Page 37 of Cowboy's Sinful Bargain

Chapter Eleven

~ Jos ~

Miko was silent for the trip home and I couldn't figure out why. Was he that upset that I had spent money on him? He needed the clothes. What he had brought from Japan wasn't going to cut it on the ranch. And it wasn't that much money considering what we had bought.

I knew he had hang-ups about money, but this was ridiculous.

"Miko."

"Hai?"

It was a pretty language even if I didn't understand it.

"I don't want you to worry about the money we spent today. I'd outfit anyone that worked on the ranch and didn't have what they needed." While that was mostly true, I probably wouldn't have spent as much on a simple ranch hand.

"Really?"

I nodded, but kept my eyes on the road. "If you're going to learn to ride, you need proper equipment just like a horse does. It only makes sense."

When I glanced briefly at Miko, his shoulders seemed a little more relaxed. I hope that meant he'd taken my words to heart.

"Are you excited about learning to ride?" Seriously, I'd spoken more since Miko had gotten here than I had in the last ten years. I was a little surprised at myself.

"Yes," Miko replied. "Never been on horse. Never even seen horse in real life. Seen pictures, though."

"There are a few rules you need to remember when being around a horse. It's for your safety and the safety of the horse. You can never forget these rules, okay?"

Miko nodded so I started going through the rules he needed to remember when riding a horse. There weren't a ton of them,but each one was important. If Miko got kicked by a spooked animal, he'd likely die.

When we pulled up to the ranch house, I frowned seeing the sheriff's SUV parked there. I quickly turned off the engine and climbed out.

"Sheriff, there a problem?" I asked as I approached the man.

Sheriff Ken Madras turned and sent me a grimace.

That was not good.

"Jos." Ken nodded to me. "I received a report from the vet that you found a mangled dog?"

Okay, that was a relief. It wasn't something bigger.

I nodded. "Miko found him under the back porch. Had wire wrapped around its paw."

"Miko?"

I glanced back to the truck and gestured for Miko to join us. When he did, I pulled him close to my side. "This is my husband, Miko Cross. Miko, this is Sheriff Ken Madras. He's out here to ask about your dog."

I was in no way surprised when Miko pressed his hands together and gave the sheriff a quick bow. I'd actually kind of grown used to that way of greeting people.

The locals were going to have a field day with him.

"You got married?" the sheriff asked.

"Miko is Monty's son." Pretty sure that was all I needed to explain about that. "We got married a couple of days ago."

Sheriff Ken squinted as he looked at Miko, making me feel just a bit uncomfortable. "He any relation to those foreigners we got staying in town?"

Just that fast my eyebrows snapped together as I frowned. "What foreigners?"

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