Saddle Up: A Ryker Ranch Romance

by Loraine, Kim

  “I think…I’d like to make my future plans back on the ranch. My lease is up next month, and I don’t have anything keeping me here. I’d rather be the only place that ever felt like home.”

  That made my chest ache with pride. “That’s…fuck, darlin’, that’s more than I could hope for.”

  “Is the guest house still open?”

  A low chuckle rumbled through my chest. “Well, if you wanna know the truth, the guest house was never really for guests.”

  “What?”

  “It was mine. I remodeled it a few years ago when I thought I’d settle down and start my family. But…well, life threw us more than a few curveballs, and I ended up coming back to the main house to take care of Mama.”

  “So, you let me stay in your house…in your bed, for three weeks and never said anything?”

  “Didn’t want you feeling guilty. Besides, the thought of you rolling around in my sheets wasn’t terrible.”

  “Where will I stay this time?” Her tone was playfully innocent. “The bunkhouse?”

  I growled low in my throat. “No, you fucking won’t. You’re staying with me.”

  She laughed and swatted my chest. “I’m just kidding.”

  “Good. Bring all your stuff. In fact, if you want, we can rent a U-Haul and bring it with us when we leave.”

  “You really want me there?”

  “If I can have you with me every morning and every night, I’ll be a happy man.”

  She nodded and wrapped her arm around me. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

  With nothing but possibility ahead of us, the two of us drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms, the sound of pretend cowboys still playing on the TV in the living room. I didn’t care about turning my ranch into a commercialized attraction or getting my money back from Jess. All I wanted was the woman in my arms and the love we had between us. The rest, we’d iron it all out together. And that was all that mattered.

  17

  Clint

  I woke in my bed with Ever nestled against my side. She was a cuddler, which didn’t upset me one bit. I wanted her as close to me as possible. She moaned in her sleep, whispering my name and making my cock give an insistent jerk as if he needed to announce his presence. I knew he was ready and reporting for duty, but Ever and I had spent our first night in my house christening every room. I didn’t know if she’d be up for another round—especially not this early in the morning.

  I trailed my fingers across her cheek and down her jaw before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. She hummed and held me tighter. Still fast asleep. I couldn’t bear to wake her. Not when she seemed so comfortable.

  “I love you,” I murmured before pulling my arm out from under her and sliding out of bed. I couldn’t neglect the ranch just because I had a gorgeous woman in my bed. If that was the case, Tristan would never show up for the job.

  Yawning, I made my way out to the kitchen, glanced at the clock which read four-forty-five in the morning, then started a pot of coffee. We had a lot to do before we took the holiday off. Dad always gave the ranch hands the option of staying on for Christmas day or using that time to be home with their families. A lot of the guys were young and unattached, but some had people they wanted to be with. It meant we worked harder on that day; the animals still needed fed and watered. Horses still needed exercise. The ranch didn’t stop for Santa.

  “Early morning chores?” Ever’s sleepy voice filled my chest with a warmth I’d carry with me all day.

  I turned on the coffee pot and looked at her over my shoulder. She was wearing one of my T-shirts, the hem coming to the tops of her shapely thighs. God, she looked good enough to eat. “The earlier I start, the sooner I can come home to you.”

  A grin turned up the corners of her mouth. “You mean, the sooner we start.”

  “You don’t have to work the ranch. That’s not why you’re here.”

  “Are you kidding? Everyone on this ranch works.”

  She was right, and I loved that she knew how things went here. I shouldn’t have expected she’d want to sit around and wait for me. “Sera’s training some horses for a couple of clients. Maybe you’d like to learn more about that? You seemed to have a connection with them.”

  Her eyes lit with excitement, and I knew I’d said exactly the right thing. “What time is she getting started?”

  “Eight, I expect.”

  “Good. Gives me time to get some stalls mucked out and reacquaint myself with the stables. Besides, I need to tell everyone I’m back. We were…preoccupied last night when we got in.”

  Turned out, flying wasn’t so bad when you were with someone you loved, but being so close to her for three hours and not being able to touch her the way I wanted drove me up a damn wall. I hadn’t been able to keep my hands to myself in the truck on the way back to the ranch, and by the time we got to the house, I’d all but torn her clothes off as soon as we crossed the threshold.

  The coffee maker beeped, indicating it had finished brewing. I tore my gaze from her and grabbed us each a mug before filling them both. She strolled into the kitchen and reached into the fridge for some cream, bending low and letting me see how little she wore under my shirt. And by little, I meant nothing.

  “Careful, darlin, you’re going the right way for a distraction.”

  “Maybe I want to be distracted.”

  She sidled up next to me and poured some cream into her cup, then returned the carton to the fridge in the same sensual way she’d removed it. I groaned, cock hard and aching for her behind my flannel pajama bottoms. I couldn’t help myself; I reached for her, sliding one palm up the back of her thigh until I cupped her ass. She moaned and pushed back against me. My fingers found her core, wet and wanting, and I sank two inside her as she gripped the counter and hung her head down, focused solely on pleasure.

  “Clint,” she said on a moan. “I want you.”

