Owen
What are the odds of a beautiful creature like Kelly Stuart being a detective? Let alone getting an assignment to our case?
Absolutely one in a million. Not only is she taking our case, she comes with a lot of certs and awards, especially in the area of farm legality. Seeing her step from the car, made me lose my mind for a moment.
No gal can even come close to this gorgeous woman. And believe me, I’ve seen some hotties in the past, but she takes the cake. Her dazzling blue eyes give a spark of life and that blonde hair, cut exactly so, just trimming her face and accentuating her facial features.
I shouldn’t be thinking like this. Kelly’s more than likely been hit up by every single male on the force, and probably a couple of married guys, looking for a side piece. Not to mention any male clientele. She couldn’t possibly have any interest in a farm boy.
Sighing and pushing the thoughts from my mind, I watch as she leaves the room, with Trent following close behind her. He looks like the big bad wolf tip toeing around to have a bite of red riding hood. I chuckle when he turns to me, wiggling his brows. “Can you believe this?” whispering, he points out the office door to the freshly scented babe.
I shake my head and start to move in his direction. “No. I can’t,” I tell him, “And yet, I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”
“Duh,” he tells me as he turns to chase her down, “Whose eyes would you be looking through but your own.” He slaps the side of my upper arm and moves down the hall, meeting up with her in the kitchen.
“So, are the two of you going to show me around, or is it going to be you then him?” she asks, pointing to me first and then to Trent. My heart skips a beat and the butterflies begin their dance in my stomach.
No matter what the gal looks like, I still manage to get the movement in my gut under control. Why, I’ll never know. I’ve not been the most outgoing dude, but certainly not the quietest either.
Before I can answer, Trent steps in and slides next to me. “Since we both share the workload here, I think we both need to escort you around our ranch.” He stops momentarily and looks at me with a wink. “Right, bro?”
I could feel the wind leaving myself as he spoke. “Uh, sure,” I stumble over my words and the fluttering of imagined bugs inside. When I look at Trent, I see that he’s gonna be a viable contender should she ever gain an interest in one of us.
As we walk around the ranch, showing her the ins and outs of farm life, Kelly stops, a look of comedic passiveness on her face. “Do you think I don’t know my way around a ranch? I was raised on a ranch, but I suppose that wasn’t in my resume, now was it?”
The corners of her mouth turn upward, displaying a teasing smirk. She cocks her head sideways and fully smiles then, slapping her hand on my chest. “You look as if I’m offended by your endeavor to show me around.”
Trent laughs a little, breaking some sweat also. “Well, I could see that you knew about this stuff,” he says, playing it off.
Seeing him play his card left me in the dust. I chose honesty instead. “Sorry,” I say, hanging my head. “I know that a woman doesn’t like preconceived notions about what she knows and doesn’t know.”
“Ah!” She waves her hand and finishes her fun. “No worries. But I do know a thing or two about running a ranch. It’s one reason why I get these types of cases.”
I’m trying so hard to be cool, not jeopardizing a probable date. What am I even thinking? I remove my hat, rubbing a hand through my closely shorn hair and replace it, following them again. I just met her for crying out loud.
Have I no shame?
I do, but when Trent stops again, I hear him ask her, “What do you think the odds of you and me getting together are?” He smiles devilishly once he’s asked her.
“Really?” she asks. “An actual date?”
“Well, I’m a guy and you’re a gal, so why not?” he shrugs his shoulders as she turns her face to me.
I’m standing there like a deer in headlights. “And what about you?” the hand on her hip conveys the ignorance of many others before me. “Are you lookin’ to ask me out as well?”
I glance at Trent and see the intensity of his eyes expressing a potential claim. Definitely, I say to her, “Of course! Who wouldn’t want a chance to take you out.” The shock of me blurting out such a thing rings in my ears. “I’m fully wanting to ask you out,” I look back at Trent, changing his expression, smiling as he sticks two thumbs up in the air behind her, so she doesn't see him.
She looks back and forth between the two of us. She finally settles her eyes on the horse being guided into the barn. “Guys, this may come as a shock to you—” she starts, but then I interrupt her.
“It’s unprofessional,” I say, removing my hat and pretending to dust it off. “I’ve seen a thing or two in my lifetime.”
“True, but it’s also a conflict of interest because of you being my client and I’m investigating your case,” Kelly says in a matter-of-fact tone.
Kelly stands there with her arms crossed in front of her chest, looking Trent up and down and then me. She bites her lower lip and says flatly, “I’ll think about it.”
The mere fact that she said she’d think about a date, excites me to the gills. Perhaps all this bad mojo will lead into something good.
And that makes me smile.