Aurora's Cowboy Daddy. Melinda Barron

      Holt stuffed his face with mousse, and used every ounce of his self-control to keep from pulling Aurora closer to him. When he’d left her in the bathroom he knew she’d been close to crying, and when he’d walked down the hall, something stopped him at the end. Her sobs filled the hallway, and instead of going upstairs, as he’d known he should, he’d gone back to her.

      The words he’d spoken to Hawk just that afternoon had rung in his ears as his hand had hovered over the doorknob. There is a rule about messing around with the ladies. But she wasn’t a rescue Hawk had said, and he’d been right, she wasn’t. But she was an employee, and a boss was not supposed to screw around with his employees, and he knew if he went into the bathroom it would be the start of something that was not meant to be; at least he didn’t think it should be.

      Feeling her next to him right now stirred senses he hadn’t felt in a long time. His last girlfriend had been Betty Turner, who was now happily married to Mark Trainer. They had been good together at first. She loved him taking care of her, making her obey rules. But after they’d been together for a year she started to complain that he spent more time on the Rescue Ranch, both with the horses and the ladies who sought refuge here.

      After Betty left, he’d thrown himself into the Ranch with abandon. He didn’t dare date because he needed to keep his desires to himself. It had taken six months of a relationship with Betty before he’d let her know he was looking for a Little. In a small town it was hard to let your secrets out. It had taken him that long before he’d truly trusted Betty, truly thought she’d be open to what he wanted, and would keep his secret if things didn’t work out between them.

      And it hadn’t. Because of him. It made him wonder if he should start a relationship with Aurora. She’d faced so much pain and grief in her life. If he made the same mistakes with her that he did with Betty… he couldn’t even think that now. He needed to let her settle in, get used to her new home before he tried to form a relationship with her.

      Which meant he needed to stay on target, a business target. “We have to go into Amarillo tomorrow,” he said, keeping his voice low. “We have paperwork that needs to be filled out and they need to photograph and print you.”

      “I’ve been printed before,” she said. “And photographed.”

      “Shush, we’re watching a movie,” Wyatt said.

      “One you’ve seen a million times,” Holt said.

      “Still, it’s a Bond film, not a Holt film. Be quiet.” Wyatt glared at Holt, who fought the urge to shoot him the finger. He would’ve if Aurora hadn’t been sitting next to him.

      Holt jerked his head toward the open door. Aurora nodded, but when she got up she went to the table and put another scoop of mousse in her bowl. Holt glanced at Austin, who was grinning like he’d just won a Nobel Prize.

      At the door to the veranda he stood and let her pass, and once they were outside they sat down in two of the wicker chairs his mother had picked out ages ago.

      “I need to get Dana’s car back to her,” Aurora said. “I promised her it would be tomorrow. I’ve already imposed on them too much to break that promise.”

      “Then we get up early, go to Amarillo and handle the paperwork, stop by here to pick up your friend’s car and then head to Dallas.”

      “Busy day,” Aurora said.

      Very busy, but not too busy that we can’t stop and get to know each other better, Holt wanted to say. “You know you just made whole sentences? I’m proud.”

      “I did it while I was telling you about Ben’s death,” she said. He noticed she didn’t call it murder. That was a step in the right direction.

      “Yeah, but you were off in another world then.” He wanted to ask if his holding her in the bathroom had any effect on how much she’d relaxed. Instead of bringing that up he said, “It’s the mousse, isn’t it? Chocolate loosens your tongue?”

      Aurora giggled, and Holt felt his body stir. Her laugh was lyrical, sexy.

      “Chocolate with freshly made whipped cream is especially good,” she said. “But I have to say it’s a good thing y’all don’t want me to cook for you. I’m not really good at it.”

      “You’ll get better with practice,” he said.

      “That’s what Dana said when she asked me to cook, and it never got any better.” She laughed again and Holt resisted the urge to put his hand on her thigh and gently squeeze. “When it was my night to cook I generally ordered out.”

      “That can get expensive when there are seven of you,” he said. When she frowned he said, “The six of us and you.”

      “Oh,” she said.

      “So we’re back to one-word answers?”

      “Oh, I see?”

      This time they both laughed.

      “I should go before it gets much darker,” she said. “What time do you want to leave in the morning?”

      “It’s a little more than an hour’s drive to Amarillo,” he said. “We should leave about six.”

      She stood, and when they went back through the room she said good night to his brothers. He was happy to see Wyatt waved at her. Maybe it wouldn’t take so long for his brother to get over the fact Holt had hired her without consulting everyone else.

      They made their way downstairs and crossed to where she’d parked the UTV. “Text me when you get home so I know you made it.”

      “Yes, Dad,” she said.

      He lifted an eyebrow as she climbed behind the wheel.

      “Be careful and stick to the path,” he said. “Snakes can come out at night.”

      The look she gave him made him laugh. “You forget I grew up in Texas,” she said. “Most rattlers are tucked in their beds by now.”

      She put the UTV in gear and drove off without saying goodbye. He was going to have to scold her for that. But he was happy to see that she seemed to be opening up a little. He’d teased her about the snakes just to see how she’d react. When she gave it as well as he did he knew things would get interesting with her.

      At least he hoped so.