Page 4 of Stranded with a Very-Kissable Cowboy

Dalton takes his hat off and runs his hands through his thick hair. “Yeah, he is… or he will be. We’re fine.”

I cross my arms over my chest to stop myself from reaching for him. There’s something about him that makes me want to reach for him and hold on to him. I have so many questions, one being where Evan and Ethan’s mom is, but I don’t feel right asking. Not right now, anyway. “I’m happy to hang out with your boys until you get back.”

He blows out a breath. “Okay. Thank you. I won’t be gone long, and then we’ll get you into town.”

I watch as he descends the steps, and I want to go after him, but Evan starts calling my name, and I walk inside instead. I’m one of those people that believe things happen for a reason, and I’mstarting to believe that I’m here for something. I’m just not sure what that is.

CHAPTER 4

DALTON

As I walk outto the barn, I’m telling myself not to look back. There’s an ache in my chest after seeing the way Evan and Ethan were with Gianna. It’s like she fits in with us perfectly, and even though I was already wondering about my reaction to her, after seeing her with my kids, it’s even worse. You would think they’ve known her forever or something, and they’re not usually like that with anyone. Especially not with people they just met.

It seems my boys are drawn to her just like I am but for very different reasons. Too bad I can’t do anything about it. I am not in the market for a fling, and I don’t have much more to offer than that. The boys and the ranch take up all my time.

I try to look unaffected by it all when I see Miller, my new foreman, standing outside the barn. He points up to the house. “Who’s the woman?”

I walk past him, ignoring his question. “How’s King doing?”

Miller huffs but follows behind me. “The bull is going to be fine. Dr. Richards gave him a shot and gave me more pills to give him, and his fever has already started to go down.”

I open my mouth, but Miller continues, “I’ve already randomly checked the others. They’re all fine. We just need to keep King quarantined for a few days. He’s going to be hard to contain, but we can do it.”

I let out a sigh of relief. I paid eight thousand dollars for King, but he’s proven his worth. “Okay, good.”

Miller slaps me on the shoulder. “You need to chill out, boss. It all works out.”

I run my hands down the back of the sick bull and then stand up. “All right, well, I better get back up to the house. Call me if you need anything.”

I start to leave, and Miller follows behind me. “Are you going to tell me about the woman?”

Fuck, I know if I don’t, he’ll just follow me up to the house and ask Gianna herself. “Her car broke down between here and Elliott’s Ranch.”

“Want me to look at it?”

I grunt. “It’s the fuel pump.”

Miller doesn’t seem to notice that I don’t want to talk about this. “Fuel pump? Well, if we can get one, I can put it in for her.”

I think about the long list of everything I need to be doing. I have the boys home this week, and I should be spending time with them. I could totally turn this over to Miller and let him handle it, and he would even make sure Hank doesn’t overcharge her for the fix. But I can’t do it. I don’t want to. I know it’s ridiculous, but I don’t want to have Miller take care of this or help Gianna. I want to be the one to do it. “I got it. I’ll take care of it.”

He keeps following me. “So who is she? What’s her story?”

I put my hand to my temples and rub. I have to remind myself that if I hold the information back, he’s just going to be more determined to figure it out on his own. “She’s traveling for work. Her name is Gianna. She’s some kind of book influencer or something.”

“Influencer? Like for real?”

I’m so far out of the loop that I don’t even understand exactly what that means, but I’m not going to ask Miller. He’s already curious enough, and I don’t need him anywhere near her. “Hey, while I’m out here, what do you think about us looking at the tractor?”

Miller turns toward the big bay doors. “Yeah, it’s making a new sound. I think you were right last week when you said that it was on its last leg.”

“Fuck!” I exclaim. It will costs me at least twenty-five thousand to fix the one I have, and if I have to buy a new one, it will be probably fifty thousand or more. Shit is happening left and right, and if I don’t stay on top of things, it’s all going to crumble around my feet.

“Okay, start getting me some quotes. Let’s get proactive with it. Let’s make a plan of what we’re going to do if the tractor stops.”

Miller is nodding his head. “Got it.”

I start to leave, and he stops me. “By the way, there were a few fuses that blew in the bunkhouse. I had to do a rewire but—”

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