I could hear the dogs barking in the house and I’d made it to the foot of the three steps that led up to it but stopped when I stopped talking and also when I noticed Johnny giving me a top to toe.

“Working girl,” he murmured so low, I almost didn’t hear him.

“What?”

His gaze went from my shoes back to my eyes.

“You a lawyer?” he asked.

I stared up at him.

I’d told him where I worked over margaritas at Home.

“I work at Milo-Corp Data Security and Management. I thought I told you that at Home.”

“You did. Are you a lawyer for them?”

“No, I’m Director of the Data Management Department.”

His lips hitched. “That explains it.”

I was wearing tailored black trousers, which were simple and classic. At the waistband though, I had a trim, shiny gold belt that I found at a vintage clothing store that cost close to nothing but looked like a million bucks.

I was also wearing a black blouse with a slit that fell sideways at the neck but tied in a big bow at the side collar, which even I had to agree was fabulous because it was, but also because I got it on sale (the only way I purchased clothes) but still paid a mint for it.

I further had on a pair of simple, stylish black pumps with a suede upper and a sleek, glossy, slim, tall heel. Shoes that cost a fortune (also on sale) but I took care of them better than many women would take care of their children.

In my life I had to have three wardrobes: casual every day, work around the house and stables, and business attire. I spent as little as possible on all of them even if I worked hard finding pieces that would last and make me feel cute. Or, when it came to work, last, be stylish, and make me look professional and serious even though I was cute as well as young for someone in my position.

I took one step up, murmuring, “I’m sorry I’m late.”

“Iz, your place is only half a notch down from the mill on the scale of sheer awesomeness, so it was no hardship sittin’ here soakin’ all this in,” he told me. “Except I felt bad for your dogs seeing as they’ve been going crazy I ’spect since my truck pulled up.”

I loved it that he thought the same about my house as I did (though his mill was fabulous I’d disagree that my place was half a notch down, they occupied the same notch with maybe my acres being slightly higher).

But on that reminder, I said a swear word under my breath and hurried to the door.

I opened the screen, used my key then opened the door.

Dempsey and Swirl bounded out it a flurry of furry glee that Mom was home.

I did not worry about Johnny being there. Both my dogs had no issues with strangers unless I had an issue with a stranger, and usually they just acted protective and alert until I gave them the vibe they could be friendly.

This, obviously, didn’t include Kent who they hated, but they were allowed to do that for obvious reasons.

That said, neither of them had been overtly friendly with him even before he showed his psycho side (this included Dempsey when he was still a puppy, but definitely when he became a full-grown dog), but I’d already made a mental note to assess my dogs’ reaction to anyone in order to make better choices about who I allowed to spend time with me . . . and them.

Thus they shuffled around me, panting, licking and wagging with their violently moving tails, and seeing company they shuffled around Johnny, adding sniffing to their panting, licking and wagging.

Apparently, Johnny got the stamp of approval.

“Friendly,” Johnny muttered, bending to them to grab as many head rubs and ear scratches as their excitement would allow.

“The mountain dog is Swirl, the boxer, Dempsey.”

“Hey, boys,” he rumbled, low and rough and sweet.

He didn’t have pets.

But he liked dogs.

That tingle again slid down my spine.

It became clear to Johnny at the same time it did to me that the dogs were ignoring the call of nature in order to get pets from a stranger back and forth with saying hi to Mom, loathe to go off and take care of business when all this goodness was on the porch.

So before I got to it, Johnny lifted an arm, snapped his fingers, pointed down the steps and commanded, “Go.”

They looked up at him, ears perked then they went dashing down the stairs, and it was noses to the ground as they looked for the perfect spots to take care of business.

“Let’s get inside,” I said, bending to grab the handle of one of the six packs.

“Babe, do not even think about it.”

Half bent at the waist, I twisted to look at him.

“Sorry?”

That got me a full, white smile before he said, “Leave them. I’ll get ’em. Just get your ass inside.”

I nodded, straightened and went inside.

My cool, dim foyer closed around me as Johnny entered behind me and I threw my keys and purse on the table at the side.

I also spied Kelly, my fat, fluffy ginger cat, sauntering across the foyer.

She stopped, took me in, dismissed me entirely, took in Johnny, then walked to him, slid the side of her body across the leg of his jeans, then showed him her backside.

“That’s Kelly. She’s a flirt. Jill and Sabrina are around here somewhere. Sabrina’s the sleek gray. Jill’s the scraggly, long-haired gray and black tiger with a white chest. She’s tiny and she’s shy. You probably won’t meet her.”

Unless he came again. Jill got bolder the more a scent filtered into her sphere.

I felt his regard, so I looked from Kelly, who was not too pleased he was ignoring her invitation to scratch her booty, then again she didn’t understand the concept of him carrying two six packs, to him to see him staring at me.

“You named your cats after Charlie’s Angels?” he asked.

“They don’t fight crime. They mostly just shed, eat, nap and make me feel inferior. But they’re still beautiful.”

The white flashed through his beard again as he slowly shook his head.

I turned toward the hall, ordering, “Follow me. We’ll get those beers in the fridge and I’ll get the Crock-Pot sorted. Then I’m sorry, but I have to change, go out and get the horses in. But after I do that, I’ll get down to the guacamole so we’ll have something to snack on while we wait for dinner to finish up.”

“I can get your horses in.”

I was at the kitchen counter, opening a drawer to get some forks out, but I stopped to look at him where he was, closing the fridge door on his beer.

“That’s sweet, Johnny, and Amaretto is a love, but he’s also protective of Serengeti, who’s a diva. And she sometimes doesn’t feel like behaving. So if she doesn’t, he’ll stick with her. That means it can be a pain to get them in.”

“Grew up with horses, Izzy. We had them with Dad. Granddad had them too. Dad’s last died six weeks after he did, a week before I sold Dad’s place, or she’d have come to the mill with me. I’ll be able to handle it, and if I can’t, I’ll just come back and get you.”

Being good with keeping it just as having some company and sex with Johnny Gamble seemed easy when I was talking to Deanna.

It was a lot harder when I was actually with Johnny. Especially when I just kept learning more and more how wonderful he was.

I mean, he wouldn’t even let me carry in a six pack of beer.

“That’d be great. And that’d mean we can get to the guac faster. My chicken enchiladas are relatively famous in my circle. My guac is revered.”