Page 47 of The Cowboy and the Stray

"Uh-huh," Ash said, sounding deeply amused. "Nice? That's all you've got? C'mon, dish! I'll go first. That Gray is built like a brick house, and I bet he'd be a real gentleman, if you know what I mean." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Puro músculo, hija. And Reid's got that whole strong, silent thing going for him. Yummy."

My mouth fell open. I couldn't believe she was saying all this, bold as brass. Heat crawled up my cheeks until my whole face was burning. I was not emotionally prepared for this conversation.

Ash glanced at me, grinning at my obvious discomfort. "What? Don't tell me you haven't thought about it. I saw you sneaking peeks at Calder when he was chopping wood earlier. Can't blame you. That man is fine as hell when he's all sweaty and swinging."

"I wasn't, I didn't—" I sputtered, but it was no use. Ash had already moved on, pondering the merits of the other ranch hands with gleeful abandon.

"Now that young kid, Eli, he looks like he'd be all hands, no finesse. Sloppy, you know? But Jace... mmm, Jace has an air of mystery. Dollars to donuts he'd get the job done with style."

I clapped my hands over my flaming cheeks, caught between scandalized laughter and sheer mortification. I'd never met anyone who talked so freely about men and sex and... everything. To hear Ash lay it all out like she was reading off a menu was dizzying.

She noticed my reaction and paused, cocking her head. "Hey. You alright there, Tess? I didn't mean to break your brain."

I shook my head, trying to find my voice. "No, I'm okay. I'm just not used to... all this."

Something flickered across Ash's face, there and gone too quickly to read. She sat up, pulling her feet in to sit cross-legged. When she spoke again, her voice was softer, almost gentle. "I get it. I grew up in a house full of secrets. Couldn't talk about anything real, you know? So now, I do. I like to say stuff that makes people squirm. It's like a game, seeing how much I can get away with." She gave a rueful little laugh. "Guess I pushed a bit too hard with you, huh?"

I bit my lip, unsure how to respond. Part of me was tempted to brush it off, to match Ash's lightness and pretend it was no big deal. But something in her suddenly serious eyes made me want to be honest. Damn it. Vulnerability. My least favorite sport.

"I mean, you didn't do anything wrong," I said haltingly. "I'm just still trying to figure out how to be around people. Around women. I never really had many friends, especially not, er, bold ones."

Ash studied me for a long moment, her head tipped to the side. "Bold, huh? That's a diplomatic way to put it." The corner of her mouth twitched. "What I think you mean is, you've never had a friend who's a mouthy, inappropriate piece of work. That's okay. I specialize in corrupting innocent souls."

Ash grinned and held out her hand, "Howdy. We ain’t been properly introduced. I'm Ash Navarro."

I looked at her hand and back to her face. "Hi Ash. Nice to meet you officially."

She shook my hand firmly then put her arm around my shoulders, squeezed. "We're gonna be best friends," she said. "How about that?"

I huffed out a laugh, surprised and oddly charmed. Ash grinned, the fleeting seriousness melting away. "Thank you?" I managed after a moment. Was thank you the right thing to say? Ugh, I was so awkward.

Ash bumped her knee against mine, smiling a little. "Well, get used to it, Twitchy. You're stuck with me now."

A laugh bubbled up in my chest, giddy and unfamiliar. I opened my mouth to say something else, but the rumble of hoofbeats made us both turn.

Calder was riding up the path on Brimstone, his hoof all better now, his dark hair ruffled by the evening breeze. He moved with the horse like they were one creature, all fluid grace and coiled power. My breath caught a little as I watched him, some traitorous part of me already imagining what it would feel like to have all that quiet intensity focused on me again.

Nope. Not thinking about that. Definitely not.

As if drawn by my thoughts, Calder's head turned toward the porch. Even from a distance, I could feel the weight of his gaze, heavy and searching. My cheeks went hot again, and I dropped my eyes, fiddling with my shirt just for something to do with my hands.

Ash let out a low whistle. "Well damn. I forgot about him. Now there's a tall drink of water if I ever saw one."

I hunched my shoulders, torn between agreement and embarrassment. "I told you, I hadn't really noticed," I mumbled. Geez, I was a horrible liar.

Ash burst out laughing. “I was talking about the horse, bestie. And if you haven’t, then I'm the Queen of the Maddox Ranch." She leaned in close, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Mark my words, girl. That one? He's gonna wreck you in the very best way."

I made a strangled noise, half protest and half flustered laugh. Calder was already out of sight, but I could still feel the ghost of his eyes on me, like a physical touch.

Ash just grinned, entirely too pleased with herself. She unfolded from the step and stretched, groaning happily as her joints popped.

"C'mon," she said. "Let's go see what Midge is cooking up. I'm so hungry I could eat the ass end of a skunk."

I blinked at her, startled into laughter once again. "That's, erm, very vivid."

"Hey, I calls 'em like I sees 'em." She held out a hand to help me up, wiggling her fingers impatiently. "Move your boots, Twitchy. Adventures in dinner await."

Shaking my head, I let her pull me to my feet. As we headed inside, Ash's arm slung companionably around my shoulders, I marveled at the sudden lightness in my chest. Well, damn. That was just what I needed.