Page 87 of Dairy and Deadly

Ashley looked surprised. “And crash his party?”

He snorted. “Hawk’s a loner. He doesn’t do parties.”

“Aw! You mean he’s alone on his birthday?” Her lovely heart-shaped features twisted in distress. “Nobody should be alone on their birthday.”

“He likes being alone.” Hawk tended to keep folks at arm’s length, even Johnny who worked alongside him at both Lonestar and the dairy farm. “On a night like tonight, I imagine he’s holed up in his workshop, elbows deep in one of his rawhide orders.”

“It’s not nighttime yet.” She glanced at her watch, pursing her lips in consideration. “If we don’t run into any delays, we should be back before it gets dark. Instead of a boring old phone call, we should drop by the rez with a cupcake or something.”

“A cupcake?” Johnny intercepted his father-in-law’s bemused look in the rearview mirror.

“Fine!” She snickered. “A man-sized cupcake.”

“He prefers cookies,” Johnny offered, realizing she had her heart set on doing something for the guy. He didn’t mind. Hawk was a little hard to get to know. Other than that, he was a great person.

She twisted his way eagerly. “What kind of cookies?”

“Regular old chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven.”

“Too easy!” Ashley pulled out her cell phone and dialed the woman she’d become as thick as thieves with since their brief captivity together.

He was tickled to pieces when she hit the speakerphone button. Conversations with Caro were always entertaining.

“How’s my favorite events manager?” Ashley sang out the words. She’d been bleeding sunshine since the day Emma had entered their lives. Bleeding sunshine had immediately shot to the top of Johnny’s list of favorite things.

“Starting out with a compliment is a dead giveaway that you want something.” Caro didn’t sound offended. She was just stating facts.

“Number one. I wasn’t trying to hide it. Number two. Can you blame me?” Ashley piled on the sweetness. “You’re a wealth of information. How else would I have known that hanging plaid curtains in our nursery would’ve been yesterday’s news?”

“By not being colorblind,” her friend supplied with a sniff of disdain. “Not that I have anything against plaid. I’m married to the King of Plaid. I only vetoed the curtains because they didn’t match your baby bedding.”

“If you say so.” Ashley sounded like she was trying not to laugh. “This isn’t about curtains, though. It’s about Hawk.”

“It’s his birthday, I know,” Caro gave an exaggerated sigh, “but the meanie I’m married to won’t let me do anything about it.”

There was a scuffling sound, followed by a loud smooching sound. Caro snickered and returned to the conversation. “He claims Hawk doesn’t want to be bothered.”

“Did you hear that?” Johnny gestured toward Ashley’s cell phone, knowing Clint must be listening in. “A wife who listens to her husband.”

“I listen to you.” Ashley pretended to be offended, pressing a hand over her heart in mock offense. “That’s how I found out Hawk likes chocolate chip cookies straight from the oven.”

“Except you’re on the road, and I’m not. Hence the favor.” Caro sounded all too delighted to be sucked into a mission that would almost certainly result in another bickering match with Clint.

“We’re about two hours away.” Ashley made a pouty face at her phone.

“That’s more than enough time for me to make a mess in the kitchen.” There was more scuffling in the background. Caro sounded a little breathless as she added, “Clint just offered to help.”

“Did not,” he grumbled from somewhere nearby.

“Hawk is one of the guys who helped save my life,” she protested in a laughing voice.

“The other day you claimed it was all Can Opener’s doing.” Clint’s voice rose in challenge, “though I’m not convinced you needed anyone’s help.”

“Do me a favor and hang up on them,” Johnny groaned. “Preferably before they start kissing again.”

Ashley disconnected the phone with a snicker. “You’re just jealous,” she hissed.

“Yep.” He reached for her hand again, twining their fingers together and bringing them to his mouth. He loved the life they were building together. On days like today, it felt like he was walking from miracle to miracle.

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