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  “Whoa,” Termite said, obviously noticing Josh’s disheveled appearance and expression but not being bright enough to figure out what might have been going on. Of course, Termite might not have seen Hope come into the cabin.

  “You can go now,” Roger told Termite, and when the hand walked off, Roger would have walked right in if Josh hadn’t stayed put, blocking the doorway.

  “I thought we’d said all there was to say,” Josh reminded him. He wouldn’t remind Roger that he’d been a jerk not just to Josh but especially to Hope.

  Roger glanced around and shuffled his feet. “I’ve heard some talk,” he said. “Talk that Hope and you aren’t really lovers after all.”

  Obviously, Roger hadn’t listened to the same gossips as Termite had. Or taken a whiff of Josh because he had Hope’s scent all over him.

  “I heard you and Hope put on that show at the party because you were trying to get your parents off your backs,” Roger added. “Trust me, I understand that. I’m forty-six, and my mom keeps trying to fix me up. I hate it, probably just as much as you do. So, that’s why I’m here, to tell you that I understand and that our deal is still on. I haven’t found another buyer for the horses, so I can sell you all you need.”

  Josh couldn’t have been more surprised if Roger had slugged him. Or so he thought. His surprise went up a notch when Hope came out of his bedroom. Obviously, she’d heard every word of their conversation because there was only about ten feet of space between the front door and the bedroom.

  Roger’s surprise-notch went up even more, causing Josh to groan. He wouldn’t have lied to Roger by telling him that nothing was going on between Hope and him, that the version of the gossip the man had heard was true. But Josh wouldn’t have admitted the truth, either, because that would have ultimately cost Hope those horses. Apparently, though, Hope intended to set things straight no matter what it cost her.

  “You really shouldn’t listen to gossip,” Hope told the man. She was dressed for the most part, but she’d obviously done that in a hurry because her bra was dangling from her shirt. One of the back hooks had caught onto the fabric.

  Roger volleyed a few glances at both of them. Then more glances at her breasts. “So, you two are—”

  “Diddling, yes,” Hope verified. “And despite the fact this is none of your business, you should know that it doesn’t affect the ranch one bit. That’s because Josh isn’t just a ranch hand. He’s my partner. We run this place together.”

  Josh wanted to give her a high five. And a kiss. As soon as they got rid of Roger, he’d do both, along with thank her for what she’d just said. He’d known she felt that way, of course, but it was nice to hear it.

  “Together,” Roger repeated, and he didn’t make it sound like a curse word. “So, it’s not just a fling.”

  Josh frowned and was about to tell this clown that wasn’t any of his business, either, but Roger just kept on.

  “Well, good,” the man concluded. “My mom wouldn’t have liked it had she heard about me doing business with someone when there was just diddling going on. She can be old-fashioned about things like that. But if it’s not diddling or a fling, if it’s something more serious, then she would approve. So, I’m here to finalize the deal on those horses.”

  Hope looked at him, but Josh knew they were on the same page—again. She motioned for Josh to deliver their verdict.

  “The deal will go through with a new condition,” Josh told him. “You drop the price by ten percent. And before you start howling about that being unfair...” But Roger had already started howling out a protest, one that Josh and Hope ignored. “You need to make this deal as much as we do, and your piddling around has cost us time and money. That ten percent will compensate us for that.”

  Josh had no idea if Roger would accept that, or if his pride would cause him to storm off the porch. So, Josh just stood there, waiting.

  Hope didn’t wait, though. She filled in the time with conversation—with Josh. “What we have isn’t about the beeps. In fact, I think your idea about that was wrong.”

  “Beeps?” Roger asked.

  “Yes, beeps!” Hope verified, but she thankfully didn’t try to explain it. “And quit ogling my breasts,” she added in a much louder voice than she had probably intended. “Do you accept the deal with the ten-percent cut in price?” This time her voice was both loud and mean.

  Muscles flickered all over Roger’s face, but he finally nodded. “I’ll have the papers sent over later today.”

  “Good.” Hope still sounded plenty riled, but they all shook hands on it. In these parts, that was the sign of a done deal, but Josh would make sure everything got signed as soon as he had the contract.

  Roger was looking a little relieved and shell-shocked when he turned and walked away. Thankfully, what he didn’t do was spare a glance at Hope’s breasts. Or even the bra that was still dangling from her shirt. Just in case Roger did get a case of wandering eyeballs, Josh shut the door and locked it. If he’d had a Do Not Disturb sign, he would have put that up, too, because it was obvious that Hope had some personal things to say to him.

  And do to him.

  She kissed him. It had none of the meanness that’d been in her voice just seconds earlier. This kiss was long and sweet, just the way he liked his kisses from Hope.

  “This is not an annoyance,” Hope said when she finally broke for air. She motioned toward him, then her. “It’s a need, one that I have for you, and no matter how many times we’re together, that need isn’t going to go away. I can already tell. I meant it when I said I’ve been falling in love with you for years.”

  Yeah, he could see that now. He could see a lot of things, and they were all right there in Hope’s face.

  “I want to do pages one through one hundred and eighty-four with you,” he said. He saw the confusion in her eyes until he added the next part. “That’s how many pages are in the book on my nightstand.”

  She smiled.

  “And when we’re done with those,” he went on, “we can start over from the beginning or get another book with a lot of pages.”

  Hope smiled even more and gave him a naughty wink. “That sounds as if it’ll take a long time, considering there’ll be days and nights off for business and such.”

  “It’ll take a very long time,” Josh assured her. He pulled her to him and kissed that smile. “Years. Maybe years and years. And during that time, we can keep falling in love with each other.”

  The next kiss wasn’t to taste that smile. It was a hungry one that let her know they could start on page one right now. Hope had the same notion because she jumped up into his arms, hooking her hands around his neck and her legs around his waist.

  “My dad was right,” she whispered against his mouth. And then she said something that was just plain confusing. Something that he would ask her about later after a post-orgasmic orgasm. “There’d be no snicker without a doodle. Josh Whitlock, you’re definitely my doodle.”

  Josh had never been called that before, but he’d take it. And to let her know that he was just fine with it, he kissed Hope all the way to the bedroom.

  * * * * *

  ISBN-13: 9781488091285

  Cowboy Dreaming

  Copyright © 2017 by Delores Fossen

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