The ranch hand was at least six-two with broad shoulders and big arms that must have come from the hard work he did here. His short, dark hair was tousled about his head as if a sharp wind had blown it about. A few locks fell onto his forehead, obscuring one deep blue eye. While she watched, he raised a sun-bronzed hand to the lock and brushed it back. At the same time, he glanced in her direction. Keena couldn’t move. She couldn’t look away. The man imprisoned her attention and wouldn’t let it go.
This is ridiculous. He’s just a worker here, and I’m not in the market for a new man. Not now, not ever. She shook herself, blinked, and at last was able to turn away. The chill she’d felt earlier was replaced with a sense of being overheated. Annoyed and taking an instant dislike of whoever he was, she decided to steer clear of him while she was here. In fact, her objective was to keep to herself and let her heart heal. There would be no opportunity to develop a crush on Mr. Tall-and-Mysterious.
Mirabelle clapped her hands. “We’re all set, Keena. You’ll ride with Ryan since he’s going your way, and the Turners will ride with Jerry. I have got to get back to my kitchen before my son gets to the pies I left cooling.”
Keena’s empty stomach responded to the mention of kitchen and pies, and then she looked toward the two men who had stepped from the Jeeps. Which was Ryan? The tall man pivoted on the ball of his foot to open his passenger side door, and then he raised an eyebrow in Keena’s direction. Her shoulders slumped. He just had to be Ryan.
She thanked Mirabelle for the warm welcome and walked up to Ryan’s truck to get in. After he had walked around to the driver side and got in, he cast a grudging look her way. “I’m Ryan. I work here.”
Ya think?
He frowned, and she tried to school her features not to look so displeased at being paired with him. From the layout that she saw of the ranch, the drive shouldn’t be so far to get to her cabin. She could tolerate him for the moment. She forced a smile. “I’m Keena Law.”
She waited for him to tell her his last name, and with reluctance, he uttered, “Storm.”
She blinked. Could he be just as annoyed at being put with her? How dare he be pissed that they were tossed together. It wasn’t like she begged Mirabelle for him or was coming on to the man. A new thought sprang to mind. Maybe women who traveled to places like this alone were looking for cowboy lovers, and he’d had enough. She almost laughed. Yeah, right, if that was the case, then all the single men would welcome it as often as it happened, even some married ones.
Remembering how even the sweetest-looking men were cheating bastards, she figured this sexy cowboy would have the women drooling over him. She was not stupid enough to fall for him.
“Nice to meet you,” she said to be courteous and turned her back to the man.
Ryan responded with a grunt and threw the truck in gear to begin the short drive down to her cabin. In less than two minutes, Ryan pulled up to Keena’s cabin, a small square building constructed with actual wooden logs stacked atop each other. On both sides of the door were small windows, and hanging beneath each was a rectangular flower pot. The tiny porch offered a swing facing the pond, and around the front and sides of the cabin was simple landscaping that gave the place a homey feeling.
Keena paused before entering to breathe in the fresh air, to listen to the birds chirping in the tall trees, and to just appreciate the fact that there were no honking horns, no crying babies, no women yelling to each other out the window, and no blaring music. Best of all, she didn’t have to jump each time the phone rang because of knowing it was Steven.
Ryan moved up beside her carrying her bags. She blinked at him realizing he now wore a Stetson over his dark curls. The effect made her woozy.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Is something wrong?”
“Uh, no.” She spun away and hurried up onto the porch to let them into the cabin. For the second time, Keena caught her breath. The inside was also paneled with wood, and the furniture was sturdy yet looked comfortable. Beautiful landscapes hung from the walls, and even a deer head, which made Keena shiver. However, the stone fireplace dominating the sitting area caught her attention. She imagined snuggling under a blanket there and reading a book on cool nights.
Also in the sitting area was a small table, paired with two chairs, and a chess set was situated on top. Beyond this was the bedroom with a queen-size bed and a private bath. The place was just what she needed. Since there was no kitchenette, she assumed that everyone was encouraged to take meals in the main dining area or at the open-fire meals that had been mentioned.
