Rory watched him stroll to the bathroom and smiled. He had a great ass. He had a great…everything.
With a deep sigh, she sat up, got out of bed, and pulled her robe on just as he reentered the room. She couldn’t stop her eyes from traveling down over his body.
“Stop looking at me like that, or I’ll never leave,” he said.
“Good.” She walked to him, slipped her arms around his waist, and kissed his neck.
“I wish I could stay, but—”
“I understand. I really do. I’m going to grab a quick shower. Please lock the door behind you.” She kissed his neck again. “I’ll see you Monday.”
“Yes, ma’am. Goodnight, Rory.”
“Goodnight, Wilder. Be careful driving home.”
“I will.”
Rory watched as he picked up his clothes from the floor and dressed. Huffing out a frustrated breath because he couldn’t stay, she entered the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
The next night, she was sorely tempted to go to the bunkhouse and demand to know who was behind the stealing of her cows. The thought that it could be one of them just cut her to the core. She trusted them since they’d started working here, and now she knew she’d look at all of them with suspicion, except Buster. There was no way that man was behind it.
It was hard to comprehend thatanyof the men would be involved, and if they were, why? What had she done to make them want to steal from her? She paid them well. But as Wilder said, sometimes people were never satisfied with what they had.
As she sat in the chair, watching TV, she wondered what Wilder was doing. Was he still up? She glanced at the clock on the mantle and saw it was close to midnight, so she got to her feet, walked to the kitchen to make sure she had locked the door, then headed to bed. She usually got up at five, but lately, she hadn’t slept long enough to feel fully rested.
Rory knew she’d have to move some cows to the other pasture so she could see if more rustling happened. If it did, then it was definitely someone working for her.
Monday morning, she entered one of the milking parlors and saw Wilder standing beside Joel. They didn’t see her approaching, so she stared at Wilder and wanted to attack the man. He was so sexy and didn’t even realize it. That made him even more so.
“Good morning,” she said when she got closer to them.
Both men turned to look at her and smiled.
“Morning, Rory,” Joel said. “I’m not sure it’s a good one, though. Buster just told us some cows are missing.”
Just thinking about her cows being loaded on that trailer had her clenching her jaw. She closed her eyes for a few seconds, blew out a sigh, then opened them.
“We need to move them to another pasture.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?” Wilder asked her.
She looked at him to see him raise his eyebrow.
“I do. I don’t like keeping them cooped up. They need to get their exercise.”
“Can’t exercise in a trailer,” Wilder murmured.
Rory knew what he was doing, so she played along.
“I don’t need to be reminded of that, Wilder. Just move them to the west pasture.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, and she could see he was trying not to grin.
“Good. Now, Joel, you can get to work in the milking parlor. Wilder, come with me.” She turned, headed out of the parlor, and smiled when she heard Wilder.
“I guess I’m in for it,” he muttered.
She entered the house, pulled a chair out, and took a seat. He entered the kitchen, closed the door, and stared at her.