She lowered her gaze to where his hand was. The touch was an excuse. Her trainers had drummed it into her head, and she might not keep herself from slouching in the saddle as much as she should, but the centering of the reins, she had down pat. With a gentle squeeze of her thighs that she hoped Jerry didn’t notice, she coaxed Annabel into a faster trot. Jerry’s hand fell away when she moved ahead.
Keena grinned with Jerry behind her. Maybe he’d get the message. If not, she’d tell him straight out to back off. She wasn’t out here to find a new man. She needed to get her head on straight, center herself, and set some new goals for her life. When those were done, she could return home. She lifted her face toward the warm breeze darting through the trees and basked in the sunshine. The birds chirping calmed her, allowed her thoughts to flow free.
Perhaps she would buy a home of her own. Aunt Delores had offered Keena to live with her for as long as she liked, had suggested they could be two happy old maids, before Keena had met Steven. Back then, she laughed because she was sure she’d never be an old maid, still clinging to her dream. Now, she would be more pathetic since Aunt Delores wasn’t exactly an old maid. She had refused Mr. Creighton’s offer of marriage a hundred times over the years, but he was still in her life, even if Aunt Delores did insist he was just a friend. For the first time, Keena began to consider whether her aunt had been holding out until Keena was settled. Guilt assailed her at the thought of her sweet aunt putting off her life for her.
“Well, that’s one goal set,” she muttered, having decided on finding a home of her own when she returned to New York.
“What’s that?”
Keena jerked in the saddle when Ryan’s voice invaded her thoughts. She was surprised to find he had ridden up alongside of her on his horse without her noticing. “Where did you come from?”
She glanced over her shoulder to find Jerry gone.
“Eyes ahead,” Ryan instructed in his deep, but calm, tone. “Jerry was needed at the ranch, so I replaced him. You have a problem with that?”
She tried not to notice how his jeans hugged his thick, muscled thighs, and faced forward like he told her. “No, I guess not. We were hitting it off earlier. He was so helpful to me, that’s all.”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed on her face. She tried not to smile. Okay, here she was teasing this brooding man she didn’t know, who gave off a sense of danger, and she had been convinced moments ago from Jerry that she was dead inside. Unbidden, the thought came to mind of whether she would get any physical reaction to Ryan laying his hand over hers.
There she went again, thinking about Ryan in the wrong way. Did it mean that she didn’t love Steven anymore? She frowned. No, the pain surfaced just thinking of him. Loving him, hurting over him didn’t make her desires and attraction to other men nonexistent. She needed to keep control, nothing more.
“Stop.”
She looked at him. “What?”
“Whatever it is you’re thinking about, stop. It’s bringing you down.”
Keena jerked on her reins, and Annabel came to a rough stop. Ryan cursed, then reached over to force her to ease up on the poor horse’s mouth.
“Oh, crap. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt her.” She would have touched Annabel’s mouth, but Ryan kept her from it.
“Rub and pat her neck. Speak gently to her. She’s fine.” He showed her how, his hand guiding hers. If there had been any doubt about her physical reaction to him, this was proof. Tingles of delight rippled over her skin, and the single reason she didn’t jerk away from his touch was so she wouldn’t startle the horse a second time.
She leaned toward Annabel’s head, casting her voice low. “I’m sorry, Annabel. I’m an idiot. If I didn’t think it would kill me, I’d let you kick me for that stunt.”
Ryan smirked, and she grinned.
“That reminds me that I never asked what your horse’s name is,” she said.
He straightened in his saddle and patted his own horse’s neck, a fleeting look of affection in his eyes. “Demon.”
Keena shivered. “Of course.”
His eyes fastened on hers as if he tried to learn whether she knew his secrets, and this guy had plenty, she decided. Didn’t they all? Whatever, she wouldn’t be here long enough to care. He could keep them to himself, just like she wouldn’t share with anyone about her humiliation. She remembered what he said.
