Nothing But Trouble

by Lisa Mondello

  “Stoney always did like the beef jerky and fruits I dry every year. I used to stuff a pack full for him and Joshua when they used to go out camping. They haven’t done that in a while.”

  “Stoney spends most of his time on the ranch then?”

  Adele looked up, a flash of pain crossed her face, but it was gone just as soon as it came. “He’s been home this year...since the fire. Up until last year he was spending most weekends at rodeos.”

  Melanie pulled the ceramic mug from her lips before she could take a sip of the hot liquid. “He’s a rodeo cowboy?”

  Adele chuckled. “A bull rider. Not that it’s hard to tell. Only the stubborn ones are fool enough to ride bulls.”

  She took a sip of coffee and let the liquid seep down her throat and warm her stomach before commenting. “Seems dangerous.”

  “That never stopped Stoney.” Adele stopped filling a Ziploc bag in mid-motion. “He’s been a fearless creature since his little feet started running across this kitchen floor. Been riding since he was a kid. He got hurt pretty bad a few years ago. His hand got hung up in the leather strap they use to stay on the bull. That animal tossed him about just like a rag doll.” She shook her head and looked as if she were lost in a memory. She began filling the bag again. “I’m glad I wasn’t there to see it. A mother should never watch her son do crazy things like that. He’s much safer up in the mountains with you than on the back of some mean old bull, if you ask me.”

  Melanie got the feeling she’d be safer taking her chances with the bull than the likes of Stoney Buxton. “Speaking of Stoney. Where is he?”

  “He and Wally have been up since four o’clock. There’s a lot of work around the ranch that needs to be done. Mitch had some last minute obligations he had to take care of before tomorrow, but he’ll be ready then.”

  Melanie helped Adele prepare a cowboy’s breakfast of steak, eggs and hash browns. She was surprised to see as much sweat and dirt on Wally as she did on Stoney when they finally made their way to the kitchen table. No doubt they’d already done a day’s worth of work.

  Later on that day, Melanie ventured out to the make shift stable. It was crude, just a few stalls to house the horses. She found Stoney there, cleaning the stalls. The scent of manure and the fresh hay he was forking filled the air.

  “I’d like to help,” she said.

  Stoney stood up straight and turned to her, perspiration slick over his face. He fixed her with a hard stare for a few minutes. Not of anger or irritation, but of uncertainty. “That’s not necessary.”

  “I know. I want to.”

  He went back to the task at hand, turning his back to her. “I wouldn’t want you to chip a nail or anything. Mess up that nice manicure of yours.”

  She should have wanted to leave him be, seeing he was obviously letting her know that she was out of place there. But she was getting bored just sitting around the house doing nothing but watching Adele whirl around from one room to the next doing chores. Adele insisted that Melanie was a guest and should just relax. But how could she relax when Stoney and Wally were out in the yard working on Lord knows what, trying to get ahead so Stoney could leave tomorrow? Since she was the reason he’d be off the ranch, the least she could do was pitch in and help out somehow.

  Her first perception of Stoney Buxton was one of an arrogant cowboy. Well, the arrogant part was true enough, but there was more to him than she’d originally given him credit for. He was driven. By what, she wasn’t quite sure. Maybe it was the survival of the ranch, something ingrained in him that she found intriguing. Maybe it was pure male ego. But she didn’t think so.

  “My nails will survive,” she said.

  He gave a deep chuckle that sounded so rough and sexy to her ears. “Not hardly.”

  She drew in a deep breath and folded her arms across her chest. “Have you worked the horses yet?”

  His head shot up, and he stopped poking at the hay pile for a moment. “What do you know about working a horse?”

  “More than you’d ever give me credit for. Since one of these horses is going to be my best friend for the next month, I’d say it’s about time I got to know him.”

  The shocked look on his face told her he wasn’t quite sure just where she was coming from. Good. In her estimation it was always best to keep a man guessing.

  “I can work the horses while you finish cleaning the stables. That will free you up to do whatever else is pressing.”

  He just stared at her, seemingly searching her face for...something. “I’ve got to see if I can round up some stray cattle and...” He pulled his hat off his head and rested his arm on the rail behind him. His dark hair was wet with perspiration and the ends curled around his ears, giving an almost boyish look to him. “You know, you don’t have to do this.”

  “I know. I want to do it.” She slipped her hands in the pockets of her jeans and lifted her chin. “If only to prove to you I’m no little pampered wuss.” She didn’t quite know why that was so important to her that Stoney respect her that way. But suddenly, it meant a lot that he see what she was really made of.

  He gave her a slow smile that rewarded her with the deep dimples she’d looked for just yesterday. For a minute she thought he’d tease her, but to her surprise, his expression softened. “I never said you were a wuss, Sunshine.”

  “Good. Because I don’t expect to be treated like one.”

  He drew in a deep breath and looked around, as if trying to assess a long list of what needed to be done. “Have you ever worked horses before?”

  She nodded.

  “That should keep you busy for a while. If we don’t work them, they get lazy.”

  She swung around, trying to keep the strange stirrings she had whenever she was face to face with Stoney at bay. She was acutely aware of his eyes on her back as she walked away from the stable.

