THE COWBOY'S RULES: 3: THE SURPRISE (Cowboys After Dark Book 6) Read online

  “You’re so adorable, Mickey,” she smiled, climbing behind the wheel. “Don’t worry, I’ll take the heat for the bed thing.”

  As she drove up the road to the barn, she called Hannah, hoping her best friend could join her to help get the horses out and clean their stalls.

  “Sorry, Cassie, impossible. I’m in the middle of baking. I didn’t hear from you this morning and I had to get started. This party at the Goodman’s is my first outside job, and I have to make sure everything’s perfect.”

  Hannah had been catering Chad’s clinics, and word had begun to spread through the small community that she was a fabulous cook, an undiscovered gem, and one of the town’s wealthiest families had called her to cater their daughter’s engagement party.

  “No problem, I can handle it,” Cassie replied. “Do you have an easy recipe for something I can make for dinner tonight?”

  “Really?” Hannah exclaimed.

  “Chad wants me to learn, at least a bit. His exact words were, I wanna come home to a good meal on the table, you got me?”

  “Whoa, did you guys have a fight?”

  “In a manner of speaking,” Cassie replied.

  “Oh, I hear ya,” Hannah giggled. “Sure, there’s a chicken thing that’s really easy. Do you have any chicken?”

  “No, but I can run into town after lunch,” Cassie replied. “In fact, if you need anything, I can pick it up for you.”

  “I do, that’s great. Swing by after you’re done with the horses, and give Maverick a huge kiss for me. I’ll go up and ride him later, assuming this chocolate cake comes out a winner.”

  “Will do. See you in a bit.”

  Ending the call, Cassie dropped her phone back in the breast pocket of her shirt, and expertly maneuvered the gator past the half-built new home. Her barn and riding ring sat behind it, and as she passed by she saw Chad having a conversation with Dan Michaels, the contractor, but as she studied them it became obvious it was not a pleasant chitchat.

  Chad was shaking his head and pointing at a piece of paper the contractor was holding; Cassie slowed to a stop to watch, her concern growing. A moment later she was horrified to see Chad snatch the paper out of the contractor’s hands, tear it up, throw the pieces on the floor, and march away.

  Torn between continuing to the barn, or going after Chad to see if she could help him calm down, she decided to go to the barn; her horses were waiting, and Chad would want them taken care of first.

  She drove carefully around the arena, studying the footing. Marty was supposed to have dragged it with the tractor but it hadn’t been done, and pulling up to the front of the stables she wondered if it was ridable.

  Mickey immediately jumped out and began sniffing around, while Cassie moved quickly into the barn, where she was greeted by a volley of whinnies.

  “I know, I’m sorry I’m late,” she said, and began moving from stall to stall, taking off the light cotton sheets the horses had been wearing overnight.

  Chad had told her they didn’t need anything in the summer months, especially being inside the barn, but Cassie argued that the covers kept them clean, which reduced the time she had to spend grooming them before jumping on to ride.

  “I know they’re show horses, and I know you like things a certain way, but a little dirt never hurt any horse,” he’d proclaimed, standing in the middle of the barn aisle, his hands on his hips looking as sexy as he ever had.

  She’d laughed and agreed, but hadn’t changed her habit; her horses had been wearing sheets for years and she believed they were used to the extra protection.

  Except for Shelby, her thoroughbred jumper, she led each of them out into the large paddocks where they would spend the day. She hadn’t been at a show all summer, and was thinking about entering the last one of the season, the same one in which she’d taken her tumble the year before, when Shelby had literally fallen down and rolled on top of her.

  Though Shelby was ridden almost every day, Cassie hadn’t seriously jumped her since the accident. She knew why, but she had difficulty coming to grips with the idea that she’d lost her nerve, so she tried not to think about it.

  Placing the mare in the cross ties, Cassie cleaned her feet, gave her a quick brush, then tacked her up, but by the time she mounted and rode into the ring it was almost too hot to ride.

  “That’ll teach me to sleep late,” she grimaced.

