“Hey, Ruffin.” She crouched down to greet the dog, giving herself a few more minutes of peace before she had to talk to Dawson. She told herself she’d driven up here specifically to talk to him. “Yeah, you’re the best, aren’t you? Yes, you are.”
She didn’t see the crows today, but she had passed a teenage girl pedaling furiously on her bicycle. Carolinecouldn’t hide behind a canine forever, so she rose to her feet and took a deep breath.
“Hey, darlin’,” he drawled, and oh, that made Caroline smile. His voice sounded so much better than the chime on her phone, indicating he’d messaged.
“Hey.” She moved closer to him, noting that he did not come to her, and opened her arms to him. In an easy, oh-so-natural way, he received her, pressing one kiss almost on the corner of her mouth, then another higher on her cheek, and a third right below her ear.
Three kisses.
Caroline’s eyes drifted closed and she breathed in the salty, musky, sexy scent of Dawson’s skin. Part shampoo, and part cologne, and all cowboy, and she thanked heaven above she had him to hold onto, so she didn’t fall to the ground.
“Mm, you’re here.” His voice rumbled in her ear, his arms warm and welcome around her. “What are you doing here?”
She held onto him for another few moments, just long enough to make sure she could stand on her own, and then moved back. Dawson didn’t let her go too far, as he took her hand in his and squeezed.
“I had to check something down in Ritchfield today,” she said. “So I was on my way back.” She’d planned to stop at his ranch today, but she didn’t say so. She honestly wasn’t sure how much to say. He’d kissed her three times, so maybe he’d said a whole bunch already.
“And I just got a text from Lincoln about owls between your two ranches.”
“So you were just driving by?”
“Sort of,” she said, deciding she could be brave. Use her words. She turned toward him. “I haven’t seen you for a few days. I…wanted to see you.”
He smiled at her, and oh, she probably shouldn’t have asked him to do that. At the same time, so much light entered his soul when he did, and she didn’t think Dawson could fake feelings even if he wanted to.
“It’s great to see you,” he said. He leaned toward her, and panic filled Caroline. Was he going to kiss her properly this time? He didn’t, but nuzzled into her neck, crowding close and making her giggle.
And oh, how she felt cherished. Like he couldn’t get enough of her with just his eyes and his hands, he had to smell her and taste her too.
He swept another series of tiny, barely-there kisses up the column of her throat and then lifted his head. “Mm, yeah. It’s great to see you.” He looked at the fence he and Link had erected around the owls. “I checked the fence for Link, because it’s way easier to see from this side. I’ve got some pictures if you want to see them.”
“I’m going to come out tomorrow with him,” she said. “He said he got permission from you to approach from this side.”
“Yeah,” Dawson said. “We farm up there, so if youwant to build something like this, I can help in the morning.”
She nodded. “I’ll keep you informed.”
Everything sounded so clinical, and Caroline didn’t know how to move past this. At least it was civilized now—more than civilized. His stomach growled as if he’d caged an angry pair of tigers in there, and he looked down at it.
“It’s lunchtime,” he said, raising his gaze to meet hers. “My momma is feeding me today. Would you—? You could come.” His eyes searched hers, so much boyish hope living there.
Her first reaction was to decline. Lunch with him and his mom? They hadn’t even been out on one date yet. They weren’t dating. He wasn’t her boyfriend.
All of the skin above her collarbone sizzled, seemingly to testify that she had indeed been doing things she’d only do with a boyfriend. Holding hands. Giggling. Accepting kisses.
So she opened her mouth, and “All right,” came out.
He grinned even wider. “All right.” He nodded to her car. “You want to drive in together? Bring me back out here? Or I can follow you in.”
She glanced over to his truck. “How about you just follow me in? Maybe we could go for a walk or something after lunch.”
His phone dinged, and he said, “That’s my momma now. Just a sec.” He pulled out his phone and typedsomething short and fast into it. “I’ll follow you in.” He nodded at her and stepped away, saying, “Come on, Ruff. Jump up.”
The dog trotted over to the truck and got in the back while Dawson arrived in his cowboy speed. Caroline spun when she realized she’d been watching him and hurried to her car too. On the way back to the epicenter of the ranch, she gripped the steering wheel and talked herself into leaving without dining with the Rhineharts.
“His daddy is retired too,” she muttered. “Of course he’ll be there.”
So she couldn’t stay. Absolutely not. She and Dawson werenotdating.