“Why do you say things like that?”
He turned away, a nonchalant look coming into his expression. She wasn’t buying it.
“You know what I mean. That first day, in my cabin, you told me I’m hurting, like you knew. Are you a . . .”
His eyes narrowed on her for the second time. “A what?”
The word she was looking for came to her. “An empath.”
He blinked like he was searching his memory for the definition of the word, and then his face cleared. He allowed himself a half-smile, if she could call it that.
“No, I’m not. I am observant. Most people are too busy talking to take notice of what’s around them, of others. I like to watch more, in silence.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Oh.”
“You sound disappointed.”
“Whatever.” She took up the reins, being careful not to spook Annabel, and squeezed the horse’s sides with her thighs. She gave a soft click of her tongue, and Annabel moved into a slow gait forward. “We’ve lost sight of the others. We should probably catch up.”
For a while, they said nothing as they rode. Keena didn’t know why it pissed her off that he denied being an empath. Not that she wanted it to be some paranormal thing like that. And she knew there were people in the world who were so in tune to everything around them that they could pick up on emotions or attitudes others didn’t. The problem was she felt like he was keeping something of himself back. One minute he appeared to be attracted to her, and the next he couldn’t get away fast enough. His two-facedness shouldn’t be a big deal. After all, she wasn’t looking to get involved with him, but damn, she had been at the ranch all of two minutes, and this man, whoever he was, already had too much of her attention. Then again, maybe she should thank him for making her forget Steven for the times she did forget him.
When they came around a curve in the trail, Ryan kicked Demon into a faster trot to get ahead of Keena. A tree branch hung dangerously low over the path, and he pulled it out of her way. “This should have been found and cut back after that last storm,” he said with irritation in his expression and tone.
Keena dipped her head in thanks with one eyebrow raised. “Isn’t that what you do? Falling down on the job, I see.”
Surprise registered on his face, and then he shrugged. Keena waited for a snappy comeback to put her in her place, but none came. She rode on and then gasped when she came upon a clearing. The trail led off to the right, but in front of her was a lake with sparkling, bubbling water. The others had stopped alongside it, and one of the men stood skipping stones while the others stood around talking.
Having learned her lesson that first day, Keena waited for Ryan to help her to dismount, but then she moved away from him. She led Annabel to the water’s edge and let her reins go as she found the others had done. Apparently, the horses were trained not to wander off and leave their riders behind. Keena was glad to know that because walking back the long way to the ranch would not be fun.
She approached the lead guide. “Will we stop here long? I wouldn’t mind exploring.”
He nodded. “Another twenty minutes or so to let everyone stretch their legs. Don’t wander too far. While they don’t often come near areas where humans are, there are bears in the Rockies.”
Keena shivered. The thought of being eaten alive did not sit well with her, and she changed her mind about exploring. Ryan appeared in front of her, and she had to tilt her head far back to take him all in. Her five-foot-four height had never seemed so diminutive.
“I’ll walk with you,” he offered.
The glint in his eyes
seemed to add, “If you’re too scared,” and Keena straightened her back to take advantage of the quarter inch she rounded down from. Ryan didn’t appear impressed in the least.
“No, that won’t be necessary. I’m sure one of the others needs you.” With that she spun away and hurried down along the bank and then inland a bit so the trees hid her from his sight.
When the small group of voices was not as distinct, she stopped to lean against a tree with her eyes closed. This was peace. The first night, when she had gone to bed, she couldn’t sleep. The sounds of the many bugs outside scared the crap out of her. For the first time, she had missed the arguing neighbors, the dogs barking in the back alley, and the noisy traffic. However, the second night, after she’d downed a warm drink Mirabelle made her, which Keena knew for a fact it had alcohol in it, she’d slept much better. Keena wasn’t much of a drinker, having never acquired the taste for it, but whatever Mirabelle had concocted tasted more like chocolate.
