“The Boone Dalton fan club?”
When he reached her, he stopped and pulled her into his arms, giving no mind to the fact that couples walked around them on their way into the festival.
“I missed you, woman.” He spoke into her hair, giving her an all-body shiver.
“I missed you, too. And thank you for hiring someone to fix my thermostat.”
“Ah. You figured that out.”
“It didn’t take me long. That was kind, but you should have let my landlord pay for it.”
“Sorry, but I couldn’t stand the thought of your cute ass freezing every night I wasn’t there to keep you warm.” He took her hand and tugged her through the entrance, joining the throngs of residents. “Morgan and Holt are already inside. Robby is in line for the train ride. The new parents, of course, are taking photos of Josie over by the pumpkins.”
They walked hand in hand past the petting zoo near the entrance sponsored by Happy Hearts, and all the tents with games. In the distance near the rows of colorful marigolds, she spotted Morgan holding Josie while Erica snapped one photo after another. The baby girl was cute, blonde and the image of her beautiful mother. She should be turning one soon, because nearly a year ago, Erica almost gave birth at the Denim & Diamonds party on the same night Camilla met Jordan.
“Hey, guys!” Morgan said, waving to Boone and Sofia. “Beautiful day, huh?”
The sun indeed had graced them today in full force, raising the temperatures to more bearable levels.
“But the forecasters said it might snow,” Boone said.
“It still could,” Erica said, taking the baby. “You know how it is. This good weather won’t last. Boone, would you take one of all of us? Selfies are hard with a baby.”
Boone let go of Sofia’s hand and took a few photos of the happy family of three. Sofia didn’t have to look through the lens to feel the love that radiated from this couple. And little Josie, right in the middle of all that adoration, just seemed to glow with the energy.
“We really ought to get a photo of us on the hayride,” Erica teased. “Last time we were here together I was huge. That’s where he first kissed me, you know?”
“It was sort of our first official date.” Morgan tugged her close.
Once Boone gave the phone back and Erica checked the photos, Sofia noticed that Josie squirmed in her father’s arms and began to fuss.
“She wants her favorite uncle,” Morgan said, and handed Boone the baby.
Boone took her with practiced ease. “How’s my favorite girl?”
Little Josie cooed, smiled and blew a raspberry.
“She’s exhausting, that’s how she is,” Erica said, going into Morgan’s arms. “She’s still not sleeping through the night.”
“Don’t worry, someday soon she will.” Morgan kissed Erica’s temple.
“I have heard that she might sleep better if we had a family bed—” Erica said.
“No,” Morgan said. “We tried that.”
“But as you can see, my husband isn’t fond of the idea.” Erica rested her head on his shoulder.
A little boy came running up to them, a couple following close behind. “Uncle Boone! I went on the train ride. And there’s a haunted house! Also, pumpkin pies and pumpkin ice cream!”
The kid practically levitated in excitement. Boone ruffled the boy’s hair. “Robby, meet my friend Sofia.”
She was then introduced to Holt, Robby’s father, and his new wife Amanda.
“Are your younger brothers here?” Sofia asked. “Your parents?”
“This isn’t really their thing,” Boone said, handing Josie back to Erica. “Hey, Robby, want to go get some of that pumpkin ice cream?”
“Yesss!” Robby turned to Holt. “Dad? Can I?”
Holt nodded, and Robby grabbed Boone’s hand. “Let’s go, dude! Before he changes his mind.”
“We’re going to freeze, but that’s half the fun.” Boone took Sofia’s hand and they walked to the tent selling ice cream.
Brave Robby got a cone, but Sofia decided she only wanted to share a cup with Boone. She loved ice cream, but call her crazy, come October she liked her pumpkin in a hot latte. They must have made a funny picture, all three of them dressed warmly and eating ice cream. But even when the sun came out, the temps only rose to the low fifties.
“Ew, you’re sharing? What about cooties?” Robby made a face.
