Holly Jolly Cowboy (The Wyoming Cowboy #7)(58)

“More like ‘Lord of the Inflated Ego.’?”

“You weren’t saying my ego was inflated when you were screaming my name a few minutes ago.” He leaned down and nipped at her ear. “You liked my big ego then. You liked all my big things.”

Holly giggled, even as his movements made her all breathless again. This man was going to make her crazy . . . in all the best ways. “You—”

Her phone chirped with a voicemail.

That made her pause. Polly never left a voicemail. She’d have just texted instead, or sent an email. “Adam.” She nudged at his shoulder. “I need to check that call.”

He sighed heavily and gave her one last kiss, this one on the tip of her nose. “You and your responsibilities. I should probably head back out myself, too. The cattle aren’t going to take care of themselves, more’s the pity.”

She hesitated, and for a long moment, she didn’t want him to leave. It was strange, but it felt like if he left her bed in this moment, he might never come back. She wasn’t ready for that yet. “What about tonight?” she asked, breathless.

Adam rolled off the bed. “What about tonight?”

Holly watched him as he moved toward her small bathroom, no doubt to clean up before dressing again. The water turned on, and she could only see the shadow of him in the doorway. “Do you want me to leave your dinner on your step?”

He leaned back, frowning out at her. “You trying to get rid of me, waitress?”

A relieved smile crossed her face. “Waitress? After all we’ve been through?”

“It’s not like I know your last name. ‘Holly Whatserface’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it.”

She made a noise of protest. “It’s Dawson, you nitwit. I can’t believe you don’t know my name. I know yours!”

“If it was on your name tag, I would have known it, beautiful.” He seemed unruffled by her outrage, finishing up in the bathroom and then tossing the towel in the laundry basket. He strolled back out to her, buck naked, and planted a kiss on her mouth. “Can’t be mad over that, can you? Or was I supposed to steal your wallet and memorize your identity?”

“I guess not,” she grumbled, that kiss mollifying her. “And I’m not trying to get rid of you.”

“Good, because I’ll be back later tonight. Wouldn’t mind something a little sweet to go with my dinner again.”

“Cake?” she asked absently, watching him step into his underwear. She wasn’t staring at his butt like a creeper, she really wasn’t. It was just . . . it was an awfully nice butt. That was all.

He straightened and grinned over at her. “I was thinking more like pussy.”

“Oh my god. You’re the worst.”

“Five minutes ago you said I was the best.”

“That was before I realized your ego was the size of Mars.”

He chuckled, picking up his discarded socks. “Not quite that big.” Adam glanced over at her. “We on for tonight?”

She felt her cheeks get pink all over again. Funny how she could be embarrassed despite the fact that she was in bed, naked, after sleeping with him, and yet his blatant suggestions got her all flustered. “Tonight, yes.”

Adam moved over to the bed and gave her a lingering kiss, his tongue sweeping against hers in such a delicious, languid way she forgot about everything all over again. “Can’t wait,” he murmured. “And you should probably get that phone.”

Phone? She blinked up at him, confused.

Oh. Her phone. Right.

Holly jumped out of bed, wrapping the sheet around her as Adam laughed. She cast him a mock-annoyed look as she opened the door, and Pumpkin practically danced with excitement at Holly’s return. “Come on, girl,” she told the dog as she headed for the kitchen. She’d last had her phone on the counter, she was pretty sure.

Yup. There it was, right next to a grocery list she’d been making. Holly picked it up.

Two missed calls. A voicemail. Seven text messages.

Her stomach dropped and she unlocked her phone quickly, looking through the list of texts as they lined up across her phone. Her mouth went dry. A cold chill swept down her arms. She stared down at the phone mutely, unable to comprehend what she’d just read. Over and over again, she read the series of texts. She read the voicemail transcription next, then went back to the texts, still having trouble digesting it all.

“Everything okay?”

She looked at Adam. His baseball cap was back on his head and he tucked his shirt into his jeans. His mouth was flushed red from their lovemaking, and for some reason she found that impossibly endearing. That, and the look of concern on his face.

“It’s work,” she said, numb.

“They want you to come in? On your day off?” A scowl flashed over his face.

“No,” Holly said slowly. “It burned down.”





CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO





An hour later, Holly drove slowly into town. Pumpkin was in the seat next to her, wearing a doggy seat belt and gazing eagerly at Holly, as if this was going to be a fun, exciting trip. Pumpkin loved car rides, mostly because Holly rewarded her with treats every time. It wasn’t as if she could see out the windows of the car. She just liked the attention. Holly should have left her home, but the dog was emotional support, and Holly figured she’d need it today.