Page 200 of Giddy Up, Daddy

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” I lied as I quickly got dressed. “I’ll just be right out. Oh, I ordered us breakfast. It should be here any minute.”

Food would throw off his concern. Cade was the definition of “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”.

“And you’re sure you’re okay?” he asked, making me roll my eyes.

“Cade, I’m fine!” I huffed out a little more rudely than I should have.

“Alright then, I’ll leave you be.”

Something in his voice tugged at my heart, and I rushed to the door to open it, only to see that he was still standing right there. If he’d been any closer to the door I would have run straight into him.

“Oh. Hi.” I looked up at him sheepishly. He was still shirtless. And I swore he was giving off pheromones like crazy. Or maybe it was the soap he used. Apparently a shirtless Cade made my brain turn to mush, because I could not figure it out. “I-um, I’m sorry for snapping. But I’m fine, see?”

He took a long, slow look at me from head to toe before he returned his gaze to mine.

“Yeah, baby, I see. Thank you.”

My mouth went dry. Cade was liberal with his terms of endearment, but he’d never called me baby before. And the way he looked at me? What the fuck was that?

We stood staring at one another for a few seconds. It seemed we were both searching for something, but what?

A knock on the door broke us out of our trance.

I swallowed, trying to make it possible to talk. “Th-that’s probably our breakfast.”

“Probably.”

He took a step to the side and I hurried to the door, flinging it open like whoever was on the other side was going to save me from whatever this awkward moment was.

Chapter Four

Cade

What had just happened? Ripley’s response to me seeing her putting on her little show was so strong it felt like a punch to the gut. I mean, sure, I had never really seen her act like that before, she wasn’t the super silly type, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. We had lived together for most of our adult lives, and half that time was on a tour bus. There weren’t many things we could hide from each other, yet she acted like I’d just seen her doing something obscene or illegal. It was wild.

Truthfully, seeing her dancing around and singing like no one was watching did something to me. There was a peace on her face, and her body was completely relaxed. The only other time I’d ever seen her that way was after she’d been put through a particularly hard scene. I wanted her to feel like that more often. But I didn’t really know how to help, and unfortunately, she grabbed and inhaled her breakfast and was out the door before I could figure out how to start the conversation. And with the size of the Ranch, the brat seemed to figure out how to avoid me all day.

I found myself growing more and more agitated as the day wore on. Part of it was the crazy combination of emotion andneed that had surged through me seeing her in that robe, seeing her so free. That had kicked off memories of the times I’d played with her at the clubs with Randy. Her perfect little body. The way she responded to us. To me.

Fuck. Do not think about that now.

No, right now I really didn’t like not being able to find her. I didn’t like not knowing what she was doing or who she was with. Not being there to keep her safe. She didn’t even know anyone here. What could be keeping her so busy and hidden?

Not knowing what else to do and needing to shake off that edge of desire for the one woman completely forbidden to me, I headed out to the barn to work out my horse. He got squirrely if he didn’t get enough attention and exercise.

Like horse, like owner?

Only, when I went out to get him, he was out in the pasture happily chomping on some hay next to an adorable brown-and-white Appaloosa, his sleek coat shining blue-black in the sun.

A man came out of the barn and joined me at the fence.

“What is it about this ranch that has everyone so relaxed and happy?” I asked aloud, not expecting any sort of real answer.

“Some call it Rawhide magic, and I have to say, with the things I’ve seen during my time here, I’m inclined to believe it. You must be Cade Wyatt. I’m Travis. My wife Wren and I take care of the Ranch horses.”

He put his hand out to me to shake it, and I reciprocated.

---