Free Mallory's Bears by Jane Jamison

herself.
    “Hey, Mal?”
    She swung the door opened to find Kid giving her a sheepish look. “Good morning, Mal.”
    “Hey, what happened to you last night?”
    “I’m sorry I disappeared, but when I walked into the kitchen, I saw Rick and Gunner go out the front door. So, I figured I’d give you love birds some time alone. I went up the back stairs and straight to my room.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “I’m sure you didn’t mind swamping my company for theirs.”
    She tried to hide it, but knew it was too late. Just the mention of the Northman men had sent a hot vibration to her pussy that she was willing to bet he’d seen.
    “I was right, wasn’t I?” He narrowed his eyes, then fisted his large hands on his hips. “Holy shit, girl. You got laid, didn’t you?”
    She had to get on her tiptoes to slap her hand over his mouth. “Keep it down, damn it. You don’t have to tell the whole world.” But keeping Kid quiet was a feat she couldn’t manage.
    “You did! Tell me. I want all the deets.”
    Most of the time, Kid acted like any man would, gay or straight, but whenever he got excited, he tended to lapse into the vocabulary of a high school gossip queen.
    “Not on your life.”
    “Aw, come on, Mal. Give.”
    “Kid, I swear, if you hound me about this, I’m going to—” What could she do anyway? “Well, I don’t know what, but I’ll figure out something.”
    “Was it Rick? Or Gunner?” His mouth fell open and his eyes were round circles. “Do not tell me you did both of them! Oh, my lord, hallelujah, the dry spell has been broken.”
    She blushed and slapped him on the arm. “Okay, now I’m really not telling you.”
    “Uh-huh.” He arched his eyebrow in a “yeah, right” gesture. “We’ll see about that.”
    “Kid, I’m serious.”
    The struggle for him to accept her decision was evident, but he finally gave in. No doubt because he figured he’d get it out of her later.
    “Oh, all right. We’ve got to get a move-on anyway. Unless you need some breakfast. The guys and I already ate.”
    “The guys and you? So you’re getting chummy with them?”
    He shrugged. “I’m not sure what you mean, but yeah, I’m getting to know them.” His wide grin was back. “But I sure as hell didn’t get as chummy as you did.”
    He’d scored a point with that one.
    “But seriously, Mal. They’re decent guys and I think we’ve got them pegged wrong. From what they told me and what we’ve seen, all they want is to keep their livestock happy and healthy.”
    “Until they send the cattle to slaughter, of course.”
    Kid had a sudden interest in his feet. “Yeah, well, that is their business. Just because we don’t like it doesn’t mean they’re doing anything wrong. Rick mentioned that he was going to have a friend check up on Lawson’s operations. After all, you can’t expect them to drop everything—everyone—and run up to Kansas to check the place out. If they’re putting cattle down the wrong way, then their friend will find out and let them know.”
    “Wow. So you’re saying you see it their way now?”
    “It’s not their way or our way. It’s the right way that matters. We might be on the same team. At least some of the time.” He met her gaze dead on. “Raising cattle is their business and their livelihood. As long as they do it the humane way, then, no, I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
    Kid rarely disagreed with her. When he did, he had a way of making her see his point and this time was no different. Her argument had never been with ranchers who did the right thing by their animals. That still didn’t mean she’d eat meat or condone raising animals for food anytime soon, but it didn’t make them criminals, either.
    “Let’s not get into it, okay, Mal? The guys want to take us out on the range today. They said something about checking the livestock and giving us a firsthand look. I think they’re trying to win you over. So, like I said, unless