Page 28 of Dairy and Deadly

“It’s none of my business, of course.” Caro gave him an arched look. “But she’d be a fool to end things with him for good, considering what she’s got festering back in Dallas. He’s an attorney, you know.”

No, Johnny hadn’t known that. “An attorney, huh?” He whistled.

Unholy glee glittered in her gaze. “If I had a lawsuit brewing, I might be on the hunt for a lawyer boyfriend, too.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him, clearly encouraging him to fly to her defense.

“You’re killing me,” he grumbled as he straightened. “Laying a bomb on me like that while I gotta calf I gotta get home to.”

“If you want to know what else I found out about your new farm hand,” Caro cooed, “call me.”

Smooth.He mentally gave her points for that one. “Thanks for dinner. This was great.” He had no intention of calling her, preferring to get his information directly from the horse’s mouth. His heart thumped harder at the realization that it would give him an excuse to pay Ashley a visit. This evening, if he wanted.

Caro stood and clung to his side as he made his way to the door.

Josh glanced up from a circle of friends and waved goodbye. Though he was laughing, there was a searching quality to his gaze. And concern.

Johnny nodded at him and kept moving. To his relief, Caro relinquished her hold on his arm at the door.

“Thanks for being my plus one, cowboy.”

Johnny held back a grimace. “Thanks again for the invite. Sorry about cutting out early.” He reached for the doorknob.

“We should get together for coffee soon,” she pressed.

“I’ll, uh, have to get back to you about that.” He pulled open the door, more than ready to escape. “See you, Caro.”

“Goodnight, cowboy,” she sang out.

He didn’t look back. He just kept walking. On his way to his truck, he texted what he’d learned from Caro to his employer. He ended it with a question.

What next?

Then he climbed behind the steering wheel and roared off toward home. Instead of parking in his garage, he drove down the gravel lane leading to the staff quarters and braked in front of Ashley’s cabin. He popped his horn a few times to alert her about his arrival.

Her front door opened as he was jogging up the porch steps.

“Johnny?” Her eyes widened with concern. “Is everything okay?”

She was wearing a pair of black running pants and an oversized blue-green sweatshirt that was sliding down one shoulder — her injured shoulder that he was suddenly dying to get a closer look at. Her feet were bare, and her auburn hair was twisted up in a messy bun. Though her baggy outfit was a far cry from the sophisticated dress Caro had worn to the dance, he found himself drinking her in like a man dying from thirst.

“That bad, huh?” Ashley pushed the door wider and waved him inside.

He gave himself a mental kick for staring and forced himself to answer her question. “I’m not sure. You tell me.”

She gave a huff of disbelief. “How about you give me a hint at whatever burr you have under your saddle, boss man, and we’ll take it from there?”

He swallowed a chuckle. “Quit calling me that!”

“Yes, sir!” She gave him a mocking salute.

“You’re awful,” he grumbled, stopping and standing still to absorb the peace and quiet of the cabin. This was so much better than listening to a hundred people talking at the same time beneath the blinding strobe of disco lights.

She shut the door with a bang. “Your awful employee politely inquires if you’d like something to drink. I have water and more water. Tap water, to be more precise, with an imaginary lemon wedge perched on the rim of your glass.”

She was a hoot. He suddenly longed to sample her mouthiness with a kiss, making his answer come out gruffer than he intended. “Water’s fine.” He caught sight of Can Opener lounging on one corner of the leather sofa. “I don’t recall being informed of sub-leasing your cabin to another tenant.”

“Because I didn’t. He’s a freeloader.” She snickered beneath her breath as she padded to the sink and filled a glass of water for him. Apparently, she hadn’t been kidding about serving tap water.

Fortunately, the farm was on a well, so there was no nasty county water on tap in his cabins.

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