Western Pleasure (Colorado Cowboy Series)

by Mascaro, Christina

  Western Pleasure

  Book 1: Colorado Cowboy Series

  Copyright © 2013

  Chris Mascaro

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the author/publisher.

  ISBN - 978-1-62590-381-5

  Chapter OneTaking a deep breath, Zoë turned on her mp3 player, shuffling through the music lists until she found what she was looking for. With a turn of the engine, she cranked up the volume, put on her sunglasses, and turned to her passenger.

  “Well Charlie, are you ready?” Zoë grinned, rolling down the window slightly. Charlie wagged his tail, grinning, sitting up quickly and bobbing his head up and down, his nose woofing and sniffling through the crack.

  Zoë glanced at the directions one last time and forced a wave of confidence on herself. This was her chance to start over: to finally get things right.

  At 26 years old, she was devastated to have to get a divorce. Getting married way too young to begin with, the plans she had made as a naïve sixteen year old girl had been tossed out the window when she went to college and made one wrong mistake after another. As an obstinate girl who listened to absolutely no one, she got married, barely finished school and gotten a career right away as a store manager.

  It was a far cry from wanting to work in politics as a prestigious ambassador or representative. She wasn’t supposed to be married until thirty years old and her husband was supposed to be racking in a six-figure income. She sure as hell wasn’t supposed to be married, divorced, and endlessly bitter. The only thing good to come out of it was she had taken the time to hone her skills in marketing and design, using her bitterness to fuel a new degree.

  After a lengthy legal separation, the roommate that Zoë had taken in to help pay bills suggested she move on. After three months, she helped her get a storage room to stuff her household goods in, and she quickly sold her house for the price of the note: a small price to pay in a suffering economy. Her roommate, a bubbly blond nurse, wished her luck, gave her a hug, and went her own way to California. Zoë was inspired by her roommates’ encouragement to find something new.

  “I need to get away and start over. I love horses. I love the cowboy thing. I haven’t done it since high school, but I think I want to go out there and just…be wild.” Zoë‘ told her roommate. The bubbly blond nurse grinned, took a sip of her beer, and looked around the dive bar.

  “Well, I don’t think you’re going to find that in Michigan,” she gave a lopsided tilt of her head. “That’s what you need too. You need to totally find one of those guys that are in all those romance novels. A rich cowboy.” The girl teased Zoë‘.

  “Am I crazy? I mean, to just up and quit?” Zoë‘ swallowed the last bit of her drink.

  “I think you are super amazing. I am not that brave. I mean…go. No serious boys. Just fun. No looking for a RELATIONSHIP.” Her roommate giggled. “Just go and do your thing. Three months. Just go, and then come back and start fresh here,” she stood up from the bar and waved the bartender to close the tab.

  Once she was back at home, Zoë sat at the kitchen table and propped her head on her chin. It was quick work, browsing online classifieds, looking for something with horses. After a week of emailing, she received a response for an office manager at a small guest ranch in Colorado. Horse experience necessary, organizational skills a must. Without a second thought, she turned in her two-month notice at work, and in early May, was ready for her adventure.

  The guest ranch was located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and was only open during the summer. During the winter months, the place shut down and didn’t take in guests. The ranch said she was more than welcome to stay on and pay a small rent during the winter months, but that work would not be available. Otherwise, after Labor Day she was allowed to leave. The plan was to take a summer sabbatical, clear her head, get over her divorce, and return to Michigan to find a new job.

  The drive, long and boring with the exception of Charlie, her undersized coonhound dog, was just about over. The drive through Chicago had been a mess, the music player dying halfway through the city and offering nothing but hardcore pop music. From Chicago, she had nothing but farm country to drive through. With no company to keep her interested while driving, she had to hurry through Iowa and Nebraska as hard as she could. Charlie was no help: he managed to figure out the seat heaters and had curled up on the empty passenger seat.

  Unable to keep her eyes open, she settled on a motel that looked like it didn’t have enough money to stay open, and slept in late. The second day of driving was no better, but when she got through Denver and finally into the mountains, she took her time. The views up the highway were beautiful and breathtaking, and every pull off she could find she took advantage of; Charlie marking on every rock and boulder he could pull her to from his leash.

  By the time she was done with her camera, she had wasted four hours on a thirty-mile stretch of highway. The May weather was chilly, and she pulled on her jacket, started her SUV again, and turned on her headlights. She hoped that she wouldn’t be intruding, pulling in a day early and around four hours past appropriate.

  The town was incredibly quiet and picturesque as she pulled in. The highways between Michigan and Colorado were barren, desolate and gray. Denver had been a hustle and bustle of traffic, and the road up the mountainside was winding and she often felt she was in the way with cars piling up behind her. The town of Estes was quaint, hotels looming every hundred feet, a grocery store lit up, and surprisingly a lot of classy boutiques and restaurants dotted with white Christmas lights, despite the season. The mountaintops loomed in the background, and she stared with wide brown eyes until she slammed her brakes. Charlie sat up quickly in the passenger seat, barking furiously when he noticed why she was at a dead stop.

