Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Unfortunately, his comments didn’t get the answering smile he’d hoped for. Cole frowned and when he spoke, his voice was firmer. “Well, it’s not going to happen again. I’m not bi, and I don’t want you to misunderstand or misread the situation. It wouldn’t be right for either of us.”
JB’s stomach was in freaking knots. He stared at Cole, taking in the faint flush of his cheeks that probably had nothing to do with the heat. “Fair enough. I’m not interested in being some straight guy’s experiment. We’ll chalk it up to the heat of the moment, okay?”
“Again, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Stop apologizing.” Annoyance filled him. Here the guy was apologizing for something JB had loved. Seemed JB was longing for something that wasn’t there. JB almost sighed at that thought. Maybe Cole wasn’t the only one who needed to get his head on straight. JB needed to remember there was no chance between them.
“Come on, there’s nothing to see here,” JB muttered, waving Cole toward the truck. “At least we’ve got the cows far from this section of property, so they should be okay.”
“Unless it was someone who works for you,” Cole said. “Or possibly even someone who was paid to do it. Anyone you know with money problems?”
JB thought over conversations he’d had with ranch hands and no one came to mind. He shook his head. “No, not that I know of. But I still don’t think it’s someone who works here. Just can’t see that happening.” He walked to the truck, his mind still turning over thoughts of poison in this section of land and worrying.
“Well, if you think of anyone, remember, we can discreetly check to make sure they haven’t received a huge influx of cash.”
JB grunted. He’d have to turn it over in his head for a bit. There’d been no one mentioned to him in financial trouble recently, but it would be a good excuse. He started the engine and pulled the truck around to return to the ranch. “You think you can track that poison down on the Internet?”
“Yes. It’ll take some digging, but I’m good at that. I’ll get Gidget and Quinn looking, too. Between the three of us, we’ll figure this out.”
“I do appreciate your help,” he said as he steered the truck along ruts already imprinted in the grass.
“It’s no problem. I’ll start on it when we get back.”
He swiped his hand across his brow, wiping away the accumulation of sweat. “I’m going to call a meeting of ranch hands, fill them in on what’s going on, tell them to be more diligent about strangers right now. Probably cancel the ranch tours for the time being. We’ll keep the herds close.”
Cole shifted a little in his seat so that he was partially turned toward JB. “You give them a feed, right?”
“Yeah. Think I should have that checked? Though we’d have a lot more dead cattle if it was in the feed.”
“Better safe than sorry.” Cole reached for the grab handle as they rumbled over particularly rough terrain.
When they reached the gate, Cole got out to open it and JB drove through. He didn’t look forward to telling the men and women about the cattle poisoning, but it had to be done.
He also didn’t look forward to calling the police, because there was nothing they could really do at this point. At least they’d have a report on file if shit continued to go wrong on the ranch.
Hell, he still needed to tell his parents about the poison. They were gonna be pretty damn upset.
Felt like he had a heavy blanket draped over his shoulders, weighing him down.
Just who the hell had done this?
Chapter Thirteen
Cole padded into the kitchen, following the scent of coffee. JB stood at the stove, flipping pancakes that also smelled fantastic. His temporary roommate was wearing a gray T-shirt and a soft-looking pair of red pajama pants that rode low on his hips and hugged his round ass.
Cole realized he was staring at that ass and jerked his gaze away. He’d told JB he’d regretted the kiss and he meant it, but the memory of it still had the power to mess with his head.
It felt intimate being in the kitchen in the early morning with JB. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, throwing yellow and orange to streak the sky. JB was right; it was a beautiful sight.
“You’re up early,” JB murmured as he flipped another pancake. “I was going to leave these warming for you in the oven.”
“I wanted to catch one of those sunrises you talked about.” Cole walked to the back window and stared out at the vivid colors coming up over the rolling hills. It reminded him of the painting in JB’s living room. The promise of a new day and new adventures. “It is something to see.”