porch.
She caught her balance and whipped first to the right, then left. Okay, she hadn’t been kidnapped. She was at the cabin on the dude ranch. But someone had still screamed out…or something.
She had to get out of there. Where were her car keys? Where…
“Cock-a-doodle-do!”
She spun around, almost tripping herself as the quilt tangled with her legs. She kicked it out of the way and shoved her hair out of her eyes.
“Cock-a-doodle-do!”
This was her thief? Her intruder? A friggin’ rooster?
She looked at the sun, which was just barely peeking over the horizon, then back at the blasted bird. He thrust his chest out and pranced back and forth along the top rail of the wooden fence. Several chickens stood on the ground below as if adoring this wonderful spectacle of arrogant feathers.
She jerked the quilt around her shoulders more securely and glared at the feathered Romeo. He drew in a deep breath and let loose with another screeching yodel. The chickens cackled, apparently thinking he’d performed some grand feat.
Enough was enough. She usually slept until at least eight. Her gaze fell to the ground. She smiled, picked up a rock, and when the bird inhaled again, let it fly.
The rooster squawked, fell off the fence, kicked twice, and lay silent.
Oh, crap!
Her hand flew to her mouth. She hadn’t meant to kill the blasted bird, only scare it. In all her life, she’d never murdered anything.
She let the quilt fall and rushed over to the fence. The chickens glared at her. She squatted next to the rooster. Could you do CPR on a bird? She didn’t think she wanted to try. She’d have to live with her guilt.
How proud he’d been prancing along the fence rail, and with good reason. Up close, Nikki could see how magnificent he was. Feathers as bright as a brand-new copper penny, dark red, brilliant orange, emerald green. Sniffing, she gently touched him.
In a flurry of feathers, the rooster leapt up ushering loud noises and flapping his wings. Nikki screamed and jumped to her feet. The rooster turned toward her.
She stepped back.
The bird advanced, no longer prancing but with a slightly off-balance, drunken gait.
Nikki turned and fled back inside the cabin, grabbing the quilt as she went. She scrambled back in bed and pulled the covers over her head.
No utilities. The toilet was outside and smelled horrible. Taking a bath meant she had to risk her life and light the black beast of an oven or wash in ice water. The rooster from hell. Maybe even a ghost-not that she believed in them. She hated it here. She wanted to go back to the city, where toilets flushed and they had real burglars, not some crazy-ass bird!
Was she ready to admit defeat?
She sniffed. Damn it, she wasn’t. Not this early in the game. No, she refused to give up. She only needed a few more hours of sleep.
Life sucked right now, but she would get her story. Scrunching down farther in the bed, she pulled the blanket even higher. Her eyes drifted closed as she yawned.
She didn’t want to think about any of it right now. She wanted to sleep and dream about ivory towers and palaces. Vacationing where they had room service. She snuggled deeper into the feather mattress. Sunning on pristine beaches. Her eyelids drifted downward. She yawned.
And sex.
How long had it been since she’d had sex? Too long. Immediately a dark-haired cowboy with smoldering green eyes filled her mind.
He walked toward her wearing only a hat, cowboy boots and twirling a rope. There he was in all his naked glory. She snuggled the quilt closer to her. Oh, yeah. This was what she wanted to dream about. It was even better than her last dream-more X-rated.
Cal would jerk the quilt away from her and pull her against him. She would caress each and every one of his delicious muscles as her hands roamed over his body.
She moaned, then stifled a yawn. God, she was so tired. Her whole body ached from being jostled when she’d driven down that damned dirt road.
Cal began to fade as she drifted further asleep.
“Don’t go,” she mumbled, but it was already too late. She sighed just before sleep overcame her.
Chapter 6
Mooooooooo!
Nikki flew out of bed, ran into the wall, bounced around, and stared into the eyes of a big brown beast that had a string of drool dripping from its mouth to the floor.
She screamed.
Cal stuck his head through the open window, shoving the animal back. “Move over, Bessie.” Then he turned his attention to her. “Mornin’. Good, I’m glad you’re up. I don’t suppose you have any coffee made.”
“Coffee?”
“No, I didn’t think so, but I sure could use another cup. Well, get dressed. I’ll get Bessie settled in the barn. Better hurry, though, it’s already past milking time and she’s getting anxious.”
“Milk?”
“Didn’t I tell you that’s part of the experience? Darn, I can’t believe I left that little detail out.” His eyes twinkled. “You’ll love it.”
He moved away from the window, but just as she started to relax, he popped his head inside once more. His gaze wandered very slowly from her head to her feet, then back up. “By the way, I like your pj’s.” He whistled a jaunty tune as he ambled away.
She glanced down. Her thin red silk teddy left little to the imagination. It was cut all the way down to her navel and the only thing holding it together was one strip of sheer lace.
Not only did it show a considerable amount of cleavage, but the morning air was cool and her nipples were pebble hard.
A wave of heat washed over her. She grabbed the quilt and pulled it in front of her but not for modesty’s sake. She felt the need to hold on to something-anything.
No gentleman would’ve mentioned her nightclothes since they barely covered her. And a gentleman wouldn’t have stared so blatantly, either, making her body grow hot, then cold, and then very, very hot.
A slow smile curved her lips. It was nice to know Cal wasn’t that much of a gentleman.
Naughty, naughty.
Her mood quickly changed when she thought about the cow. She might have the hots for Cal but she was certain she’d hate Bessie.
Her forehead wrinkled in thought. Hadn’t Bessie been black and white yesterday? Not that it mattered one way or the other at this point in time. And did Cal really expect her to milk a cow? She had a feeling he did. Then what would she do? Her job description didn’t include milking cows.
She closed her eyes. She would stay calm. None of this mattered as long as she got her story. Breathe in, breathe out. Okay, she was ready-maybe.
She grabbed her clothes and began dressing. She was just tying her hair back when she heard the screen door slam.
“Hey, have you noticed anything strange about the rooster?” Cal called from the other room.
Her hands stilled and her heart began to pound. She pictured the damned bird stiff from rigor mortis, skinny legs straight up in the air.
She took a deep breath and tried to sound innocent. “Rooster?”