  This is ridiculous. Stoney was completely different than the other men she knew. Most of them were beasts in the business world, trying to one up the next guy for a chance at an office with a view on the top floor. Stoney was just trying to make a living on the grounds of Black Rock Ranch. His dedication to this place ran deeper than the desire for money and fame.

  He’s just a cowboy. Melanie bit her bottom lip, tasting the remnants of her lipstick as she gripped the splintered plank of the corral gate. She yanked it with full force. He’s just a damned, sexy cowboy. Lord, was she ever in big trouble.

  #

  Chapter Three

  Stoney plunged his hand into the old whiskey barrel by the stable and splashed his face with the cold rain water. With the back of his hand, he wiped the dripping water from his forehead. He couldn’t help but steal a glance in the direction of the corral where Melanie was working the horses. She’d pulled off the sweatshirt she was wearing earlier and now only wore a white tank top that clung like a second skin to every curve of her body.

  She moved with the horses in the corral, and he listened to her soothing voice as she spoke to them, coaxing them, rewarding them with a slice of apple or a nugget of sugar. The beauty becoming friends with the beast.

  Yeah, he’d been watching her. What man with hot blood running under his skin wouldn’t? She was a dangerous creature to have around if he planned on getting work done. He damn near stabbed his foot with the pitchfork once or twice just thinking about her.

  He bent down, dunking his head into the barrel, shocking his hot skin. He'd hoped to ward off some of the urges that kept causing him to glance back over at Melanie. But it was no use. The only way he’d keep his mind on his work was if he were miles away from the woman.

  The sun was still high in the sky when he finished filling oats in the feed bin. But it would only be an hour or two before it sunk low in the horizon, painting pictures against the mountain sides in a mesmerizing pallet of color. It was his favorite time of the day, when everything was winding down. After living in Wyoming his whole life, Stoney still didn’t tire of seeing the beauty of his land around him.
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  His land. How much longer would he be able to make that claim? He should be grateful that Melanie was providing him a solution to some of the ranch's financial problems. Instead, she was just a distraction.

  He shook the drops of water from his head and rid himself of the thoughts that had plagued him every day. He didn’t have time to wallow in what might happen. He needed to get to work. Now was a good time to go out in search of the stray cattle. After a day of sun they’d be moving to one of the water holes no doubt. Maybe he’d get lucky.

  The ride out the back trail would give him time to clear his head before coming in and facing Melanie for the evening. She was still riding bareback on one of mares when he pulled Thunder, his favorite horse, from the corral. He was almost done saddling his horse when Melanie came into the stalls.

  “I’m done with the horses. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ride out with you,” she said, reaching up to gracefully stroke Thunder’s muzzle with her fingers. It had him thinking of how her hands would feel...

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone,” he said. “I’m sure Ma could use your help in the house, if you’re still looking for something to do.”

  There was a silence, except for the distant sounds of the horses whinnying and the occasional cow mooing in the distance.

  “I was hoping to take that pretty chestnut quarter horse for a ride. You know, the smaller one.”

  Stoney swung around and looked out at the corral to where Melanie was pointing. “Dolly. She can be skittish.”

  “Most horses can be skittish at times. She seems gentle with me. I’d like to take her out and get to know her a bit before we leave tomorrow.”

  He drew out a breath and grunted. This was the last thing he needed. But if she had her heart set on taking Dolly up in the mountains, then it was best they got to know each other ahead of time. At times, Dolly was as unpredictable as the Wyoming weather. “Go ahead. I’ll wait while you saddle up.”

  He darted a glance in her direction, and though she’d turned away quickly toward the back of the stable where the tack was kept, he caught a glimpse of her satisfied smile.

  The ride out to the back of the Black Rock was peaceful. The sweet scent of the evening was creeping into the cool air around them. It always eased out the tension in Stoney’s bones, and despite how much on edge his present company made him, today was no different. He loved this ranch. The thought that they could lose it all was killing him. That was the only reason he’d agreed to this crazy idea of acting as a guide for Melanie.

  Still, curiosity was getting the best of him. The woman riding next to him was a totally different woman than the one who’d landed on his ranch yesterday. To look at Melanie now, she was completely immersed in the sounds of nature and the scenery in the wide open space around her. It’s what he’d always loved about living in Wyoming. But it wasn’t for everyone. And it definitely wasn’t the kind of living he’d expect a woman like Melanie to embrace. Had he really misjudged her so?

  “Can I ask you a question?” Melanie asked, breaking into the tranquility of the quiet ride.

  “Fire away.”

  “What’s Stoney stand for?”

  He looked straight ahead at the trail they were riding on when he answered. “Stonewall.”

  He heard her quiet laughter. “That’s fitting.”

  He cast her a cold stare. “It’s tradition,” he said defensively. “My father is Stonewall the second, my granddad was Stonewall the first.”

  “Oh, I see. Tradition is a big thing in your family?”

  He glanced over at her face and couldn’t help but notice her laughter had faded and was replaced by a serious expression that caused sadness in her eyes.

  He shrugged. “To some folks, tradition is everything.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Then they can keep it.”

