The Cowboy's Hunt

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  “We could rent you ten and you could pay them off through installments.”

  “You’re kidding?” Emily’s back straightened and she gazed off into the distance while desperately trying to do the math in her head. “That would be perfect. How fast could you get them in?” The faster they were in, the sooner she could start repaying the loan and the rental fees. Fifteen could bring in almost $120,000 in one year.

  “Well, first I need to do a test of the lands. That’s going to run you five thousand dollars.”

  Emily winced. That was half her savings.

  “However, if the land proves viable for the turbines, that test fee will apply as a credit on your account.”

  That didn’t sound so bad. “How much will this cost me total?”

  “I’ll need another five thousand dollars to set you up in our system and get the equipment in place. From there, we’ll take half of the output for the next five years.”

  “That sounds good.” It would delay her paying Trent back, but once she was free and clear, the ranch wouldn’t have to worry about being profitable ever again.

  “At the end of five years, we’ll offer to sell you the wind turbines at a substantial discount.”

  She was beginning to get excited. “This all sounds great. When can we get started?”

  “As soon as you wire me the first five-thousand-dollar payment.”

  “I can do that today,” Emily said, eager to pay off some of the ranch bills before they became overdue. “How soon can you come out and do your test?” It was a risk. If the land wasn’t viable, she was out five thousand dollars. But she had to try. This renewable energy would not only help the environment, but also keep her family’s electricity bill low. It had to work. It just had to. And if these sixty acres didn’t work, they could try another sixty.

  “Let me get some information, then, and I’ll tell you where to wire the money.”

  “I’ll go get a pen.” Emily hurried inside and climbed the stairs to her room. She took down the information and gave him the address of the ranch. “Can you come out this week?”

  “When I receive confirmation of the wire, I’ll set up a time to conduct the tests. It will probably be this week. We’ll definitely be in touch.”

  “Great.” Emily got off the phone feeling confident and in charge. She’d had the weekend from hell doing physical work and this morning was proving to be challenging mentally, but she was coping. She would make her parents believe in her yet. Emily was looking forward to the day when she could relinquish the title of baby to Alissa.

  *

  As soon as the last hunter left that morning, Donovan cleaned up after them and then took a shower. He’d seen some signs of a group of elk moving through the areas they had been hunting in, so he had set up a hunting blind this weekend. They didn’t see any elk, but Donovan was sure they were visiting the pond to drink and graze. However, he didn’t want to risk the white elk being seen by the hunting group. Donovan had promised that he would find her and leave her unharmed. He hadn’t put that in his hunting contracts because he was still ninety percent sure the ranch hands were playing a joke on him. But just in case they weren’t, after setting up a few blinds, he moved his group back toward the easier game.

  They brought down a whitetail and a couple of turkeys each, and several hogs. Those damned hogs wouldn’t quit. They were getting bold and instead of hiding from humans, they were aggressive. The hunters were pleased. They booked again for next month and he was confident that he could get them elk this time, even though the rutting season would be over by then. He was eager to get back out there this morning on foot to see if he could track the elk and spot the white elk that Nate kept swearing was out there.

  If on the off chance he found her, he’d have to mark the trails and bring Kelly back so she could take her photos. Trent wasn’t going to be up for all the hiking and strenuous activities, though, so Donovan would ask Nate and a couple of hands to go with them in case they ran into any hogs. The bastards had charged them this weekend and were getting bolder and meaner, the deeper he took the hunters.

  He couldn’t risk taking the truck or the Gator as deep as he wanted to go. He was hoping the land wasn’t too muddy for horses. He was saddling up one of the spare trail horses when Emily caught up with him.

  “Hello, darlin’,” he said, sweeping her up for a kiss. He was looking forward to having her in his bed all week long, if she wanted to be there. By the enthusiastic way she returned his kiss, he was confident she’d be all right with that. In fact, he wouldn’t mind fooling around in the hay before he went.

  “Did your tour group have a good time?” she asked when they came up for breath.

  He ran his thumb over her lip that was slightly puffy from his kisses. “They’re coming back next month.”

  “Rats,” she said.

  “Can’t win them all.” Donovan was reluctant to let her go. “Did you come all this way to see me?”

  “Yup, my mother wants me out of her hair and Dad told me to make myself useful, so here I am.”

  “Useful?”

  “He wants me to make your job easier.” She rubbed his arm and gave him a saucy look.

  “That must chafe your ass something fierce.”

  “It’s ironic, I’ll admit it. So where are you off to?”

  “I’m going to track this elusive white elk of yours.”

  She made a face. “Who told you about Ghost?”

  “It’s an undead elk?”

  “No, that’s what my sisters call her.”

  “Wait.” He turned to stare at her. “This isn’t a joke? You’ve seen her?”

  “We’ve seen a couple of them. Once when we were kids. Then again about ten years ago. It’s not the same one, obviously. They don’t live that long. But we’ve got white ones. Always have.” She shrugged.

  “Do you know how rare that is?”

  “Too rare to be a trophy.” She lifted her chin defiantly at him.

  “Of course.” He stroked her cheek. She was so soft and delicate, she made him feel like a big oaf.

