Page 189 of Huckleberry Hill
Declan had just hung up his phone and he turned to look at me. He whistled in appreciation. Tempest thought that meant she was being summoned and went over to him.
“You’re gorgeous.”
I did a slow turn for him and then at the last second, flipped up my skirt to show him what he was missing.
“God, woman,” he moaned. He walked to the hat rack and put on his cowboy hat. His flannel shirt was rolled up to the elbows and he was wearing a pair of jeans that made me want to bite the meaty part of his butt.
“Stop staring at me like that,” he warned.
“Like what?”
“Like you’ve seen me naked.”
I grinned.
Declan put Tempest into her harness and then clipped the leash to it. “This is ridiculous.”
“Nothing hotter than a man walking his baby goat,” I said. “Stay close to me. I’m worried some other woman will try and kidnap you and take you home.”
“I won’t leave your side,” he promised. “Are Muddy and Connor going to the festival?”
“They’re already there,” I said. “Are you going to tell me about the phone call?”
He opened the front door and went onto the porch. “I’ll tell you on the drive.”
“Where’s my jean jacket?” I asked, looking around at the cabin—the cabin that had exploded with a bunch of stuff I’d gotten from New York.
“Already in the truck,” he said. “I put it in there for you. Along with a water bottle and some snacks.”
“Yeah, definitely stay close to me. When other women find out how attentive and amazing you are, I’m going to have to beat them off with a stick.”
I slid into my cowboy boots and closed the cabin door behind me.
“Is it wrong that I like you jealous?” he joked.
“I’m not jealous.” I tossed my hair over my shoulder. “But I will cut someone if they flirt with you.”
He smiled. “No, not jealous at all.”
Declan opened the passenger side door of the truck for me, and when I climbed in, he put Tempest on my lap. She immediately moved to the seat between us. Declan closed the door and then walked around the truck and got into the driver’s side.
When we’d made it down the long driveway, Declan finally started talking.
“The coffee company is looking to push various roasts into every smokehouse in the country. Wasn’t as simple as a photo shoot and a paycheck. They need me to get back on a horse and tour the country and sell the product along the way. They drove a hard bargain and didn’t want to take no for an answer. They kept throwing out numbers that were hard to say no to . . .”
“Oh yeah?” I looked at him.
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “But when they said it meant I’d have to hit the road again I told them no amount of money was going to pull me away from my family. They finally gave up. They left the door open for me to change my mind though.” He took one hand off the steering wheel and reached over and touched my belly. “But there’s nothing that can pull me out of retirement.”
“You sure?” I asked, biting my lip.
“I don’t want to be away from you and I don’t need the money. I wasn’t entirely honest with you.”
Anxiety spiked through my chest. “Oh?”
“I told you I had a nest egg?”
“Yeah.”