  “My pleasure.” I spun her around to face me, picked her up, and splayed her legs as I sat her down on the countertop.

  “It’s cold!” she cried out when her seat met the granite.

  “Not for long.” Then I reached into my pants and pulled out my cock, sinking home between her legs in one smooth move.

  She pressed her forehead to mine, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. It didn’t take long before we were both close. My fingers played with her clit and brought her to the edge as I chased my own release. We were soft grunts and whispers, heated kisses, desperate moans, and finally, shouts of euphoria as we climaxed together.

  I pulled out of her and helped her down, grinning at the flush on her cheeks. “Mornin, beautiful.”

  She sighed and swayed on her feet. “God, if this is how we get to wake up every morning, count me in.”

  “I’ll take that under consideration.” I grabbed my cup of coffee and handed hers to her before taking a sip.

  “I’d better…get cleaned up.” She walked to the bathroom with a satisfied relaxation that echoed my own. Then she cast a glance over her shoulder and winked. “Join me if you want to.”

  Coffee forgotten on the counter, I followed. With her in my life, every day would already be instantly better.

  * * *

  Ever

  I sat next to Clint in the main house next to the fire. We’d all opened our gifts and now were basking in the afterglow of a wonderful family Christmas. It wasn’t simply the fact that I was with him. It was the knowledge that already I was part of the Ryker family. They wanted me here, treated me like one of them, and even had a stocking over the mantle for me.

  “So, you two, when are you going to make it official?” Mama asked, no shame behind her question.

  I looked at Clint with my heart fluttering. He’d pretty much said he wanted to marry me, hadn’t he? But the last woman he’d been with had shattered his trust with all the care of a bull in a china shop. We hadn’t really discussed it. Not since I ran from him the night of the storm.

  “Well—“
he started, but I interrupted.

  “I’m committed to Clint, official or not. As far as I’m concerned, he’s my forever.” Clint stared at me like I had antlers growing out of my head. “Well, it’s true. I know you were hurt before, and if you don’t want to get married, it’s fine. You told me you were staying until I cut you loose. Consider me the same.”

  Relief flooded his features, and my belly flipped. “That makes this a hell of a lot easier,” he murmured in my ear. Then he stood and went to the big Christmas tree, reaching deep in between the branches before he pulled out a small wrapped package.

  “Merry Christmas, darlin’,” he whispered when he handed it to me.

  My hands shook, and my vision blurred because I knew exactly what was happening. I blinked, and two fat tears fell onto the pretty wrapping paper.

  “Don’t cry.” His voice was soft and low. I couldn’t tear into the paper because my hands were still trembling, so he took the package from me and ripped open the wrapping, then he knelt in front of me.

  Mama let out a sound that was a combination of a sob and a squeal of joy. Sera elbowed her. “Shh, Mama. Don’t distract her.”

  Tristan sat next to Buck with a grin on his face, while Buck’s expression was almost as nervous as Clint’s.

  “Ever Wilson, you came into our lives a polished city girl, challenging everything I believed, and turning my world on its axis. I couldn’t be more thankful for you because I fell harder than I ever thought I could. I want you to be more than my girl. I want you to be my wife. The mother of my children. My partner. My forever. Will you marry me?”

  I said yes before he finished his question, and I practically launched myself into his arms. “I love you, cowboy.”

  He chuckled and opened the ring box. “I love you too.” Then he slid the simple band, a row of delicate diamonds, on my finger and lifted it to his lips. He pressed a kiss to the symbol of our union with his eyes closed. His brow furrowed with pure emotion.

  The rest of the family got to their feet and cheered, applause filling the living room. Clint pulled me against him and kissed my lips this time, nothing but joy and love radiating from him.

  “Thank God,” Sera said before she strode to the back door. “She said yes. Let’s get the party started!”

  A chorus of cheers from the ranch hands echoed through the open door, and I laughed. “What?”

  “We were just waiting for the proposal before we got things going for tonight. The barn’s all set up for our Christmas party, but now we can celebrate you guys too.”

  I looked at Clint. “Did you know about this?”

  He shrugged. “The only person who knew I was proposing was Mama.”

  “Who told me,” Sera said.

  “And Sera told me,” Buck added.

  Tristan held up a hand. “No one told me, but I figured you’d do it.”

  Clint chuckled and pulled me closer still. “Guess there’s no such thing as a secret in this family.”

  That sent a wave of happiness through me. This family was full of love and care for each other. No matter what, they were there to support their family. And now I was going to be a permanent part of that with my very own cowboy at my side.

  Epilogue

  Spring

  Clint

  I stared at my wife-to-be from my seat atop Max. She was sitting on the sun-soaked porch at our house, typing away on her laptop. Since transitioning from a life in the TV world, she’d set her sights on something closer to her heart. Writing. Ever started a blog a few weeks after moving in with me. It was called Saddles in Stilettos, and it was a break out hit. Tied in with the upcoming filming of Saddle Up in a few weeks, Ryker ranch was more in the spotlight than it had ever been.

