Page 50 of The Cowgirl's Secret Love
“That’s it.That’swhat we need,” Zach said with hyper enthusiasm. He glanced at Karen. “What do you think? It’s genius for branding, but it’s not really dirty unless people want to dig into the history.”
She caught his excitement, wrapping her fingers around Finn’s. “I think it’s a great name. Let’s run a search first to make sure we’re not setting up within a hundred miles of some other Red Boot ranch. But if we’re not, I think it’s cute.”
A sigh of exasperation escaped Finn, but he winked at her. “Okay. If it works, we have a name. Welcome to the Red Boot ranch.”
It was barely two o’clock,and he was done.
As Finn made his way slowly across the yard and up to the cottage, parts of his body screamed in pain that he hadn’t expected.
He made it as far as the living room before a little ball of white fluff attacked the sock covering his uninjured foot. The next moment, the demonic creature had all four claws dug into the thick knit fabric, limbs splayed wide to keep his balance as Finn’s leg swung freely.
It was like an elephant getting attacked by a mouse, and in spite of his pain and exhaustion, Finn discovered laughter bubbling up.
“Beast.”
He pulled out a kitchen chair and leveraged himself into it. Once his foot was resting on the ground, the kitten made his way upward, climbing Finn like a scratching post.
“Oh, hell no. None of that.” Finn grabbed the thing by the scruff of the neck before he could dig his claws into Finn’s crotch. He held the kitten in the air in front of his face.
The beast swung teeny paws and offered adorable growling meows.
Finn snickered. “Should’ve called you Marshmallow Fluff. You’re sweet enough to make a man go into shock.”
He scratched the little thing under his furry chin then tucked the kitten against his chest. He kept one hand over Dandy’s body, cradling him close, and the next thing Finn knew, the kitten was purring, nuzzling his shirt.
“Now there’s a sight.” Karen stood in the doorway, a soft smile on her lips. “I wondered where you’d gotten to, but now it all makes sense. You knew Dandy needed cuddles.”
“Can’t have him getting lonely,” Finn said gruffly.
Her head tilted as she examined him, obviously reading the signs of pain in his body. But she didn’t say anything as she moved into the kitchen.
“Want a drink?”
God, did he want a drink. “Since I assume alcohol is out of the question, you got any kind of juice?”
“No problem.” She put two glasses on the counter then dug in the refrigerator as she changed the topic completely. “You know as a woman I put up with rude comments pretty much all the time, yes?”
Finn knew, but didn’t like it one bit. “You shouldn’t have to.”
“I agree one hundred percent, but this is my reality, and I don’t see it changing overnight. What does help, though, is me shutting it down real fast. That’s all I was doing, and nine times out of ten, that’s all it takes. At least in this kind of a setting where we work together on a regular basis.”
“What about the one in ten who doesn’t know when enough is enough?” Finn took the glass she handed him. “I won’t have assholes working around here who don’t know how to read no as no.”
“And if we get any of that type around here, I swear I will tell Cody, and he’ll do his job and take care of it. But I’m not about to have you fire someone for a rude comment that didn’t even register on his asshole meter because it was mild compared to what he could get away with on another ranch.” Karen was in the chair across from him now, her expression softening. “Do I like having to deal with it? No. But changes are coming. Slowly,damnslowly in the agricultural world, but it is happening.”
Finn stared into the glass of orange juice she’d handed him. “I don’t like bullies or harassers. Never have.”
She slipped a hand onto his good knee. “I knew that about you from the first minute when you warned my cousin off for being nothing more than a minor annoyance. You’re one of the good ones, Finn Marlette.”
If he didn’t have both hands full, he would’ve covered her hand with his own. Instead, he watched a twinkle of amusement rise in her eyes.
She scooped the kitten off Finn’s chest and moved Dandy to a box in the corner of the room. “If I’m breaking all the rules and temporarily having an animal in the house, you will learn to behave,” she informed the little beast.
Three times Dandy tried to get out, and three times she patiently put him back in the same position. Each time she offered a little pet, and once he relaxed, she gave him a treat.
He opened his mouth in a tiny yawn then laid his head down on his tail and fell asleep.
Karen settled opposite Finn. The room grew quiet for a moment before curiosity rose in her eyes. “Tell me something about the time you were gone.”