  “You make it sound like a dirty word when you say it that way.”

  “To some people, it is.”

  He couldn’t help but laugh. “Tradition’s a good thing. Helps you remember where you came from. Gives you roots.”

  “And it traps you. No thank you, I’d just as soon leave it behind.”

  “It sounds like you have some pretty heavy baggage to want to yank up your roots and toss them aside that way.” He felt a smile tug as his lips. “But I guess I’ve already had a glimpse of what kind of baggage you carry around.”

  She laughed cynically. “Very funny. I wasn’t raised with the kind of tradition that gives a person roots. It’s more like the kind that closes business deals.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Her gaze drifted down, and she shook her head slightly. “You wouldn’t understand. My kind of life isn’t like anything you’ve ever seen.”

  He didn’t know why, but her remark hit him hard in the chest. He was sure she hadn’t meant it as an insult, but it sure as hell felt that way. “You mean it’s not the kind of life us simple folk know.”

  She snapped her gaze at him and eased up on the reins only to have Dolly start off in her own direction. “I didn’t mean it like that. Don’t read more into my words than what’s there.”

  When Dolly began veering off the path, Melanie pulled on the reins to keep the horse from wandering over to the grassy area. The mare’s head bobbed up in protest.

  “She’ll keep doing that. She loves to snack. You have to show her you’re in charge.”

  Melanie was quiet for a moment. “I didn’t grow up the way you think I did,” she finally said.

  “It’s none of my business.”

  “You asked. You think you’ve got me figured out, but you don’t. You think I’m just another spoiled rich girl who’s trying to get her way. And you may be right, up to a point. But it’s not what you think.”

  He looked at her then, saw the vulnerability that softened her features. She looked fragile, like the petal of a wildflower blowing in the wind. He hated himself for what it made him want to do. If they hadn’t been riding, he probably would have lifted her small body into his lap and kissed her until it brought a smile to her face. She had that way about her that made a man want to hold her and protect her. She was pretty when she smiled. Different than the kind of beauty she held out for the world, like the woman she’d been when he first met her yesterday. The woman he saw now was unpretentious and pure. Something he hadn’t seen much in the women he’d known.

  “Okay, I asked. So tell me.”

  It took her a while to start, as if she was trying to decide if maybe she didn’t want to talk about it at all. Stoney figured that was her choice. Curious or not he wasn’t going to push her. Everyone had their own private thoughts and pains to wrestle.

  “Most people think all I am is a pretty face.” She blushed and dipped her gaze as if she were embarrassed. “You think I’m beautiful, too, don’t you?”

  He couldn’t help but look at Melanie then, as if he were transfixed by some force. It was the last thing he’d expected her to say. For any other woman to say those words, he would have thought it was a loaded question, meant to tease and taunt him. Part of the game of seduction.

  But in Melanie’s eyes, he didn’t see the playful game he’d seen in other women. Although that was exactly what he thought--Melanie was indeed a beautiful woman, from her soft brown eyes right down to her luscious legs--not saying anything at all seemed like a better way to go.

  “Some people raise their kids to play piano or do gymnastics or play football.” She looked at him, her full lips tilting into a wry smile. “Or ride bulls.”

  He hadn’t realized she knew that he was a bull rider. But then again, she’d spent a lot of time drinking tea and sharing small talk with his mother. She could have had his whole life story spelled out by now from diapers to flunking grades.

  “That one was my own doing,” he admitted, listening to the clip clop of the horses hooves on the trail.

  “I was raised to be the beautiful woman on the arm of a congressman, or businessman, or w
hoever would elevate the family name in the business community.”

  “I thought the world had progressed beyond that sort of thing.”

  She chuckled. “Wyoming might have been the first state to grant women the right to vote, but that doesn’t mean everyone came up to speed. From the time I was a little girl, I was entered into one beauty pageant after another, sent to finishing school as if that was the only thing that I was good for. I even had a coming out party when I was eighteen. All the girls from my family’s circle of friends did. It always seemed a bit archaic to me.” She heaved a soft sigh and added quietly, “Still does.”

  “So how is it that a debutante, destine to be the wife of a congressman, goes to college to become a Zoologist?”

  “I was adamant about going to college for something other than social graces and how to organize a charity benefit.”

  She giggled finally and he decided he like the sound of her laughter. It made his head feel a little lightheaded, the way the fresh air made him feel after a good hike up the mountains. Only this time, it was the simple musical sound coming from Melanie that made him dizzy.

  “Thank God my other girlfriends didn’t have to suffer the same way I did where my parents’ attitude was concerned. They were actually encouraged to do more with their lives.”

  “No doubt you kicked up one hell of a hissy fit in protest.” He eyed her teasingly. No doubt the rebel in this woman emerged more than not.

  “There’s more to me than what you see on the outside. I've had to fight tooth and nail to get where I am now,” Melanie said, turning her attention away from him to the direction that Dolly seemed to want to go. She made a clucking sound with her tongue and pulled on the reins, but Dolly wouldn’t have any part of it. The horse made a beeline to a high grassy spot that had just come into view. “Oh, heck. All she wants to do is eat grass.”

  “I told you.”

  “Can we rest a while?”