How To Rope A Rich Cowboy (Silver Springs Ranch #2) - Anya Summers Page 0,20

with a shake of his head.

“If you’ve got everything taken care of here, I’ve got some errands I need to run off the ranch,” Colt commented, dodging the subject matter entirely.

Lincoln adjusted his white Stetson and assessed him. “Just make sure you use protection on those errands that you’re running.”

“Who needs protection?” Duncan asked, returning from his overnight camping trip. His arms were loaded with gear that looked like it needed repair.

“Lincoln from running his mouth,” Colt said.

“That’s because he’s got a woman and doesn’t want us to know,” Lincoln replied.

Duncan cocked a brow and grinned. “Not going after Maribella, are you?”

“Hardly. Just have things to do,” Colt lied through his teeth.

“See, he’s being cagey,” Lincoln confided in Duncan.

Duncan chuckled. “I can see that. It’s definitely a woman.”

“Nope, it’s not. Just have a lot on my mind. I’ll see you later.” Colt nodded and strode away before they peppered him with more questions. Their laughter followed him out of the maintenance building and into the mid-afternoon sunlight. He shrugged their ribbing off, he’d be more careful, and work at compartmentalizing the situation with Avery. Do his best not to think of her when he was at work. Besides, with any luck, it was Avery he would be doing in short order, and then he would be the one laughing.

Colt, being an organized sort, headed back to his house first and packed a change of clothes in an overnight bag. Amber had left the house while he’d been working. She had a marketing project she was working on with Rebecca. Those two were thick as thieves, and tended to work well together.

For the hell of it, he tossed a pair of cuffs, some lube, and a butt plug into his bag. What would Avery make of them? He didn’t know if she would be interested in and willing to try some light bondage or anal play, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to find out.

He tossed his overnight bag on the passenger seat of his black truck, then headed out and off the ranch into Winter Park. If he was spending the night at Avery’s cabin, he needed more sustenance than ramen noodles and instant coffee. With that thought in mind, he made a trip to the local grocery store. Considering the shelves in her cabin were barren and it didn’t look like the woman had two cents to rub together, Colt picked up eggs, bacon, bread, cheese, butter, beer, the wine she seemed to like, and also tossed cans of beans, selected packages of chicken, ground beef, a couple of steaks, a bag of russet potatoes, more apples, bananas, peanut butter and jelly, chips, frozen and fresh vegetables into the cart, and hoped like hell the woman didn’t have any food allergies. By the time he took it through the checkout counter, his cart was packed to the brim.

Colt justified the expense by figuring he would be eating a good portion of the food himself, since he planned on spending as much free time as he could eke out with Avery over the next two weeks. Besides, from the looks of things, whether she had really lost her wallet or was running from someone or something, it didn’t appear like she had anyone taking care of things for her. Colt loved the chance he was getting with Avery to just be a man. She didn’t see dollar signs when she cast her gaze in his direction. He figured that, for this slice of time, he would assume the role of her protector, and take care of her.

She brought the instinct out in him.

With the load of groceries in the cab of his truck, Colt took the back roads to get to her cabin in hopes of avoiding anyone from the ranch. He didn’t want to explain the groceries or where exactly he was headed with them.

He was figuring he would grill the steaks he’d picked up on the outdoor grill, toss some potatoes in the oven to bake, and voila, he’d have a meal that would put some meat on her bones. Not to mention, he cooked an awesome steak, and she would be putty in his hands after sampling his grill master skills.

That brought to mind the way he’d taken her that morning. How her sleepy gaze had turned hazy with need. The breathy moans she’d uttered as she clung to him, moved with him in a race to the finish line. And the dazzling smile that she’d worn