Page 32 of Dairy and Deadly

“It’s cold outside,” Martin grumbled, taking a step back.

“That’s alright.” She lifted her chin. “You won’t be staying long.”

The tension hanging in the air was so thick that Johnny was reluctant to leave her alone with him. “I’ll be in my truck.” He lightly touched her shoulder before stepping around Martin. He didn’t bother engaging in small talk or saying goodbye. He’d taken no pleasure in meeting him, and the two of them would never be friends.

He could feel the guy glaring at his shoulder blades as he jogged down the porch steps. He could still feel his glare after he climbed into his truck. He sat there, waiting and watching their heated discussion from the corner of his eye.

A dark Bentley Continental was pulled nose-to-nose with his work truck. Could Martin Loser Hobbs have driven anything more ostentatious? The car had probably set him back a quarter of a million bucks or more. It was easily worth hundreds of dairy cows.

Moments later, the irate attorney slammed into his car and roared off, spraying the front of Johnny’s truck with gravel. Though his work truck had plenty of rust and scratches, Martin’s behavior was uncalled for.

Ashley hurried down the porch steps, motioning for him to roll down his window.

He complied, and she immediately started apologizing. He held up a hand to stop her. “One question. Are you okay?”

She paused in mid-sentence, her lovely lips rounding in an O of surprise. “I’m getting there.” She sounded flustered.

He hoped his presence had something to do with that. “Put my number on speed dial, you hear? If you need anything, I’m only a hop, skip, and a jump down the road.”

“Aye, aye, cap’n!” She snapped out a sharp salute.

He glowered playfully at her. “I mean it.”

“I know.” Her voice was soft. She lowered her hand to her side and shivered.

“Good.” He angled his head at the cabin. “Now go thaw out and get some rest. We gotta dairy farm to run in the morning.”

The fact that she was smiling when he drove off brought a smile to his own lips. He was still smiling when he made it back to the house. And when he fell into bed. Being Ashley’s un-Valentine had turned out to be so much more fun than being Caro’s plus one.

He liked having her around. He liked it a lot. If Martin thought he could just march in here uninvited and make waves for her, he was in for a rude awakening.

Johnny’s Dairy was going to be Ashley’s safe place, even if Johnny had to install a security gate to keep rodents like Martin out. He’d call a fence company first thing in the morning.

Chapter 7: Needing a Win

At eleven o’clock on the dot, Can Opener stood up in the middle of Ashley’s bed and stretched. He made a raspy sound in the back of his throat and placed one fat paw in the middle of her belly.

She was already awake. “You’re such a night owl.” She shook his paw like it was a hand.

He purred and gave a playful yowl. Then he leaned down and butted her cheek with his head.

“Okay, okay! I’m getting up.” She sat up in bed, pushing the navy blue comforter aside.

It was becoming her and Can Opener’s little ritual to start off each night with a snuggle fest, but he never failed to take off in the middle of the night. The first time it had happened, she’d assumed he needed a pit stop. However, Clint had informed her the next day that Can Opener liked to prowl the farm like a guard dog at night and sleep most of the day. One of the coolest things about his schedule was that he spent so much time outside he didn’t require a litter box.

She opened the back door for him, and he shot outside, loping like a panther across the field behind the cabin. She watched until he was swallowed up by the darkness. Then she shut the door and bolted it behind her.

She yawned as she returned to the cozy bedroom, silently thanking the Lord all over again that the last tenant had left the place furnished. The stuff he’d left behind was no-frills and manly, but everything was clean and in good repair. She’d washed all the bed linens, just in case, but even that probably hadn’t been necessary.

She liked it here —more than she ever dreamed possible for a transplant like herself. She’d expected to miss the amenities of the city more. There was no symphony here and no ballet to purchase tickets to watch, but it was easier to breathe out in the country. It wasn’t any easier out here for her to sleep, though.

She was half tempted to stuff her feet into a pair of sneakers and go for a late-night run, but she had a personal rule against going anywhere alone after dark. She hadn’t been safe doing it while serving as a police detective, not even while traveling with an armed partner.

She yawned again and forced herself to climb back into the rustic sleigh bed to lie on her side. But no matter how many sheep she counted, sleep continued to evade her. Too many emotions were tangled inside her head tonight.

Her cell phone rang on the nightstand, making her jolt. She must have forgotten to turn off the ringer. With a groan of self-recrimination, she blindly reached for it. Squinting at the caller ID, her insides grew cold.

It was Martin. Again. What did he want this time?

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