Page 76 of A Rancher's Love
“Not admiring your face, darlin’,” he drawled far too confidently.
And when he took the longest time to actually lift his gaze, Ginny was pretty sure she had daggers shooting out of her eyes. “What’s your name?”
“Jim Allen.” He took a small step closer, towering over her as he once again slid his gaze over her body. “And I hear you’re one smooth, cool drink of gin.”
“Lovely. Did you also hear that I’m one of your bosses?” She stepped back, because as much as she wanted to make a point, she wasn’t stupid enough to think about physically challenging the bastard. “Mind your manners. I’m sorry for running into you. Now, get back to work.”
He lifted a hand and saucily tipped his hat. “Yes, ma’am.”
She kept an eye on him as he turned and wandered off, heading out the door and toward the bunk houses.
Well, fuck.
It didn’t happen often. Not at Silver Stone, where one of the first talks with new hires regarded the women working the ranch. Kelli had been a lead hand for years, and before Ginny left, while she hadn’t worked in the barns, she’d been around often enough that Ashton and her brothers had made sure nothing ever got dangerous.
Ginny knew the rules. It was a ranch, and with animals around acting like—well, animals—sexual jokes were a given. But she and Dare had been told from the very start they were to report any hand who went beyond the comfortable level of teasing.
Shit, shit,shit. Because the person she should report this to now was probably Tucker.
She quickly thought back. Jim hadn’t really said anything terrible, had he? Was she overreacting? There were plenty of times she’d been out in public and admired a good-looking man. Was it wrong for Jim to check her out when she knew she was put together in a way that made guys take a second look? Maybe she’d done something to encourage him…
…and the fact that she was even having this mental debate with herself meant the answer was she needed to talk to Tucker. But damn, it wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have.
The door opened behind her, and she snapped her head up, worried that the man had returned.
It was Tucker with an oversized gym bag in one hand and wearing a pleased expression. “Hey. Sorry it took me a little longer than expected.”
“That’s fine,” she offered cheerfully. “What’s the big secret?”
He tilted his head toward the hayloft. “Head-on up. I’ve got something to show you.”
She snickered but kept any dirty comment to herself. She also decided she would tell him about Jim, but first things first.
They were in the oldest section of the barn now, solid as a rock, with only a couple of window openings on the west wall. She followed Tucker, admiring his broad shoulders as he led her to where someone had obviously put in some time and created a perfect seating arrangement out of the bales.
She stepped into the neat little hideaway, with a wide comfortable bench seat facing the window, backrests behind it and a footrest in the front. When Tucker reached into his duffel bag and pulled out pillows for them to sit on and put at their backs, Ginny smiled.
“This is comfy.”
“This is OperationProve itheadquarters,” he told her seriously.
“Get out.” She ignored the pillows and jumped up to catch Tucker around the neck, squeezing hard and enjoying the feeling as he wrapped her up tight.
They stood there for a few moments, just holding each other. Ginny took a deep breath and felt herself synchronizing with him. Chests moving easily as they found a rhythm and a pace.
He tucked his knuckles under her chin and lifted her face to his. “Missed you.”
Then he kissed her. Gentle and soft. Sweet even, which after the hug made her feel one hundred kinds of wonderful.
“Missed you, too,” she confessed.
Then instead of heating things up, he motioned toward the pillows. “We’ve got some reporting to do.”
His afternoon spentwith Luke had only confirmed Tucker’s decision. It didn’t matter how busy he was, at the end of the day, he wanted to go home to Ginny, and he didn’t give a damn who knew it.
No, correction. He sure the hell wantedeveryoneto know he was the one coming home to the woman.
But this was more than that. He’d seen her, truly seen the way she stepped in and did things, often without anyone noticing. Ginny was always there for her family. Always doing what she thought was right for them.
