Acquiring Trouble

then headed off to another table. "And he' s yummy! There's a s heik here that owns the farm next to the A shton's. Ahmed is his head of security. Dark, dangerous and damn sexy . "
    "Oh! I may need to meet him," Morgan laughed as she, much to her surprise, fell easily into girl talk with this young woman.
    "Excuse me? I guess I need to remind you that you're on a date with me. I'm number one on that list after all." Miles said dryly.
    "Oh my god! You're actually on a date date ? Not just a business dinner, but a date?" Tammy's voice rose and sudde nly the c afé was quiet again as the tidal wave of air hit her when everyone turned at once to look her over again.
    "Yes, we are. If you'll excuse us?" Miles politely said goodnight and then turned back to Morgan . "Well, now it's out there. I give it ten minutes."
    "Are you kidding? News like this will be all over town in five." Morgan laughe d as she took a bite of dinner.
    She was having such a good time with him. Every time he looked at her, every time he touched her , she felt her feelings for him growing. It wasn't high school all over again, it was something with a lot more substance that just a high school crush. Which made what she was going to have to do tomorrow all that much worse, but nothing was going to stand in her way of forcing the sale of his company. Even realizing that she still loved him. Damn, why couldn’t anything be easy?

 
Chapter Eleven
     
    Miles ignored the sweat dripping down his face and over his stubble. His legs were burning, but he pushed himself harder. His legs screamed in pain as he forced them to move faster and faster along the grass path. Miles' s breathing was slow and controlled as he pushed his body to its limits.
    It was five in the morning, another hour and a half until sunrise. The air was cold, but he didn’t feel it. He had started running almost two hours ago. Bill had long given up trying to follow him across the pastures and with a sigh had collapsed into a heap on the ground. Forty minutes later as Miles made another lap by the house he saw that Bill had managed to make it onto the patio furniture an d was fast asleep on the chair.
    Thro ugh the still early morning air , the sounds of sirens drew his attention from his running. He slowed down and turned toward the sound behind him. In the distance an orange glow cut through the darkness. It only took a split second for Miles to leap into action. He pushed his legs faster, har der, as he pounded over the frost - tipped grass. He kept his breathing slow and steady as his mind raced. He had to get home and to his cell phone immediately. Marshall would already know. B ut he needed to call his parents, Pierce , and Cade immediately or they could lose everything as the orange glow overtook the night sky .
    As he sprinted to the porch, Bill lifted his gray face off his paws. Instantly the dog was on his feet, his nose in the air. Miles grabbed his phone from the small patio table and called Pierce.
    "Dude, this better be good. I had two more hours of sleep before I needed to get up." Pierce mumbled into the phone.
    "The Li kens ’ s property i s on fire! The wind is blowing s outh and we have cows in that pasture," Miles told his brother as he ran for the bar n with Bill right on his heels.
    " Crap !" The phone call ended abruptly as he imagined Pierce leaping from bed.
    Pierce would know what to do from here. Animals got spooked by fire and smoke , and when a herd of cattle got spooked it was impossible to get them to move in the right direction. If they didn't hurry, those cattle would be too frenzied to move to the far pasture where they'd be safe. They could stampede and then be too out of their minds to watch where they were going. They could get hurt and damage the property.
    Miles shoved open the barn door and raced for Mach, his most seasoned horse. He pushed three on his speed dial and soon heard Cade's voice. "I know Miles. Annie just got the call. Justin and I will meet you there." Miles didn't bother saying a thing. He didn't nee d to. Cade had already hung up.
    Bill barked madly from where he had climbed up onto some hay bales. Miles fastened the western saddle on Mach and looked down at what he was wearing —b lack athletic pants and a tight black Under Armor shirt . He hadn't bothered with a jacket when he had gone running, but now he didn't want to take the time to go inside a nd get one. Instead he grabbed the black bandana he used when he was mucking