Chapter 7

“I can’t believe you almost did it on the floor with a total stranger.”

Riley laughed as she sat down at her desk in the Depot office. Danni had called just as she’d been about to do a little accounting work. Nate and the new employee, Heather, were manning the store.

“Me, neither. I’ve never had anyone affect me like that before. I mean, I’ve had a few one-night stands, but this ... I really can’t explain it.”

“Calvin must be really hot,” her best friend, Danni Harper said.

Riley resisted sighing like a teenager crushing on a pop star. “He is, but not in a showy way. He’s also adorable and sort of shy and so funny.”

Danni said, “Wow. You got it bad.”

Riley groaned. “I know! When he’s not around, I can be reasonable and I tell myself not to get carried away, but as soon as he comes around—wham! Hormone city!”

Danni’s laugh made Riley smile. “Next time you’re with him, get a pic and send it to me. I need to see this man.”

“I will. You know, he has a couple of really cute brothers...”

“No way. You might be a country girl, but I’m not cut out to live in a Podunk town,” Danni said. “No man is worth leaving all the creature comforts of New York.”

Riley pouted. “Aww. I miss you. You could come just for Christmas.”

“As tempting as that is, I have to pass. You know that my family would freak if I wasn’t here for the holidays,” Danni responded. “Sorry, but I have to go, hon. Send me that pic.”

“Okay. Talk to you soon.” Riley hung up, feeling a little lonely.

Relocating to Wolf Junction had been a good move. She’d always wanted to own a feed and tack shop and when she’d come across the listing for Shannon’s on AgBizStuff.net, a classified website that catered to the agricultural industry, it had seemed like the perfect fit.

Kevin, who was an astute businessman, had assessed Shannon’s and declared it a sound investment. She hadn’t had to begin from scratch since the place had an established clientele. The building had required minimal upgrades, which had reduced starting costs, and there was still plenty of room for expansion. Riley’s family had been disappointed that she’d wanted to move away from Denver, but she’d been ready to start her new life.

She logged into her email and smiled at seeing a message from Kevin asking how everything was going. After sending back a quick reply, Riley went to work on some accounting. An hour later, her cellphone alarm went off, making her jump. It was time to leave for home, so she’d be there for the steer delivery from Lightfoot Farm. Her pulse leapt at the thought of seeing Calvin again.

Grabbing her keys and purse, she headed out front to let Nate know she was leaving. Hopping in her red F150, Riley got going. Her farmette was only fifteen minutes away. The weather had turned bad, the clouds darkening to metallic gray as bits of ice fell from the sky. So far, the road was just wet, but by the time she was ready to return to work, they might be pretty slick.

Used to driving on bad roads, Riley wasn’t afraid. She’d be fine going back. Pulling up to her house, she hopped out and headed inside. Calvin and Adam would be there in about ten minutes, and she wanted to put on some coffee to offer them after the steer had been unloaded. Just because she was going back to work didn’t mean she couldn’t offer them some hospitality. And if it gave her a little extra time with Calvin, all the better.

“Hey!”

Calvin jumped and looked across the truck cab at Adam. “What? Why are you yelling?”

Adam’s brows almost met over the bridge of his nose, reminding Calvin of Trent. “I’ve been talking to you for like a minute straight.”

“Oh. Sorry. Was it important?”

Adam returned his gaze to the road. “Not life and death, but important enough.”

“Business?”

“No.”

Calvin smiled. “Football.”

Adam cut a glance at him. “Yeah.”

“Okay.” Calvin pulled out his phone and hit Pete’s icon.

“What are you doing?” Adam asked.

Calvin held up an index finger. “Just a sec.”

Adam sighed and fell silent as Pete picked up. Calvin put him on speaker. “Pete, are you busy?”

“Well, I’m at work, so ... no.”

Adam and Calvin laughed.

“What do you need?” Pete asked.

Calvin said, “Can you talk to Adam about football? He probably wants to talk about the Super Bowl or something and I just don’t give a shit. I think he’s lonely.”

Adam smacked Calvin’s phone out of his hand. “Knock that off!”

The phone fell on the floor and Calvin carefully retrieved it. “You still there, Pete?” Calvin asked.

Silence. The end button must’ve gotten hit.

“You break my phone and I’ll break your ass when I’m in horse form,” Calvin said.

Adam laughed. “Sure, sure.” He glanced in the side mirror and saw a truck coming up around the trailer they were hauling. “Look at this idiot. Sleeting like hell and he’s gotta pass.”

Calvin wiped his damp palms on his jeans. “Don’t worry about him. Just watch the road.”

“Don’t worry, Cal. I got this,” Adam said, giving Calvin a sympathetic glance.

The other truck, a big sleek black GMC Sierra, drew alongside of them and hung out there. Adam wasn’t going fast to begin with since he was hauling an animal, but he slowed down even more, thinking to let the other truck go ahead. The Sierra dropped back, keeping pace with them.

The hair on the back of Calvin’s neck rose and he smelled the change in Adam’s body chemistry. “Uh, something tells me they’re not trying to race.”

Adam nodded. “Yeah. I won’t lie. This doesn’t look good. And with that trailer hitched to us, I can’t do a lot of fancy driving.”