Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 69468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 232(@300wpm)
“Yep.” Carson leaned in to give me a kiss. “But it’s the one you get.”
I’d had plans for tonight, plans months in the making, but we were in the middle of foaling and calving season. Work simply refused to cooperate, so here I was rushing to pick up Carson before heading to a client for what looked to be a long night.
“I’m—”
“Don’t dare say sorry.” Carson placed a finger on my lips before holding up the bag. “Made you chili.”
“You made it?” I raised an eyebrow.
As fall had turned to winter and then into spring, Carson had been learning more cooking skills. Which was good because the more time we spent together, the more we needed options beyond grilled steak, burgers, tacos, and basic pasta dishes.
“Casey helped.” Carson offered a crooked smile. “Trying to expand our menu.”
He said our so easily now that it was easy to do the same. We’d been dancing around the issue for months.
He spent more nights than not at my place, and he’d been making noises about buying a truck of his own. Although Maverick had been good about letting him borrow one of the ranch trucks when needed. However, neither Carson nor I seemed in a rush to make things more permanent, which meant the nightly dance of is-this-a-sleepover continued.
“Well, thank you.” I dragged him close for one more kiss before putting the truck in Drive and heading toward the client, another small hobby rancher, who lived near the Youngs. “If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to eat before the foals arrive.”
“Two mares in one night.” Carson whistled. “Gotta plan better, Doc.”
“Mother nature has her own timetable.” I chuckled along with him, but I’d been the one groaning when the call had come in.
One mare was slightly early, the other slightly late. Nothing to do but hope the night went smoothly. The double birth was part of why I was bringing Carson along, although I’d been doing it more and more over the past few months. He was a huge help, and it was a decent way to spend time together through the busiest season of the year for me. I did feel guilty for not having more fun outings, but Carson kept insisting he didn’t mind. I was learning to trust him more and more.
Carson flipped on the stereo as we zipped toward the main road. His music choices had certainly grown on me. Letting him play DJ was fun and an easy way to indulge him. Lately, he’d found a couple of out country singers he really liked. We were humming along with the latest Shane Travis song as we pulled into Clyde Loren’s ranch. We’d made good time, thanks to slow Friday evening traffic and my pushing the speed limit.
“Let me tell Clyde we’re here, then I’ll come back to eat with you,” I said to Carson. My last conversation with Clyde had revealed that both mares were in early labor, but I wanted to be on-site when things picked up, especially since one was a first-time mother.
“Sure thing.” Carson stretched and flipped off the stereo.
“No Lucky?” Clyde asked as I checked on the mares. He was one of the clients who didn’t mind if I had Lucky along on a call. The dog was getting quite a reputation, and certain clients always asked after him like they were more interested in seeing him than me.
“I figured he might get in the way of the double birthday party.” I stepped back from the second stall. “He’s at home, but I’ll tell him you said hi.”
“You do that.” Clyde laughed. “I got a new chew for him. I’ll give it to you after you eat.”
“Thanks.” I made my way back to the truck, where Carson had lowered the tailgate and arranged a blanket and the food. The mild spring air made the picnic that much more appealing. I took a seat next to him. “This is a sweet picture. Almost makes missing date night worth it.”
“I can be romantic.” Carson poured hot chili from a thermos into a small bowl.
“You can.” I accepted the bowl and added cheese and green onions from the other containers he’d laid out. “More so than me.”
Carson seemed to enjoy finding ways to surprise me and chances to be affectionate. I was working to do the same, but I could admit it didn’t come as naturally to me.
“You’re plenty romantic.” Carson waggled his eyebrows at me. “Especially last night.”
“God bless the break in foaling.” We’d been done early enough last night to allow for dinner at my place and some long-overdue mattress dancing. The busy season meant more sporadic sex, but we certainly made the most of it when we found ourselves in bed at a decent hour.
“And your tongue.” Carson winked.
“Could say the same about your dick,” I said in a low voice. “Now I’m hoping these horses foal in a hurry. Think you can sleep over?”