  “What do you mean, of course?” She gestured to his rifle bag, which was secured on the back of his horse. “What’s that for, then?”

  “Hogs.” That shut her up.

  Emily crossed her arms and looked away.

  “I’m hunting for resource management. Not for eradication—except for the feral hogs. They breed too fast to kill off entirely.”

  “So you’re not going to kill Ghost?” Emily eyeballed him disbelievingly.

  “No.”

  “What if your hunters want to hunt her?”

  “No.”

  “What if they pay a lot of money?”

  “Still no.”

  Donovan had to stagger back when she launched herself at him. He was not only getting used to kissing her, it was addicting. He was thinking of putting his horse back into the barn and taking Emily back to the hunting lodge. But just as he started unbuttoning her jeans, she broke away from him.

  “Let’s go find her.”

  Chapter Seven

  Emily missed trail riding, even though Donovan was taking them through heavy brush. Sunflower was going to be a mess of burrs and mud when they got back. But it was a beautiful November afternoon and she was enjoying the sun and the seventy-degree weather, which reminded her of Ethiopia. The sights, however, couldn’t be any more different with the lush carpet of forest and the nearby pond.

  “What time are your parents expecting you back?” he asked.

  “They’re not. Mom roped Dad into going to the tree lighting committee meeting. December is coming up fast.”

  “They need a committee for that?”

  “In Last Stand, there’s a committee for everything.”

  “So you can stay the night with me?”

  “I’m not sure I’m ready to flaunt our relationship yet,” she said. “My dad’s pretty traditional. I don’t think he’d stand for a friends with benefits situation.�
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  “Is that what we are?” Donovan asked.

  “I’m not sure we’re friends.”

  He barked out a laugh. After a few moments of comfortable silence he said, “I wouldn’t mind a girlfriend.”

  “I’m not sure I want to define us like that.”

  “Why not?”

  “It would have an expiration date on it, wouldn’t it? Three years and you’re gone.”

  He disappointed her when he nodded. “That’s true.”

  It was good to get that out in front now, so there wouldn’t be any hurt feelings. However, she wasn’t really wired for casual relationships. She’d had one boyfriend all through high school. One boyfriend all through college. And she’d had a budding relationship with one of the men working with her in the village in West Tigray. She still kept in contact with all her exes. Maybe she could do that with Donovan. At least until the next boy came along. Except Donovan wasn’t a boy. He was a very sexy man and she was afraid she might not get over him quickly if they got involved. She had to protect her heart. He was all wrong for her anyway, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a good time while it lasted.

  Sex with Donovan was fun, like zip-lining and off-roading.

  “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to fool around,” she said.

  “I was worried there for a moment.” Donovan grinned.

  “As long as we keep it casual.” Casual sounded safe. It sounded like something mature adults could agree on. It was a boundary for not getting hurt.

  “I don’t share, though.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked.

  “If you’re with me, then you’re with me. I won’t be sleeping with anyone but you, and you damn well won’t be screwing around with anyone else either.”

  Her lips twitched. “That sounds like you’re staking a claim, cowboy.”

  “Maybe I am.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  He whirled to look at her and she blew him a kiss. Closing his eyes, he muttered, “This is a mistake.”

  “It’ll be a fun mistake,” she agreed.

  They heard the snorting and bugling of elks up ahead. “Let’s see how close we can get,” he said, urging his horse forward. They clomped through the brush and mud, but it was clear that there wasn’t a way they could go much farther. “Let’s tie off back there and go forward on foot.”

  “Is it going to be safe for them?” Ever since the hog episode, Sunflower was a little squirrelly in the woods. But if Donovan’s horse was with her, she would take her cues from him.

  Donovan unpacked the rifle and extra ammunition. “I’ve got it covered.”

  She grimaced and helped secure the horses to trees in a small clearing. “You’re not going to shoot an elk today, are you?”

  “Not unless you think our horses can carry six hundred pounds back to the ranch house.”

  “I’m going to barf if you don’t knock it off.” She stayed behind Donovan as he cleared the way for them. He moved quickly and silently for a big man. Once they pushed through a few overgrown areas, they were in a clearing with a large pond. She heard a barking sound and Donovan motioned her to be quiet. Mewling sounds and another bugle confirmed that there were both cows and bulls up ahead.

  He led them toward a tree and she recognized the makeshift steps he had hammered into the trunk.

  “Up,” he said in a low voice and encouraged her to climb with a friendly hand on her ass. Oh, was that how he wanted to play? This tree stand was sturdy, but didn’t have any of the same amenities as the other one. Donovan followed quickly up after her and set his rifle down where it was in easy reach. He immediately began to open the back of the trail camera that had been pointing down toward the pond. He slipped the chip into a reader and sat with his back to the tree.

  Cuddling up to him, she peered into the viewer. Donovan wrapped his arm around her and together they watched as he fast-forwarded through the last forty-eight hours. “Bingo,” he said, his voice low and intimate.

  On screen she saw the elks gathering around the pond, but it was impossible to tell if one of them was their ghost or not. There were different shades of darkness of all the bulls and cows. One was paler than the others and her lack of antlers showed her to be a cow.

