Jill turned off the treadmill at the two-mile mark and hopped off. She opened her bottle of water and chugged some while she looked in the mirror. She didn’t often go for much cardio, but after her dinner last night, it had seemed compulsory. Plus, she’d felt restless and off-balance ever since she’d made the terrible decision to go to Blake’s hotel room last night. “You’re an idiot,” she said to her reflection in the full-length mirror on the wall.
And she was.
She’d visited co-workers in their hotel rooms before on business trip and never had any difficulty keeping things casual. But she should have known it would be different with Blake. No sooner had he opened the door than she’d found herself staring at his bronzed, well-muscled chest with its jagged scar running up the left side. And once she’d gone inside, she’d turned on the light as quickly as possible, only to realize it didn’t help much. From his tousled sheets to the smirk on his face when he caught her checking him out, shedding light on the situation hadn’t helped much. Never in her life had she had to concentrate so hard to keep her mind focused on business. This morning, as she thought over their conversation the night before, she just hoped that Blake had fallen for all the smoke she’d blown his way.
Deciding that her only hope for calming down this morning was to put something in her stomach, preferably something healthy, she headed for the lobby where a large, hot breakfast had been set up. As she moved down the buffet, her disappointment grew. She couldn’t handle cooked-from-powder eggs cut into squares or the dull brown, previously cooked sausage.
“I’d steer clear of the coffee too,” a voice said behind her when she moved on. Turning, she saw Blake, holding a container of yogurt and a banana in one hand. He leaned forward and reached around her to pull a plastic spoon out of a caddy next to her, his chest brushing against her shoulder. It felt warm even when he was no longer touching her, like she’d been in the sun too long.
“Okay, but promise me we can stop for coffee on the way to the dairy.”
“Who is missing her luxury items now?” he teased her.
“I didn’t know a decent cup of coffee was a luxury.” She realized then that he was wearing a pair of jeans and boots, and gulped. This man-made jeans look sinful. “Do you always have to be so…?”
“So, what?”
She scrambled for the right words. “Perfect? I mean, come on—at least eat a bear claw or something.”
Blake considered her through narrowed eyes, with his head tilted to the side, but said nothing. A woman with three kids clamoring for food, said very loudly, “Excuse us, please,” and Jill and Blake both moved quickly to the side. Embarrassed, Jill started to walk away. But then Blake asked, “Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”
“No. Sorry. I guess I’m just grumpy this morning.”
“Well, come sit by Rick and me and eat something.”
He headed across the room to a back table where Rick was shoveling waffles into his mouth. Grabbing a bowl of oatmeal and heaping it with nuts and raisins, Jill joined them. She’d just started stirring some sugar into her bowl when Rick cleared his throat.
“Good morning, Jill.”
There was a weird tone in his voice, so Jill looked up from her oatmeal. “Uh, good morning?”
“So, if you plan to visit Blake at night again, would you mind letting me know first?”
Jill looked across at Blake, and saw that he was staring very hard at his security man. “You saw me?”
Rick rolled his eyes. “Of course I saw you. It’s my job.”
“Nothing happened,” Jill spoke up quickly. “I mean, it wasn’t like that. We talked business the whole time.”
Rick’s eyes shifted between her and Blake, and then he shrugged. “It’s none of my business. And I won’t tell anyone. I just wanted you to know because I almost took direct action. Fortunately, I realized who it was just in time.”
Blake was smiling now like he found the whole thing funny. When Jill glared at him, he took a drink of his coffee.
“I thought you said the coffee was gross?”
“Well, the stuff they have in the pot is. Luckily the manager has a Keurig in her office she let me use.”
Jill stood up and picked up her oatmeal. “I’m going to eat this in my room. We need to leave in forty-five minutes. Please be ready to go on time so we make our appointment.”
“I’m ready when you are,” Blake said, the tone of his voice silky and warm with amusement.
“Me too,” Rick chimed in.
“Good. Have you guys seen Camden?”
Blake said. “He’s in the business office working until we leave.” He winked. “Looks like we’re just waiting for you.”
Jill took a deep breath and left before she said something witchy. It wasn’t like they’d all gotten ready early just to make her look bad. What did it matter, anyway, as long as they left on time?
Determined not to be that woman who makes everyone late because she takes forever primping, Jill ate half her oatmeal then jumped in the shower and finished in record time. She did a quick assessment of how much time she had, and decided that she didn’t have time to do anything with her hair. She dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with her tennis shoes, the only pair of sensible shoes she had. She’d rather not get them covered in cow manure, but hoped the tour would keep them on clean, dry ground. She put her wet hair up in a bun, applied light makeup, and packed her suitcase. She went down to find the three men waiting for her in the lobby around a table, chatting as if they expected to be there a while.
“Shall we head out?” She felt a small zing of pleasure saying that, since they looked surprised that she was ten minutes early. She went to the reception desk to check out and pay their bill, then walked outside with the men. When she drew even with Blake, he handed her a styrofoam cup.