  Holy crap, thank goodness no one is behind me. Zoë let out a whoosh of breath, trying to calm her nerves and steady her breathing. The large animal stared at her as if nothing was new. Charlie continued to bark.

  “Charlie, hush!” Zoë snapped, staring at her dog. Charlie sat down, quieting his barking but definitely staring intently. Zoë let off her brake a little bit and inched forward, hoping the huge elk would move slightly. The elk, finally noticing that she wanted to move past him, finally picked up his walking. Zoë raised an eyebrow. They weren’t even outside of town limits…the elk seemed to have been walking out of the grocery store parking lot and onto the lawn of a golf course.

  Moving slowly, Zoë gave one last glance at the directions to the guest ranch. She was supposed to head out of town about two miles, and the ranch would be slightly to the north. According to the owner, she couldn’t miss it.

  Setting her mind, she made mental notes of where she wanted to visit when she had time, taking side glances at the shops that looked fun and restaurants that looked worthy of a visit.

  As she drifted out of town, the city lights fading, the quick switch from the few blocks of city life turned into a winding drive with absolutely no lights. Her head beams shone and hit mountainside granite, and eventually opened up to an open field. To her left were vacation town homes, and to her right was an open twenty acres enclosed by a stream. In the middle of it all was a large lodge, bordered by two barns, a dotting of smaller cabins, and open pastures.

  The grounds were lit up, the pastures hazy and gray and the cabins looking empty. The main lodge however looked warm and inviting, a beacon of welcome. She turned down the private drive and pulled up to the front of the lodge, leaving Charlie in the car.

  Stuffing her car keys into her pocket, she walked up to the front door of the lodge and let hers
elf in. She glanced around, noticing that there was no one to greet her. The desk to her left was empty and the computer had a thin layer of dust that looked like it had been purchased before they invented computers. The main room was all wood: wood flooring, wood paneling, knotty pine furniture, and wood knick-knacks. The floor had pieces of throw rugs and there was a huge chandelier when she looked up — made out of antlers. It was definitely a lot different than she imagined in her mind.

  “Can I help you?” A male voice asked from behind her. “Are you looking for something?” He walked past her, his hands stuffed into his brown work vest. He didn’t bother to introduce himself, take off his cowboy hat, or extend a hand.

  Zoë did a once over on him. He couldn’t be older than her, and his black cowboy hat had seen too many rainy days. His jeans were frayed at the bottom, and his black cowboy boots were covered in dust and dirt. Hello, cowboy. She thought to herself. You definitely do not fit in to the romance novel.

  “Are you guys open?” She asked in a voice more girly than she thought she was capable of. She swallowed hard, hoping to regain her confident voice.

  “Oh, no ma’am, you’ll have to head back into town. We don’t open for another two weeks.” He started to walk back toward the door and reached for the handle to assist her out.

  “Oh, I mean, I’m here for the office manager position. I’m Zoë,” she held out her hand. “Sorry I’m a little late tonight. I mean, I know I wasn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow, but—” She stopped mid-sentence when her cut her off.

  “Oh, yeah, sorry. Well, I can show you to your cabin if you’d like. It’s a little small, but it’s the only thing that we can afford to give you to have a dog.” He pulled the door open and waited for her to exit the main lodge.

  The minute they were back on the porch of the lodge, Charlie noticed them and he immediately began to bark furiously, pawing at the window.

  “Is that your dog?” The man asked her. Zoë didn’t answer. There was only one person and one car. Who else would the dog and car belong to? She supposed he was trying to make conversation.

  “Yeah, that’s Charlie. Coonhound.” She answered as chipper as she could muster.

  “Good looking dog.” The man walked her beyond the line of guest cabins to a cluster of smaller cabins closer to the pastures. As soon as they came up to what she assumed was her cabin, a pile of horses came up to fence, snorting and tossing their heads for attention. He took a moment in the cold night air to approach the fence and pet them. “Hey guys,” he whispered softly, taking the time to rub their noses.

  Zoë shivered, waiting for him to finish up and open the door. He gave another moment to the horses and then turned toward her cabin and pushed open the door.

  “Here you go. Heat’s right here,” he turned on the light and pointed to the thermostat next to it. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning?” He asked.

  “Um, yeah. I guess.” She stared at him. “Is the owner here? Should I meet with him first?” She asked. “You can find me in the morning,” the man said, turning to leave her cabin.

  “Great. And you are?” Zoë tried her best to not be impatient.

  “Oh, sorry. My name’s Logan.” He disappeared out the door. Zoë walked over to the doorway and watched him walk back toward the lodge, his lean build getting skinnier by the second. Definitely not talkative, is he? She mused.

  “Hey, nice to meet you Logan,” she muttered. “Thanks for closing the door, Logan,” she bit out. Closing it firmly behind her, she went back to her car to fetch Charlie and a few of her bags. The man hadn’t even asked her if she needed anything. Not that she needed help, or wanted help, or would even dare ask for help. This was her chance to break away from being dependent on any male figure. She was determined to be the girl she thought she was when she was eighteen.

