Page 17 of Beauden & Yelena

“Bet. I’m still coming over. I’ll be there before seven.”

“Ay. Not tonight. I need to reschedule.”

“You straight?

“Yes. I just have a guest at the ranch.”

“Guest? Wait! Is it the one Melvina called about?” I ask, remembering a conversation I had with his aunt.

“That’s her. Since you were booked, I let her crash here. You know how booked it gets around Christmas.”

“I know. Well, take care of your guest. We can link after Christmas.”

ChapterSeven

“Our transportation will be here in thirty to take us to the cows. Dress warm. I spoke with Liberty this morning and she says that the barn is airy and cold,” Steve says.

“Well, let me go get ready. I’ll meet you guys out front,” I say then leave.

They all came dressed for breakfast but I’m still sporting my onesie. I bought a different Christmas themed one for every day of the retreat. Since I showered before breakfast, I only need to change and bundle up. There’s more snow on the ground today than it was yesterday.

By the time I make it out of the lodge, the same Sprinter that picked us up from the airport is waiting in the driveway. It’s running and everyone is inside, waiting on me. As I step to it, Rufus emerges from the back and rushes to the passenger side.

“Morning, ma’am,” he greets as he opens the front door.

Because of the cold, I step inside of the vehicle quickly before replying, “Thanks and good morning to you, Rufus.”

The ride to the barn takes about ten minutes. Rufus doesn’t drive fast at all. We meander through the ranch on a snow-covered road, passing the semi-frozen lake and the barns.

“Here’s our stop,” Rufus announces when he parks in front of the third barn.

We all exit and stand out front. The large double doors to the barn open inward and a young man steps into the doorway. “This way,” he says, then motions for us to follow him. “This is our milking barn. We separate these cattle from the others to ensure a calm environment for the process. Here we go.”

Calm? Does he not hear these gigantic cows? They are mooing loud as hell.

While everyone seems excited, I’m anxious as hell. These cows are massive and mooing loudly. During my ride with Beauden, they were far off and didn’t appear this big. Plus, they do not appear calm to me either, which has me on edge.

The cows outside of this room are all enclosed by some sort of gate and they are hooked to machines. The ones in here are not. They are standing freely. The only thing securing them is a small rope around their heads tied to a pole. There are stools and buckets to the side of each of them and this whole scene looks unsafe.

“You can choose your own cow. Just have a seat,” he instructs.

I’ll stand.

They rush to the cows but my feet will not move. I’m frozen in place by the entrance. My mind is in no hurry to get next to these massive creatures. All types of dreadful scenarios fill my head and in all of them, I die.

“Yelena, come in,” Monalisa says, sounding annoyed, but I dismiss her ass.

A warm hand lands on the small of my back and a feeling of calm floods my body. Then that heavenly, manly, spicy, woodsy, and fresh scent invades my senses. It’s him.Beauden.

With his comforting hand still on my back, he leans in and says, “Don’t be scared. I got you.”

This man senses my fear but how? Our chemistry and attraction are off the charts but can he feel me? I damn sure feel him.This man.

He gently urges me forward and we walk over to the brown and white cow with no milker. I ease onto the stool and the cow appears to be looming over me. I inhale and exhale, trying to remain in the peaceful state his presence puts me in.

“Good morning and welcome to The Phoxes Den. I’m Beauden Phox. Today, we are going to hand milk the cows. And in case any of you are concerned, the process doesn’t hurt them; they actually like it,” he explains. He kneels next to me and continues, “These are the udders. You are going to milk the cow from the left side.”

He reaches for my hand and when ours connect, I exhale, a little too sensually in front of my coworkers. Thankfully, they are so enthralled by the cows that they miss it. They are not paying my ass any attention. All of their attention is on this activity and mine is on him. The young cowboy that walked us inside assists them.

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