Page 26 of Wrangling a Wild Texan

His eyes narrowed. “You already worked it out?”

“Now don’t be getting all grumpy. If Sophie has a sweet little bunny to keep her busy, she won’t have time to sneak out.” She cuddled the rabbit close, but Patsy wasn’t having it. She started kicking her one back leg and wiggling to be put down. No doubt because Sunny was holding her wrong. As much as he shouldn’t, Reid took the rabbit from her.

“Rabbits don’t like to be held too tightly. You need to support their front paws and hips, but let their back feet dangle free so they don’t have anything to instinctually push against.” He demonstrated and Patsy stopped fighting and settled into the crook of his arm.

Sunny laughed as she smoothed the rabbit’s ears. “I didn’t realize you were a rabbit wrangler as well as a cow wrangler.”

“The last ranch I worked at raised them.”

She beamed. “Then it’s a match made in heaven.”

“Just what I was going to say.” Melba came around her desk. “I’ll just get Patsy’s food, litter box, and crate.”

Reid opened his mouth to stop her, but then quickly snapped it shut. Maybe Sunny and Melba were right. Maybe a pet was just what Sophie needed to help ease her grieving . . . and her dislike of him.

He didn’t say a word as Melba scurried about collecting Patsy’s things. Until he remembered the real reason he’d come to the sheriff’s office. “Have you heard anything about a lostparrot, Melba? There seems to be one living in a tree by Cooper Springs . . . yelling out profanity.”

Sunny stopped petting Patsy and stared at him. “Wait a second. That was a parrot yellingbullshitthe other night?”

“It appears so.”

Melba laughed. “Sounds like a smart bird.”

“Not smart enough to find its way home.”

Melba set all of Patsy’s things in a chair before she headed back to her desk. “I’ll put the word out and see if I can’t locate its owners. Until then, you might want to set out a bowl of water and some cut-up fruit and vegetables. We don’t want the poor thing to starve to death.”

Great.

Now Reid had a rabbit and a bird to care for.

A few minutes later, Patsy was in her crate and Sunny was helping him carry everything out to his truck. He made sure the crate was secure in the backseat before he closed the door and turned to her.

“I don’t know if I should thank you or yell at you for sticking me with a pet I don’t have time for.”

“Now don’t be a spoilsport. You’re going to make Sophie one happy teenager.”

He sighed. “I don’t think one rabbit is going to fix all the damage I’ve done.”

“Everything is fixable if you’re willing to put in the time.”

Reid wasn’t so sure about that, but he appreciated Sunny’s positivity. And that wasn’t all he appreciated. “Thank you—not for the rabbit as much as what you did last night. You handled the situation much better than I would have.”

Sunny’s eyes widened. “Wait a second. Who are you? Gratitude and compliments? That’s not the Reid Mitchell I’ve come to know.”

He sent her an annoyed look. “You couldn’t just accept my gratitude without making me feel like a jerk?”

“Nope.”

He laughed. Her smile faded and she stared at him like he was a grinning chocolate chip pancake. “What?”

“I just haven’t ever seen you laugh before.” She reached out and pressed a finger to his lips. “I didn’t think these had it in them.”

All humor vanished as every cell in his body focused on the warm finger pressed to his mouth. He had tried damn hard not to think about how she had felt beneath him the other night—how all her soft curves had filled all his hard voids. But her touch had those repressed thoughts flooding his brain like a tidal wave. All he wanted to do was press her back against his truck and feel that perfect fit again.

She seemed to be of the same mind. It was easy to read the hot desire swirling in the depths of her pretty brown eyes. After a long, heated staring contest, her gaze lowered to his mouth and her tongue swept out and wet her lips.

It was a sultry invitation. One he really wanted to take her up on. His mouth watered at just the thought of tasting those lips that were once again painted a soft pink. Would they taste like strawberry or bubble gum? He wanted more than anything to find out. But he had enough common sense left in his fantasy-filled brain to realize that would be a bad idea.

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