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She stared at Ledger. “How did you know?”
Meadow and Colton’s heads swung, bouncing back and forth between her and Ledger.
“It’s not that hard. I went to the diner and asked.”
She was amazed. No one had ever put that kind of thought into…anything for her.
His dark gaze burned into hers. “I’ll take it from here. You can sit over there out of the way and direct us.”
Stunned, she could do nothing more than nod. As she passed Meadow, a thousand questions seemed to hover around the woman.
Demi was not ready to explain what was going on. Hell, she hardly knew herself.
Chapter Four
Over Ledger’s dead body was he allowing Demi to lift a horse. Not in her condition.
As she walked over to the hay bale and sat down with her box of food, she didn’t say a word. But her demeanor said it all.
She was ticked off.
He’d seen more than his share of SEALs who ignored injuries and afflictions so they didn’t have to slow down. Hell, he’d been one. But he wasn’t going to let Demi ignore herself. He didn’t know much about pregnancies, but he was pretty sure that lifting a horse—even with help—couldn’t be good for her.
Colton was eyeballing him. Meadow’s head was practically whipping back and forth between him and Demi. Then Hunter walked in, thankfully oblivious, to lend a hand.
At least one of Ledger’s buddies had his six.
“Take hold of that rope. On three, nice and easy.” Taking control, Ledger directed them. From the corner of his eye, he saw Demi’s spine snap straighter.
“One, two…hoist!”
Even with the pulleys assisting, and four of them doing the lifting, the animal was still heavy—far too heavy for Demi to be lifting.
When the horse’s hooves barely skimmed the floor, she called out for them to stop. Then she brushed past him to inspect the injured leg.
Ledger’s gut clenched. The scent of her shampoo reminded him of that steamy-hot night. Her honey-blonde hair tumbled over one shoulder, begging for his fist to wrap around it while he drove into her tight heat.
Was her hair shinier? It looked shinier. Maybe it was the faint sunlight streaming into the barn that made it look that way.
She bent over, bringing his attention to her ass.
Colton gave a cough, and Meadow let out a sudden giggle. Dammit, why did he have to have such observant friends?
Demi straightened and gave a nod. “Looks good, guys. Knot off the ropes.”
They made quick work of it. As soon as he was no longer needed, Hunter went off to help the other ranch hands. Meadow fussed over her horse, and Colton hung back in the barn with her. Though he tossed several significant glances at Ledger.
His buddy had questions.
Well, so did he.
Giving Demi a pointed look, he twitched his head toward the exit. She avoided his gaze but grabbed the food and walked out without acknowledging him at all.
The woman was a real piece of work.
As soon as they cleared the doorway, he gruffed out, “Follow me.”
To his surprise, she did. The only place they might get a private minute was a spot on the ranch only used at night. He led the way to the bonfire. The ashes were cold, but several chairs circled the area—a place for Demi to sit and eat.
