Rancher in Her Bed by Joanne Rock

Author:Joanne Rock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-03-15T15:05:23+00:00

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Xander had every intention of spending what little remained of the night with Frankie. She didn’t need to work in the morning since she’d spent long hours in the barns while the rest of the ranch slept. He’d thought he would make her breakfast, show her that she didn’t need to worry about morning-after awkwardness between them. He felt certain they could just enjoy what was happening between them without having to look at more than one day at a time.

But his father had texted him in the predawn hours to ask a question about Thistle, the message leading Xander to believe Ryder was wandering around the barns by himself. That alone would have been rare enough. Combined with the fact that he’d reached out to his son, and Xander knew something must be wrong. His father might ask Xander for help with the oil business, but he never inquired much about the ranch. Did his father find the same solace in the barns that Xander did? Concern about his dad was the only reason he left Frankie’s side before the sun rose. It didn’t have a damned thing to do with the heightened intimacy of their night together.

Dressing quietly so as not to wake her, he jammed his phone in his back pocket and left the cabin, heading toward the barns. It was a short walk, and he couldn’t help but think there had to be better accommodations for her on the ranch. He respected her grit and her work ethic for taking on the ranch hand job in the first place, but she’d been on the team for almost a year so she deserved some consideration for her contributions. There were vacant cabins farther from the barns, with more room, but maybe she appreciated the proximity for the extra hours she put in.

He entered the horse barn in the gray light of predawn and found his father sprawled in one of the camp chairs outside the birthing stall.

“Xander.” His father speared his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t expect you to come down here at this hour.”

He sounded surprised.

“And I didn’t expect to hear from you,” Xander returned, stroking the nose of his favorite work horse as he lingered by her stall. “You don’t usually take a personal interest in the livestock.”

His father had worked out of an office for years, more focused on oil than cattle.

“I needed to think about something else for a few days.” Ryder tipped back in the chair, his boots crossed on the hay-strewn floor in front of him. “I figured I’d check on Thistle.”

“She did well, and the foal nursed soon afterward. I told Len to check on them when he gets in.” Still stroking Domino’s nose, Xander didn’t see a need to mention Frankie, not ready to share whatever was happening between them with anyone else.

Just taking her to the gala had been more of a commitment than he’d made to any woman in the last year. Certainly, it was a more public statement than he’d made about anyone else.

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