Cassie's Cowboy Crave: Witness Protection - Rancher Style (Sweet Montana Bride Series) by Kimberly Krey

receipts for these, right?”
    He nodded. “Right.”
    Her ring, a delicate band of gold, held a modest-sized diamond in the center. And though Cassie had argued she didn’t need any diamond at all, Shane had insisted she have it. If she’d learned anything in the last hour it was this: Shane Emerson was stubborn. He was also generous to a fault. The man even offered to pay for her clothing. Something she’d never dream of letting him do.
    “You afraid to put that on?” Shane asked. “Or are you just waiting for me to do it?”
    A rash of embarrassed heat rushed over Cassie’s face. She pushed the ring onto her finger before Shane could get another word out. It looked nice there on her wedding finger, and Cassie had to force herself not to stare at it in Shane’s presence. It seemed he enjoyed teasing her, and she didn’t want to become an easy target.
    “I was thinking,” she said after a bit of quiet. “We should do take-out.”
    “Oh, yeah?”
    “Yeah. Lots of food, a few desserts and drinks. Park in front of the TV and watch movies all night.”
    There was that dimple again. “Sounds good to me. What kind of food do you like? Guess I should know this anyway, right?”
    “I eat out a lot,” Cassie said. “Fast food mostly, but that’s just because I don’t like to go to restaurants by myself. I actually wouldn’t mind it if I didn’t have people giving me pity looks the whole time. Makes it awkward.”
    Shane nodded, a smile creeping over his face once more. “Okay, did you say what it was you liked to eat in there? ‘Cuz I’m afraid I missed it.”
    She laughed. “Probably not. Umm, sushi and seafood are my favorite – and since the fish is so fresh there, it’s amazing. I love the other stuff too – hamburgers, pizza, tacos, Chinese, Italian. You pretty much can’t go wrong with me. Unless…” she paused, wondering if he’d be offended at what she was about to say. He raised cattle, after all.
    “Unless, what?”
    “I was going to say, unless it’s a steakhouse. But that’s just because I’ve never had a good experience with a steak before. I’ve tried, I swear. But it’s either tough and gristly, or leathered and gnarly, or sometimes they bring it out in a pool of its own blood and when I act disgusted they offer to cook it more but who wants that after the whole blood thing?”
    Shane narrowed his eyes. “Hmm. We’re going to have to fix that, aren’t we? The fact that you’ve never had a decent steak. At Emerson Ranch, we do it right. But for now, let’s round up some take-out, should we?” He slowed as he approached an oncoming traffic light that had just faded from yellow to red.
    “So what do you like? To eat, I mean?” she asked, catching a quick glimpse of her ring – enjoying the feeling it gave her.
    “I like me some good, home cooking. Meat, potatoes, home-baked bread. The women trade off feeding all the men certain days of the week. The rest of the time we fend for ourselves.”
    “What do you eat when you’re fending for yourselves then?”
    He watched the traffic as it sped by, gunning the truck once it was all clear. “Not a lot of businesses out close to the ranch. We usually eat at home. Ramen Noodles. Canned stew. Burritos. Just a bunch of guys microwaving crap so they can eat and go to bed.”
    Cassie let out one, short laugh. “That’s depressing.”
    “It’s life on the ranch.” He shrugged. “Most seasons we’re out from sun-up to sun-down. If we’re not roping and herding, we’re fixing fences, working the hay crop. Don’t have a lot of time to mess with meals, you know? It’s a good life though. Being out on the land.”
    “So you’re going to be out all day?” she asked.
    Shane nodded. “Most days. Though the new interns, if they’re any good, should really take a load off. Might make things different this season.”
    “Hmm.” She eyed the small city as they drove, not really seeing what was before her. “What will I be