Read Branded by Lust: 4 (Night Seekers) for Free Online Page B

her
cooking.”
    “Fat chance,” she grinned. “Oh, and I’m making up some
casseroles for you. I’ll put one in the fridge and the others in the freezer.
I’ll tape the heating instructions on top. I figured your schedule would be
hectic and you shouldn’t have to worry about cooking. John put steaks in the
freezer for when you want a change. I’ll take care of breakfast like I always
do.”
    Logan gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead and a faint
blush crept up Eve’s cheeks. “You’re the best. Leave John and marry me.”
    Rebecca was charmed by the way Logan went out of his way to make
the woman feel good.
    “Are you kidding? I like to think he’d fall apart without
me.” She glanced over at Rebecca. “But I think it’s past time you were thinking
about getting hitched.”
    Now it was Rebecca’s turn to blush, especially when the
thoughts of the night before came rushing back to her.
    “Logan and I are—” she began but Logan interrupted her.
    “Are a good combination,” he finished. “Now how about that
food? My stomach’s climbing up my backbone.”
    “Almost ready,” Eve said and busied herself putting the
finishing touches on their breakfast.
    They ate quickly then left Eve working in the kitchen.
Bundled into her fleece-lined jacket and boots, with silk long johns under her
jeans, Rebecca followed Logan out to the barn. The coffee and biscuits had
replenished her energy and the bite of the cold air assured her she’d be fully
awake.
    Logan held the two thermoses and she carried the cloth
thermal bags with the rest of the biscuits. The landscape was a sea of frozen
white snow dotted with stands of ponderosa pines, their needles dusted with
white.
    “Where are the cattle?” she asked, looking around.
    “In the winter pasture about a mile from here.” Logan
pointed. “There’s more shelter there to serve as windbreaks and we planted
hardier grain.”
    “What about when you get massive snowfalls?” She looked at
the sky, which today happened to be a bright clear blue. “What do you do then?”
    “We have commercial snowblowers we use. And the hands take
feed out to them for as long as they need to. It’s important to make sure they
don’t lose weight. Also we have to check when there’s a storm for any strays
that get stranded.”
    “I had no idea your place was this big.”
    His face sobered for a moment. “My brother and I bought it
together. When he was alive we both owned it. He built his house at the other
end of the property and I just haven’t been able to bring myself to do anything
with it. Eve Turner makes sure it’s kept in shape inside.”
    They were both silent for a moment, Rebecca fully aware of
the sorrow gripping him.
    “So exactly how much land do you have?”
    “Sixty-four hundred acres. I know that sounds like a lot,
but not all of it is usable land. There are heavy stands of ponderosa pines and
in some areas the outcropping from the mountains intrudes. We had to mark off
the acreage that could be planted and we stagger the grain crops for summer and
winter. Anyway, we got it in a foreclosure at a price we couldn’t walk away
from.”
    She stared around her. “Where do the Turners live?”
    Logan pointed past the barns. “Just beyond that thick stand
of pines. You can’t see their house from here.
    “Ranching sure isn’t for the faint of heart, is it?”
    He looked back at her and grinned. “No, but it sure
separates the men from the boys.”
    “Sexist,” she laughed.
    Logan led the way to a large shed behind the smallest of the
barns and opened the double doors to expose four gleaming black Polaris
snowmobiles.
    “It was obvious when we were in Maine you’re an expert on
these,” Logan said, storing the coffee and biscuits in a compartment in the
rear of one of the machines. “Just be sure to stay right on my tail when we get
to the hiking trail. There’s a lot of hidden rock and obstacles under the
snow.”
    “Not a problem.” She