Page 40 of White Collar Rancher

While she finished feeding and burping Isaiah, he rambled on about how well his family was doing. The baby fell asleep. She glanced at the mariner clock on the wall. It was his normal bedtime.

“I think you’re in trouble,” she murmured. “He’s asleep.”

“I had planned it so I could drop Gram off and get home in time to give him a bottle before bed. But you were the talk of the nursing home.”

She filled in what he didn’t say. He’d realized she was alone today and had come by. Her day had turned out well. The morning had been rough while she whiled away her time in self-pity, but once the talk with Lucille had inspired her, she’d rallied. The nursing home trip had been fun, even if she’d had to give herself a pep talk to actually walk into the home. Would they want anything she baked? Had her reputation spread that far? But the older population comprised only a small percentage of her patient base—and hadn’t shrunk over the last year.

“I think I need to make it a tradition,” she said. “Lots of Dad’s patients asked about him and remembered stories he’d told of me.”

More importantly, she’d learned that she’d been too dependent on her family to pave the way for her. She needed to unbutton her lab coat herself and find her own people to hang out with, and if they were eighty, who cared? Her coworkers had tentatively extended invitations to her.

Why had she never accepted?

Because Maisy had been in the later stages of pregnancy and freaking out about not being able to pin Justin down. Then there’d been Justin.

And there was still Justin. If she made more friends, real friends she didn’t sleep with, would this thing between them satisfy her? Would he leave once she said she wanted more?

“I should get him home.” Justin paused, as if it were a question.

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him to stay. To find a way to make a safe place for Isaiah to sleep, or heck, to offer to go home with him.

But it felt like a cop-out. No matter how good he looked sitting across from her, or how many times he could make her orgasm, she needed to round out this day. She’d woken up alone and she was going to bed alone.

As he packed up the bottle and loaded Isaiah into his seat, a sense of pride descended over her like a cozy blanket. If she could find her own way in her personal life, she’d find her own professionally—and get to the bottom of why she was losing patients.

And when she’d managed that, then…she’d face this friends-with-benefits thing, and whether they wanted to keep going as they were or go on a real date. Or break it off entirely.

Chapter 12

Justin rolled over and kissed the bare shoulder peeking out from under the blankets. He grinned when Priya groaned and burrowed closer.

He propped his head on his hand. They’d made it through Christmas without seeing each other much, but neither of them had gotten the other a gift. She’d tentatively double-checked that gift giving wasn’t expected between them. He’d reassured her that he didn’t have a present. Never once had he and Caleb exchanged gifts, and Caleb was his best friend.

For this holiday, he’d made sure she had family to be with. She’d spent it at her grandparents’ place in town with her mom and dad. Justin’s parents had flown in, and his entire family had gotten together at Travis’s. As soon as their routine had resumed, she’d been back in his bed. They were both still on the same page. Just friends who had amazing sex together.

He rubbed her shoulder. “You mind if I go out and do chores?”

“You mean do I mind if you go out and beat Brigit to it?”

He grinned at the lump she made under the covers, only her pile of black hair blooming out like a midnight-colored rose. Yanking the blankets off sounded like a good idea, but she was naked under there. When they had sex it was the only time she slept without clothes on and that was only if it was a vigorous night.

Last night had been especially vigorous. Something about work was bothering her, but she hadn’t said much beyond “I wish some coworkers were still on vacation.”

But he’d reaped the benefits. He couldn’t complain. He shouldn’t complain. It was just… They’d been doing this for weeks, and had been leaning on each other for longer, but she still didn’t confide in him. Since Thanksgiving, they were back to superficial discussions while they drank wine. About Isaiah. And oddball cases that strolled into her office. His siblings and their families. Then they had sex. Deep and meaningful had been taken off the table.

As long as she talked to someone, that was what mattered. Last weekend, she’d gone out with work buddies, and while he’d missed his time with her, he’d been happy. The next night, she’d come over. Back to their arrangement.

He rolled out of bed. The Priya bump under the covers didn’t twitch. She was asleep again.

He glanced at the baby monitor. It was early yet. Isaiah had had a bottle four hours ago and would probably be waking up soon.

Dressing as quietly as possible, he tiptoed out to the kitchen. The batch of muffins Priya had baked last night rested on the counter. He wolfed down four and just as stealthily made his way outside.

He was in the barn, shoveling feed into the trough for the sick ewes and weak young lambs he had sequestered, when the familiar rumble of Caleb’s pickup cut through the air. A few minutes later, the crunch of Caleb’s footsteps announced his approach.

He lifted his chin. “Morning.”

“I should learn to turn right around when I see Pri’s car in the drive. You’re always out here by the time I park.” Caleb grinned. A black stocking hat was pulled down to his eyebrows, but the white crescent-shaped Cruise ranch logo Brigit had designed stuck out loud and proud. His hands were shoved in his jacket, probably with the gloves he wasn’t wearing. “Brigit’s here, too, but she went into the house.”

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