“Buddy, I like her cooties,” Boone said, offering her a spoonful.
Sofia took some, but her teeth protested. Next, her brain froze. “That’s enough for me.”
“Okay, wimp.” But Boone pulled her close into his arms, lowering the zipper on his leather jacket and tucking her close.
Cozy and snug, she felt desire thrum through her. His touch was both comfortable and easy but also spiked her emotions with something close to longing. Her body buzzed when she buried her face in his warm neck.
“Is Sofia your girlfriend?” Robby studied them, his tongue now orange, face a tinge of blue.
“Yeah, this is my girlfriend,” Boone said. “Why? You like her?”
Sofia peeked out from Boone’s neck, wondering if the little boy who appeared to be in the early stages of frostbite would approve of her.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” she asked.
He nodded his head, or was he shaking from the cold? “I’m c-cold, Uncle B-boone.”
“What a shocker. C’mere, buddy.” Boone set the cup down and held out his free arm to Robby. “Get warm.”
Boone held his warmth like he had his own furnace. Sofia’s arm curled around his waist, and he kissed the top of her head. The threesome stayed that way for several minutes until they were joined by Holt and Amanda, laughing softly.
“They’re about to choose the biggest pumpkin, Robby,” Amanda said.
“Gotta go, dude!” Robby, fully regenerated, jumped up. “Thanks for the ice cream!”
After they’d left, Boone stood there, still holding her close. “Want to go to the petting zoo, little girl? We passed it on the way inside.”
“I’m dying to see how heavy the winning pumpkin is, but yeah. Let’s go see the cute goats.”
“It’s sponsored by Happy Hearts.” He tugged on her hand.
That meant that Daphne had not only had time to run a business, fall in love and plan a wedding, she’d also taken this on. The woman was a dynamo. Next to the petting zoo was another separate area with dogs and puppies up for adoption. Children and parents played with the dogs.
“I’m surprised that Holt was able to walk by this display without Robby begging to adopt another dog. But they have to go back out this way, so I’m not sure the luck will hold.”
“Oh, hey, Boone!” One of the teenage helpers inside the fenced-off area greeted them. She was blonde and pretty, and obviously half in love with Boone.
Boone handed over some tickets to her, but she didn’t accept them. “Are you kidding me? You should be allowed in free after your fat donation! Happy Hearts sure appreciates it.”
This close to Boone, Sofia felt him tense beside her. “It was no big deal,” he replied.
“No big deal? Our office manager practically jumped in the air and said Daphne would be so happy!”
Once they were inside the pen, Boone squeezed her hand. “It’s for a good cause.”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
But the thought that Boone would support a charitable organization like Happy Hearts wrapped around her heart like a soft blanket.
“I’ve always been interested in starting a horse sanctuary of my own.”
He went on to tell her about wild horses, and how too many of them were taken into Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered. How in Nevada, ranchers were concerned over wild horses grazing on wheatgrass meant for Angus cattle. There were far mor
e horses than could be reasonably supported on the public land.
“It’s become a problem, but I can’t believe the answer is killing those beautiful creatures.”
“Now you can afford to do something about it.”
“Maybe that’s why I don’t spend much money on myself. There’s so many great animal causes.” He bent to pet Tiny Tim, the official ring bearer from Daphne’s wedding not long ago.
“Watch out for Agatha,” Sofia warned, recognizing the goat. “She eats clothes.”
“Thanks for the warning.” Boone chuckled. “Was that the wardrobe malfunction at the wedding?”
“You know it.” Sofia bent to pet a sheep and laughed when Agatha tried to headbutt Boone’s leg. “All animals love you, Boone. Agatha is trying to get your attention. Or maybe she’d just like a taste of your shirt. Face it, you smell good.”
Sofia went on to have her fun naming the goats. “That’s Agatha, so this one is Betty, this is Charles, and finally, here’s Debbie.”
“Alphabetical order? Lame. Okay, you don’t get to name our kids.”
