The calf she was feeding started butting its mouth against the bucket as it sucked on the nipple.
“Why is it doing that?” she asked, frowning.
“It’s instinctive,” he explained. “Out in the pasture, calves butt their mother’s udder to help bring down the milk.”
The calves had the buckets drained in no time and Karly couldn’t help but wonder if they had to be on a four-hour schedule like human babies. “When will they need to eat again?”
“One of the other guys will feed them again in about twelve hours.” He put a couple of flakes of hay in the stall, then washed the buckets and put them into plastic bags. When he finished, he smiled. “So what do you think of your first ranch experience?”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I actually liked taking care of the orphaned calves,” she admitted as they walked out of the barn. “They were so cute and when they looked up at me with those big brown eyes, I couldn’t help but fall in love with them.”
“If I remember correctly, you said something similar to me when we were in Las Vegas,” he said, his voice low and intimate.
Karly swallowed hard as she gazed up at him. When they’d met, she had told him how much she loved his eyes. Gazing into the fathomless depths now, she found it hard to look away. Just as in Las Vegas, she felt as if she saw her future in the sexy warmth of his dark brown eyes and it took monumental effort to look away.
Blinking to break the spell, she gave herself a mental shake. That way of thinking was the exact reason she found herself in her current predicament and why she was facing the dissolution of their brief marriage instead of just ending a whirlwind affair.
Forcing herself to remember all the reasons why she had to stand firm in her decisions, she took a deep fortifying breath and attempted to change the subject. “Will my next ranch experience be breakfast?”
He stared at her for several long moments before he pointed toward the foreman’s cottage. “While you go inside and wash up, I’ll walk over to the bunkhouse and get something for us from the cook.” Without another word, he turned and walked toward a building on the other side of the barn.
As she watched him go, Karly knew she should leave the ranch as soon as she could load the car. But she also knew she wasn’t going to do that. For reasons she didn’t want to think about, she felt compelled to stay with Blake until the strike was settled. Maybe it was due to the fact that she really didn’t relish the idea of driving such a long distance. But more likely, it was the fact that every time she looked into his warm brown eyes she lost every ounce of sense she possessed.
Turning, she slowly walked to the house. Staying with him wasn’t smart and she anticipated more than a few awkward moments over the course of the next several days. But with few other options open to her and a budget that couldn’t really withstand a long stay in a hotel, she really didn’t have much choice.
Now all she had to do was be strong and resist falling under his spell again. Unfortunately, that might prove to be a monumental challenge, considering that it only took a look from him for her to feel as if she would melt.
* * *
When Blake finished saddling the gentle buckskin mare, he glanced over at Karly, who was sitting on a bale of hay by the tack-room door. She looked about as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. All through breakfast, she had questioned him about riding a horse. She’d wanted to know what would happen in a number of situations—all of which were highly unlikely.
She’d looked so darned cute as she interrogated him about riding that it had been all he could do to keep his hands to himself. But as much as he’d like to take her in his arms and reacquaint himself with his wife’s sweet taste, he resisted the temptation. Papers had been signed and it was just a matter of time before she went her way
“Why is it doing that?” she asked, frowning.
“It’s instinctive,” he explained. “Out in the pasture, calves butt their mother’s udder to help bring down the milk.”
The calves had the buckets drained in no time and Karly couldn’t help but wonder if they had to be on a four-hour schedule like human babies. “When will they need to eat again?”
“One of the other guys will feed them again in about twelve hours.” He put a couple of flakes of hay in the stall, then washed the buckets and put them into plastic bags. When he finished, he smiled. “So what do you think of your first ranch experience?”
“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I actually liked taking care of the orphaned calves,” she admitted as they walked out of the barn. “They were so cute and when they looked up at me with those big brown eyes, I couldn’t help but fall in love with them.”
“If I remember correctly, you said something similar to me when we were in Las Vegas,” he said, his voice low and intimate.
Karly swallowed hard as she gazed up at him. When they’d met, she had told him how much she loved his eyes. Gazing into the fathomless depths now, she found it hard to look away. Just as in Las Vegas, she felt as if she saw her future in the sexy warmth of his dark brown eyes and it took monumental effort to look away.
Blinking to break the spell, she gave herself a mental shake. That way of thinking was the exact reason she found herself in her current predicament and why she was facing the dissolution of their brief marriage instead of just ending a whirlwind affair.
Forcing herself to remember all the reasons why she had to stand firm in her decisions, she took a deep fortifying breath and attempted to change the subject. “Will my next ranch experience be breakfast?”
He stared at her for several long moments before he pointed toward the foreman’s cottage. “While you go inside and wash up, I’ll walk over to the bunkhouse and get something for us from the cook.” Without another word, he turned and walked toward a building on the other side of the barn.
As she watched him go, Karly knew she should leave the ranch as soon as she could load the car. But she also knew she wasn’t going to do that. For reasons she didn’t want to think about, she felt compelled to stay with Blake until the strike was settled. Maybe it was due to the fact that she really didn’t relish the idea of driving such a long distance. But more likely, it was the fact that every time she looked into his warm brown eyes she lost every ounce of sense she possessed.
Turning, she slowly walked to the house. Staying with him wasn’t smart and she anticipated more than a few awkward moments over the course of the next several days. But with few other options open to her and a budget that couldn’t really withstand a long stay in a hotel, she really didn’t have much choice.
Now all she had to do was be strong and resist falling under his spell again. Unfortunately, that might prove to be a monumental challenge, considering that it only took a look from him for her to feel as if she would melt.
* * *
When Blake finished saddling the gentle buckskin mare, he glanced over at Karly, who was sitting on a bale of hay by the tack-room door. She looked about as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. All through breakfast, she had questioned him about riding a horse. She’d wanted to know what would happen in a number of situations—all of which were highly unlikely.
She’d looked so darned cute as she interrogated him about riding that it had been all he could do to keep his hands to himself. But as much as he’d like to take her in his arms and reacquaint himself with his wife’s sweet taste, he resisted the temptation. Papers had been signed and it was just a matter of time before she went her way
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