  As she began to trot she could feel the sun baking her bare arms and the threat of a headache. Pushing herself to keep going she began putting Shelby through her paces, and though she wasn’t happy with the footing, she ended up in a hand gallop around the ring. Pulling to a stop she wiped her forearm across her forehead; she’d never tolerated hot days well, and she knew she needed to get off before she became faint.

  “Darn it,” she frowned, sliding off her horse’s back. “I hate this. I need to get a roof over this ring and find someone to work for me. Marty doesn’t have the time to make sure its watered and drag it every day.”

  Shelby too, was sweating, and pulling off the saddle Cassie hosed her down, scraped off the excess water, and led her out to her pasture for the day.

  “There you go,” she sighed, taking off the halter. “You go relax under a tree. Wish I could do that. I have to go to the grocery store.”

  Overheated and worried about Chad, she wasn’t in the best of moods as she climbed into the Gator to head home.

  “Come on, Mickey, wherever you are.”

  She looked around but couldn’t see her canine companion anywhere. Sighing, she climbed from the driver’s seat and headed into the barn, only to find Mickey sitting next to a wheelbarrow.

  “Shit, I didn’t clean the stalls,” she grimaced. “I can’t Mickey, it’s too hot and I’m too tired.”

  Mickey stood up and barked, and staring back at him Cassie dropped her shoulders in defeat.

  “Dammit, Mickey, I want to wait until tonight when it cools off.”

  The dog began to bark and run around the wheelbarrow.

  “I swear, if I filmed you and put it up on youtube, people would think it was all fake. You are unbelievable, and dammit, you’re right. Chad will have a cow if he comes up and finds this place a mess.”

  Moving to the back of the barn she grabbed a pitchfork, and returning to the wheelbarrow she pushed it into the first stall.

  “Something’s not working,” she muttered. “Things have gotten crazy and I’m not sure why. Chad’s not normal, I feel all weird. What are we going to do about this, Mickey? Something has to change.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Finished cleaning the stalls, with Mickey at her side she drove the gator to Hannah and Marty’s cabin. Knocking on the door she heard Hannah’s call to come in, but when she poked her head in the kitchen she found another situation that appeared to be out of kilter, and immediately sent Mickey outside.

  “Good grief, Hannah, what’s all this?”

  There were several bowls containing what appeared to be cake batter in various colors, a collection of chopped up vegetables on a number of cutting boards, the oven was baking something, and there were pots boiling on all the elements. Even with the air-conditioner blasting, the heat from the cooking combined with the heat of the day made it unmercifully warm in the kitchen. Hannah, wearing a tank top and shorts, was visibly sweating and looking extremely upset.

  “This is so much more work than I thought it would be,” she groaned.

  “You need help,” Cassie declared, staring at the chaos.

  “You have an extraordinary ability to state the obvious,” Hannah retorted.

  “Uh, okay, sorry. I’d offer but-”

  “Please, I have enough on hands without you in my way.”

  “Ouch,” Cassie frowned.

  “I don’t have time to show you what to do. It’s easier to do it all myself,” Hannah said testily, opening the oven and pulling out a tray of pastry shells.

  “Don’t be mad when I say this, but are you sure you can pull thi
s off?” Cassie asked softly.

  “No, but I’m committed now, I have no choice,” she sighed.

  “What does Marty say? I mean, he must be feeling-”

  “Marty’s been a saint,” Hannah interrupted. “He’s really proud of me, and he’s being really understanding about everything.”

  “Give me your list and the recipe and I’ll get out of your hair,” Cassie said quickly, and I really hope you know what you’re doing.

  “Thanks, Cassie. Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, I’m just crazed,” Hannah grumbled, pulling two crumpled pieces of paper out of her pocket along with a fifty dollar bill.

  “I can see that,” Cassie mumbled. “If you need anything else, let me know.”

  “I will, thanks,” Hannah replied as she turned back to her pastry shells.

  Leaving Hannah and her mayhem, Cassie jumped in the gator and zipped home for a quick shower, then kissing Mickey on the head she drove to town and headed into the grocery store.

