Page 18 of Cabins Cows Critics
“Gross, man,” he says, and Atlas chuckles.
“Sorry. But also, it has to be the single guy, right?”
I shrug, thinking back to my exchange with Hayden in the cuddle cove. He was curious about how the cove started, about me, maybe he is writing the story. Or maybe he was just being friendly. I try to calm the churning in my gut with a mouthful of chicken and gravy.
It has to be Larry from cabin three. If I want to stay under the radar with him, I’ll have to keep him focused on the ranch and not on me. Shouldn’t be too hard, really. He’s here for the Christmas Experience. Ice sculpting, snow horseback riding, and bonfires under a starlit sky. He’ll be too busy with all the activities to dig into my past. I’ve got nothing to worry about. It’s been ten years since any news outlet has even mentioned my name online. Not that I go online much. The family name pops up whenever my dipshit cousin decides he’s going to talk up his plans for the company’s future once our grandfather dies. That was to be my future once, a time that feels forever ago. I don’t even recognize the man I used to be. A polished, arrogant fuckboy who thought going on television to find a wife was a super great idea. Coming out and bolting on the would-be woman to win my heart was not in my plans and definitely not in my grandfather’s plans for my life. He cut me off, and I ran away until I found my place here. But these guys don’t even know who I used to be. I came here, Connor Walker, and they never questioned my past. Just accepted me for who I was. Fuck. I’m not ready to run again.
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Dean says, and Perry clears his throat and turns in his chair a little toward Dean.
“With the extra horses we’ve taken in and the cattle numbers, we’re going to need more feed before we’re through winter.”
“More?” Nial asks. “The sheds were pretty full last I checked. Are you sure it won’t last?”
Perry shakes his head.
“I’ve been through more winters on this ranch than years you’ve been breathing. We were cutting it close before we added another herd.”
“We had to take them in,” Dean says, and Atlas nods with a soft smile. He found the group of wild horses wandering through cold brush on the outer perimeter of the acreage. No one is ever out that way, so it was pure luck, or stupidity, that he came upon them. He took Loki for a walk around the main house and gardens, and those freaky hairless chickens freaked him out, and he bolted. So I guess Loki found them. Nine mares, seven studs, and three foals, each of those near death, skinny, and half frozen. I still don’t know how he managed to rope them all and lead them back. Wild horses usually have to be broken in before you can even get them to walk with a rope, but they just followed him into the stables like he was the fucking pied piper of horses. A true horse whisperer, Atlas is.
“We’ll find a way to make it work,” Skye says, always the optimist and I look around the table, determined smiles on every one of them.
“We always do.”
Dean nods, and while we go back to eating and chatting about the plans for this Christmas Experience for the millionth time, there is a heaviness in my heart that I just can’t shake. How the hell am I ever going to leave this place?
Chapter eight
Hayden
CORRALLED BY THE COWBOY
IleaveWensnoringin the queen bed and step outside into the cool night air, wrapped in my warmest coat and wearing her Ugg boots, because while I packed for the cold, I didn’t expect it to be this cold. How is it that out here, forty degrees Fahrenheit feels so much colder than it did in the city? Maybe it’s all the cars and lights that keep you feeling warmer. The stars glistening above me are a welcome change to the cloudy sky back home, though. It’s easy to forget that the sky is filled with stars in other parts of the world.
I hear a soft moo and wander toward the warm glow of the mini barn. Surely the animals are all asleep by now.
“There you go, little one,” Connor’s voice carries on the cool night air, and an excited shiver runs through me. I inch closer to the door of the barn.
“You just needed some time to settle, didn’t you? That’s it, good boy,” he says, and I imagine him telling me that. Calling mea good boy as I take his cock deep into my throat and swallow him.
My cock twitches.
I inch the door open a little and peek through. It’s mostly open areas stacked with straw and hay bales on one side, but on the side closest to the cove, there are areas fenced off by wooden rails, and that’s where I find Connor. He’s holding a bottle of milk through the section where Kiki is sectioned off.
His jeans hug his ass in perfect rounds, but as I open the barn door wider to get a better look, it creaks, and I step to the side, heart racing. I should run back to the cabin, but my feet won’t move. It’s like the cold night air has crawled into Wendy’s Ugg boots and latched onto them, holding them in place. Fuck, please just think it’s the wind. It’s a ranch. There’s wind out here. Just keep feeding the adorable mini cow, and don’t come looking out here. My heart is beating so loud in my ears, I’m sure that if he even comes near the door, he’ll hear it pounding and know for sure someone was lurking out here.
“Nial, if you’re trying to scare me, you’re shit out of luck. I could smell that cheap cologne of yours a mile away.”
I’m not even wearing cologne, I think as I slowly inch away from the door, my legs are finally working. I watch where the light peeks through, waiting for him to come out and totally bust me. Then my foot catches on something, and I stumble back, but instead of falling on my ass, I hit a wall of warmth, and his strong arms spin me around.
“Oh, it’s you,” he says, large hands still gripping my arms.
“I…I’m sorry, I just. I heard noises and…”
“You shouldn’t be out this late at night.”
“Why? Will one of the animals try to kill me?” I ask, turning my head side to side, a new fear unlocked.
He laughs, letting me go. My face is on fire, my heart is still racing, and I shove my sweaty palms into the pockets of my coat.