Something rustled at her side, and she jumped, biting off a scream. She peered around the side of the tree to find Ryan standing some feet away. The man moved like an animal, with feral grace, and she’d bet anything he made the noise on purpose to scare her, the jerk.
“I said I can go alone,” she snapped.
He came forward and walked right by her without saying a word. He stopped at the bank and watched the water, unmoving. For a moment, it seemed like time stood still, or it might have been Ryan himself, not appearing to breathe or move. He was like a statue, bringing to Keena’s mind the night that was supposed to be her honeymoon night. The pain had been so intense, she had held still as possible, as if that would keep her from shattering into a million pieces.
Ryan didn’t turn around when he spoke. “You don’t like me, do you?”
Rather than answer his question, she formed one of her own while strolling up beside him. “You strike me as the kind of man that doesn’t give a damn what others think, so what does it matter if I do or don’t?”
“I guess it’s a day for unanswered questions.”
He looked up at the sky, although Keena didn’t believe he felt what she had earlier when she enjoyed the sunlight, the breeze, just nature itself. Ryan might be observing everything, but he wasn’t participating in it. He was a spectator from a distance. She almost laughed at that assessment. Now she was the empath.
All at once, Ryan stood before her, their bodies not inches apart. How did he move without her sensing it, hearing something, or even disrupting the air around her? “Tell me a fact you don’t mind a stranger knowing,” he insisted.
Her eyes widened, and then she slipped into teasing mode, what she had done with Steven when they were dating. The attitude was protective. She’d learned that much with her minor in psychology to diagnose her own issues. “You want to know so much, cowboy, you go first.”
He hesitated. “I’ve been around horses all of my life. I’ve broken them, trained them. Yet, I was surprised they still took to me after . . .”
“After what?”
His gaze dropped to her lips. He was trying to distract her from the question for some reason. It was working. She swayed toward him, steeled herself, and then swayed again. After bringing her hands up between them, she rested them on his chest, marveling that any man could make her want to be in his arms so badly while at the same time make her want to run away screaming. None of it made sense.
Ryan’s mouth seemed to descend toward hers. They were going to kiss, and he didn’t like her. She didn’t like him, didn’t want any man, least of all a sexy cowboy who could have any woman he wanted. Warm breath bathed her lips. Keena almost rose up on her toes to close off the last centimeter of distance between them. A memory of the church lobby rose in her mind, of everyone standing around staring at her with pity on their faces, of China yakking on in the background of Steven’s call saying she didn’t know this would happen. Of course she did. China was every man’s fantasy and every woman’s nightmare.
Keena pushed Ryan away and turned to face the water. She clenched her hands together in front of her, trying to pull herself together. This wasn’t what she was here for, to have an affair. “I’m not here to have sex, so I’d appreciate it if you kept your hands to yourself.”
With that statement, she started back to find the others, but Ryan stopped her.
“Keena?”
Frowning, she glanced back. “What?”
“What is your fact?”
She blinked. “Are you serious? No comment about what I just said, just something about myself I don’t care if a stranger knows?”
He nodded.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. My mother died of cancer when I was four, and my father ran off with a woman to make a slut of a daughter just like her.” Keena slapped a hand over her mouth. What the hell! She hadn’t meant to say that. Those family skeletons were one step down from revealing to him what Steven had done. She turned her back on Ryan but didn’t walk away, pressing the heels of her hands to her temples. “I don’t know why I would ever admit that to you, to anybody.”
When he spoke, it was from directly behind her, but he didn’t touch her. “Maybe I am an empath. I don’t mean I have a gift to bring out what others would like to keep hidden, but from a child, I’ve had an affinity toward animals. I could read them, I guess. When others couldn’t break a horse, even resorting to harsh methods, I could with a word or a touch.”
She grinned back at him. “You’re calling me an animal now?”
A ghost of a smile touched his full lips, and she found that she missed the chance to taste them.
“No, that ability had never translated to humans.”
