The Connor Ranch: Mac

by Vanessa Devereaux

  She just about stopped herself from calling him MacDreamy. Steph handed over her notes to Sally so she could bill Mac for the services.

  “So what are you going to do this evening?” asked Sally.

  “I thought I might go check out one of the local watering holes and see what the entertainment’s like in town. Any suggestions?”

  “Stay away from Billy’s on First Street. All the cowboys hang out there,” said Pete.

  “Don’t you go listening to grumpy grandpa here. The burgers are to die for, and what else would a pretty young girl want to do but check out all the local cowboys on a Friday night?” asked Sally.

  “Billy’s on First it is then,” said Steph.

  Pete shook his head as she turned to leave and Steph did her very best not to laugh. With Pete and Sally around she wasn’t ever going to feel homesick.

  Chapter Two

  Mac would recognize that cute butt anywhere. Definitely a case of déjà vu from earlier in the day.

  He walked up to the bar in Billy’s and slid onto one of the stools. Steph was leaning over the pool table about to shoot. She sunk a green ball into the corner pocket and then stood up.

  “What can I get you tonight, Mac?”

  He hadn’t heard Freddie approaching him so he jumped at hearing his voice. “A beer would be great.”

  “You want to order a meal?”

  Freddie knew him too well. In fact, sometimes Mac hated dining alone so when he came in for a beer, he usually ordered something to eat too.

  “Maybe I’ll hold off on that for now.”

  He was starving, but tonight maybe he’d get lucky and have some company while he ate at Billy’s.

  Freddie put the open beer bottle down in front of him. Mac took a sip while observing Steph. Two other cowboys stood close by watching her with what looked like the same level of intent and interest as he.

  They were out of luck because he’d seen her first but from experience he knew that cowboys were a predatory bunch. And setting sights on a woman before anyone else and therefore claiming her, wasn’t one of the rules they played by. Something needed to be done and fast before he lost his opportunity.

  Sliding off the bar stool, beer bottle in hand, he headed over to the pool table where Steph now stood, resting her hand on the upright stick as she watched one of the cowboys try to sink the black ball. He missed by inches. She grinned.

  “I guess the game goes to you, pretty lady,” he said tipping his hat back on his head.

  Mac knew this guy’s type, he’d been the sort he’d come across every day on the rodeo circuit. Charm the panties off of any female.

  The sort of man he’d been until he’d met his fiancée. Steph didn’t need to get herself involved with that sort of man.

  “What can I get you to drink?” asked the cowboy.

  “She’s having a beer,” said Mac. He walked over to her and handed her his. She squinted at him but without saying anything or putting up any protest, took it, and downed the remaining half bottle of beer in almost one gulp.

  He was impressed. Or maybe she was just plain thirsty.

  The cowboy raised his hand to Mac. “Sorry, I didn’t realize she was here with someone,” he said. At least this guy wasn’t the fighting type. Some were and Freddie always got pissed when fights broke out and chairs got smashed. The cowboy tipped his hat at Steph and she raised the beer bottle to him and he simply walked away.

  “Nice to see you again, Steph,” said Mac.

  “And you too. However, I wasn’t aware that I needed saving or whatever you thought you were doing when you sent that nice-looking young man away.”

  “Nice-looking? Well, maybe if you squinted real hard and turned off all the lights.”

  Steph burst out laughing before handing him the empty beer bottle. She looked even sexier tonight. Tighter fitting jeans, white t-shirt pulled across her ample breasts, turquoise necklace and matching dangling earrings that suited her so well and brought out more of the blue in her eyes.

  “Does that mean you want another one?” asked Mac.

  “Would you be trying to get me drunk?”

  “I’m not the one who downed half a bottle in almost one gulp.”

  “Playing pool is thirsty work.”

  “And by the look of things, you’re pretty good at it.”

  “My dad used to play all the time. You a pool player too?”

  “The best around.”

  She handed him the stick and then walked over and got herself another one.

  Mac rubbed chalk on his stick but didn’t take his eyes off Steph.

  “Winner gets to buy dinner for the loser,” he said.

  “Shouldn’t that be the other way around?” asked Steph, resetting the balls. “I mean I’m going to have to buy you dinner?”

  “There’s just no way you’ll beat me, and I’m the type of man that always buys a lady dinner and not vice versa.”

  “Really. So nice to think I’ve moved to a place that’s back in the Stone Age. Break,” said Steph.

  “Stone Age, that what you think? Well, let me tell you when I take a woman home I don’t drag her by the hair. I put her over my shoulder and carry her there.”

  Steph almost smiled. Almost. “You going to break, or are you scared of getting your butt kicked by a girl?”

  Mac leaned over the table and hit the ball, sending the others flying in every direction across the green felt.

  “Um, let’s see. I think I can sink that green ball and also the maroon one,” Steph said.

  Mac made sure he positioned himself so he got a bird’s eye view of that butt as she leaned over the table to take her shot.

