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Chapter 19
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Cattenach Ranch Chapter 20
"Olivia, what are we doing?" Despite better judgment, he did what she asked and nearly swallowed his tongue when she straddled his thighs. A hand on his shoulder, she pushed, encouraging him to lay back. She was maybe a hundred and twenty pounds, leaving him to wonder how she became the dominant one between them. Then again, if she requested he bark at the moon, he probably would.Settling his bent arm behind his head, he hissed at the cool planks against his back. She leaned over him, her wet strands a curtain, and he stopped breathing altogether. The rain had stopped, but droplets fell from the canopy of leaves. Between that and the darkness, she looked like a sexy version of a sprite."You taught me something about memory replacement when we were in the barn. I'm going to return the favor." She kissed his jaw and he closed his eyes, confused and fascinated. "Why did you work for people who sold cocaine?"His eyes flew open. "Olivia. We're not" "Answer me and I'll reward you."
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 21
Olivia leaned against the stall door in the barn Nakos had just closed and heaved a sigh. "I'm so over today it's ridiculous." She rubbed her sore left shoulder and dreamed of a hot shower. And ten pounds of chocolate. Add a glass of wine, and the day might end on a good note.Gary, their vet, had been out to the ranch for a six-month visit on the horses. She adored the man, but hated check-ups. Some of the horses spooked easily when it came to exams and it was a never-ending parade of in-out, in-out. When things had begun running late this afternoon, she'd barely had time to jog up to the houseon Nakos's insistenceto grab a sandwich for an early dinner because she'd skipped lunch."You okay?" Nakos dropped his hands on his hips and frowned, gaze assessing."Yeah. Just a stunner, I think. Firestorm jerked when Gary gave him his shots. Tugged my arm a little." For a thoroughbred, Firestorm was a big baby. Then again, he was a male.Nakos nodded. "Let's get you home, then. You can ta
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 22
"Right. He's caught me on the cusp of a bad dream several times and I've been able to go right back to sleep."Lord, that was music to her ears. "Repeat after me. You were right, Olivia. I shall listen to you about everything from now on."Gently, he cupped her jaw and tilted her head back until she stared at him upside down. With his face inches from hers, his somber, dark eyes swept over her face like a caress as his thumbs stroked her cheeks. After a careful assessment, he sighed. "You are downright adorable sometimes. It's maddening."She grinned.He grunted and kissed her between the eyes, then brushed his nose against hers. "You were right, baby. I shall listen to youwithin reasonfrom now on. Better?""Define reason."A grin split his face so fast she doubted he even realized he'd done it. Holy damn. It changed his whole appearance, infused the golden flecks in his eyes, and gave her a full-body tingle. From the inside out. His hardened edges disappeared, transforming sul
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 23
The temperature had barely hit the upper forties today and, with dusk an hour off, it promised to drop. A chill laced the breeze and the scent of snow clung to it. Nate had grown up in the Midwest where all he had to do was blink and the weather shifted, but Wyoming was a whole different level of bipolar.With all three barns stripped of shingles and one roof completely redone, he descended the ladder to call it quits. By tomorrow, he should have most of the job finished. He could punch out another thirty minutes, but his arms were jelly and Olivia didn't like him working alone late in the day. Besides, he didn't care for the look of the feud brewing between Olivia and Nakos in the gated pasture.Feet on the ground, he wiped sweat from his brow and headed over as Olivia climbed on a horse. "What's up?""I'm riding over to Dead Man's Pass to bring Kyle and George a coil of barbed wire."Nakos's jaw clenched. "You know I can't go with you and it'll be dark in under an hour. It'll tak
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 24
Nakos drew up short by a scattering of trees and quickly dismounted, taking off somewhere to their right. Nate cut the engine and followed, having no idea what had lit a fire under the foreman. Snow tinged the air. The trickle of running water blended into the background noise of wind and leaves crackling, and he realized it was probably the creek. But he didn't see or hear...His gaze landed on a horse grazing on grass by an oak. The horse she had been riding, in fact. But there was no Olivia.Nakos fumbled with the sack on the horse's flank and pulled out her radio, then her phone. "Crap." His head whipped around, gaze narrowed to slits as he scanned their whereabouts. "She tied Firestorm here, so she's got to be close. Olivia!"Nothing but nature answered and Nate's heart stopped. A strip of barbed wire fencing lined a row of trees and, just beyond that, starlight glimmered off the creek. It didn't look any wider than a hundred feet, nor very deep, but the embankment was rocky.
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 25
With evil trolls drilling into her skull and her tongue plastered to the roof of her mouth, Olivia pried her eyes open. Sunlight scorched her retinas and she winced. Moaned.Clothing rustled. "Hebe. Welcome back, little red."She moaned again and squinted at Nakos. "Hi." Head pounding, she glanced around, trying to focus through the heavy dregs of sleep. Her bedroom. Okay. How'd she get here? Why was she in bed? "What time is it?""Noon." The mattress dipped with his weight. Sitting by her hip, he swept his concerned gaze over her. "You've been out cold for a couple days.""What?" She tried to sit and a wave of nausea churned in her belly.He set a hand on her shoulder, heavy and warm, easing her back. "Relax. You've got eight stitches in your head and finally broke a fever last night. That's not accounting for the concussion."That's right. She'd hit her head by the creek. She had a vague recollection of Hank visiting, plus a steady stream of Aunt Mae, Nakos, and Amy waking her
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 26
Snatching a clean pair of panties, she shut the drawer and turned. The room spun again. "Wow. It's like being drunk, but not as fun."He growled and took the items from her. "Stubborn as shit woman. And you're lucky I'm so relieved you're awake that I'll give you whatever you want." He wrapped his arm around her waist. "Come on."They walked into the bathroom and he set her clothes on the toilet lid. While she grimaced at herself in the mirror, he started filling the tub. He studied the products on the shelf, then dumped in half a bottle of bubble bath.He did a double-take at her grin. "What?""Nothing." Adorable man. She refocused on her image and wished she hadn't. "Lord, I look like crap." A bandage covered a good part of her forehead, her hair was matted and stringy, and she could fill a grocery cart with the bags under her eyes."At the risk of sounding like a sap, having your eyes open and you out of bed is the best thing I've seen in days.""Aw. Be sappy more often." "S
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 27
Olivia's warm, tentative hand slid up Nate's arm and he pinched his eyes tighter, gripped the edge of the sink in her suite's kitchen harder. He tensed at the pleasure/pain combo her touch forever instilled and hunched to defend himself. Or her.For going on three days, he'd watched her lying in bed, pale as a corpse, and sick to his gut with abject fear she wouldn't wake up. Every concussion check by Mae or Amy or Nakos that first night had been goddamn torture until she'd briefly opened her eyes, muttered a few syllables, and drifted off again. And mercy. That fever? The need for an IV? Her drenched in sweat and hotter than the damn desert he'd escaped? He'd thought he'd die. Shit, death would've been preferable. He'd almost redecorated her bedroom by punching holes through the drywall upwards of a thousand times. None of his experiences had prepared him for that. Nearly starved as a child in foster care...subordinate to countless violent acts in that gang as a teen...holding Ju
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