by Marla Monroe
Unless they don’t want to hire a woman. Wranglers tend to be men. I might not have a chance even if the job is still open.
That didn’t deter her. She took the notice down and walked back out to her SUV to make the call to find out.
The phone rang four times before someone picked up in a breathless voice. “Bear Mountain Ranch. How can I help you?”
“My name is Beverly, and I was calling about the job posted on the bulletin board in town. Is the position still open?”
Chapter Two
“Welcome to Bear Mountain Ranch, Beverly. You’ve got the job. Reed is the head wrangler here. He’ll take you around to meet everyone and to give you the lay of the land. You’ll need to learn the trails and as much about the natural habitat here as possible in order to answer our guest’s questions.” Laredo stood up and held out his hand. “Do you have any questions so far?”
“Not yet. I’m sure Reed can fill me in if I have any. Thank you for giving me the chance to prove myself.”
“Don’t thank me, yet. You still have to get past Reed. He’ll put you through your paces, I can promise you. Good luck.”
Beverly walked out of the office feeling confident and excited at the prospect of a new position and the world at her feet again. She noticed two wranglers leaning against the fence post surrounding an exercise ring. She walked over toward them to ask about Reed’s whereabouts.
“Hi, I’m new here. I’m looking for Reed,” she told them.
The taller of the two men stood straight to over six feet in height. His barely there smile caught her off guard as he looked her up and down. “Reed is exercising one of the horses. He’ll be busy for about thirty more minutes.”
The other man who looked to top out at six feet had a leaner build that the first man. The first man had broad shoulders and a narrow waist with a rounded ass just asking to be bitten. His rich, black hair curled just a little at his neck but wasn’t as long as the second man’s. The second man was leaner though no less built. She could easily see him riding across the land with long, brown hair tied back and a hat on his head.
“Do you mind if I wait here?” she asked.
The second man grinned. “Not at all. I’m Jeremy, and this is Luke. Can we help you with something?”
“Thanks, no. I’m Beverly. I’m waiting on Reed to show me around and give me my orders. I’m the new wrangler.”
She waited, expecting to see disapproval but was pleasantly surprised when they grinned and shook her hand. They lingered over her hand a little longer than was necessary. She withdrew it from each of them.
“Welcome aboard,” Jeremy said. “We’ve needed help for several weeks now.”
“That’s what Laredo told me. I understand you haven’t been open long.”
“Nope, this is just our second summer. The guests have been fun and easy to entertain. We even have a twenty percent return reserve so far. That’s excellent for a new guest ranch.”
“I can’t wait to get started. Laredo told me that his brother works here, too. Is he a wrangler?”
“He works the breeding side of the ranch. They are breeding horses as well as operating the guest part.” Luke pointed off to the west. “It’s located about eight miles that way. I’m sure Reed will take you to see it, but if he doesn’t, we’ll take you when you have time off.”
She smiled at them. They were easy on the eyes, but she wasn’t looking for a man right then. First came establishing herself, then she might think about dating. It was much too soon to consider it with the debacle of Bob only a few months behind her. She still hurt from the cruel words he’d said to her.
The only thing that came out of it that might have been a positive was that she’d gotten to surprise him when she’d hit him with the golf club. He sure couldn’t have called that predictable or boring. She’d had a laugh or two over that.
Better to laugh than to cry. I need to stop thinking about the asshole. He doesn’t deserve my thoughts.
“How many horses do you have here for the guest side?” she asked.
“Fifteen for all of us and the guests. Between us wranglers and the naturalist guides, there are twelve of us counting you. They have a woman come up from town who does massages and such two days a week, eight or ten women who do the housekeeping jobs that drive in every day, and four waitresses and a cook who helps Billy Jean, the chef. Oh, and I’m sure you met Shelby, the office manager.” Jeremy grinned at her. “We’re a big family.”
“It’s going to take me some time to learn everyone’s names.”
“You know ours now,” Luke told her.
She smiled up at him. “I sure do.”
Twenty minutes later, Reed walked out of the corral to greet her. Jeremy and Luke introduced her then went to take care of the horse he’d been exercising.
“I’m Reed. It’s good to meet you, Beverly. Let me show you your room and the store to begin with. Most of the time you’ll either be working the store or filling in on the nature walks to start with. You’ll need to learn all the trails before you can lead any guests around.”
“Got it. I can’t wait to get started. This is more like a dream job than a real job.”
He chuckled. “Tell me that when we’re out in the rain trying to figure out where the horses got out or searching for a lost guest in the freezing cold.”
“So, you operate year-round?”
“Pretty much. There’s two weeks at Christmas and a week at Thanksgiving where we don’t have guests. Other than that, the only differences in the seasons are the hayrides and the sledding.”
He led her up a flight of steps outside the back of what she learned was the store. He opened one of the two doors and let her walk inside. It was small but comfortable. She didn’t have much, just some books and her clothes. This would be fine.
“What do you think? I know it’s small, but it’s comfortable and all the utilities come with the room. It’s part of your pay.” He walked out and closed the door behind him, handing her the key. “Welcome to Bear Mountain Ranch, Beverly. I look forward to having you on board.”
