Cal would jerk the quilt away from her and pull her against him. She would caress each and every one of his delicious muscles as her hands roamed over his body.
She moaned, then stifled a yawn. God, she was so tired. Her whole body ached from being jostled when she’d driven down that damned dirt road.
Cal began to fade as she drifted further asleep.
“Don’t go,” she mumbled, but it was already too late. She sighed just before sleep overcame her.
Chapter 6
Mooooooooo!
Nikki flew out of bed, ran into the wall, bounced around, and stared into the eyes of a big brown beast that had a string of drool dripping from its mouth to the floor.
She screamed.
Cal stuck his head through the open window, shoving the animal back. “Move over, Bessie.” Then he turned his attention to her. “Mornin’. Good, I’m glad you’re up. I don’t suppose you have any coffee made.”
“Coffee?”
“No, I didn’t think so, but I sure could use another cup. Well, get dressed. I’ll get Bessie settled in the barn. Better hurry, though, it’s already past milking time and she’s getting anxious.”
“Milk?”
“Didn’t I tell you that’s part of the experience? Darn, I can’t believe I left that little detail out.” His eyes twinkled. “You’ll love it.”
He moved away from the window, but just as she started to relax, he popped his head inside once more. His gaze wandered very slowly from her head to her feet, then back up. “By the way, I like your pj’s.” He whistled a jaunty tune as he ambled away.
She glanced down. Her thin red silk teddy left little to the imagination. It was cut all the way down to her navel and the only thing holding it together was one strip of sheer lace.
Not only did it show a considerable amount of cleavage, but the morning air was cool and her nipples were pebble hard.
A wave of heat washed over her. She grabbed the quilt and pulled it in front of her but not for modesty’s sake. She felt the need to hold on to something-anything.
No gentleman would’ve mentioned her nightclothes since they barely covered her. And a gentleman wouldn’t have stared so blatantly, either, making her body grow hot, then cold, and then very, very hot.
A slow smile curved her lips. It was nice to know Cal wasn’t that much of a gentleman.
Naughty, naughty.
Her mood quickly changed when she thought about the cow. She might have the hots for Cal but she was certain she’d hate Bessie.
Her forehead wrinkled in thought. Hadn’t Bessie been black and white yesterday? Not that it mattered one way or the other at this point in time. And did Cal really expect her to milk a cow? She had a feeling he did. Then what would she do? Her job description didn’t include milking cows.
She closed her eyes. She would stay calm. None of this mattered as long as she got her story. Breathe in, breathe out. Okay, she was ready-maybe.
She grabbed her clothes and began dressing. She was just tying her hair back when she heard the screen door slam.
“Hey, have you noticed anything strange about the rooster?” Cal called from the other room.
Her hands stilled and her heart began to pound. She pictured the damned bird stiff from rigor mortis, skinny legs straight up in the air.
She took a deep breath and tried to sound innocent. “Rooster?”
“Yeah. He’s acting kind of weird and walking funny.”
“No, but then, I wouldn’t know whether he was acting normal or not,” she lied, swallowing past the lump in her throat. At least the rooster was still alive.
“I guess not. Maybe he ate some bad grain or something.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. She was off the hook.
But then she looked in the mirror. Blue short-shorts and a yellow and blue top. The cute little outfit was made for walks along the beach or lazing around poolside with a tall frosted drink, not for roughing it. This was all she had that was appropriate, though.
Oh, well.
She glanced toward the door, then unbuttoned the last two buttons of the top and tied the ends beneath her bra. That was better. Slap a piece of straw in her mouth and call her Elly May Clampett. She rolled her eyes and left the bedroom.
She aimed toward the kitchen in desperate need of a strong cup of coffee and a bagel. Not that she remembered seeing any bagels in the boxes she’d carried inside.
“I don’t suppose you made coffee while I was getting dressed?” she asked as she joined him, but she didn’t smell the tantalizing aroma of a freshly brewed pot. She glanced toward the black beast of a stove and wondered how far it was to the closest Starbucks.
Cal didn’t say anything. Just stared. When he continued staring without saying a word, she cocked an eyebrow. “Do I meet with your approval?”
“That’s not exactly the kind of clothes made for roughing it.”
But that was only his opinion. Her interpretation had a whole other meaning. “I’ll need to go into town today and buy some…” Her gaze trailed over him. “Something a little more…appropriate.” She kept her voice soft and sultry as she blatantly flirted with him. “Will this be okay for now?”
He dragged his gaze up to meet hers. “You’ll do.” His words were gruff. Without waiting for her, he pushed the door open and went outside.
Oh, yeah, he was definitely interested. She grinned. Score one for the city team. She’d have her article by the end of the day.
Just as quickly, her smile faded. There was still the cow to deal with and, apparently, she’d have to wait on coffee. He could’ve brought her a cup. A cinnamon mocha latte. She really missed the city, where there was a coffeehouse on practically every corner.
She went out the back door and trudged after Cal. “You know, I don’t really like milk. It wouldn’t bother me at all not to have any.” She hurried to keep up with his long strides.
“You’ll need the milk to make the butter.” He stepped inside the dark interior of the small building.
“Butter? I thought-oomph!” Nikki thudded against his back. “Why’d you stop?” she complained but hesitated before moving away. She liked the feel of his hard, sinewy muscles against her. And he smelled nice, like soap and spicy aftershave. A thrill of pleasure ran down her spine. Now this was more like it.
“Always let your eyes adjust before you walk into a dark building,” he informed her, his words interrupting her delicious thoughts.
“Why?”
“You never know what’s crawling around.”
A shiver ran over her. She had to ask.
“Well, next time tell me before you put the brakes on.”
Her gaze moved around the interior, her eyes becoming accustomed to the dimness. To her left, hoes and shovels leaned against the wall. On the opposite side, bales of hay were stacked. The musty, not quite unpleasant scent rose to tickle her nose. She peered around Cal. More light came from the back of the barn. Instead of a wall, it opened into a pen.
Bessie glanced up when they approached and meandered over to the fence. “I thought Bessie was black and white.”
“That was the other Bessie.”
“Of course, how stupid of me not to have guessed you have two cows with the same name,” she muttered.
Cal tipped the lid off a barrel and reached inside. “This is her feed. Give her two heaping scoops twice a day, but not until you’re ready to start milking.”
“I don’t know how to milk a cow.” And the other verse was she didn’t want to learn.
“I wouldn’t blame you if you threw in the towel. This is probably more than you ever expected.”
She glared at him, grabbed the scoop, and tossed the feed over the fence into the wooden feed box. Bessie went directly to her breakfast. “Now what do I do?”
With a very snarky grin, he handed her a stool and a bucket. “You milk the cow.”
Smart-ass. From his expression, she knew he was just waiting for her to run screaming from the barn. Well, she’d show him a thing or two. She jerked the stool and bucket away from him. Opening the gate, she tromped through to the other side.