Tempting the Cowboy Read Free Page B

perfect, serene. Quiet and comfortable and so unlike the rigid, suffocating, empty home she’d left behind. Rylan lay back and stared at the ceiling, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever.
    …
    “You better knock on that door and wake her ass up,” Cole grumbled as he ran a hand over his face. Good thing his younger brother Tucker had woken him up or he’d have overslept—something he definitely didn’t have time for today, or any day for that matter. Alcohol never had been his friend. The pounding in his head, nausea in his gut, and fatigue in his bones were beating him ferociously as a reminder.
    Tucker scoffed. “Hell no. You do it. You know how chicks are when you get them up too early.”
    “She’s the help. She’s supposed to be up early.” It was almost 6:00 a.m., a touch later than he was used to getting up but not too early to get the housekeeper started. The details of last night were a bit fuzzy, but he was pretty sure he hadn’t told her what time they’d be starting. He’d barely remembered which guest bedroom to put her in. Never mind the details.
    “Why the hell am I getting stuck with this?” Tucker crossed his massive arms and pouted, a move that might have worked when they were eight. All it did now was enrage Cole’s foul mood even more.
    “Because I have paperwork to do after I check fence, because I already made plans with Jaxon to fix a window in the training arena, and because you’re pissing me off!”
    “I hate waking chicks up.” Tucker uncrossed his arms and prepared to knock, a grimace on his freshly shaved face.
    “Have you ever stayed long enough to wake a woman in the morning?” Cole narrowed his eyes.
    Tucker winked and grinned, knocking Cole in the shoulder with a fist. “You make me sound like a pump and dump.”
    Cole held back a smile. “That’s because you are.”
    Tucker rolled his eyes. “Not nice, big brother.”
    Cole smiled despite himself. Since their father’s unexpected death last year, they were still working on finding their stride in running the ranch without his strict, carefully planned control. Cole had assumed his father’s role as general manager for both the tourist and ranching operations; Tucker took on managing the cattle. And though they were satisfied to be out from under Cooper Haywood’s thumb, sometimes it got a little tense and hectic. He and Tucker butted heads over just about everything, yet Cole could always count on Tucker to lighten the mood.
    Right now, he only wanted to count on Tucker to take this woman off his hands. “Knock on Rhianna’s door.”
    The door cracked open, startling them both. “It’s Rylan, actually. And I’ve been up since four so no problem there.”
    Tucker took a step back as the door swung wider and a long-legged, deliciously full-in-the-hip woman stepped out. Cole did a double take, his scalp exploding in little tingles. Was this the same chick from last night? Her brown hair was piled high in some sort of messy bun. She had no makeup on, her heavily lashed gray eyes bright. And amused.
    Cole groaned—she’d heard every word.
    Tucker gave Cole a questioning look. “Damn, Cole, you didn’t say she was—”
    Rylan scratched beside her eye with one finger, observing them both. Cole looked from Rylan to Tucker, recalling how unflinchingly she had stood up to him last night. She’d been one provocation away from turning into a little hellcat, or at least, that’s how his soggy brain remembered it. Right now she looked a little uncomfortable.
    Her brows arched. “Was what?” Her high, round cheekbones blossomed pink, highlighting the sensual lines of her face.
    “How old are you?” Tucker burst out. “I was expecting, you know, someone older. Not…”
    Rylan laughed, a soft sound that padded the ache in Cole’s head as she shook Tucker’s hand. He watched the exchange, trying like hell to remember all of their meeting last night, but it was a blur. Her dark-brown hair had