Page 13 of Cabins Cows Critics
“They won’t bite,” I say, then chuckle. “Actually, Tara might.”
“Which one’s Tara?” he asks, but I don’t answer; I need to put Kiki down. My arms are aching under her weight, and when she saw her sisters, she suddenly got a burst of energy and started wriggling, trying to get down. “Which one’s Tara?” Hayden calls again.
“The black one,” I yell back, trying to mask my amusement, but it comes through in my tone. I lower Kiki down into the separate section inside the barn I set up for her before I went to pick her up. She’ll recover quickly, but she needs to take it easy and won’t be up for guest cuddles just yet. A thud draws my attention, and there is her sister, Gabs, headbutting the railing.
“Hold your hooves,” I say, climbing half over the rail and lifting her in. The second her little feet hit the ground, she’s off, nuzzling her sister and making soft moo noises. “Well, it looks like you’re in good hands here,” I say and climb all the way out. “I’d better get these city kids to their room, then I’ll come back and give you a brush.
“Are you talking to the cows?”
I spin, and there’s Hayden leaning on the doorframe watching me, a smirk on his lips.
“Maybe.”
“And do the cows talk back?”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Sometimes. But it’s the goats that are particularly chatty.”
He laughs, and it’s like the room just got brighter somehow. Nope. Do not fall for the straight guy. Been there. Done that. It was only a few months ago that I totally embarrassed myself, sending a drink over to a guy I was sure had been checking me out all night at the pub in town. Turns out he was eyeing the smoke machine behind me. He quit a week earlier and was struggling.
“I’ll take you to your cabin,” I say, walking past him, and this time, I hold my breath so that I don’t tease my senses with the delicious scent of him.
“Oh. Umm, okay. Wen, time to go,” he says, and she lifts Lulu out of her lap and sets her down on a soft pile of hay, but she jumps back in before she can stand.
“You can bring her with us, she’ll need a feed, and my cabin is around back,” I say, and Wendy cuddles her to her chest and stands to follow us out.
“She gets fed in your cabin, is that because she’s, like, runted or something?” Hayden asks, and I laugh again for like the fifth time since I’ve met him.
“She’s a pigmy. She’s supposed to be that small.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Chuckling, I grab their bags from the back of my truck and lead them to their cabin.
“This is you,” I say, putting the suitcase down on the small porch and pushing open the door. “Queen bed, mini kitchenette and bathroom with shower, sorry, no tub, but the pool is solar heated, so as long as you don’t mind a dip with Chewie the llama, you could relax in there if you want to.”
“Wow, this ranch has everything, even a llama,” Wendy says, turning around in a circle in the middle of the small room. The cabins on Beaker Brothers aren’t huge. Some are bigger than others, with mini lofts for extra sleeping, but this one is one of the smallest. It’s got the queen bed on the right, a kitchenette and bathroom on the left, and a small round table below the front window with two small stools to sit and have their morning coffee.
“Sally-May will pop over later with your welcome basket, and the mini fridge is stocked with creamer and juice. But if you need anything else, just pop up to the main house, or dial one on the cabin phone.”
“And the cuddle session you promised,” Wendy asks, stepping a little too close.
“Sure, I’ll just feed Lulu and meet you back by the cove at ten?”
“Perfect, see you then,” she replies, lifting Lulu up onto my arms, but as I take her, Wendy closes her hand over myforearm. “Are all the cowboys on the ranch as big and strong and handsome as you?”
My face grows warm, and I step back.
“Dean is bigger and stronger, but don’t tell him I said so.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t,” she replies sweetly.
I leave before it gets even more awkward, but before I am out of earshot, I hear Hayden say, “Laying it on a bit thick for the hot cowboy, don’t you think, Wen?”
“Just trying to gauge if he plays for your team or mine. I love you like a brother, but I won’t share.”
So they’re not together, like a couple, or anything, and on his team or hers, does that mean I might actually have a thing for a guy who’s actually into guys? But while it wouldn’t be the first time one of the guys went above and beyond to satisfy a guest, he’s likely come here for a holiday, not a hookup. I remember the way he watched me with Kiki, and my cock twitches.
Maybe he’d be up for both.
