Free 12 Borrowing Trouble by Becky McGraw

to know what he’s getting into, and need to know what I’ve bought into by hiring him.”
    Those words snuffed out some of the anger he’d carried around all day, but not all of it.  “You should have talked to me before you hired the Aussie.  You’ve put me in charge of the bull riding, and I should have had some kind of say.”
    Joel’s eyes narrowed and he put his hands on his hips.  “The last time I checked, I still own this place.  If I want to hire someone, I’ll hire them.  I don’t need your approval,” he grated.  “Matt left us in the lurch going back to Henrietta to help his sister, and I knew you were shorthanded.  He had experience, so I hired him.  If he doesn’t do his job, you let me know.”
    The last of Dylan’s anger fled, and what was left was remorse.  Had he done what Sheedy had accused him of earlier?  Cut his nose off to spite his face?  It sure looked like that is exactly what he’d done with his boss.  “I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions,” Dylan said.
    “ You jumped in with both feet.  So, are you staying?” Joel asked abruptly.
    “Yeah, I’m staying …but I’ll be out of commission for a little while with my shoulder.”
    “Terri will patch you up.  And you need to make peace with Zane.  Y’all are working together, you got that?   You can tell him what you need done until you’re better.”
    “Yes, sir,” Dylan said contritely.
    “And Dylan?”  Dylan looked up into Joel’s hard, angry eyes.
    “Yeah?”
    “Stay the fuck away from Carrie Collins.  She’s vulnerable, and not your type.  I told Zane the same thing.”
    “I figured that out tonight.  I’ll stay away from her ,” he reassured, pushing out of the rocker with his left hand to stand.  “If you’re done with me, I’m going to get a few hours of sleep.”  Joel nodded, then turned to walk across the porch.  As he reached the steps, Dylan hollered behind him, “You think Terri can give me some of those pain meds?” 
    At least then he could fall asleep without thinking about big, soft brown eyes, the most delicious ass he’d ever seen or felt, and the sugar cookies the woman who owned them smelled like.  What her mouth tasted like.
    “I’ll send her back out here with them,” Joel yelled back.  Dylan went inside the house, and straight to the shower.
     
    As tired as she was, Carrie couldn’t sleep.  After trying for two hours, she finally gave up.  Every time she closed her eyes, she relived the moment those electric lips touched hers.  It was like that one kiss opened the flood gate to her womanly needs, and there wasn’t any closing that gate now.  She batted at the sheet that stuck to her sweaty body, trying to unfurl herself from the cocoon she had made from tossing and turning. 
    Enough was enough. 
    Carrie needed to do something to get him off of her mind, and fast.  Baking is what she needed.  That always helped calm her nerves so she could refocus.  In the days after Sean’s funeral, God only knew how many cakes, cookies and cupcakes she had baked.  Her once hobby became an addiction.  Carrie never ate the baked goods herself, and she limited how many she allowed the kids to have.  But she supplied every shift at the station with sweets for a month.  It got to where when she walked in the officers would groan and hold their stomachs. 
    Finally, when none of his men could meet the physical fitness requirements of their job, Chief Patterson pulled her aside and asked her to find a charity to donate them to.  Carrie had done that for a while, donating the sweets to a local women’s shelter, until she finally worked out her grief.  She only baked on occasion now.  When she was stressed.  Like now. 
    She peeled away the final layer of the sheet, and sat up on the side of the bed , breathing hard.  Penny had been to the grocery store yesterday, so the odds were she had restocked her baking supplies too.  But first she needed a cold