Wild For You

“I think he’s in the bunkhouse.”

“Mind getting him for me?”

“No problem, boss.”

Rachel’s lips were pressed together as she studied Spencer and then Erin. “Are you guys headed to the stable?”

Erin shrugged. “I don’t even know why we’re here.”

Matt rejoined them. “Yep, we’ll be in the stable for a while. Maybe take a ride out to the north pasture. We’ll end up at the house eventually. Are you going to be home?”

Rachel nodded. “I put a roast in the slow cooker. It won’t be ready until closer to dinnertime. But I can make some coffee for now, and sandwiches later.”

Coffee? The magic word.

Erin resisted the urge to raise her hand and jump up and down.

“I’m sure there’s coffee brewing in the stable or the barn. I’ll call you in a while.” Matt smiled and kissed Rachel. “Thanks, honey.”

It was just a brief brushing of lips, but it was the tenderness in his eyes that made Erin’s chest ache. No man had ever looked at her like that. And probably never would. In the thirty-three years her parents had been married, she’d never seen them kiss or hug each other even once. But then she hadn’t seen much of them, period. They’d worked a lot, so she’d mostly hung out at Lila’s house after school.

“Erin? You want to come to the house with me?” Rachel asked. “Or would you prefer to go with the guys and learn everything you didn’t want to know about storing and shipping frozen bull semen?”

With a laugh, Erin looked at the men. Seeing their wry smiles, she realized it wasn’t a joke. “Huh.” She turned back to Rachel. “So, you mentioned coffee?”

“I can even make you an espresso if you want.” Rachel checked her watch. “Damn. We have to hurry. The chocolate chip cookies are almost ready to come out of the oven.”

“Seriously? You made cookies?” Erin said, in awe of her new hero.

“They’re actually the slice-and-bake stuff,” Rachel whispered as they started for the house. “But honestly, they taste homemade, so don’t tell anyone.”

Erin slowed and glanced back at Spencer. “Don’t leave without me...”

He’d been watching her. Rather boldly for a reserved man who guarded his privacy. Made her wonder just how well he knew Matt. And what exactly he was trying to do, besides give her a coronary.

“Better save me a bite,” Spencer said with a wink.

“Go worry about your semen.”

She hadn’t noticed the cowboy leaving the barn until he burst out laughing.

Grinning, Rachel was darting glances at Spencer when Erin fell into step beside her.

“Uh-uh.” Erin shook her head. “I know that look. It’s not like that.”

“How do you know what I’m thinking?”

“Because you remind me of my friend Lila, and she would be looking at me just like you are right now.”

Rachel’s smile widened.

“I barely know him. Since the minute we met, he’s been trying to get rid of me.”

“I’ve seen him only once, and it was from a distance,” Rachel said. “He’s very good-looking.”

“Yes, he is. And stubborn. Annoying as hell.” Erin almost sneaked another look but caught herself. “I mean, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to make a small bundle for doing nothing?”

“I take it you want to do some filming on his property?”

Erin nodded. “He owns a lot of land, but his ranch isn’t that big. His herd is small. It’s hard to believe he makes so much money that he could afford to—” Erin frowned. “Is frozen semen big business?”

“It can be,” Rachel said. “If you have the right stock to begin with. Matt raises rodeo stock. So far he’s bred two champion bulls and a winning stallion, and he hasn’t been at it very long. He’s just started to research the feasibility of selling the semen.”

“How does Spencer fit into it?”

“Other than he knows about proper storage and shipping, I’m not really sure.”

Erin didn’t believe that for a second. Not with the way Rachel purposely avoided eye contact. Good to know she was trustworthy or simply not the type to gossip. Either way, she’d earned Erin’s respect.

“Hey, do those chocolate chip cookies have nuts in them?” Erin asked as they reached the porch of the well-kept two-story house with green shutters.

“Of course.” Rachel looked insulted. “If I’m going to cheat and pass them off as my own, why on earth would I skimp?”

Erin grinned. A woman after her own heart.

5 (#ulink_adbb0181-d103-5fd7-a7cc-c8f3dea75914)

AFTER A TWO-HOUR tour of the Lone Wolf, Spencer decided he liked Gunderson. They’d met twice before, once by chance, the second time to size each other up. But today was the day of reckoning. Spencer could tell a lot about a man by the way he treated his animals, his hired men and his wife. Matt Gunderson excelled in all three areas, and if he wanted Spencer’s help, he was inclined to do what he could.

“I wish I could give you more assurance. Frozen semen has an indefinite shelf life as long as it isn’t thawed. On the downside you have to have the facility to properly store it,” Spencer said, his arms propped on the door of King Arthur’s stall. The handsome black stallion looked to be in perfect health. “I hear there’s a big demand in the overseas market. Chilled semen is only fertile for one to three days after it’s collected. Too many variables can eat up the time real quick before it gets to its destination.”

Matt nodded. “On the other side of the coin, the semen doesn’t always survive the freezing process. I read that roughly 25 percent of the stallion population freezes well. Would you agree with that?”

“I’m reading the same research you are,” Spencer said, shrugging.

“Yeah, but I’m guessing you understand most of it better than I do.”

Spencer smiled. Besides Dusty, Gunderson was the only person in Blackfoot Falls who knew anything about Spencer. So maybe Rachel did, as well. His thoughts skipped straight to Erin, who could be grilling Rachel right now, looking for a way to convince him to lease her Moonlight Mountain. Matt knew to be discreet, and Spencer hoped Rachel followed his lead.

And if not, nothing he could do about it at this point. It wasn’t as though he harbored some horrible secret—he just didn’t care to revisit that less than shining moment that cost him everything. And the pitying looks...yeah, he could do without those.

“Look,” Spencer said, “you can probably expect another 50 percent to freeze acceptably. You have prime animals, and if you make sure you’re offering only the highest quality semen, you’ll have more customers than you can handle.”

King Arthur neighed loudly and shook his mane.

Matt grinned. “This guy is something else. It’ll break my heart if I can’t keep some viable semen.”

“He sired any foals yet?”