Before Sofia could fully process that staggering sentence, out of the blue, a flash of brown leaped in her direction, and before she could even turn, she went flat to the ground, tasting mud and damp grass.
Chapter Twelve
“Bad dog!” someone yelled. “How are you ever getting adopted if you pull stuff like this?”
“Sofia, baby, are you okay?” Boone pulled her to a standing position.
He had watched helpless as she got knocked over by the dog who’d leaped the fence. He tried but couldn’t stop her forward momentum. Sofia had mud...everywhere. She spit out grass and brushed back strands of dirt-encrusted hair. How she’d been hit that hard he’d never know, but it probably hadn’t helped that she’d been crouching to pet a goat. She’d sort of slid across the ground and braced a second too late. It would have been funny had it been one of his brothers.
“I think so. What h-happened?” She rubbed at her elbow.
“A sheepdog jumped the fence. Guess he thought he had a job to do.”
“Sorry, miss. That never happens. He’s new,” the teenager said, handing Boone a wet paper towel. “Here.”
Oh yeah, that ought to do it. A single paper towel. He didn’t know if he should start with her black leggings first, or the white fisherman’s sweater. Formerly white, that is.
She rubbed at her disheveled hair, appearing a bit stunned. “I’m okay.”
Boone wiped at her nose smudged with mud. “There.”
“Well, I was overdue for a clay mask at the spa,” Sofia joked.
“That’s my girl.”
“I want to go home now,” Sofia said. “I need to change.”
“I’ll take you back to my place. It’s closer.”
“But—”
“Don’t worry. You can take a shower and get all that mud out of your hair.”
She looked back as he led her through the gate. “Is the dog going to be okay? They’re not going to punish him, are they?”
“Don’t worry, he must have been auditioning for some rancher. After work like that, he’ll be adopted in a nanosecond.”
“Boone, I should really go home. I have my car, and—”
“Do you want to get the interior dirty?”
“What about your truck? You have a nicer interior than I do.”
“I drove my clunker truck today. Robby says it feels like a roller-coaster ride.” He pulled out his cell. “I’ll just text Holt and Morgan that we’re leaving.”
“Just take me home and come back to enjoy the day with your family.”
“No. I’m taking care of you. Neither one of us saw that coming, but I’m the wrangler. I should have sensed that whirlwind coming out of left field.”
Chalk it up to being too engaged with Sofia, as she named petting zoo animals in alphabetical order. Hand on her back, he steered her past the crowds and led her to the asphalt parking area, where he helped her into his truck.
“Was it my imagination or were people staring?” she asked after he got in. “I must look like something from a horror movie.” She smoothed more of her hair down, the red now tinged with brown.
“I didn’t notice, but I for one love this new look.”
She slid him a deadpan look. “Sure.”
He was only partly lying. Of course, he’d noticed the stares, the frowns of concern, but he liked Sofia messy. For the first time since he’d met her, it felt as if she actually needed him, and not the other way around. Surely he couldn’t be blamed for enjoying that feeling. He drove back to Dalton’s Grange, this time taking the side road that led more directly to his cabin and bypassed the main house. He helped Sofia out of the truck and led her up the stone-paved lane to his wraparound porch.
He opened the door he’d left unlocked and waited for her to walk through before he closed it behind them. Because Sofia had dated Brandon Taylor, he assumed a cabin like his wouldn’t be all that impressive. Still, he tried to see it through her eyes. Boone had had it designed with a decidedly Western theme, homey and comfortable. The lower floor wrapped around in a big circle, with a more formal living room to the right that led to the large and open kitchen. To the left, the great room also wrapped around and met the other side of the kitchen. Not far from the foyer was the staircase that led to the upstairs bedrooms. He had three. Yeah, yeah. He was a single guy who didn’t need that much room. But he’d built for the future he envisioned. A wife, lots of kids running around.
