Chapter 5
Chapter five
Connor
COWS ARE MY KIND OF PEOPLE
Kiki stirs when I climb in the driver’s seat, looking up at me from where she’s lying in the footwell with big dark eyes.
“I’ll have you back with your sisters in a couple of minutes,” I tell her, and the guests climb into the back.
I have to admit I had a bit of a chuckle at these two at the cafe, thought maybe they weren’t just another couple of city kids looking for a roll in the hay, but after he nearly ran me off the road, I expect that’s the only thing these two came to the ranch for.
“Aww, isn’t she cute?” Wendy coos, leaning through the middle with an outstretched arm, trying to reach her.
“She’s had a rough couple of nights, but she’s on the other side of it now.”
“She was sick?” Hayden asks, and I switch on the ignition.
“Hernia repair. Mini Highlands are hardy breeds, so most procedures are done on the farm, but Doc Knight wanted her to stay at the clinic for a couple of days for monitoring.”
Wendy is still reaching through trying to pet Kiki when I take the bend, and she wobbles then sits back in her seat.
“Are they all this cute?” she asks.
“After you get settled in, why don’t you come see for yourself. Your cabin is right by the cuddle cove. You can have a bonus session.”
“Oh, absolutely. We’ll be there.”
“Speak for yourself,” Hayden says, and I glance at him in the rearview.
“You don’t like cows?”
“I don’t know any, personally. Just don’t see the need to go cuddle them.”
“Do you like any animals?” I ask, though I’m pretty sure I already know the answer. Maybe his girlfriend dragged him on this Christmas vacation. Guy would probably rather be at a five-star hotel than sleeping in a wooden log cabin.
“Never had any as a kid, but cats aren’t bad. Not a huge fan of dogs, though.”
His girlfriend chuckles beside him, and I pull the truck over beside the cuddle cove.
“I’ll just pop her inside, then I’ll walk you to your cabin, it’s just up from here.”
“Can I have a look at her?” Hayden asks.
“Sure, she’s medicated so she won’t bolt or anything if you want to open the door on that side.”
I climb out of the truck and stroll slowly around to the other side as Hayden opens the passenger door inch by inch, his jaw tight like he’s bracing for something scary. She’s not a snake that’s going to jump up and bite him.
Finally, with the door all the way open, he kneels down beside Kiki, head tilted a little to one side like he’s trying to figure out some kind of math problem.
“I thought cows would smell more,” he finally says, and I laugh, and Kiki startles, lifting her head, which has a domino effect on Hayden, sending him stumbling back until his ass lands on my boots.
“Sorry,” I say, reaching down and grabbing him by his waist to help him up. My hands wrap around his sides so perfectly, and I quickly let him go and step back before I have a more physical reaction and completely embarrass myself with yet another straight man.
One of the biggest downsides of discovering my sexuality so late is that I have terrible gaydar, so terrible, I think it’s probably a made-up thing that doesn’t actually exist.
“Umm, Kiki had a good bath before her operation and hasn’t been out in the paddock since, so she’s smelling a little sweeter than normal. But most cows don’t really smell bad anyway. At least I don’t think they do.”
“I’m in your way, sorry,” he says, stepping back and hitting his side on the door, spinning around, and walking over to the railing. Good one, Connor, way to freak out the guests.
“Where are the rest of them?” Wendy asks, leaning over the rail of the cuddle cove’s open area.
“In the different barns, mostly. They’re normally out in the paddock by now, but it took me a little longer to get back from town today.”
Hayden runs the back of his neck with one hand and turns toward me.
“Yeah, about that road rage…I, um…sorry.”
“You city folk are always in a rush, but you’ll learn to slow down. Trust me, by the time you leave this place, you’ll be strolling along at a snail’s pace just like the locals.”
“Hayden doesn’t do anything at a snail’s pace. Except for writing his book. How long have you been at that thing?”
“I’ve been busy with work.”
“I guess you can’t rush greatness,” she says, and he gives her a small smile like he doesn’t quite believe her words.
Kiki makes a low moo, and I turn my attention back to her. Getting her into the truck was easy; lifting her out is a little more awkward. I get my arms under her, but I have to be careful not to put any pressure on her incision site.
“Sorry, girl, come on, we’ve got this,” I say as I maneuver her out. “Can one of you get to the gate?”
“Sure,” Hayden says, unlatching the side gate to the open area and holding it for me to pass with Kiki.
“Latch it again when it closes, they are little escape artists this lot,” I say as I pass, and I get a lungful of his delicious caramel scent.
“She doesn’t look like she’ll be trying to get out anytime soon.”
