Page 4 of Cuddling Carly

“I’m sorry to hear about your parents, Carly.”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“But it’s good to finally meet you. I’ve been here three months and haven’t even gotten around to meeting my neighbors. I’m from the Panhandle originally. But there’s something about South Central Texas that’s in my blood. I had to get down here.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here.”

He took a bite of the cupcake and then said, “Me, too. Especially now that I know these are close by. Best one I’ve ever had. I’m much obliged for it.”

Once he’d effortlessly swung back up onto his horse, he looked down from the saddle, touched the brim of his hat, and said, “Until next time, ma’am.”

“Come back anytime!” she yelled as she watched him and the cow go away.

Going back inside, she looked at Mr. Pumpkin Head and said, “Well, that was a nice surprise. But I can’t think about him for too long. I have cupcakes to make!”

With that, Carly got busy.

The whole time she baked, though, she couldn’t stop thinking about that hot, sexy cowboy named Wade McKinnon.

Chapter Two

Wade couldn’t stop thinking about the cute, pretty girl who baked cupcakes and had a stuffie sitting on the counter.

He hadn’t drawn attention to the fact that he’d noticed the plush toy. But he’d seen it. And the Daddy in him couldn’t ignore it.

Carly gave off classic Little vibes, he thought, as his horse loped slowly toward the main house. He’d delivered the cow to the pasture where it rejoined the herd, and now he was on his way to get some lunch before heading back toward Carly’s to fix that fence.

“What are you grinning about, boss?”

The question came from Sam Willis who was standing on the back porch of the main house, leaning against one of the posts.

Sam was north of 60 but could work twice as hard as any man in his thirties. He was short, lean, and wiry. With the white hair that stuck out beneath his cowboy hat and the equally snowy handlebar mustache, he looked as if he’d stepped right out of an old Frederic Remington painting—like he belonged on that land and had always been a part of it.

For all Wade knew, he had been. He’d come with the ranch. After buying the place, Wade wasn’t intent on firing any of the workers. Some had moved on to other opportunities of their own will, but some had stayed. Including Sam.

“Oh, a cow wandered off the north pasture and into our neighbor’s kitchen. I mean, she walked right into the house.” He laughed as he dismounted the horse.

Stepping off the porch, Sam scratched his jaw and said, “I’ve never met the neighbor north of us. But best I recall, she’s a young pretty gal.” He shot his boss a knowing grin. “Might be why you were smiling.”

There was no reason to deny it. “Well, the cow thing was funny. But yeah, I’ll admit, that gal is pretty.”

“I’m mighty glad to hear that, boss. Being as how you’re a thirty-four-year-old guy who’s strong and handsome to boot but doesn’t have a lady. You work too dang much. Need to get out there and find someone. Have a little fun. Before life passes you by.”

Wade nearly pointed out that Sam had never taken his own advice but stopped short of it. Maybe that’s why the older man was so adamant about it: he knew from experience how lonely life could be.

But Sam never seemed unhappy. In fact, he’d expressed that working the ranch was all he really cared about. It was his life and he was thrilled by it. He was a cowboy through and through. Probably born in a saddle, Wade thought.

“I need to fix that fence so she doesn’t have any more visitors in her kitchen.”

“Does she have a name?”

“Carly.”

Just saying it nearly had Wade grinning from ear to ear.

“Glad you know it. That’s the first step. The second is asking her to supper.” The old cowboy ambled toward the barn. “I’ll gather the materials we need.”

“I’ll get my mount stripped down and put away,” Wade said, leading his horse as he followed the ranch hand.