Had never, she thought. Did that mean she was the first human he read now, or it happened when he grew up? And what did it have to do with her blurting out what she found hard to talk about with Aunt Delores, who knew all the truth, let alone this man, who she’d met just days ago?
He brought his hands down above her shoulders but drew back before he made contact. “Let’s not give it a spooky explanation. I’ve always enjoyed psychology.”
She stared into his eyes but found no hint that he knew any more about her.
He went on. “I’d say those two events hurt you so much, but you kept them bottled inside, and some recent hurt brought the old to the surface. Confession to a perfect stranger is easier than talking to loved ones.” He shrugged. “You found an ear.”
She frowned up at him. “I thought you said you don’t talk much.” Irritated with him for no reason, Keena stomped off to join the others, and she could have sworn she heard him laugh for the first time.
Chapter Five
Keena’s eyes popped open for the millionth time as she lay on her bed. Tonight, she had decided to skip Mirabelle’s tonic, only to regret it. She couldn’t sleep. With a sigh, she sat up and felt around in the darkness for her shorts. She’d worn an oversized T-shirt to bed but had tossed the last outfit she’d worn that day across a chair.
When she had slipped into the shorts, she let herself out of her cabin and took the trek across the pathway to the main lodge. With any luck, Mirabelle would still be up, and she’d be willing to make Keena the drink.
As she walked, she noted that the way was lighted. The cloudless sky allowed the moon to illuminate the area, and Keena had no trouble finding her way. The door to the kitchen was closed, but she tried the knob and found it unlocked. Mirabelle, with red face and frizzy hair flying, stood at the stove removing something from it that smelled heavenly.
Keena shook her head. “Don’t you ever stop cooking?”
Mirabelle grinned, fanning herself. “I love it, and we have a full house this week. A ranch full of folks who love my pies. I can’t let them down by running out.”
Keena sucked her teeth and laughed. “You could tell the greedy things they have to help you bake, and pretend it’s just another one of the activities you have here.”
“Oh, you know, that’s not suc
h a bad idea since everyone pitches in with the outdoor cooking and the meal prep when everyone camps out for the night.” She waved her arm. “Never mind. I’d never share my kitchen. Shoot, I barely let my assistants in here.”
She burst out laughing, and Keena joined her while plopping down in a chair. When they both settled down, Keena said, “I don’t suppose I could hit you up for some of that sleeping potion you make, can I?”
The older woman grinned. “Potion? Believe me, sweetie, if I could whip up potions, there are a lot more important concoctions I’d create other than something to knock us out.” She giggled like a young girl and winked.
If Keena were light-skinned rather than deep cocoa brown, she might have had a red face right at that moment. The thought of Mirabelle, who must be in her late fifties or early sixties, conjuring a man was disturbing to say the least.
“I hear you,” Keena responded. “After several nights here, you’d think I’d be used to the quiet, or rather to the night sounds, but I’m not. I love the peace when I’m awake. It’s just at night I can’t take it.”
Mirabelle tsked and patted Keena’s hand. She swung back to the stove, cut out a huge piece of pie, and sat it on a saucer in front of Keena. This was why the pies didn’t last, she mused. Mirabelle must love feeding people as much as she loved cooking. If Keena didn’t get the woman to stop, at least when it came to her, even horseback riding wouldn’t work off the weight she would gain. She would arrive back home bigger and not much happier. That was not acceptable.
Mirabelle must have noticed her saddened expression. “Hey, you okay? Are you not enjoying it here?”
Keena rushed to assure her. “Oh, I’m loving it here. It’s just what the doctor ordered.”
“Doctor?” Mirabelle frowned and then put her hands up as if to ward something off. “Oh dear, forget I asked. I would never pry into your business. Trust me when I say I understand how important it is for a person to have privacy. I like to think of Luna Mountain Ranch as a safe haven where a person can be themselves and not worry about the outside world.”
Rein in the Night Page 3