* * * *
“I like her. She smiles a lot and has some mouthwatering curves,” Jeremy said.
“I agree. She doesn’t have a chip on her shoulder like some female wranglers have. I guess they have to work harder to prove something to some men, but not to us. Wonder how she feels about two men?” Luke tossed more hay into the stall as Jeremy groomed the horse Reed had been riding.
“She’s got to get settled in before we approach her. I don’t want to run her off before she’s had a chance to fall in love with the ranch.”
“We better make our intentions clear to the other guys or they’re going to pester her for dates before we do.”
“Vance seems pretty stuck on Rusty. She isn’t giving him or Gill much of her attention. She’s one who’ll be hard to get close to. There’s something bad in her past.” Jeremy patted the horse then carried the brush and cloth from the stall before latching it behind him.
He already knew that he wanted to get to know Beverly better. Her broad smile and laughing hazel eyes called to him. He loved the sprinkling of freckles across her nose and how her light brown hair had sun streaks in it.
“There’s still Reed and Dakota to worry about.” Luke put away the pitchfork and walked over to lean against the open barn door.
“I don’t think Dakota is keen on dating right now. Who knows what Reed is thinking? He plays his cards close to the chest. Won’t hurt to let them all know, though. I don’t want hard feelings between all of us.”
“Beverly sure seems sweet. She’s excited about working here, too. I think it’ll be fun getting to know her.”
“We’ll give her some time to get acclimated then start spending more time around her. So far I like her, but time will tell if she’s the one for us. For all we know, she might have a boyfriend or even be someone we don’t want for the rest of our lives. You never know until you get to know a person.”
Jeremy pushed off from the wall and started for the restaurant. It was time for lunch.
He hoped Beverly would be there. If Reed had taken her out somewhere, they might miss the official lunch and just grab sandwiches that Billy Jean kept in the fridge for just those reasons. Someone always ended up missing a meal around the ranch.
They grabbed chairs at the long employee table off to the side of the other guests. Sometimes one of them would sit with a guest to answer questions, but mostly they sat at their own table.
Today, several of the wranglers were out on an all-day trail ride, leaving the table nearly deserted. Reed walked in with Beverly behind him. They were talking about the various horses and which one she would probably choose as her personal horse for the ranch. Reed sat across from Luke, and Beverly sat across from Jeremy.
“Having a good tour?” he asked her.
“Great. The place is amazing. I can’t wait to go on some of the trail rides with you guys.”
“You’ll enjoy them. Sometimes we see wild animals, but mostly birds. There are some hawks around the mountainous areas we ride.”
“Reed was telling me that you get bears here sometimes.”
“Yeah. Just remember to never run from a bear if you’re caught outside with one.” Luke took the potato salad from one of the waitresses. “Listen for the bear alarm, too. It’s a horn that blasts every few seconds to tell everyone to stay inside until the all clear which is one long blast. They are known to come into the ranch area.”
“Wow. I guess I thought that they’d stay away from the activity,” Beverly said.
“Normally they do, but younger bears will sometimes wander in, attracted by the scent of food. Don’t leave anything eatable out just for that reason,” Jeremy told her.
They chatted as they ate, passing plates and talking about funny incidents throughout the year. Jeremey found that he liked Beverly more and more. She was soft spoken but had a jolly laugh. She didn’t flirt with anyone at the table, so she wasn’t a tease or one of those types of women who were always looking for a conquest.
He looked over at his friend. Luke appeared taken by her, as well. He wasn’t one to talk much but had participated in the conversation more than usual. She would be good for him if it turned out she was someone they wanted to spend more time with. He thought she would be. Time would tell.
They continued talking until everyone had finished then picked up their plates to drop off in the window to be washed. The waitresses were busy tending to paying customers from the town down below the mountain.
“Beverly, I’ve got an errand to run. I’m sure Luke and Jeremy will be happy to finish showing you around and introducing you to everyone.” Reed excused himself and walked out of the restaurant.
“I’m assuming you’ve been through the barn and met the horses, right?” Jeremy asked.
“Yea. All but the ones who were out on a ride this morning.”
“Why don’t we saddle up and we’ll show you the trails.” Jeremy looked over at Luke who nodded.
“I’d like that. The sooner I get to know them the sooner I can be of some help around here.” Her hazel eyes brightened at the thought of a ride.
“Sounds good. Let’s go.” Jeremy led the way out of the building and down to the stables.
“Who were you leaning toward riding?” Luke asked her.
“Reed said either Cotton Candy or Jimbo were good trail horses who could lead. I’m thinking Cotton Candy. She’s a good size for me.”
Jeremy nodded. “That’s a good choice. What do you think, Luke?”
“I agree. Jimbo is a good leader, but he tends to get headstrong when he wants to take one trail over another. I’m sure you can handle him, but you don’t want to have to when you’re leading a trail ride. He’s a good follow-up horse. The other horses will keep going when he’s behind them.” Luke walked over to Cinder, the horse he tended to ride the most.