  I rode Max down the hill and toward my house, that familiar pang in my chest at the thought of holding Ever close hitting me hard. The moment we got close, she looked up from what she was doing and smiled. She closed her laptop and stood, stretching before skipping down the steps toward me.

  “Hey, cowboy. What’s going on?”

  “Finished fixing some fence, thought I’d come check on my favorite city girl.”

  Her grin had me wanting her. “I’m doing just fine. Finishing up a post and returning some important emails.”

  “Emails?”

  “You know, it’s like regular mail, but faster and over the internet.”

  I laughed. “I know what email is. You said important.”

  Excitement filled her eyes. “Well, I have two things to tell you. One’s about the show.”

  I cocked a brow. “The show?”

  “Joey gave me a heads up. The team wants to write a romance into the loose script.”

  “A romance. Between who?”

  “They wanted you, but since I already roped you and reeled you in, she said their sights are set on Buck.”

  Unable to control my reaction, I laughed out loud. “There’s no way he’ll go for it.”

  “You never know.” She shrugged. “I thought you might want to let him know. He can figure out a way around it if he’s not interested.”

  Sure, I’d tell him first thing tomorrow. Buck wasn’t the kind of man who’d let anyone make a decision like that for him. “And, the other thing you wanted to tell me?”

  Her cheeks turned pink. “Yeah. I was going to tell you tonight, but since you’re here.”

  My heart raced, and I dismounted before securing Max to the post by the house. “What’s going on?”

  “I signed with a literary agent today. I pitched my book idea about surviving a month on a ranch…and falling for a cowboy. She thinks she can sell it to one of the big publishers in New York.”

  “New York?” Fear gripped my belly. What if she became an overnight sensation and left? What if she realized she never wanted this life at all? But then I looked at her and remembered how sure I was about her and us. Her success was something I was going to celebrate the hell out of. I wasn’t fragile when it came to us because our love was real and strong.

  “I know it sounds crazy, but I really want this. It means I can still live life on the ranch, still work it and get all the things I love from it, but I can also make something my own.”

  I took her hands and squeezed. “I’m so damn proud of you.”

  She hugged me tight. “Thank you. I’m proud of me too. But you know what I’m even more excited about?”

  I chuckled in her ear and pressed a kiss to her sweet-smelling hair. “What?”

  “Celebration sex.”

  “Oh yeah? When’s that happening?”

  She hooked her fingers under my belt buckle and tugged me toward the front door. “Right now. And later tonight. And probably tomorrow morning.”

  “That sounds like a fantastic plan.”

  She giggled when I scooped her up into my arms and kicked open the door. “Are you ready to saddle up, cowboy? I haven’t been riding in a long time.”

  This woman was everything I’d ever wanted, challenging, smart, beautiful, and mine. “Yes, ma’am.”

  I kissed her like I was starving for her, like the world might end if I didn’t show her how much I cherished her. I kissed her and said everything words couldn’t express. Because I knew there was no way I could tell her the depth of my love for her.

  She was the one woman who I would never stop loving.

  Ever.

  Bucked Off: Sneak Peek

  Buck

  "In two weeks all this officially changes. Can you believe it? A goddamned reality show." Clint, my older brother, stared across the vast expanse of our family's land.

  I steadied my horse as we watched the Montana sky go from purple to pink. "It'll be a big adjustment, that's for damn sure. But Saddle Up saved us. There's no denying it. We’re already booking guests between seasons of the show and it hasn't even started filming yet." Clint nodded and let out a grunt of approval. "Ever says it’s only the beginning."

  "It's the beginning of something."

  “Speak
ing of the show,” he began, voice low and hesitant.

  “What?” A sense of dread curled in my gut.

  “Joey told Ever the studio wants to add a…romance to the season.”

  I laughed. “Great, good luck to them. Though it seemed to work out for you.”

  “They, uh…well, Buck, they want it to be between you and one of the cast members.”

  I nearly choked. “You know, it’s early and I don’t think I heard you right. Did you say they want me to have a romance on the show?”

  “Yep.”

  “You told her no, right? I’m not an actor. There’s nothing that says pretty boy TV star about me.”

  He shrugged. “Figure they’ll call you in for a meeting today to set something up. You can handle it on your own.”

  My brother didn't say anything else, instead he clicked his tongue and took off on his horse, Max. Time to go to work.

  I pushed it out of my mind as I headed for the pasture. We had calves to tend and plenty of chores to help usher in spring. The sun was up earlier every day but it was still damn cold this morning. Mist hovered over the grass as I rode out to start rounding up the calves so our vet, Clara, could check them over.

  But as the day wore on, every call on the radio, every car coming down the long dirt drive had my heart lurching. There was no way in hell I’d be their Romeo on this show.

  “What crawled up your ass and died?” My youngest brother, Tristan asked as the two of us worked our problem horse, Wildfire back and forth in the arena.

  “I need a way out of something.”

  He cocked a brow. “What?”

  I told him my problem and he chuckled. “That’s an easy fix.”

  “Oh, is it? Tell me how, then.”

  He shrugged. “Simple. Do what Clint did. Make yourself unavailable.”

  “I doubt I’ll be able to fall in love and get engaged in a week.”