They were greeted by Spot, who immediately recognized Sofia, wagging his tail and yipping several times.
“I’m still having no luck finding his owner.”
Sofia bent down to pet Spot, who rolled over on his back and then sighed in bliss when Sofia scratched his belly.
“This is a nice cabin,” Sofia said as she stood up and looked around. “So, where’s the shower?”
Nothing like cutting to the chase, he thought, but she probably felt uncomfortable. He held her hand and led her up the steps, but rather than presumptively taking her into his bedroom, led her to the guest bathroom down the hall.
“I’ll be right back,” he said, and went to find fresh towels. When he returned, he handed her a plush terry cloth robe. “You can wear this when you come out.”
Biting on her lower lip, which might have been concealing the start of a smile, she gently pushed him out of the bathroom and shut the door. Until then he hadn’t realized he’d been lingering.
Okay, then.
Naturally, he’d fantasized about this moment. Sofia here, alone in his cabin with him, where he could take care of her and spoil her. But this wasn’t the way he’d imagined it. She should be here because she wanted to be, and not because some mad sheepdog had shoved her headfirst into the ground. When he’d turned her over and helped her stand, she’d been dazed.
Anyone could see that Sofia had never been the slightest bit of a tomboy. Her nails were always perfectly manicured, her makeup flawless. Every hair always perfectly in place, outfits so well coordinated that even someone as fashion-clueless as he sat up and took notice. But even so there was never any hint of superiority from her. She was down-to-earth and approachable. Kind and compassionate. He’d honestly never met a woman quite like her. Sure, he didn’t understand why she was so meticulous about her looks, when clearly, she had a lot more going on. She was intelligent, strong-minded and creative.
He busied himself by starting a fire in the fireplace downstairs. Then he went in the kitchen and shoved away evidence that he was a bachelor who liked to snack on beef jerky and cold beer. Thankfully, everything was clean, and all dishes put away. But as he looked for actual food, he found nothing. He didn’t cook much these days. Either he went out for dinner with his younger brothers, or Morgan and Holt invited him over. Even though his mother invited him to dinn
er every week, Boone mostly avoided sitting at the table with Neal. There were times when his mother brought him dinner because she couldn’t stand him to go without a home-cooked meal.
She was a rancher’s wife through and through, a saint of a woman who put her family first. Just like Sofia’s mother.
Boone was stoking the fire when he heard soft footsteps on the staircase and turned to see Sofia, wrapped in his oversized white bathrobe. She had a towel wrapped tightly around her head and held her clothes. Fresh faced and devoid of make-up, she was still stunning. His heart hammered away in his chest.
She met him at the base of the steps. “You don’t have a blow-dryer. Or any hair products.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. That hair of yours is obviously a gift from God.” She smirked.
“I told you, it’s called the wind.” He shoved a hand through his hair and took her damp clothes.
“They just need to be hung to air-dry. I managed to spot-clean them. It wasn’t as bad as it looked. I guess my face and hair took the worst of it.”
“I made a fire for us.” He took the clothes and hung them up to dry in the mudroom.
When he returned, she sat on the fireplace hearth, legs pulled up to her chest, staring inside at the licking and sparking flames.
She stole his breath.
Her long, bare legs peeking out from under the robe were driving him to distraction. Was Sofia completely naked under there, or had she put her bra and panties back on? He wanted to know.
And there was only one way to find out.
* * *
As Sofia sat in front of the fire, she admired the room. There was a sectional couch and a couple of recliner chairs. Everything looked either new or barely lived in. The ceilings were vaulted, giving the room an open look with tall windows that let in plenty of natural light. She wondered if he spent much time in this cabin. He hadn’t been in Bronco long, so this could all be new construction. The wood smelled new and mingled with the light scent of pine drifting into the house.
An amazing view through the windows and glass sliders revealed part of the explanation for the pine smell: a forest of pine trees and a creek in the distance.
Grand-Prize Cowboy Page 12