  “It could be her,” she said, feeling excitement tickling her stomach. It would be good to see a white elk again. She and her sisters had always thought seeing one was good luck. The Three Sisters Ranch could use some good luck right about now. Emily looked down at the pond, but there wasn’t any activity there.

  “Want to wait?” he asked.

  “Won’t our scent scare them off?”

  “Not this far up.”

  “Do we have to be silent?”

  “If we’re not disruptive, we could have a conversation. What do you want to talk about, sweetheart?”

  “Who says I want to talk?” She grinned at him and pressed her mouth against his.

  Kissing him was a lot more fun than fighting with him, that was for sure.

  “I’m assuming this means you’re done thinking about it?” he said after a long, sensual kiss that curled her toes.

  She rested her cheek on his shoulder. “Do you want to sign another three-year lease—this time with me?”

  “Only if it’s exclusive.”

  “I can be exclusive. Are you sure you want to risk falling in love with me and having to stay in one place for the rest of your life?”

  “Sounds like paradise,” he said.

  Emily thought he was being a sarcastic jerk, but there was a wistful tone in his voice that made her look up at him, and in that moment, she saw truth and vulnerability in his gray eyes.

  “What’s stopping you?”

  He tried to distract her with a mind-melting kiss and with one of his hands on her breast and the other one on her ass, she had to admit it was working. But then a loud bark, almost underneath them, jolted them apart. While they had been kissing, the herd had sauntered into their area. Looking around, they saw shades of brown and copper. The noisy bull rubbed against their tree and one of the stairs popped off.

  “Cock blocker,” Donovan muttered.

  “I don’t see her,” Emily said, disappointed.

  “Tell me the truth,” he said. “Does she really exist or are all of you playing a joke on the new guy?”

  “I’ll tell you the truth if you tell me one of your secrets.”

  He tensed. “Who says I have secrets?”

  “You’re practically the archetype of the mysterious stranger.”

  Donovan went in to kiss her again, but she stopped him with a reluctant hand on his chest. “Are you in, or are you going to chicken out?”

  “All right, you want to play twenty questions instead of making out, let’s have at it. Is the ghost elk real?”

  “I was telling you the truth before. I’ve seen a snow-white elk twice in my life.”

  “Where?”

  Emily thought hard. It had been so long ago. “It was on a pasture land. I don’t remember which one. Nate might remember.”

  “He doesn’t. Or he doesn’t want me to get close to the pasture lands.”

  “No, he’d tell you. He trusts you.”

  “Why?” Donovan scoffed.

  “Why wouldn’t he? And that’s a question I want to know, so don’t be flip about the answer.”

  “Sneaky,” he said, and rubbed her arm. “I don’t come from good people. Can I leave it at that?”

  “You owe me two more questions, so I’m going to ask you to elaborate on it. What do you mean by that?”

  Donovan looked like he’d swallowed a lemon. “Can I kiss you again before I answer?”

  “You’re not going to distract me for long.” Emily climbed into his lap and took his face in her hands. She kissed him as if they were the last two people in the world, as if she was trying desperately not to fall in love with him.

  Groaning, he held her tight as they rubbed their bodies together.
God, she wanted him. Thirty feet in the air, she forgot all about the bugling and snorting elks and concentrated on how his body felt under her. Emily rocked against him, loving the hard feel of him between her thighs.

  “I’m going to get off if we don’t stop,” she whispered against his mouth.

  “Why the fuck would we stop?” He claimed her mouth again, his hands busy under her shirt. This time, she was wearing a bra because not wearing one on horseback hurt like a bitch.

  Emily used his body to come, arching against him while his mouth branded her with hot, passionate kisses. Her head thrown back, she rode out the sensations clutching his shoulders desperately. “Don’t let me fall.” She laughed shakily, suddenly too dizzy to move.

  “Never.” He tucked her in close.

  After a moment to come down from the delicious endorphins still spinning wildly through her, she unbuttoned his pants and slid his zipper down.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, his breath catching as she leaned over and pulled his cock out of his underwear.

  “Figure it out.” Emily licked the head of it tasting salt and warm man. “Mmm,” she moaned and took him in her mouth.

  “Fuck,” Donovan ground out, tensing and thrusting his hips up.

  She took him deeper and held on to the shaft of his cock while she slowly slid her mouth up and down his length. He wrapped her ponytail around his fist and tugged slightly. Emily liked that and went faster.

  “God,” he sighed. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

  She didn’t plan on it, not when he reacted like this. He was stiff and shaking, his breathing irregular. Swirling her tongue around the tip, Emily teased him. He pulled back on her hair until she looked up at him. His gray eyes had darkened with passion.

  “Take off your pants,” he growled.

  “No.” She went back to sucking on him. With her luck, they’d kick her jeans off the tree stand and she’d be bare-assed in the middle of nowhere. They could save the lovemaking until they got back. Right now, she was enjoying herself too much to stop.

  “Emily,” he choked out.

  “Mmm.” She liked when he called out her name.

  “Emily,” he said louder.