Page 38 of Christmas with the Cowgirl
“We had this dog character onStonewall, a border collie named—”
“Flip.”
He blinked in turn, gave her a quick glance.“You know him?”
“Hard to forget the way he’d do that three-sixty backflip,” she said with a smile.
“I didn’t realize you’d…watched that much.To know the dog, I mean.”
She gave him a sideways look and a crooked grin.“Unlike Nic, I was able to put the fact that it wasn’t really Texas out of my mind and focus on the story.For me, it was that, and the people who mattered.”She grimaced then.“And the animals.He really kicked that sweet dog?Why?”
“Fur on his pant leg.”
She stared at him.“Seriously?”
He nodded without looking at her, since there was a truck and horse trailer headed toward them.“I was right there.Heard him swear about it, turned around in time to see him kick Flip.That yelp…set me off.So I kicked him.In the ass.”
“Good for you,” she said, meaning it.“I hope he went down hard.”
She saw the corners of his mouth—it seemed she was always looking at that mouth—twitch.“He did.He whined about it for days.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t try to sue you or something.”
“He thought about it.But somebody—probably Jackson—explained to him how bad it would make him look if he had to admit in court he’d kicked an innocent dog who just happened to brush against him.”He grinned then.“Besides, Flip was a really popular character.Fans would probably come after him if they found out.”
“Rightfully so,” she said, meaning it.“I’m glad you stood up for him.”
“He’s a great dog.”They’d gone at least a couple of miles before he spoke again.“Nic said the Rafferty ranch is one of the bigger ones around?”
“Yes.They always have been, but now they’re even bigger since Cody Rafferty, the youngest of the boys, married the girl next door.”
He glanced at her.“Seriously?”
Riley laughed.“Yes.Brittany Roth.The Roths’ place is smaller but borders the Rafferty ranch.When they got married, they built a house that crosses the property line, to cement the connection.”
“Wow.That’s something.”
“It is.Especially if you know that Cody and Britt hated each other practically from the day they were both born, in the same hospital, on the same day, at almost the same time.”
He laughed.“That sounds like the setup for a teen-oriented show.”
She laughed.“It does.But sometimes reality is even weirder.”
“So that’s the youngest, then there’s Chance, the one who helps the dogs and got Maverick for Jeremy, right?”
“Yes,” she said.“And Keller’s the oldest and runs the ranch.”
“And he’s married to the woman who builtThe World In a Gift, right?”
“Yep.”She gave him a sideways smile.“You’re learning.”
“Nic mentioned the other brother is an artist himself?The one whose wife is the photographer who did those great photos for Jackson?”
“He is, although it took him until Kaitlyn came along for him to admit it.He started out doing leatherwork, and thought that was all he could do.”
She instinctively ran a finger over the belt she wore, a custom Rylan Rafferty she’d ordered from him.
“He did your belt?”Miles asked, proving his peripheral vision was just fine.
