Page 12 of Knot Her Cowboys
If I didn’t know better, I’d think my heat was trying to overwhelm the suppressants I’d started taking. We didn’t have time for a heat with the impending move, so my blissfully reliable three-month cycle was kicked off its axis this time. It wasn’t due for another week, but I had started the pills already just in case.
“Riles, this is Levi, our vet extraordinaire. Vi, this is Riley.”
He turned from Cash to me, a bright smile lighting up his face. “Good to meet you. Been hearing about the famous Riley for a long time.”
I whacked Cash on the knee. “You’ve been talking about me?”
“Notconstantly,” Cash defended.
“Enough that the entirety of the staff has heard about you at least once,” Levi added. “Shame Coo?—”
Cash kicked him and Levi cut off abruptly.
“Shame what?”
Levi coughed awkwardly. “Shame, uh, cooler weather is on the horizon.”
I narrowed my eyes, sure he’d been about to say something else. “Trials of summer. It’s never long enough.”
“Autumn in Montana is gorgeous as fuck, though,” Cash said, recovering the conversation.
“That would’ve been my preferred time to come, but Berlin awaits and I’ll just have to enjoy autumn there.”
“Berlin?” Levi whistled. “That’s a long way from rural Montana. What’s taking you all the way there?”
“Business. Or rather, my fiancés’ business. They’re looking at a merger with a German company, and I’ve been talking to the alpha pair involved. Everyone wants to see if we can form a pack as well as a business together.”
“What do you think about that, Riles?” Cash asked.
I shrugged. “Oskar and Karl seem nice enough. Communication style is something to get used to, though. They’re a hell of a lot more blunt over there, and I have to keep reminding myself no one is trying to start a fight. It’s just the way they talk.”
“Have you been to Germany before?” Dakota asked.
“Nope. A day trip to Paris was the closest I’ve gotten. Backpacked part of the UK to expand my comfort zone after my second year in New York. Found the most ridiculous seat sale on flights, slept in the sketchiest hostels imaginable, and took the Chunnel over with a friend I met at a pub. In hindsight, not the safest move I’ve ever made, but it turned out really fun.”
They kept me chatting all through dinner. Cash had been to most of the places I had traveled, and Levi to a few, so we had noshortage of conversation. Had the last time I sat in the sun and talked this long really been before I left?
All of the staff helped bring in the dishes and remaining food—little bit that there was—and then they got the fires going as the sun began its slow descent. Cash barred me from washing dishes, insisting they paid one of the staff members to handle it and I didn’t need to be cookingandcleaning. I wasn’t about to argue with that.
Sunset was a breathtaking array of colors. The fields were lit up like shining gold and copper, the trees rich and dark against a coral sky.
“Are you gonna stay by the fires with us?” Cash asked. “Or are you gonna turn in? I know you had a long day.”
“I’m not ready for sleep quite yet. I’ll go see if my city boys are interested.” I excused myself from the group and took the path back toward the cabins, the edges of it lit up by little solar lights punched into the ground. The door was locked when I arrived, but the light was on. “Are you two still alive in here?”
They were both in bed, reading glasses perched on their noses, the bedside lamps glowing.
Bryan looked up with a smile. “There’s our little chef.”
“Pajamas already?” I pouted. “Does that mean I can’t tempt you to some campfire time?”
“There’smore?” Bruce asked.
“They have stuff literally all day for people. There’s nothing else to do out here unless people wanna go on their own hikes or drive into town.”
“You wouldn’t rather get some sleep?” Bryan asked hopefully, patting the space between them. “Maybe some birthday weekend cuddles?”
“Soon, but not yet. Feel free to sleep, though. I’ll probably be up another couple of hours and I’ll try to be quiet when I come in.”
