Page 3 of Dairy and Deadly

He grunted. “Nope. She’s almost as new in town as you are.”

“I see.” His injured visitor was still grinning when she glanced up at him again. “Chester Farm seemed like a fun place, even for an uninvited guest like myself.”

“If you’re twelve. Or getting married.” He wasn’t sure why they were still talking about the rustic event center his friends had chosen for their double wedding venue. “They host a big Easter egg hunt every year, plus a big fall festival and an even bigger Christmas lights display. In addition to all of that, they rent out the grounds for weddings, family reunions, anniversary parties, that sort of thing.”

“And Caro Madison has been hired to oversee it all?” Though Ashley had adopted an offhand voice, he sensed there was more to the question than simply making small talk.

“She’s their events manager, yes.” He was ready to talk about something else. Literally anything else. “What about you, Ashley Perkins? What’s next for you after your little vacay in our humble lake community?”

Her smile faded. “I’m still trying to figure that out.”

Though he sensed she was being a little more honest this time, he wasn’t about to let her off the hook that easily. “What’s your favorite thing about Heart Lake so far?” He needed to keep her talking to figure out what it was about her that intrigued him so much.

Her expression grew teasing. “If I’d known you were calling me back here for an interrogation, I would’ve left your jacket at the front desk.”

“Ouch!” He waggled his eyebrows playfully at her. “You’re tough on a guy’s ego.”

“If you say so.” A merry chuckle rolled out of her —a warm, inviting sound that made him want to join in. “Something tells me your ego is tall enough and wide enough to absorb a few dents.” She spread her hands to emphasize the dimensions she was postulating.

“Double ouch!” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d enjoyed bantering with someone this much. “So, ah…” His brain scrambled for a reason to ask for her phone number, something that hopefully wouldn’t come across as creepy and scare her off. “If you get bored with our small town, I could jazz things up with a tour of my dairy farm.”

She pursed her lips in consideration. “As nice as your offer sounds, what I know about the dairy industry wouldn’t fit inside a milkshake.”

“Cute.” He winked at her and had the satisfaction of seeing her redden a little. “That’s the whole point of a tour, darling. Tomoo-ve your knowledge of the dairy business to the next level.” He emphasized the wordmovewith his best imitation of a cow mooing.

Her eyes sparkled as she caught on to what he was doing. “Boy, you’re reallymilkingthis!”

He nearly spewed the sip of coffee he’d just finished taking as he let out a loud guffaw. He hastily set his coffee cup on the edge of his desk. “Just trying tochurnup some fun for Heart Lake’s newest visitor.”

“Cheesy,” she shot back without missing a beat, “but I’ll give you points for effort.”

“I’ll take the points.” He winked at her again, completely entranced by her quick mind and razor-sharp wit. Not everyone in the world understood what a pun was, much less were they able to fire them back at him so quickly. “You won’t be disappointed, because I’m anudder-ly fantastic tour guide.” After growing up on the rodeo circuit, nobody knew more livestock puns than he did. Nobody. At least not until Ashley Perkins had blasted into his office this morning.

“You’dbutterbe after all of this lead up to my grand tour of the place.” Smiling widely, she wagged a warning finger at him.

He almost blurted,it’s a date, which would’ve made him sound like a desperate cowpoke who didn’t see much action in the romance department. Nothing could’ve been further from the truth. His dating dry spell was entirely his choice.

He leaned over his desk to whisk a business card from the black metal holder resting beside his keyboard. Snatching up a pen, he turned over the card and jotted his personal cell number on the back.

As he held the card out to her, a light knock sounded on the open door. Instead of accepting the card he was holding out, Ashley’s head swung toward the sound.

He lowered his arm in dismay to discover Caro Madison’s high-wattage smile beaming at him from the doorway. She’d traded in her usual Christmas red lipstick this morning for an equally blinding shade of orange. Since the last time he’d seen her, she’d also covered the roots of her brunette hair with a fresh coat of white-blonde dye. He fought the urge to shield his eyes from her brightness as he stood and beckoned her into his office.

“Howdy, Caro! To what do I owe the pleasure?” He chose his words carefully, wanting to make it clear to Ashley he’d been unaware Caro was going to show up unannounced like this.

“Cinnamon rolls. Fresh from Farmer Monty’s kitchen.” Caro, in her elegant black pants suit and herringbone black-and-white coat, was the antithesis of Ashley in her comfy turtleneck sweater and jeans. Despite the chilly February temperature and chance for snow later today, she click-clacked his way on impractical black stiletto pumps to drop the still-warm pastry bag into his hands.

“Wow! Thanks!” Though he was less than thrilled over who was delivering them, there were few things in the world that could rival Monty Chester’s made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls. The old farmer even mixed his own glaze to drizzle over them.

“You’re welcome, cowboy,” she trilled, dropping into the chair he’d vacated. “They’re not the only reason for my visit.”

Yay me…The seat she was settling in had to still be warm from his body heat, a detail he tried to not let bother him. It was impossible, however, not to be bothered by the fact that Ashley was standing and showing every sign of leaving him alone with her.

“Thanks for the coffee.” Ashley raised her to-go cup at Caro. “Nice to see you again.”

“We keep running into each other, don’t we?” Caro’s tone was edged with frost.

“Eh, it’s a small town.” Ashley tossed her ponytail carelessly over her shoulder as she edged closer to the door.

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