Holly Jolly Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #7)(48)

Then they’d just head home for the night. Was it an odd situation? Absolutely. He was swamped with Carson being gone, though, and every time she saw him, he’d just finished an intensely busy day. So why push for anything more? It wasn’t as if she was drowning in free time, either. Between the restaurant and running things at the ranch, her day was full.

As each day passed, she began to look forward to their meals—and the kissing—more and more. Holly wasn’t sure what would happen when Sage and Jason returned and she was no longer working at the ranch. They’d probably drift apart, she and Adam, and only see each other when he came in to Wade’s for a sandwich.

The thought made her sad, because she was growing to really enjoy his company. Not just the intense kissing, but his sharp sense of humor, too. If it was fleeting, though, so be it. She knew what she was getting into. It wasn’t going to last, so she was going to enjoy every last minute of it.



* * *



? ? ?

C?ARSON: Did you check the northeast pasture?

CARSON: The fences there were leaning last time I checked, make sure the cattle aren’t rubbing up against it.

CARSON: And check on #34. I know she kicks a lot but she wasn’t looking so spry when I left.

Adam contemplated his phone and wondered if he could fling it into the nearest cattle pond. Most of the time, he could keep up with the endless backlog of things that had to be done on the ranch. The most important thing was making sure the cattle were fed and safe. Smaller things could pile up now and then, though he had texted the Watson brothers over at Swinging C and offered to pay them if they’d help him with some of the barn chores. They’d agreed and asked for some of Holly’s cookies, which she was thrilled to volunteer.

It was a lot to handle every day, and Carson’s daily texts of things to add to Adam’s list didn’t help. Carson was still in California, of course, but he was determined to armchair quarterback the ranch from afar. Every day, Adam got a text or two from Carson of things to check on, or reminders to change an oil filter on the Gator, the four-wheeler they used for day-to-day work. There were horse blankets to be aired out, pastures to be rotated, food to be switched up if the cattle’s dung didn’t show enough protein . . . it was a never-ending list.

Adam tried to keep up with it, he really did, but he found himself heading in to the ranch for lunch even when he didn’t have the time. And he was staying up late so he could have dinner with Holly after she got off work. The food was always great, but he was lying to himself if he pretended it was for anything other than her kisses. He’d have eaten another week of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches if it meant Holly would sit on his lap every night and kiss him until they were both dazed.

He was becoming addicted to that woman. When he woke up in the morning, he was hard and aching, and he’d jerk off in the shower to thoughts of Holly and her soft mouth. He found himself showing up earlier at the main house, just because he was anxious to see her. Tonight, though, that wouldn’t be possible. Two of the cattle in the herd were sick, with thick nasal discharge, and of course it was two of the more ornery ones. Good mothers when they had calves, but annoying as hell the rest of the time. They refused to be separated from the herd, and so it took some time for him and Hannibal to eventually pull them away from the others and get them sequestered in the barn. Once they were there, he went back and spent the next few hours staring at cattle noses to see if any others were showing signs of illness. If he had an entire outbreak in the herd, everything was going to turn upside down.

He had a call into Doc Parson, the local vet, who came by later that night to check on things. The doc was confident that it wasn’t a major outbreak, but he gave Adam instructions to keep the sick ones sequestered and if there were more outbreaks, he’d have to give antibiotics to the entire herd.

Adam wasn’t much looking forward to that.

By the time the vet left, it was late. The horses still had to be taken care of, though, and Adam began brushing his down, mentally running through the list of chores he still had to accomplish before Holly got in from work, and what he could put off until tomorrow. He was so focused on getting things done that he lost track of time.

“Knock-knock?” came a familiar voice.

Adam looked up to see Holly in the doorway of the barn. She smiled at him and came forward, wearing her long coat and jeans, still in her work uniform. He glanced at his phone for the time. Shit, it was late. “It’s been a bit of a day.”

“I bet. Everything all right?”

He nodded. “Nothing I can’t handle. You might have to eat without me, though. I don’t know how long I’ll be here. I need to finish putting down straw and some bedding in these stalls.” He’d skipped it yesterday to buy time with her and it was catching up to him.

“Can I help?” Holly shoved her hands in her pockets, moving closer. “I’ve ridden a horse once. I’m sure I’m an expert now.” Her voice was light with teasing.

He wanted to tell her no, but truth was, he was tired, and he’d been looking forward to spending time with her all day—time that was rapidly getting away from him. So Adam paused, thinking. “If you can move those two out of their stalls, I can get work done a bit faster.”

“I can do that,” she told him brightly, and opened the door to the first stall, reaching for the halter of the big quarter horse. He turned away for a moment, picking up a bag of bedding.