“You’re hurting.”
She froze with her back to him and then slowly turned around. Perhaps she’d heard him wrong. “Come again?”
His eyes, which had been sea blue when she first met him, were darker now. It might be a trick of the shadows inside the cabin. He lowered his head so she couldn’t see his face.
“Sorry, my mistake.”
“No, why did you say that?” she said, pressing him.
He tapped his fingertips at his thigh, and Keena imagined those large hands caressing her. She shook her head—just a bit lonely, that was all. Ryan tapped the brim of his hat and swung toward the door.
“Enjoy your stay.”
The cabin door clicked shut behind him, and seconds after, his Jeep engine rolled over. Keena crossed to the curtains at the window and pulled them back to watch him go. Was it a mistake to have come here? How did a man who appeared to be cold as ice know that she was hurting from a few moments in her presence?
Chapter Three
Keena unpacked her clothes, took a short hour-and-a-half nap, and was ready to see what Luna Mountain Ranch had to offer by four that afternoon. She showered and changed to a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and upon advice from Mirabelle before arriving, hiking boots. Then she headed out of the cabin to take the short trek to the Trading Post, the ranch’s general store. This was also the place where she could sign up for various activities.
Keena strolled through the entrance to find racks lined with T-shirts, fleece vests, jackets, and sweatshirts. Hanging from the walls were baseball caps and Stetsons of various sizes, and in the back of the shop were glass cases displaying souvenirs. She decided to explore those later, closer to when she was ready to go home. It shouldn’t be too hard to find something for Aunt Delores. She loved jewelry, which there seemed to be plenty of in Native American styles.
She crossed to the counter, where a woman stood helping another guest, and waited her turn. When the other person left, the woman turned to Keena. “Welcome, I’m Linda.”
“I’m Keena.”
Linda smiled as if she was genuinely glad to have met Keena. “Looking to learn what activities we have all ready for you while you’re here?” At Keena’s nod, she went on. “Well, most people would like to go horseback riding. We have some classes going on right now over at the ropin’ and ridin’ arena.”
She pointed in the general direction, and Keena agreed to check it out, but Linda stopped her before she could leave.
“What about chaps or chinks? Did you bring yours?” Linda asked.
Keena paused, not having a clue what she was talking about. Linda laughed, probably used to newbies. She pointed to a rack to her left where a line of leather leg coverings hung.
“Those will protect against the brush you encounter on the trails while riding, from the weather changes, rope burns, most anything you come across. Plus, the men feel they’re not authentic unless they have them, and the women want all the barrier between them and painful skin they can get. How about it?”
Keena hesitated. Wouldn’t she look like an idiot with those over her jeans and her just learning to ride for the first time? It wasn’t likely that she’d be doing that much out in the wild the first day anyway. More concerned about looking stupid than anything, she continued to stand there undecided.
A bell tingled, one she didn’t notice when she entered the store. Keena looked up into the eyes that were
already haunting her and she hadn’t been here half a day. Ryan’s gaze swept over her as if she was invisible, and then Keena picked up on the simpering at his side. She dragged her attention from Ryan to the slinky piece wrapped around his arm.
Long, thick lashes batted up at him. “Oh, thanks for showing me around, Ryan. You’re so sweet. I just know I’m going to love it while I’m here, especially with big, strong men like you to take care of me.”
Keena tried not to vomit. That’s all she needed to screw up her vacation—the man she couldn’t get her eyes away from and the slut who already had her hooks into him. Well it was better that it happened now. Ms. Thing had kept Keena from letting her desires take her somewhere her heart didn’t want to go. And Ryan had proven her theory on men without a doubt.
When she noticed that both Ryan and Ms. Thing were wearing chaps, she made her decision. “Linda, I’d like to rent some chaps for the week. Or at least the day, until I’m sure I’ll like horseback riding.”
