Exquisite Acquisitions

A sudden movement on her bed startled her, and the scent of rawhide followed. She snapped her eyes open. She’d been wrong. She was being hounded, but she didn’t mind the nuzzling. She could get used to this. “Hello, Rocky.”

The dog curled his body next to hers and laid his head down. She looked into his big caramel eyes and smiled. Carter had been right. His ranch had everything.

An hour later, refreshed from her nap, Macy showered and changed into fresh clothes, a pair of white jeans and an indigo tank top. Her hair was still wet when she drew it back into a ponytail. Five minutes in the Texas heat would dry it.

She thought better about stepping into flip-flops and opted for her Nikes. Carter had given her half an hour to pack before the car had come for her at the hotel. As it was, she’d packed only enough clothes to last her through a short stay in New York, and not too much was suitable for ranch living.

“Guess I’m going to do some shopping while I’m here,” she muttered to Rocky.

The dog wagged his tail at the sound of her voice. He hadn’t left her side since he’d plopped onto the bed. They’d enjoyed the nap together, and he’d sat outside the shower door while she was cleaning up.

Macy grinned at him. “You want to show me around after lunch?”

Another tail wag.

Macy found the kitchen easily. It wasn’t hard to miss, and it was definitely Texas-size with wood beamed ceilings, homey tiled counters and a table big enough for a small army. She rummaged through the double-door refrigerator, coming up with brisket and swiss cheese. She was too hungry to go to any more trouble than throwing a sandwich together. She slapped mustard on sourdough bread and made quick work of eating her lunch. Every so often, she’d pull off a piece of beef and toss it to Rocky.

He gobbled it without chewing.

“No doubt he’ll be your friend for life.”

She spun around so fast, her ponytail whipped her cheek. She found Carter leaning against the kitchen doorway, staring at her. He flicked his gaze over her in one sweep and then focused on Rocky, but it was enough to freeze all movement in her chest. She cleared her throat and wondered when she’d stop reacting to him this way. “Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t be feeding him this, uh—”

Carter sauntered into the kitchen. “He eats anything.” He grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator and offered her one.

“No, thanks.”

“And refuses nothing. At least, I’ve never seen my father’s dog deny himself a meal of any kind.”

“Good to note.”

“Out of necessity,” he added. “He wasn’t always fed.”

“Oh.” The dog used to belong to Carter’s father. Macy connected the dots. They stood facing each other and she watched Carter’s throat work, swallowing a gulp of beer. “I’ll just clean up my mess and get out of here.”

Carter had the beer to his lips again and stopped from sipping to eye her over the bottle. “You know, we’re bound to bump into each other. You don’t have to run off. The kitchen is big enough for both of us.”

Not from where she was standing. Whenever Carter entered a room, he commanded all the space and Macy saw nothing else. “Gotcha.”

“Where are you going anyway?”

“Just exploring. I thought I’d stretch my legs and take a walk.”

He blinked and a look of concern crossed his features. “I should probably go with you the first time.” He gulped down the rest of his beer.

“You think I’ll get lost?”