Christmas Cowboy (Reindeer Games 4)

Christmas Cowboy (Reindeer Games)
Ruth D. Kerce
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2015 Ruth D. Kerce

Chaz had caught a shower and taken care of his physical needs at the same time. Now he paced in front of the corral. "Okay. Where the hell is she?" He rubbed his hands together. The temperature was dropping fast. He looked up and watched the gray clouds move across the sky. Snow was predicted for later tonight and was supposed to be in the area for the next two weeks. It would be a white Christmas this year.

He pulled out his cell phone and checked the time. He'd already called Cherry more than once but had only gotten her voice mail. He should have known better than to trust her with this deal.

When he'd agreed to her proposal, he'd been thinking with his dick, not his head. It probably hadn't been the best idea to give her the go ahead, even though she was smart and had been around the business long enough to know good horse flesh.

Still, this wasn't something he dabbled in. This was his livelihood. He'd have gone himself or sent his foreman, but they'd had other deals in the works and couldn't spare the time away right now.

He remembered the excitement in Cherry's voice when she'd first called him about the deal last week. "I know livestock," she'd said. "I have a connection looking to sell. I'll get you a great deal." He never would have considered trusting her to pull off this transaction for him if he hadn't known her so well. Trusting too much in others bred trouble in his experience. However, he'd known Cherry almost her entire life and trusted her more than most. And she was familiar with his specific needs for the ranch.

She was familiar with a lot of his needs. Sex with her once more filled his mind. Since she'd shown up back in town, he'd thought of little else. They'd been friends forever, but their sexual relationship hadn't lasted very long for she'd gone off to college and he'd inherited the ranch soon after, which had monopolized his time.

He'd often wondered if she would have left had they gotten together earlier and had more time to solidify their romance. Throughout the years, they'd stayed in contact but had grown apart in lifestyles. She'd even returned home on occasion, but only for very brief visits. This time was different. She'd been in town for a few weeks now, and they were spending a lot of time together and trying to figure things out between them.

Of course, he'd fuck her in a second. She was the sexiest woman alive, in his opinion. But she didn't know for certain how long she'd be staying. It hinged on that damn job offer. It was probably best not to start anything and cause complications. It had been hard enough letting her go the first time.

A rumble caught his attention. He turned to see an old blue pickup truck coming up the road, followed by a long, new-looking trailer. The trailer was his. The truck was hers -- a rental -- the only one the dealer had left with a radio she'd told him when he'd questioned her choice. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally." Maybe this would work out after all. If so, he'd consider himself damn lucky.

He wished his ranch hands or at least his foreman were on the spread today. He'd given them all the day off. They hadn't had a full day off all season and needed a rest. He'd told them he could handle things himself for twenty-four hours.

Cherry hadn't planned to arrive with the animals until tomorrow, but then she'd called early this morning to say that she'd be in today. She must have hauled ass to get here a day early, which worried him given her cargo. Or maybe she'd just finalized the deal faster than expected. She hadn't explained, and he hadn't asked.

The pickup truck stopped, and the driver killed the engine. The trailer stopped a few feet behind the truck. When the door of the pickup opened, a pair of shapely legs came into view. Cherry -- dressed in her favorite coffee brown, winter tights. That woman could make any man sweat, even in the dead of winter.