“It’s not her I’m worried about,” I say as I push my foot down on the release of the lower door into the rear barn. The door opens, and mini Highlands, baby goats, and a few calves stammer into the open area. “Watch your step, here they come.”
Wendy claps with delight, calling them over to the edge where she’s knelt down to peer through the rails of the fence. “Hayden, aren’t they adorable?”
“Totally,” he says, and as I step past a few stragglers with Kiki, I glance back, and he’s got his back up against a post, standing on his toes like that will help keep his distance from them.
“They won’t bite,” I say, then chuckle. “Actually, Tara might.”
“Which one’s Tara?” he asks, but I don’t answer; I need to put Kiki down. My arms are aching under her weight, and when she saw her sisters, she suddenly got a burst of energy and started wriggling, trying to get down. “Which one’s Tara?” Hayden calls again.
“The black one,” I yell back, trying to mask my amusement, but it comes through in my tone.
I lower Kiki down into the separate section inside the barn I set up for her before I went to pick her up.
She’ll recover quickly, but she needs to take it easy and won’t be up for guest cuddles just yet.
A thud draws my attention, and there is her sister, Gabs, headbutting the railing.
“Hold your hooves,” I say, climbing half over the rail and lifting her in.
The second her little feet hit the ground, she’s off, nuzzling her sister and making soft moo noises.
“Well, it looks like you’re in good hands here,” I say and climb all the way out.
“I’d better get these city kids to their room, then I’ll come back and give you a brush.
“Are you talking to the cows?”
I spin, and there’s Hayden leaning on the doorframe watching me, a smirk on his lips.
“Maybe.”
“And do the cows talk back?”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Sometimes. But it’s the goats that are particularly chatty.”
He laughs, and it’s like the room just got brighter somehow.
Nope. Do not fall for the straight guy. Been there.
Done that. It was only a few months ago that I totally embarrassed myself, sending a drink over to a guy I was sure had been checking me out all night at the pub in town.
Turns out he was eyeing the smoke machine behind me.
He quit a week earlier and was struggling.
“I’ll take you to your cabin,” I say, walking past him, and this time, I hold my breath so that I don’t tease my senses with the delicious scent of him.
“Oh. Umm, okay. Wen, time to go,” he says, and she lifts Lulu out of her lap and sets her down on a soft pile of hay, but she jumps back in before she can stand.
“You can bring her with us, she’ll need a feed, and my cabin is around back,” I say, and Wendy cuddles her to her chest and stands to follow us out.
“She gets fed in your cabin, is that because she’s, like, runted or something?” Hayden asks, and I laugh again for like the fifth time since I’ve met him.
“She’s a pigmy. She’s supposed to be that small.”
“Oh, sorry.”
Chuckling, I grab their bags from the back of my truck and lead them to their cabin.
“This is you,” I say, putting the suitcase down on the small porch and pushing open the door. “Queen bed, mini kitchenette and bathroom with shower, sorry, no tub, but the pool is solar heated, so as long as you don’t mind a dip with Chewie the llama, you could relax in there if you want to.”
“Wow, this ranch has everything, even a llama,” Wendy says, turning around in a circle in the middle of the small room.
The cabins on Beaker Brothers aren’t huge.
Some are bigger than others, with mini lofts for extra sleeping, but this one is one of the smallest. It’s got the queen bed on the right, a kitchenette and bathroom on the left, and a small round table below the front window with two small stools to sit and have their morning coffee.
“Sally-May will pop over later with your welcome basket, and the mini fridge is stocked with creamer and juice. But if you need anything else, just pop up to the main house, or dial one on the cabin phone.”
“And the cuddle session you promised,” Wendy asks, stepping a little too close.
“Sure, I’ll just feed Lulu and meet you back by the cove at ten?”
“Perfect, see you then,” she replies, lifting Lulu up onto my arms, but as I take her, Wendy closes her hand over my forearm. “Are all the cowboys on the ranch as big and strong and handsome as you?”
My face grows warm, and I step back.
“Dean is bigger and stronger, but don’t tell him I said so.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t,” she replies sweetly.
I leave before it gets even more awkward, but before I am out of earshot, I hear Hayden say, “Laying it on a bit thick for the hot cowboy, don’t you think, Wen?”
“Just trying to gauge if he plays for your team or mine. I love you like a brother, but I won’t share.”
So they’re not together, like a couple, or anything, and on his team or hers, does that mean I might actually have a thing for a guy who’s actually into guys?
But while it wouldn’t be the first time one of the guys went above and beyond to satisfy a guest, he’s likely come here for a holiday, not a hookup.
I remember the way he watched me with Kiki, and my cock twitches.
Maybe he’d be up for both.