“You’ll love it,” Linda assured her and completed her purchases after Keena had, on impulse, tossed in a Stetson and gloves as well.
Without looking in the couple’s direction a second time, Keena left the store with a curious heavy feeling in her chest. She was used to it after what had happened between her and Steven, so she just brushed those thoughts aside and kept moving. From her pocket, she pulled out a simple map of the ranch’s layout and soon had the direction of the area where she could get her riding lessons.
When she strolled up to the place and spotted the horses dancing in the ring, butterflies stirred in her stomach. Two trainers already stood inside helping other guests. Terrified, Keena was about to back out before they caught sight of her, but someone brushed up beside her.
“So you’re going to chicken out?”
She gasped, peering up at Ryan, and frowned. “I’m not chickening out. I’m here, aren’t I?”
He shrugged and turned away with disinterest in his gaze. “Looked to me like you were leaving.”
Keena pressed her lips together and rolled her eyes at his back as he had to show off and climb over the fence. She walked around to the gate and waited until he came to unlatch it for her. When he gathered the reins of a free horse and raised an eyebrow in challenge to her, she hesitated again. “But . . . I was waiting for one of the trainers . . . since I’m new.”
“Trust me, I’m more than qualified to teach you to ride,” he quipped.
Still, Keena didn’t move. She placed a hand on her hip. “I thought you were already helping someone, that woman you were in the store with.”
She waited for him to tell her that skank was nothing, but he didn’t address her comment. Rather he stood there waiting for her to come over. She sighed and stomped forward.
“What about these?” she asked, referring to the chaps and gloves.
“The chaps you won’t need until you’re actually on a trail, but the gloves you can wear now if you like.” He glanced down at her hands. “If your hands are sensitive.”
She wasn’t rising to the bait and not wearing the gloves just to prove to this arrogant cowboy that she wasn’t some weak city girl. She was a city girl. That fact was obvious, and she guessed she’d do a lot better if she didn’t pretend she was something she wasn’t. After tossing her chaps over the fence, she placed her Stetson on her head and slipped her hands into her gloves. Then she returned to Ryan. Her resolution to do the best she could and to listen closely to his instructions didn’t stop her heart from pounding.
Ryan guided her to the left side of the horse, placed a mounting block close to the animal, but didn’t lead her to get up on him. Instead, he took her to the horse’s head. “First, you get to know Annabel, greet her, and let her meet you. Then you mount, and the two of you can trust each other.
Shivers raced over Keena’s skin at Ryan’s nearness. He stood just behind her, guiding her fingers over the horse’s muzzle. More nervous when the horse parted her lips, displaying big, chalky teeth, Keena took a step back only to bump into Ryan. The unyielding hardness of his thigh on her butt made her jump, but Ryan brought a hand down on her shoulder.
“Relax, or you’ll spook her. She needs to know that she can rely on you.”
Keena frowned. “Rely on me? Hey, buddy, I’m the one that has to get all the way up there on her back and risk life and limb if I fall off.”
He smirked at her dramatics. “Are you ready to ride?”
She straightened her back. “Yes, I’m ready.”
They moved back to the mounting block, and Ryan gave her quick instructions. “Hold the reins in your left hand, and rest your hand on the saddle horn with your right hand on the back of the saddle. Climb the block, and move as close to Annabel as you can so you don’t tug her or the saddle out of position. Got that so far?”
She nodded, and he continued with how to mount by using her left foot in the stirrup, straightening her left leg, and swinging her right over the horse. All of it seemed simple and easy. Keena grasped the reins, rested her hand on the saddle horn, and threw her leg over. She kept going. With a shriek, she saw the ground coming up fast toward her face, but from nowhere, Ryan was there, his arms around her and holding her close.
For a long while, she could do nothing but stare into his dark gaze, amazed at the desire that stirred there. And then he put her away from him, his expression gone back to its usual coldness. “Are you okay? You didn’t follow my instructions, were too hasty.”
