He laughed at the nerves in her voice. “Just what I said. You need to lie low, and my place is a good option. It’ll take Jerry a while to figure it out, and even if he did, there’s cameras and plenty of space. It’s the perfect solution.”
“I don’t think—”
“So don’t. Thinking is exactly what gets you into trouble. We’ll call Dean and Olin tomorrow and let them know—one or both will probably want to tag along anyway.”
She worried her bottom lip, the action reminding him of the soft bite he’d delivered there, made him want to do it again.
However, they had more pressing issues at the moment, so he pulled away before the temptation proved more than he could resist. “Get packed up—or don’t. When you’re out of clothes, I doubt anyone will complain about you walking around naked.”
That flush on her cheeks made his cock ache, made him want to forget the moving idea—at least for a while—and indulge in her instead.
However, Bradley pulled out his phone to let Olin and Dean know about the change.
Kat’s safety was the most important thing, and hell…maybe getting her to the ranch was a great idea. She wouldn’t be the first unruly mare he’d had to tame, but damn if she wouldn’t be the most stubborn.
And the most fun.
* * * *
Kat swallowed hard as she looked around the property. She’d never come to Bradley’s ranch before, not even when they’d dated. The very thought had terrified her, made her feel like things were too real, so she’d never tried.
And he hadn’t offered, to be fair.
Probably because he’d known she’d refuse.
They’d moved her things in the middle of the night. Bradley had explained that it was far easier to spot a tail in the dark, especially when he’d circled the dirt roads more than a few times since he knew them so well.
After unpacking the car, Kat had fallen asleep without trouble. Even in the unfamiliar bed, with everything happening around her, the exhaustion had caught up and she’d been out by the time her head hit the pillow.
She’d slept in late and woken to an empty house.
Then again, Bradley no doubt had a lot of work to do—ranches aren’t easy to run and he’s been spending so much time with me lately…
So, now that the time was nearly noon, Kat walked around the property. When she’d heard ranch, she’d assumed farm. That probably showed just howcity-girlshe really was. However, she didn’t see row after row or corn or whatever else farmers grew.
There was a small greenhouse with some vegetables, but barely enough for just one or two people. Instead, it seemed ranch meant for animals, and there was no shortage of those.
There were pens for goats, some for sheep, lots of cattle and more than a few horses. While Kat would have loved to visit with the horses or cattle, their size made her uneasy. She’d never spent much time around livestock, and the last thing she wanted was to end up hurt because she’d tried to pet something she shouldn’t.
Instead, she found herself near the goats. There were older ones, but the babies made her smile. They hopped around, playing like a gaggle of kindergarteners. She crouched down and put her fingers through the slats of the fencing, petting them best she could.
“Careful, they bite.”
Kat turned to find Olin there, a smile on his face saying he’d been joking. Still, Kat wasn’t the type to let something like that go without joking back. “Well, so do I. It’s why we get along so well.”
Olin crouched beside her. “They sure are cute.”
“All babies are cute. It’s a defense mechanism so parents don’t throw them out after the third week of no sleep.” At that, Kat frowned. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have work?”
Olin put his fingers through the slats and one of the black goats with white spots ran over to him. “No. I was taken off the case.”
“What?”
“It’s fine. It was the right choice.”
“But why?”
“I’m too close to the case.”