Free Cooking For Cowboy (Stampede Sizzlers) by Brenda Sinclair

she spotted Chad standing in the corral. She stopped dead in her tracks. He slowly circled the corral, leading one of his Thoroughbreds. She had no idea what he was doing, but he’d taken his shirt off to do it.
    Sierra sighed, totally mesmerized. She loved hot weather! Especially when a sweltering day drove a beautiful male specimen like Chad to remove his shirt, allowing her to admire his above-the-waist attributes.
    She set her plastic tub down and wandered toward the corral, drawn to him like steel to a magnet. Her gaze never left Chad’s half-naked body. God, he was a good-looking man. His muscular chest glistened with sweat in the afternoon sunshine, and his Wranglers fit perfectly. She couldn’t decide whether to stare at his butt or at his tanned, bare chest. To heck with it, she’d ogle both.
    She approached the corral, stepped up onto the bottom rail, and leaned against the wooden top. The rough wood scratched her bare skin, and she realized she was only wearing the pink polka dot bikini she’d worked in all afternoon. She crossed her arms in an attempt to at least cover her chest area while keeping her balance on the rail.
    Chad reached up, affectionately stroked the horse’s neck. Would his hands stroke her body with equal gentleness? Oh, yeah! She felt her inner thighs tingle and grew wet just thinking about it. Her breath caught as she noticed the outline of his biceps indicating the strength in his arms. He continued leading the horse around the corral. Was the animal injured and he was evaluating its health? He rubbed a hand down the animal’s leg and Sierra imagined him doing the same to her limbs.
    Just then he turned. “What are you doing down here?” he called, shock evident on his face.
    The horse side-hopped, startled by Chad’s voice. “Easy, there. It’s okay, boy.” While he reassured the nervous animal, his eyes never left her.
    Judging by the surprised expression, discovering his cook standing here in a bikini was likely the last thing her boss expected. He was eyeing her like she was a prime rib dinner after a hard day’s work! She felt her face redden. She should have high-tailed it to the house and grabbed a cover-up.
    Sierra stood, speechless. He’d asked her what she was doing down here. Darn good question. How would she explain her sudden appearance at the corral? Oh, I just thought I’d come down here and drool over your physique. Not likely. “He’s a gorgeous animal, isn’t he? Was he hurt? Why were you checking him over so closely?” She abruptly shut up, realizing she was babbling.
    “Bruised his foreleg a couple weeks ago, but he seems healed and ready to return to racing.” Chad patted the animal’s neck and then slipped the halter off over his head. The horse charged away and pranced around the corral.
    “I’m glad he’s okay,” said Sierra.
    Chad turned and headed over to join her. His appreciative gaze roamed her body and a broad smile creased his face. “Were you sunning on the deck?”
    As he moved toward her like a cat stalking a mouse, the words coming in for the kill crossed her mind. “I...I was working in the garden,” she stammered, hopping off the rail and taking a step back. She resisted the urge to bolt for the house like a frightened filly. “Doing a little tanning at the same time. Fresh peas and salad for dinner.”
    Chad climbed up and over the rails and jumped down onto the ground beside her. He grabbed a long-sleeved plaid shirt off the top rail and pulled his arms through it. He slowly fastened the snaps, his gaze riveted to her body.
    Darn it. If she’d noticed his shirt hanging there, she would have asked for the darn thing to cover herself. Too late now. She folded her arms across her chest again, tugged at a strand of hair that fell across her eyes.
    “Maybe I should take up gardening?” He winked.
    “Weeding is so glamorous. You’ll love it,” she teased, nervously.
    “I’d enjoy the scenery for sure.” He stood hands on