  It was a lengthy shopping trip; there were more items on Hannah’s list than Cassie had anticipated, and she ended up with a shopping cart filled with all kinds of foodstuffs.

  Returning to the ranch she drove straight to Hannah’s, unloaded all the bags, and hurrying home she virtually staggered into the kitchen. The ever faithful Mickey walked over to greet her, wagging his tail and lifting his paw in welcome.

  “Hey Mickey, I wish you could go out and bring in our groceries,” she sighed.

  He let out a small whine, and gazed his deep brown eyes up at her.

  “You don’t look too happy. What’s up? I have something special for you, and I’d better get it right now, because if I sit down I won’t get up again.”

  He followed her out to the car, and after lugging in the paper sacks, she pulled out a packet of marrow bones. Mickey immediately began spinning around excitedly; they were his favorite treat.

  “Here you go,” she smiled, “this will cheer you up.”

  Taking the bone carefully in his mouth, he trotted out his doggie door and settled on the back door mat. After a short time they became messy and smelly, and it seemed that was when Mickey loved them the most, so Chad had instigated a new rule: marrow bones outside.

  She had just begun unpacking the rest of the groceries when she heard Chad walking through the house, and a moment later he sauntered into the kitchen sporting a dark frown.

  “Chad? What’s wrong?”

  “You won’t believe it. Twenty-thousand shirts just arrived at the warehouse with the logo on upside-down.”

  “What? Oh, no!”

  “I wish I’d never started this expansion,” he growled.

  “Let Peter handle it. That’s why you hired that guy. That’s his job.”

  “Yeah, but I kinda feel like-”

  “Chad, I repeat, that’s why you hired him,” she insisted. “You can’t do absolutely everything yourself.”

  “I’ll think about it,” he sighed, dropping into a chair.

  “Do you want a beer? Some coffee?”

  “Yeah, a beer, that sounds good,” he nodded. “It was hot down in that ring this mornin’.”

  “I was thinking the same thing myself,” she agreed.

  “Do we have anything to eat, somethin’ quick? I gotta get back to the boys. With Jeb’s finger-”

  “They can wait,” Cassie quipped.

  “Listen to you,” Chad smiled. “Miss Bossy Two Shoes.”

  “You bet,” she said firmly. “You’re working too hard, you’re all working too hard. Even Hannah’s off her rocker. She’s trying to cater that stupid party with no help. She needs to hire someone, and so do you. I know you’ve got your maintenance guys, but ever since that other cowhand left at the beginning of summer, and it’s just been you, Marty and Jeb-”

  “You might be right,” he interrupted. “I thought the three of us could handle things, but it’s been tough. Maybe I can rustle someone up for the rest of the summer.”

  “What happened up at the house this morning?” she asked, popping the top of a beer and handing it to him. “I saw you going at it with Dan.”

  “He’s tryin’ to overcharge. Thinks I was born yesterday,” Chad scowled. “I wanted to extend your dressin’ area and closet a few feet, and the money he wanted to charge damn near gave me a heart attack.”

  “I don’t understand? You and Dan have been friends for years, and just for the record, you don’t need to worry about me and my closet.”

  “The hell I don’t. You’ve got more clothes than a bear has stolen honey jars,” he declared, “and that’s not the point. The point is-”

  “Hey, I know what the point is, and you’re right, you can’t let him get away with that crap, but I repeat, I thought you guys were friends.”

  “Maybe a friend is only a friend until you do business,” he commented shaking is head. “Maybe I should’ve gone with a stranger.”

  “He should be bending over backwards after hiring that lunatic who almost killed me.”

  “You’d think,” Chad agreed, running his hands over his face.

  “Drink your beer. I have something that will help put a smile back on your face.”

  “That would be good, I sure as hell don’t feel like smilin’ much these days,” he sighed.

  “I have a whole tray of your world-famous cornbread.”

  “You do? How is that possible? I haven’t made that in weeks…months,” he exclaimed, a smile returning to his worried face.

