Page 18 of Claimed By the Cowboys
“Well, duchess,” he sniffed, puffing his chest out. “When it suits your highness, I will take lunch in my office too.” Clay finished with a lift of his chin into the air before he turned to face me.
“Montana, I need to get a look at those supply catalogs before you put in the order for fall—and Buck Greenbriar has been up my ass about the Carolton Beef account for a week now. Canyou please call him and tell him whatever he needs to hear to shut the hell up?” he snipped at me, even though we both knew full well that Clayton Blackwood had no problem telling Buck Greenbriar where to shove it. No, Clay was just pissed that I was getting distracted by the pretty, sweet-smelling omega, because…well, I was.
Grudgingly, I bit my tongue and bobbed out two crisp nods before I managed a cool response. “I’ll bring the catalog after I’ve given Buck a ring.”
Piper’s eyes snapped to me accusingly, their perfect summer sky-blue pinning me to the spot as she snapped the fan closed.
“I’ll fetch your lunch right away, Mister Blackwood,” she chirped a little too sweetly, placing the fan crisply back on the shelf before turning on her heel and striding out of my office without giving either of us a second glance.
Chapter 10
Clay
Even I had to admit, the city girl was doing a good job.
She had the weirdest ideas at times that made me think she needed professional help, but at least she was putting her head down and getting on with her work.
I wanted to dislike her—no, I did dislike her. Just because every now and again she did something slightly endearing, did not mean I suddenly found myself fond of her. Yes, she was doing her job well and without complaint, but that didn't change the fact that she didn't fit in on a ranch.
My pack mates were smitten. It was almost embarrassing for them.
Maisie. Our sweet little girl loved having Piper around. It had taken her a day or two to warm up to Piper, but now that she’d gotten to know her, Maisie was obsessed. I love my daughter more than anything else in the world, and I wasn't going to be too big an ass now that she finally had a female influence in her life.
I just wished that female influence was a bit more country and a little less city.
It had been scorchingly hot the last few days, so we got most of our work done before the sun got too high in the sky. If we left it until the middle of the day, we would all be dying of heat-stroke.
Having my employees pass out on me would make me a pretty bad boss.
Kicking off my boots, I followed the sound of giggling voices to the kitchen, where Maisie was sitting on the counter and Piper prepared food. It was neither lunch nor dinnertime, but I had quickly realized that the pair of them liked to cook at all times. Sometimes they were preparing things early for dinner, and sometimes they were making cookies.
And fuck, were those cookies good.
Grudgingly, I’d had to admit that they were delicious when Piper asked me. It didn't help that my daughter was staring up at me with those wide blue eyes, full of hope that she had done a good job. I knew full well that Maisie did minimal to help, and it was actually Piper who had made the cookies.
Even though I wouldn't admit it, I was excited to see what they were making. Piper was a decent cook. Since she’d moved to the ranch, we’d stopped relying on takeout from Evelyn's several times a week.
Sauntering over, I smiled at my daughter. “Hey, baby, are you having a good day?”
Her face lit up as she noticed me. “Daddy!” she squealed. “We making salads.”
Salads.
Rabbit food.
I really hoped she wasn't planning on feeding us that shit, because we were fully grown alphas who did hard manual labor. We could not survive off of rabbit food.
Piper chuckled. I’d been so busy looking at my daughter, I hadn't noticed that she was looking my way. “Don't worry,your salad will include steak. You guys could use a few more nutrients, and having a steak salad with a side of fries won’t hurt you.”
I grumbled quietly to myself. That sounded almost edible.
Only… she was cutting up fruit, not steak.
“What is this?” I asked, leaning over and looking in the bowl with a sneer of disgust. It looked like watermelon, leaves, and some crumbled up white stuff. Its smell was sweet and salty and very foreign to me.
“Oh, it’s watermelon, feta cheese, and some mint! It’s a lovely summer salad, perfect for this kind of weather.”
I stared at her, trying to comprehend the words she’d just said as she returned to the kitchen counter, chopping up some other unknown food.