  Feeling anxious to get her car empty and feel like she moved in, she cleared her car in four trips, giving Charlie the run of her cabin. When she finally settled in, he had thoroughly explored the one bedroom and the bathroom, and was settled on the couch in the living room. She turned on the television for noise so she didn’t feel so alone, and then went to work diving through the kitchen.

  Her cabin was simple, a smaller version of the lodge. Wood floors and knotty pine wood paneling. The couch was brown with moose and bear pillows, there were a few throw rugs, and the furniture was all log wood. The bed was wood with crisp white sheets and a quilted cover, and on the walls were photos and paintings of local hiking spots and animals.

  The bathroom was simple, updated, and clean. She was thankful: the last few places she had rented had required an extreme effort to get the place clean enough for her to even use the bathroom.

  She had a very small porch, just long enough to stand on and appreciate the scenery, but not big enough for a chair. But the view out her windows opened up to horse pasture and a small grouping of trees that looked like the national forest.

  Taking a deep breath, the air was cool and fresh. Michigan was a clean state, and there were places to enjoy nature and wildlife, but the air in Colorado was clear and thin and sweet.

  It took her less than an hour to put her things away. Mostly clothing was what she brought, a collection of winter clothes, summer clothes, clothes for working with horses, and clothes for dressing appropriately at work. After cleaning up and organizing her empty boxes and bags, satisfied that her car was back to its normal state, she sat down next to Charlie, who thought it appropriate to act like a lap dog. He nudged her elbow, desperate to stick his head under her arm while they watched TV.

  Zoë’s hand ruffled his ears, but her mind went back to Logan. Tall, dark hair and light eyes was an odd combination that took her off guard. He had a horrible, unfriendly personality, and was rude as anything she had ever met. But she couldn’t deny the fact that he was much different than the type of guy that she had come across before. The men she encountered in college were young, fitness types who wore tight jeans and white shirts. The men at work were straight edge academic, suit-wearing men that she competed with. The man she just met was none of those. His confidence came from his no-nonsense, just say what needs to be said vibe.

  Zoë tried to focus on relaxing, but she kept picturing his black cowboy hat and wind-burned cheeks. He had a five o’clock shadow that accentuated his hard angled chin, and despite his attempt to come off tough, she had sensed that he was just a calm and quiet individual.

  There was a knock on the door that startled her and Charlie gave a single howl. She jumped up and smoothed her shirt out, answering it quickly. She half smiled and sucked in her breath when she saw Logan standing on her mini porch.

  “Didn’t know if you needed any help?” He pushed his hands down deeper into his vest pockets, his breath coming out in small puffs because of the cold air. Zoë smacked her lips together trying not to laugh.

  “Nope, got everything okay.” She tilted her head and looked down at Charlie, who was anxiously sniffing his dirty boots. Logan looked down and didn’t budge, taking an interest in the dog.

  “He doesn’t chase horses or anything. Right? I mean, I’ve never had a problem with a dog, but you never know with dogs that weren’t raised around animals,” he waited for Charlie to look up at him. When the dog sat down and cocked his head, Logan gave a small smile, revealing the round apple of his cheeks.

  “He’s been around horses. We DO have horses in Michigan,” Zoë teased.

  “You worked around horses?” Logan’s eyes perked up, the gray-green of his eyes starting to sparkle and take on vibrancy. Zoë stared as Logan squatted down next to Charlie and gave him a firm ear rub and chin scratch. The dog looked at her with approval.

  “I didn’t work around horses, but I did grow up riding them. I’ve always had my dog out at the stable,” she grinned. Logan didn’t respond to her answer, glanced at her one last time, and stood up.

  “Well, I just stopped by to see if you needed help. Looks like you got it all by yourself, so…I’
ll leave you alone then,” he took a step backward from the doorway and stood on the porch. “Hope you have a good night,” he turned on his heel and walked away from her.

  Zoë took her time closing the door, watching Logan adjust his hat. He entered in a side door to the lodge, and she finally closed the door.

  Charlie sat down on top of her foot, and Zoë half frowned and half sighed. “I don’t know buddy. He could be a fun little summer thing,” she kicked her dog off her foot and started getting ready for bed.

  When Charlie was settled, had gone outside, done his business and had a fresh bowl of water, Zoë climbed into bed and turned on the bedroom television, swapping the noise in the living room to have noise in the bedroom. Her dog jumped on the bed next to her, and she laid her head back, closing her eyes.

  Her shower had been less than fresh, but at least she could fall asleep clean. She would need to pick up a few girly things at the local grocery store to help her settle in, but at least she could keep to her routine for now.

  As soon as she got comfortable, pulling the covers up to her chin, her thoughts immediately began to wander back to Logan. Her imagination immediately went back to his hands, how they didn’t look like a cowboy’s hands. He had lean and long fingers, clean fingernails that were trimmed as if he had been to a manicurist, and they weren’t chapped like someone who lived in the mountain west. Zoë groaned. Oh no. She thought to herself. I came here because I wanted to get over boys! The whole point of me taking this three-month sabbatical was to NOT meet someone. She squeezed her eyes tighter, hoping that she could squeeze him out of her mind.