Chapter Nine
Cole was tired and in a foul mood. They saved the mare, but the foal was a breech, and by the time they got it out, it was dead. The whole ranch felt its loss.
He leaned against the shower wall with his head bent and stood under the steamy water, letting it wash away the grime of birthing and emotional anguish. He’d love nothing better than to lie down for a couple of hours, but there was work to do and, more importantly, Emily to deal with.
He shook his head, looking down at his cup of coffee, but his focus was on what happened with her last night.
What in the hell had she been thinking? How a woman that gorgeous would think herself unattractive or unappealing was unbelievable.
A scowl crossed his face. She believed he wanted her because she was the only single woman available? Who put this shit in her head?
The possibility that she was doing it because she wasn’t attracted to him crossed his mind.
But no, the way she watched him, the throbbing pulse at the base of her neck, and the fact that a flush of arousal sparked every time she looked at him told him she was just as emotionally invested as he was.
The sparks that flew between them were so evident that several people had commented on them.
Cole washed out his coffee cup and set it in the drainer. He set his hands on the counter and looked out the window to the yard where several of his men worked on different tasks. He sighed. He had a lot to get done today before he could deal with Emily.
He snagged his hat off the hook in the mudroom off the kitchen before heading out into the yard.
He looked toward Emily’s cabin. Yeah, it was a good thing he was giving himself time before dealing with her.
He gritted his teeth. If she started in on the shit she was spewing last night, he’d be liable to pull her over his knees and spank her little ass.
He guessed that would be a wrong choice and would probably scare her to death and send her running.
Cole’s frustration grew as the day wore on. He stepped into the house, heading straight for the office.
Daisy’s head jerked up from the paperwork she was doing. Daisy seemed to have her hand in a lot of things on the ranch, and since she did a good job, he let her have free rein.
“Have you seen Emily?” His voice was heavy with frustration.
Daisy leaned back in the chair behind the desk as a smile grew across her pretty face.
“Don’t start with me. I’m not in the mood. I just want to know where Emily is. I knocked on her door, and she didn’t answer.”
Daisy shook her head but couldn’t get the grin off her face, her humor evident.
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen her.” Daisy sat up, her smile slipping a bit. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since last night. I’ve looked at her cabin, and no lights have been on, so I assumed she wasn’t there.” A scowl pulled down her face. “What happened?”
Cole wiped a hand down his face. “I didn’t do anything. We had a misunderstanding of some sort, and we really need to hash it out.”
“What sort of misunderstanding? What’d you do to her?” Her voice was guarded, and suspicion was clear in her eyes.
“Jesus, Daisy, aren’t you supposed to be on my side? I’m your uncle.”
Daisy studied him intently. “Yes, you are my uncle, and I love you, but she’s a very sweet woman who’s been mistreated before.
” She held up a hand when he tried to interrupt.
“I’m not saying I think you’d mistreat her.
I know better. But you’ve got to admit you have an extremely dominant personality that might scare her. ”
Ignoring her comment about his personality, he sat on the arm of the wing chair adjacent to the big antique desk. “Why do you think she’s been mistreated?” His voice was laden with authority.
Daisy rolled her eyes. “You totally ignored my point.” She held out her hands in surrender when he scowled and made a move to stand.
“All right, all right. She didn’t really come out and say anything specific.
It’s just how she acts and her facial expressions and body movements sometimes.
Like she’s trying to hide, make herself as small as possible,” Daisy said thoughtfully, as she twirled a pencil in her fingers.
Cole sat still, chin dropped to his chest, his arms crossed.
He ran his thumb back and forth over his lips, his whole focus on a plan to get her to talk to him.
To open up. He stood abruptly. “I’m going to check her cabin, but I swear if she’s hiding in there, I might just have to give her pretty ass a swat or two. ”
Daisy snorted at his retreating back.
“Yeah, that will get her to like you,” she yelled sarcastically at his back.