Cowboy Secrets. Alice Sharpe

work,” Pike said. “If you sit down for too long, she draws or paints you.”

      “She’s good.”

      “Yeah. And before you think I’m the kind of guy who goes around framing pictures of himself for display, Kinsey gave me that for Christmas and placed it right where it sits.”

      “Aw, shucks,” she said in a passable Texas accent. “It never crossed my mind you were that kind of guy.”

      There were a few open doors off the long wall and Sierra saw part of an office through one doorway and the edge of a bed through another. The kitchen was at the south end of the barn, the living area set up in the middle. The second floor was open and accessible by a broad wooden stairway. A wood-burning fireplace was currently unlit while a fuzzy dog bed occupied one cozy corner.

      Daisy had retreated to her cushion, her gaze fastened to Pike but darting to Sierra now and again as though keeping track of the competition. “Your dog can’t take her eyes off you,” Sierra said.

      “She’s practicing for motherhood, I guess.”

      “She’s going to have puppies?” When Pike nodded, she added, “When?”

      “A couple of weeks. The vet said it’s her first litter.”

      “You don’t know if she had puppies before?”

      “No. I’ve only had her three months. Found her Halloween night. She’d been hit by a car and was out on the road. Thankfully, she wasn’t too badly hurt, but no one claimed her and now she’s mine.”

      “She’s a yellow Lab, right?”

      “Mostly. There might be something else in there, too, who knows. Have a seat. It’s kind of late to start a fire in the fireplace but I’ll turn up the heat and put the soup on the stove.”

      “Let me help you,” she said, knowing that if she sat on the comfortable-looking sofa she probably wouldn’t get up until morning.

      “Sure.”

      In the end, she sat at the counter and drank a glass of wine he poured her while he heated minestrone soup and toasted slices of bread. She liked watching him move around the kitchen. She’d noticed how fit and handsome he was the minute she saw him—it was just impossible to miss. And now, when the hard day had honed some of his edges while softening others, she admitted to herself he was a very hot guy.

      “Are you dating anyone?” she asked.

      He spooned steaming soup into a bowl and set it in front of her. “Not currently. Why? Would you like to sign up?”

      “I’m kind of over long-distance dating,” she said.

      “I take it you aren’t...involved with anyone?”

      “Nope. My last boyfriend moved to France when his company transferred him. We tried to keep it together, but it didn’t work. How about you? Any cowgirl’s heart go pitter-patter when she sees you?”

      “Well, there’s a kid about Tess’s age at the feed store who has had a crush on me for about five years.”

      “Do you like her?”

      “Patty? She’s a nice girl, but she’s a kid. I like women.”

      “Tall women?” she asked, then took a sip of the soup while keeping her gaze on him. Grace was a good cook.

      “Yeah,” he said as he sat across from her with a bowl of his own. He pushed the basket of bread her way and added, “I’m partial to redheads with green eyes.”

      “That describes me,” she said with feigned surprise.

      He looked at her as though just noticing her appearance. If she hadn’t seen him checking her out a half-dozen times that day, she might have fallen for it. Another grin and he laughed.

      “Well,” Sierra said, “besides the distance issue, we have another problem. How are we going to handle Tess?” The spoon was halfway to her lips when a large black shape landed on the counter near her elbow. She threw up her hands and the spoon went flying.

      “Sinbad, get down,” Pike demanded and Sierra finally realized the shape belonged to a svelte black cat with yellow eyes. The cat meowed and jumped to the floor, where it proceeded to walk away as though offended.

      “How many animals do you have?” she asked.

      “Just these two, who hang around inside the barn. Of course, there are a lot of others outside. This is a ranch, remember?” His gaze dropped to her bosom. “And you have soup all over your blouse.

      Sierra looked down at her shirt and winced. The dry cleaner’s image appeared again.

      Pike replaced her spoon with a fresh one and they finished the soup with idle chatter until Pike sighed. “Looks like you and I are going to LA.”

      She nodded. The thought of more travel wasn’t exactly comforting right at that moment.

      “Let’s get it over with, okay? I can arrange plane tickets for tomorrow.”

      “Okay. Make the flight late enough that I can talk to Tess in the morning and get details about everything she saw and heard.”

      “Yeah. I have some ranch work I need to finish up, as well. I’ll see if I can get an evening flight. You have to feel like a dead man walking. Let me show you to your room.”

      Sierra nodded. The promise of lying down was the only thing still keeping her on her feet. He toted her suitcase for her, depositing it on top of a dresser in a small room bright with white paint and pine walls. “There’s a bathroom behind that door in the corner. This house is wireless. I know you had business you wanted to take care of. The password is PIKESPLACE, one word, all caps.”

      “You seriously need to work on creating secure passwords,” she said with a smile. “However, work can wait until tomorrow, too,” she said, but kind of knew she’d get started on it before she fell asleep.

      “This can’t wait,” Pike said and stepped close to her. Staring down into her eyes, he touched her cheek, tilted her chin up, leaned down and kissed her. His lips were vibrant and fabulous and the kiss way more impactful than she would have guessed. It took all her willpower not to pull him back when he moved a few inches away.

      “Been wanting to do that since the first moment I saw you,” he said, his voice as warm as a caress.

      “Me, too,” she admitted.

      He kissed her briefly again. “Good night, Sierra. Sleep well.”

      Sierra stripped down to her underwear and hurried under the blankets. The barn was chilly. She’d retrieved her laptop, turned it on and waited for it to boot. The bed was soft and comfortable and the pillow felt like a little cloud. The memory of Pike’s tender and unexpected kiss spread contented tendrils throughout her body. Consciousness lasted about ten more seconds before she fell asleep in the glow of the computer screen.