Take the Reins (A Cowboy's Promise #2) - Megan Squires Page 0,45
fingers.” He wiggled all ten and grinned devilishly.
“I’m not even going to answer that.” She made a face, then glanced over his shoulder and into the family room behind him. “Do you think we could get that fire going? It’s great to be clean, but it’ll be even better to be warm.”
“I’m on it. But while I do that, why don’t you go back to my bedroom and get yourself one of my old sweatshirts to swap out with yours. Top drawer in the pine dresser under the window,” he instructed. “No sense being cold and wet if you don’t have to.”
Josie didn’t put up a fight about that. She disappeared down the hall while Seth got right to work.
He had a cord of firewood already collected by the hearth so he took a few from the pile and pitched them into the brick fireplace. Then he tore long strips from an old newspaper and stuffed them in between the logs for kindling before he struck a match and launched it in. A small spark ignited, then slowly spread across the paper, burning up the words and pictures from yesterday’s news to give them new life in the form of a bright, orange flame. Within minutes, the fire popped, crackled, and warmed the room by several degrees.
“I hung the towel over the shower stall in the bathroom to dry,” Josie informed when she appeared several moments later, hair damp but no longer dripping.
Seth had been crouching by the fire, and thankfully so. The sight of Josie in his gray Ford Ranch sweatshirt was enough to trip him up, big time. It was undoubtedly oversized—it had been pretty big on him, too—and the way it fell loose on her shoulders, teasing him with the feminine slope of her slender neck and delicate collarbone, made it a beautiful, startling sight. He pushed off his knees and swiped his hands together. “Fire’s good to go.”
“I can feel it already.” She came close and stretched her arms to warm her palms by the flames. “Thank you.”
“Not a problem.” He scratched the back of his neck. “Can I get you something to drink? Eat?”
“I’m fine, Seth.” There was a softening of her tone, along with the look in her eye. Tender, almost. “Do you mind if I sit?” She motioned toward the couch.
“Not at all. That’s what couches are for, right?” A dumb thing to say, but all he could come up with.
“I wouldn’t know,” she said on a laugh. “I don’t have one.”
He gave her an odd look.
She shrugged. “Doesn’t fit in my trailer.”
“Ah. Right.” Seth didn’t know if it was okay to join her on the sofa or if he should take the recliner, instead. He vacillated and she noticed.
“You can sit with me, Seth.” She patted the empty cushion next to her. “I don’t bite.”
Why was he suddenly nervous to be around her? They’d spent nearly every day together for the last week. Was it the fact that he had just washed her hair, something inherently intimate? Or that she had on his favorite sweatshirt? Or that the fire casting an amber filter on the room made things take on a warmth that did weird things to his heart rate?
The answer was D, all of the above.
“You think he’ll make it?” Josie tucked her feet up beneath her to sit cross-legged and leaned back on the only decorative pillow Seth owned. It was made from an old feed sack and was lumpy, but it would do.
Seth had to think a moment. “Oh, the calf? I hope so,” he answered once her meaning clicked into place. “Cows are good mamas. Even first time calvers. She’ll do everything she can to make sure he gets through the night. Tomorrow morning, I’ll head back out to check on them. Maybe even try to bring them up to the old barn if they need some extra TLC. Until then, all we can do is hope for the best.”
“Can I come with you?”
“You know, I would’ve thought the whole cow poop in the hair thing would be enough to turn you off of ranch work altogether.”
“It’ll take a lot more than that, Seth. Plus, if I get a free shampoo out of it, then I just might make a habit of rolling around in muddy pastures.”
The idea of Josie rolling around…
Seth snapped right out of that wayward thought. “It’ll be early.”
“I can do early.” She shoved back her sleeve and flipped her wrist over to take a