Page 22 of Warrant
“We should help-”
“Guests don’t help,” he said with a wink as he walked me outside.
The sun was going down over the mountains, staining the sky in reds and golds. Thanks to his family, I was feeling relaxed and completely comfortable. And now I was about to go on a walk around this ranch with the one man I really should be avoiding.
It was a bad idea. I went anyway.
CHAPTER 9
Warrant
Fuck, she was gorgeous. She was in a pair of skin tight jeans that were making my own a little too tight for comfort across the front. And a t-shirt that made her eyes this soft misty gray color. Her black hair was loose, hanging down her back and it had been distracting me during dinner, imagining it wrapped around my fist.
Not the best imagery when your mother was sitting across the table from you. Even I had boundaries.
“This place is so incredible,” Ainsley said, shaking her head. “We have a couple smaller farms back home, but nothing like this.”
I grinned and looked out over the fields that I grew up roaming. “Yeah, it’s pretty incredible. You should come back out to my place,” I added. “I can show you what I’ve got.”
She gave me the side eye then laughed. “Is that a euphemism?”
“I was talking about my operation,” I said, tone going for offended, but the teasing slipped in. “But I can show you that, too.” I turned toward her, my hands going to her hips. “I wouldn’t turn down a lady’s request.”
She shoved at my hands and put her own on her hips. “I don’t doubt you would.” She arched a brow but her lips were curving upward.
That made me think about what I’d said. “I meant you,” I clarified.
“Uh huh,” she teased. “Or any other ‘lady’ that came along.” She walked off before I could defend myself.
Well damn. I’d been planning to kiss her, but had managed to shove my boot so far down my throat the moment was spoiled.
Ainsley stopped with a gasp and my hand went to the waist of my jeans, where my holster was clipped to the inside of them. “Is that a moose?”
Sure enough. Out in one of the fields, munching on grass alongside my dad’s cows, was a moose. She raised her head, watching us as her baby ran around her with gangly legs.
“Okay. That’s the cutest thing ever.”
I wasn’t about to tell her that the way her voice and features had softened as she watched the baby frolic was actually what was cute. She was doing her best to keep that strict, no nonsense, cop attitude—at least around me—but every once in a while the real her slipped through. It was clear she had a huge heart. One that was just soft enough to see that she was a sweetheart through and through.
I had no doubts she could hold her own in a fight. Not that I’d seen it yet, but I’d seen her working out in the little home gym she’d made in one of the spare bedrooms in her house. Seen her boxing with her punching bag. The next time the guys qualified on the shooting range, I planned to go observe and see how she did.
She was a cop. Through and through. That didn’t mean she wasn’t a woman. And damn I was enjoying getting to see that woman shine through.
She wasn’t wrong to assume I’d kiss a woman just because she asked. Or looked like she wanted one. I’d kissed quite a few women. Some had been long-term, some had been short-term, some had been in passing. Nothing had ever stuck. But I was also the kind of man who made my mind up quickly. And it was becoming obvious to me that keeping Ainsley in my life was becoming a possibility. A necessity.
Shoving my hands in my pockets, mostly so I didn’t grab her and end up with a knee to the dick, I walked her around and showed her my parents’ ranch. I didn’t show her the gardens. Mom would kill me. That was her pride and joy—her sons came after the gardens—and she was going to end up walking Ainsley around, pointing out all her plants and how they were growing, after dessert.
I wanted my family to like her. And they would. Because I did. Besides, what wasn’t to like? Well, I wanted all of them to like her except Alex. He could fuck right off and go find his own woman. Took me a long damn time to find this one. Until I decided if I was keeping her, my middle brother could go pound sand.
We were around the back of the corrals behind the barn when I decided we were far enough away from the house and I’d been gentlemanly long enough. I paused, and she stopped with me, looking over at me.
“You did a great job with everything with the Rices,” I told her.
“Thanks,” she said, her eyes flashing with sadness.
I’d seen the worry and doubt and tiredness in her eyes over the last few days every time I’d seen her. I wanted to erase it.
Not bothering to ask, I stepped in closer, put one hand on her hip and one on the back of her neck. Her lips parted in shock just enough that when I fit my mouth to hers it was like puzzle pieces locking together.