  “I’ve been hiding it,” Cassie smiled back, “saving it for a rainy day, or a bad one. I’ll zap some. I was going to pull it out to have with our dinner tonight.”

  “Dinner? You really are gonna make us some dinner?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

  “I most certainly am. Hannah gave me a recipe even I can’t mess up,” she laughed.

  As Cassie pulled out the tray of cornbread and set it on the counter, Chad stood up and ambled over to her.

  “Hey,” he said softly, turning her around to face him, “have I told you how much I love you lately?”

  “Um, no,” she replied staring up at him.

  “Well, hon, I do. I’m sorry things have been so crazy. It’s been one thing after another.”

  “I understand, I do, but we can’t let things, whatever those things are, take over our lives. I need you, Mickey needs you, Bailey needs you, the real you, not a distracted, preoccupied you, worried about messed up T-shirts and clients and-”

  His lips were on hers before she knew they were about to land, and pulling her into him he held her tightly as he devoured her mouth. The ardent passion flowed between them, and when he finally broke away she was breathless.

  “Wow, cowboy, you haven’t kissed me like that in a long time.”

  “Nope, and that’s gonna change,” he said firmly. “You need kissin’ and you need spankin’, and that’s what you’re gonna get.”

  Falling against his chest Cassie felt the threat of tears.

  “I’ve missed you, Chad, I’ve really missed you.”

  “Hey, sweet girl, don’t you worry, it’s all gonna be fine. I just need to get a handle on some things, and I will,” he promised, “startin’ with hirin’ another hand.”

  “I love you, Chad, so much,” she sighed, and raising her head she held his face between her hands. “I’ve been worried about you. Forget about bigger closets, and let Peter do the job you hired him to. Delegate, just like you do with Marty and Jeb.”

  “It’s hard,” he mumbled, “it’s hard.”

  “But you’ll try,” she insisted.

  “Yep, honey, I’ll try,” he nodded. “Now let me have some of that cornbread. That’ll do almost as much for my mood as that kiss…and thinkin’ about your butt that’s probably still red.”

  “What a thing to say,” she exclaimed, punching his arm.

  “It is though, right? Still red and tender?”

  “Yes,” she said impatiently, feeling a blush cross her face.

 
; “Cos if it’s not, I can fix that,” he grinned.

  “Get me that big knife so I can cut into this iceberg,” she said quickly, wanting to change the subject.

  Moving away from her he opened the drawer that held the serious kitchen cutlery, and slid it across the counter at her.

  “I’ll be right back. I’m gonna call Sheriff Hollister. He might know of someone lookin’ for work, maybe that nephew of his who did guard duty for us, or his friend, what was his name? He was a horse guy, wasn’t he?”

  “Eddie, yes, he loved the horses,” Cassie replied, “but I don’t know if he has much experience.”

  “I’ll find out. Won’t be long.”

  She watched him as he grabbed his beer and strode back to his office, then returned to the challenge of slicing through the frozen cornbread. As she heated the knife under the hot water tap she stared out the kitchen window to the round pen below. Marty was working with a young colt, and Jeb was in the cross-ties attempting to tighten a girth, but struggling with his bandaged hand.

  You need a break, Chad. You need to get back to what you love, not overseeing a construction site and dealing with a shipload of screwed up shirts.

  Managing to slice away two large pieces of the bread, she placed them on dishes and put them in the microwave, then moved the heavy pan to the counter by the window to catch the afternoon sun.

  Sitting back down at the table, waiting for the beep to tell her the bread was ready, she began thinking about the house under construction, and the terrifying encounter with the laborer that had attacked her and caused so much havoc. Mickey had been such a hero and had saved the day, but if he hadn’t been there, she shuddered to think what might have happened.

  That house is our dream house, and you, Dan Michaels, allowed someone on the site that you didn’t check out properly. Now you’re behind schedule, and you’re trying to scam Chad. That’s not cool, that is so not cool.

  The microwave dinged, and after checking to make sure the bread was steaming hot, she pulled out the plate, grabbed some butter from the refrigerator, then picked up her cell phone and called Chad on the house line.