Page 27 of Snowed In with the Rancher
He’d laughed more than once at his “falls in love every Friday night” brother who whole-heartedly believed in love at first sight, soulmates, and fate. Nate was the optimist of the two of them, and despite the fact that they were raised by the same parents and fought the same wars, they could not be more different.
But in the dark depths of his black heart, Asher believed that Triss had shown up on his doorstep for more than just his meddling niece playing matchmaker. She was easy to be around, and although they hadn’t talked much, he didn’t take her for an idiot. She had bright, intelligent eyes, and she was stubborn but not in a foolish way—well, besides getting into the corral with Mercy. But he couldn’t hold that against her forever.
She’d worked so hard yesterday, not complaining about a thing, but just asking what else she could do, and how she could help. And even when he had nothing more for her to do, she found another way to make herself useful by fixing dinner.
He hadn’t met a harder working person in a really long time.
Morning hit them hard and fast, or at least it seemed that way, since he didn’t feel rested at all. He tended to the animals, fed them, mucked stalls, and made sure Fumble hadn’t gnawed through his tether and gone out on a walkabout into the snowy pasture.
He made them the same oatmeal he’d made the morning before, put it in a stumpy thermos along with coffee and cream—with a splash of Irish Cream—in another thermos and brought it to her in the barn.
Her voice had him slowing his pace.
“You are just the most beautiful baby in the whole wide world, yes you are, Miss Tilly. Your mama did such a good job. You should be proud of her. I certainly am.” She made a kissing noise. “You did great, Carolina. Birthed a beautiful little girl.”
Her giggle warmed him, although even without being able to see her, he could tell there wasn’t a lot of heart behind that laugh, besides her love for the horses.
“And you know what else, little Tilly? Your mama loves you so much. She just met you, but she already loves to you the moon and back. Isn’t that crazy? To be loved that quickly and that hard by somebody you hardly know?”
A rattled breath was sucked which made the knot forming in this throat threaten to pull tighter.
“I’m not looking for that kind of love. I mean, yeah, I want kids one day that I’ll love them like that. But I need somebody to have those kids with first, right? I just want some kind of love.” He heard her pat one of the horses. “I guess you’re a single mom, aren’t you? But you’ve got a whole ranch helping you raise your baby, and I’m sure little Tilly is going to be sold eventually, so it’s not the same.” Another rattled breath. “What am I going to do, Tilly? Do I have to live in an Airbnb when I get home? I’ve been searching for apartments but there’s nothing out there that isn’t out of my price range or somewhere I’d be afraid of getting stabbed by a gang of rats with tattoos.”
Asher had to smother his snort in his elbow. Even sad, she was cracking jokes. It showed her strength and her character. She was sad, possibly even heartbroken, but she wasn’t going to let it defeat her.
“Can I just move into your stall with you and your mom, Til? I’ll be quiet and clean. All the ear scratches and brushing you can ask for. I can even provide you with first and last month’s rent and I have excellent references.”
Her chuckle was forced again.
“Who am I kidding, Tilly? Your big, grumpy rancher wouldn’t let me stay here. Besides, my job is in Connecticut. I’m just here because my friend is a meddler, Mother Nature is angry over global warming and I was desperate to escape the hell that is my world for just a little while. But we all have to face the music eventually, right? You’re not going to be able to run around bare-hooved forever. Eventually, they’re going to make you wear shoes. Eventually, we all have to wear shoes.”
“Is Tilly trying to convince you to let her go bare-hoofed?” He asked, poking his head around the corner. “Don’t listen to her. All the foals do it. They woo you with their cuteness but don’t let them fool you. They have to wear shoes eventually.”
She stroked Tilly’s neck. “She can fool me all she wants.”
“Here,” he handed her the stumpy thermos. “Oatmeal.”
She accepted it from him with a small smile. “Thank you.”
“And coffee.” He set the larger thermos down beside her, before sliding his back along the wall and sinking down to his ass next to her, close enough that their knees touched.
Her heat practically pulsed into him.
“Thank you,” she repeated, setting the oatmeal thermos on her lap and opening up the thermos of coffee. She brought it to her nose and inhaled deeply, turning to him with a quirky smile. “Did you spike this?”
He shrugged. “Just don’t go stealing my tractor if you get hammered, okay?”
Her smile made him buoyant. “I’m not making any promises. I do race tractors back in Connecticut so … ” Her moan after she took a sip had his dick lurching in his jeans, despite his fatigue. “Have you eaten?” she asked, setting the coffee thermos down and unscrewing the oatmeal thermos.
He nodded. “Yeah, so it’s all yours.”
Her lips twisted. “Ummm …”
“Problem?”
“Am I supposed to eat it with my hands?”
He hung his head. “Shit. Sorry. Hang on.” He went to stand up and run back to the house to grab her a spoon, but her hand on his arm stopped him.
