remainder of the night.

But neither of them suggested it.

Kimi woke up with her head on Garrett’s chest and his strong arms holding her close. They’d shared more than a few incredible kisses before falling asleep, but they hadn’t removed any clothing to take things to the next step.

Soon.

Kimi didn’t trust men easily. She’d never known her father. Her mom had disappeared when she was young, one of the countless missing and murdered indigenous women in the world. Kimi didn’t believe her mom had willingly left her. They’d had a good relationship, and her mom had been a good person. But Odina had finished her server shift one evening and had never been found. Kimi had moved in with her grandmother after that.

GG had been wonderful and had taught Kimi many of the mysteries of the natural world and how to care for animals in need. But she hadn’t been big on trust either.

Over the last few years, Kimi had seen so many of her friends fall in love with good men. Men who were protectors, not only of the ones they loved but of strangers and the world around them.

Garrett was one of those men, and Kimi’s heart was leaning hard in his direction. They hadn’t known each other long; they hadn’t done more than kiss, but she was falling.

With her head on his heart, she heard the moment he woke. The deeper intake of breath, the contented hum, the tightening of his arms around her.

She snuggled in. “Morning.”

“Morning.”

His rumbly voice had her smiling as her body reacted to it. To him.

His hands moved gently over her body. “This is a hell of a good way to wake up.”

The sun wasn’t up yet, so she stayed right where she was and traced her hand over the muscles beneath his t-shirt. “It is.”

Garrett kissed her hair but made no move to untangle them. “The horses did well.”

She laughed and lifted her head to grin at him. “After the first couple of hours, they probably didn’t need us at all, but I’m glad we kept them company.”

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