Surprised, Jill smiled. “Thanks. That’s really nice since I’ve been so cranky this morning.”
He smiled. “It’s because you’ve been so cranky.”
It was a lovely, sweet-smelling morning with overcast skies and a light breeze. When they were all settled in the car and Rick pulled out on the highway, Jill said, “You’ll be glad to know that I am postponing your payment of our bet till after we’ve finished our business for the day.”
Camden sighed. “I don’t know if I’m relieved or frustrated not to get it over with.”
They all laughed and settled in for the thirty-minute drive to the dairy. When they got there, Jill was enraptured by the gently rolling hills acting as back drop to verdant alfalfa fields, metal barns and silos, and a beautiful sign that read “Golden Pastures Farm.” They pulled up outside a barn that looked like it was the hub of activity and got out. Jill breathed in the air, finding the scents of the farm oddly homey and comforting. A man in a green t-shirt with the farm logo printed on the front came out of the barn and walked toward them with a smile on his face. He looked them over and held out his hand to Jill. “Welcome. I’m Clay Patten. You must be Miss Harris that I spoke to on the phone.”
“Yes. Thanks for letting us come out to see your dairy.” She introduced Blake, Camden, and Rick, then asked, “Has Mr. Dunn arrived?”
“Not yet, but he’s never late. He’ll be here soon, I’m sure. We’re just finishing up cleanup after the morning milking and then we’ll get your tour started. Feel free to look around for a few minutes.”
“Great, thanks.”
The beaming, enthusiastic man nodded his head and ducked back into the barn. She turned to Camden. “Want to see if you can get a hold of Mr. Dunn and see when he’ll be here?”
Camden nodded but had a worried expression as he looked down at his phone. “I’ll do my best, but I only have one bar out here.”
As Camden wandered around looking for somewhere he could get a better signal, Jill saw that Blake had gone over to meet some of the cows who were watching them through a fence in the pasture next to the barn. She watched as he rubbed the head of one of them, seeming to inspect her carefully. Walking over to join him, she said, “I’ve never been this close to cows before. I didn’t realize they were so big.”
“Yeah,” Blake said, keeping his attention on the cow. “But this lovely lady is perfectly polite, so don’t worry.”
Jill reached out her hand and stroked the cow’s forehead as Blake had done, surprised to feel the solidness of its skull and the coarse but soft texture of its hide. “Her eyes are soft. Friendly.”
“Yes. There’s a world of difference between a milk cow and a rodeo bull, let me tell you. You don’t look one of those animals in the eyes and not feel a primal dread shoot down your spine.”
“I thought you did bronc riding.”
“I did, but I’ve ridden a few bulls in my time. In fact, it was a bull that gave me the scar across my ribs.”
“Yeah, I saw it and wondered what that was from.”
Blake smiled. “It’s pretty hard to miss, isn’t it?”
Jill didn’t tell him that, for her, it added to the perfection of his chest. She blushed just thinking about it though. “How long were you in the rodeo circuit?”
Blake turned and leaned against the fence, folding his arms across his chest. “I did it for six years before I had to retire and save our company.”
The cow Blake had been petting pushed at his shoulder a few times, clearly wanting more attention from him. Jill could sympathize. She couldn’t deny it, she loved having him all to herself in moments like this. Each one felt like an indulgent treat. She shouldn’t let herself enjoy it, but couldn’t help herself.
“You know it’s totally crazy that you were actually able to do that right? Not everyone can just walk into a boardroom and make themselves a billionaire in a few years’ time.” The breeze had changed from a pleasant caress to an insistent wind. Strands of hair were pulled from her bun so she took it down.
As Jill shook out her hair and worked to pull it all up again, Blake watched her. “Why? I done got some schoolin’.” He hammed up his accent, grinning at her surprised reaction.
“Schoolin’?” Jill asked, laughing. “Still, it’s a whole different world than you’d been living in.”
“Not so different,” he argued. He reached out and pulled a strand of hair out of her face, letting his fingers sweep across her cheek as he smoothed it back for her. “When you’re about to get on the back of a horse that weighs close to fifteen-hundred pounds and is going to do his best to get you off, there’s only one way to go about it: with the absolute certainty that you’re going to stay on it. There’s no room for fear or self-doubt. And you don’t have a career in rodeo without focus, discipline, and grit.”
“You mean you didn’t get where you are by the strength of your personality?” She knew her eyes were probably twinkling, and when Blake shook his head and grinned at her, she was sure of it.
“You mean like you did?” he asked, walking off. “Looks like Mr. Dunn is here.”
Jill fumed and strode after him. “Hey, I was only teasing you because… you aren’t exactly friendly and easy to know. How dare you spin it back on me? You meant that I’m…”
“What?” He stopped and waited with a smirk on his face while she tried to pull her words together.
“A flirt. Didn’t you?”
He reached out, and to her complete shock, pinched her nose. “Now why would I think that? You’d better watch your step now. I wouldn’t want you to step in a cow patty.”
“You mean you do,” she muttered, keeping a closer eye on the ground.