After breakfast, Cordy figured she’d finish getting settled in, start baby-proofing, maybe even take a crack at the crib, despite Chance’s chest-beating. But as she poked around the house, the restlessness returned in full force. Being in a new place made her itch to explore. There were all kinds of new things right outside and she wasn’t seeing them!
So she woke up Iggy, clipped on his leash, and took them off for a long walk.
The morning was already warm, but the sunshine was glorious. It felt so good to stretch her legs and have the freedom to walk wherever she wanted. The ranch was massive, with hundreds of cows happily grazing behind barbed wire fences. Cordy waved to all of them, not caring how silly it might be.
Iggy was less excited by the cows—he couldn’t figure out what the heck they were—but he eagerly kept pace with Cordy.
She felt lighter than she had in ages, almost giddy with how beautiful the morning was. She’d needed this, she realized. It had been too long since she’d gone on an aimless ramble, justher and Iggy. So she kept going and going, even as the morning stretched on.
Coming across Chance and Quint working was a shock. Of course, she might have expected it, but still, she went flushed and hot all over.
Chance was too far away to even yell to, but he still looked damn sexy. Long legs, broad shoulders, and the way he cocked his hip as he watched her… she got all tangled up in memories of last night. So bad she almost tripped over her own feet.
Luckily, she didn’t go down, but decided to move elsewhere. There was plenty of open space; she hadn’t said hi to the cows in that other pasture.
Iggy still wasn’t so sure about the cows. He plastered himself to Cordy’s leg, shivering when the cows got too close. Cordy didn’t blame him for being freaked out, but he handled it like a champ.
When Cordy saw the ranch house, she decided to check it out. Was it where Chance had grown up? It must have been.
Before she got to the house, she stumbled over the chickens and the goats. Nowthosewere a surprise. Of course they had cows—it was a ranch—but chickens and goats, too?
Cordy said hello to the hens, who ignored her as they scratched around for bugs under a massive oak. Iggy stared at them intently, quivering with something other than fear.
Uh-oh. She gave the leash a wriggle, reminding him to look at her. “Chickens are friends, not food.”
Iggy didn’t look convinced. Cordy decided it was time to visit the goats instead.
“Hi, guys!” She waved to the goats, clustered around an actual barn, painted red with white trim and as adorable as the goats themselves.
Five goats stared back at her, looking very unimpressed. They were gold, white, and buckskin, all shorter than she mighthave expected. The cows had gentle eyes but were careful to keep their distance when she walked by. The goats were very different—they didn’t seem mean exactly, but they had a take-no-shit look in their eyes. She wouldn’t call them gentle.
Iggy cocked his head. Cordy sensed him gearing up for another meltdown. Poor guy.
“It’s okay,” she told him. “They won’t hurt you.”
“They will, actually.”
Cordy spun around at the strange voice. A man had come up behind her, older with a heavy limp. He’d looked like he’d once been as robust and broad-shouldered as Chance, but life and the years had beaten him down. His brown eyes were faded and sad, but she could see Chance in them.
Her heart beat faster as she realized this must be Chance’s father.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Cordy. I hope I’m not disturbing you. You’re Chance’s dad, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me. Name’s Holden.” He held out a gnarled hand to shake. “No, not disturbing me. It gets too quiet around here. Me and Pard could use some company.”
“Pard?”
“The dog.” Holden pointed out a basset hound resting in the shade of a hay shed. “He’s friendly.”
“This is Iggy. He’s friendly too, but he’s a little nervous. He’s never seen cows or goats or chickens before.”
Holden raised an eyebrow. “He gonna try to hunt ‘em?”
“No.” Cordy gathered the leash up. “He’s scared because he spent the first two years of his life in a crate. He’s a rescued greyhound, so most everything in the world is new to him. Or at least it was before I got him.”
Holden gave an approving grunt and then gestured to the goats. “They don’t like dogs. They’ll head butt him if he gets too close.”
“Oh, Iggy’s not getting any closer; he already thinks we’re too close. Chance never mentioned you had goats.”