She stared at the ground. “I’m sorry. Maybe it’s not for me.”
“Do it again.”
She looked up. “What?”
“Let’s go,” he commanded as if this were some military camp. “Do it again, and this time do what I tell you to.”
“You are the most . . .” She stopped herself before she could say something she regretted. “Fine. I’ll do it just as you said, and you’ll see for yourself that I’m not made for this.”
An hour later, sore but loving every second, she was on Annabel’s back. Keena trotted the animal around the arena with Ryan riding a massive black stallion at her side. Everyone else had long since left, and they were alone except for a few ranch hands she caught sight of as they hurried off to some task. The day had turned warmer again, but a breeze kicked up to cool Keena’s heated body.
Ryan hadn’t smiled once in all the time they were together, but she felt comfortable with him. Somehow, she thought it might be because he didn’t speak unless he had something to say, and he didn’t try to come on to her either. Not that she thought she was his type if the skank was with her platinum blonde hair, her fake boobs, and her size-three body. Keena was a size twelve, and her breasts were average. She wore her hair in braids most of the time, having gone natural three years ago.
She didn’t know if Ryan was into black women, but she didn’t put too much stock in race since Aunt Delores had been close friends, as she liked to call it, with Mr. Creighton forever, and he was white. Steven’s mother had been white, and his father Hispanic. Keena was one hundred percent African-American and proud of it, but she didn’t limit her dating range—or hadn’t when she was in the market.
She frowned, realizing where her thoughts had wandered. Ryan was not dating material, and she was not interested in him that way. The man was attractive in a rough cowboy way that could make a woman beg for his touch, but that was any other woman, not her.
In the near distance, a bell rang, startling Keena. Ryan reached across and grasped her reins, slowing them both to a stop. “That’s the dinner bell. I should have ended this sooner so you could get cleaned up, but I’m sure Mirabelle will hold something for you if you hurry.”
She nodded, grinning despite herself. “Thanks. That was amazing.” Embarrassment made her look away. She didn’t want to acknowledge that he was a good teacher, but he was. “You’re a good teacher.”
He flared his nostrils.
“Will you be here tomorrow?” Right away, she felt him back off. Damn, sh
e’d sounded too eager.
“I have other duties to attend to. All of the trainers are skilled. Someone can help you, and since you did so well, you might consider going out on the trail with a guide.”
“Sure. Thanks.” Annoyed, she jumped from the saddle before he could help her and hurried on a painful ankle to retrieve her chaps and head back to her cabin. She heard him ask if she was okay, but she ignored him and kept moving. His reserve was good for both of them, so she could avoid opening herself to yet another man who would do nothing but stomp her heart into the ground.
Chapter Four
Keena didn’t spot Ryan anywhere around the ranch for the next couple of days. She continued her lessons in riding with another trainer and was soon ready to head out on a short ride along the trails with Jerry, the ranch hand she’d seen the first day she arrived, and one other man. The Turners, the older couple who rode in the airport van with her that day, also came along. Three other guests who Keena met at dinner the night before joined them, but she didn’t remember any of their names. All of the others were more experienced than she was, and soon Keena had dropped to the rear of the group.
Jerry loped over to her on his horse with a gentle, yet slightly interested smile on his face. “How you doing, Keena? Okay? Do you need us to slow the pace a little?”
She shook head. “No, I’m all right. I don’t want to ruin it for everybody else. Just a little sore from all the lessons.”
He chuckled, and Keena noted how his gaze dropped to her hips and thighs. The man was attracted to her, that was for sure, but she didn’t get the slightest spark for him. In fact, her lack of interest in this man who was fine, if a bit young—he couldn’t be thirty yet—renewed her faith in her resolve to swear off all men.
Jerry leaned out and rested a hand over hers, which covered the saddle horn. “Be careful to keep your reins centered so you don’t throw yourself or Annabel off-balance. You don’t want to take a tumble.”
Rein in the Night Page 2