Together the three of them saddled their horses and led them out of the barn to the back of the fenced in area. Jeremy watched as Beverly swung into the saddle without a problem. She adjusted the reins and talked to Cotton Candy while he and Luke climbed up on their horses.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready. Let’s go.”
Luke led while Jeremy brought up the rear. Luke would turn around on his horse every once in a while to point something out to Beverly. He got to watch the gentle sway in her back as she rode as one with the horse. She seemed generally excited about the job and appeared to love the outdoors. The more he learned about her, the more he wanted to know more.
They pointed out the various break offs to other trails and explained what each trail was referred to so she’d know which ones were set aside for which type of ride. Some were half-day rides, some were all-day rides, and several were one- and two-hour rides.
He had a feeling she’d learn them all in no time. She picked up on this quickly. He liked that she had a good head on her shoulders. She wouldn’t be someone he’d worry about all the time. She could handle herself.
“How are you doing up there?” he asked after they’d been riding about an hour. “Do you need a break, or are you okay for another hour?”
“I’m good. I spent a good number of hours on horses where I used to work.”
“Where was that?” he asked.
“I worked for an auction house in Boulder, Colorado. I did a lot of cutting when we auctioned off cattle and horses. I also did some rodeos, roping and barrel racing.”
“Did you ride the circuit or just local shows?” Luke asked her.
“I did local for the most part, but I did go to towns that were close by sometimes when I got the urge.” She grinned. “It was fun and I met a lot of people doing it.”
“Well, we’re glad you decided to give Montana a try.” Jeremy was already sure that he wanted the chance to take her out. If the smile on Luke’s face was any indication of his feelings, he knew they were on the same page about Beverly.
Chapter Three
Beverly was overjoyed with her job. She’d never have thought of working on a guest ranch as being more fun than work. Sure, there were the endless hours of grooming and checking tack and such, but for the most part, it was fun to take people out and show them the beauty of Bear Mountain.
She’d been working there for nearly three months now, and the weather was beginning to get cool at night. She was a long way from Boulder and that early spring day that had turned into a disaster. She wasn’t even sorry it had happened now. The result had been worth the brief heartache. She couldn’t even hate Bob anymore. He was still an asshole as far as she was concerned, but because he’d cheated on her, she had a wonderful job and lots of new friends. She even wrote to some of the guests she’d met who planned to return.
The one thing that she wasn’t quite comfortable with was that there were two families who were made up of two men and one woman, and both women had just announced that they were pregnant. She wasn’t sure how she felt about ménage relationships, but they all seemed extremely happy.
Billy Jean, the chef who owned the Bear Mountain Steak House, was married—was that the right word—to the brothers who owned the ranch. Then there was the office manager, Shelby, who was with the two Native American Indians, Bo and Dalton. Beverly supposed that if they were happy, she wasn’t one to judge. She just didn’t know how it could possibly work out like they claimed it did. More power to them.
That led to the fact that she was attracted to both Luke and Jeremy, and they appeared to like her, as well. She couldn’t date either one of them since they were best friends, and she didn’t think it was a good idea to get involved with a fellow ranch hand. Maybe she’d find someone in town when she was ready to date. For now, she planned to be very careful around the two men. She didn’t want to lead either of them on.
Unfortunately, they seemed to show up any time she wasn’t working. If she was just riding for fun, one or both of them tended to find her “by accident” while
she was out. Then there were the times that they appeared when she was working and helped her finish her job. How could she ask them not to help? That would have been rude.
As long as they don’t pressure me about going out with them, I can handle the extra attention. They’re both cute.
Thoughts like that were dangerous though. She couldn’t afford to think of them like that, but it was difficult to ignore their hot bodies when she was around them all the time. They were well built and strong without being super muscular. She could admire them but needed to remember that they were off-limits.
She was spending the morning exercising Ginger, one of the guest horses that had developed a limp after a nasty slip on the path. She’d been taking care of the horse, applying the wraps and poultice to her leg. She wasn’t limping anymore, but Beverly wanted to be sure the leg was solid once more.
“Whoa there. Ease up, ease up.” Beverly eased the horse through its paces while Jeremy and Luke leaned against the fence.
The way they watched her unnerved her so that tiny butterfly feet played over her skin. She was intimately aware of them in a way that caused heat to travel up her neck and into her cheeks. That awareness blossomed now as she urged Ginger into a slow trot around the ring. She needed to concentrate on the horse and not the men casually leaning their arms along the top of the fence.
“She’s looking good, Bev. You’ve done an excellent job of rehabbing her. Think she’s ready to go back in the rotation?” Jeremy asked.
“Probably. Let’s wait on the new group coming in on Sunday.” Beverly was sure the mare was more than ready to be ridden through the trails. They kept them clean to prevent just such a problem, but there were over fifteen miles of trails and they couldn’t police them all every day.
Beverly had fallen in love with the countryside outside of Ennis, Montana, as well as the job. Now that she’d been there for several months, she did everything from lead guests on guided rides to working the desk of the ranch’s store. She’d learned all of the indigenous plants, trees, and wildlife from their field guide to be able to answer any questions that came up.
