Page 79 of Ranch Rules

“Well, not a moment too soon, I tell you. I hope you’re well rested, because you’ve got to hit the ground running.” He lifted his bushy brows.

“Yes, sir. Of course, sir. I’m eager to get back to work.”

He slapped the desk. “That’s what I like to hear. To be honest, I was surprised you didn’t take care of a few dozen emails. You’ve got hundreds.”

Her brow furrowed. “Well, I would have done, sir, but as you know the ranch doesn’t give guests access to Wi-Fi. My phone was a completely useless hunk of metal.” She uttered a little laugh.

“What’s this? No Wi-Fi? Whoever heard of such nonsense?”

“Was it not that way when you went?” she asked, truly perplexed.

He waved a hand in the air. “Oh, I never went. We got the recommendation from a nephew of one of the partners, or something like that. ‘Course we’d never send any of our employees somewhere without Wi-Fi, so maybe it was a different ranch altogether. You had a good time, though?”

This time her smile was genuine. “Yes, sir, very good. Thank you for the opportunity to take a break.”

“I must say, it definitely agreed with you. There’s something different about you.” He sat back in his chair and scrutinized her.

“There is?” She couldn’t help but feel pleased.

“Yes. I can’t quite put my finger on it. A new color in your cheeks, maybe. A brightness in your eyes. In any event, you look well. Now, if you’ll excuse me—”

“Yes, of course, sir. I’ll get right to work.”

Without a further farewell, Mr. Dawson waved her off and she slipped silently out of the room.

She had worried that she would miss Thomas so much she wouldn’t be able to work, but there wasn’t time to miss him. Her boss had been right—she had nearly three hundred emails to respond to, half of them marked ‘urgent.’ She knew she’d never make it through all of them in a single day and would be working late into the night. And to make matters worse, it looked like no one had brewed any coffee.

Well, that cinches it. I’m back.She smiled ruefully to herself and got to work.

* * *

It was a long day.Natalie put in her usual nine hours in addition to skipping lunch so that she could make some headway with the emails. She’d also found three new contracts on her desk waiting for her review. By the time she was walking to the parking garage, she was exhausted, but she knew she’d be up late into the night answering emails. Perhaps she’d grab a coffee on her way home. A large, with espresso.

As she drew closer to her car, she noticed that someone was leaning against it. She stopped short, clutching her purse to her, until she made out the familiar tall white cowboy hat. Then she took off at a run.

“Oof!” Thomas exclaimed as she vaulted herself into his arms.

“What are you... how did you... what are you doing here?” she demanded, standing on tiptoe to be kissed.

Thomas obliged, then stared down at her, mock stern. “Now, is that any way to greet me after I came all this way?”

She smiled. “Sorry, Daddy,” she murmured for his ears alone. “But I didn’t expect to see you. You said ‘soon’ but I didn’t think you meant later today!”

“You never texted me.” His mock stern turned real stern in a fraction of a second.

“I did too,” she protested, reaching for her phone. Her fingers flew across the screen and she showed him. “You didn’t answer.”

“Hmm.” His brow furrowed. “How about that. Well, I guess you get a ‘get out of jail free’ card this once.”

“Maybe it’s not just your Wi-Fi speed, maybe you need a new phone. When did you buy that one? 1994?” she teased.

Thomas leaned in and effectively shut her up with another kiss. “How was your first day back?”

She couldn’t stop smiling at him. “Better now.”

“You hungry?”

“Am I! I missed lunch today, so I’m starving.”

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