  “You seem to like my rear end a lot.” She looked over her shoulder at him before she hit the ball, sinking both just as she’d predicted.

  Caught red-handed, and he thought he was being so discreet.

  “I’d be stupid not to. I mean it’s a great view.”

  “Glad you think so. Your turn.”

  Mac winked at her. Shit, she was so much fun to be around. Teasing her. The witty repartee between them.

  “Okay, I’m going to sink the yellow ball into the left pocket there,” he said.

  “Only in your dreams,” said Steph, perching her butt on the edge of the table.

  “Here we go.” Mac hit it and the ball went exactly where he’d said.

  “Pure luck. Let me see here. Orange ball, center pocket.”

  Mac burst out laughing. “Not in a million years.”

  Steph walked around the table purposely brushing by him which sent shudders of the very good kind surging through his body. She lined up her shot, took it and the ball landed in the middle pocket. “I believe it’s your turn,” she said smiling at him.

  “You’ve not seen anything yet. Blue ball, back right pocket.”

  Steph laughed, almost snorting. Usually he found that sort of laughter downright irritating, but on Steph it was just plain cute.

  He was about to take the shot when she bent over pretending she was removing some fluff from the felt.

  “You’re doing that on purpose. I know it,” said Mac.

  “Oh come on, where’s your sense of adventure, caveman. Let’s see if you can sink the ball with my butt being in clear view.”

  Did she just call him a caveman? And did she think her sexy ass would be that distracting to him?

  “Deal,” he said.

  Mac tried to concentrate on the ball but she wasn’t playing fair. She was now wiggling her ass at him, and just as he hit the ball, all he could think about was her butt and what it would look like set over his lap. The ball flew off the table and knocked over someone’s glass at a nearby table.

  The guy looked over at Mac like he was ready to punch him. Geez, the doc was right, with her ass in plain view, he was putty in her hands and now it looked like he was going to get punched in the face because of it.

  The guy stood up with the ball in his hand.

  “I’m sorry
. My hand slipped,” said Mac.

  The guy flung it at him. Luckily he caught it before anyone else got hit.

  “You, doctor, do not play fair,” he said turning to face Steph.

  “Who said anything about playing fair?”

  She walked over to him. So close he could still smell the beer on her breath.

  “You know what I should make you do for punishment?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Make you show me your bare ass so I can see if it was worth almost getting into a fight for.”

  She bit her lip, clearly suppressing a grin.

  “Well?” asked Mac. That’s it. Use the guilt factor on her.

  “Maybe when I know you better.”

  “Then I think we should get to know one another much better right now. You want to join me for the best buffalo burger in Montana?”

  “Well, I have worked up an appetite playing pool.”

  “That a yes?”

  “Definitely a yes.”

  Chapter Three

  Mac hadn’t been kidding when he’d said these were delicious buffalo burgers. Some of the juice dripped onto her chin and she wiped it with her napkin. These were the best damn burgers she’d tasted in years. Of course, the atmosphere in Billy’s might have something to do with it. Sawdust on the floor, and every man in the place wearing boots and cowboy hats.

  And she couldn’t leave Mac out of the equation either. He had sexy bedroom eyes as he sneaked a look at her over the top of his mug of beer.

  “So what’s the verdict?” he asked pointing to the burger she held in her hand.

  “You’re right, irresistible.”

  “Have you ever had a buffalo as a patient?”

  “Nope, can’t say that I have.”

  She smiled and took a sip of her own beer.

  “Seeing how we’re supposed to be getting to know one another I guess I should ask you if you’re from this part of Montana?” asked Mac.

  “Born and bred in Billings.”

  “How long have you been a vet?”

  She finished the French fry she was eating and responded to him.

  “Three years. I worked for a veterinarian practice there, but thought I’d like to venture into being a vet for larger animals and saw Pete’s ad in a magazine, applied and got the job. My dad and also Pete’s easy payment plan will help me buy into the practice at the end of the year.”

  “And you like working here?”

  “I love it. I love the scenery too. My parents, brother and I always used to vacation in either Polson or my uncle’s place in Northern Idaho and I guess living here’s always been in the back of my mind. How about you, what are you going to tell me about yourself?”

  She wasn’t going to mention that Pete and his wife had already filled her on lots of facts about him. Sally’s info about him being great between the sheets sprung to mind.

  “Born here. My parents owned the ranch I now run. My uncle was a bull rider so I decided to give it a try too. I was pretty damn good but got thrown and snapped my leg.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “Yeah, I hated giving it up but I had a fiancée and we were ready to settle down.”

  Steph didn’t want him to know that Sally had already filled her in about him getting dumped. She’d play dumb.

  “So you’re married?” She circled the glass with her pinkie.

  “No, things didn’t work out and I’ve been a happy bachelor ever since.”

  She noted the adjective happy thrown in there. He hadn’t sounded all that convincing.

  A band began playing on the stage.

  “Don’t suppose you dance?” he asked.

  “I sure do and I do it just as well as I play pool.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  She gave him a slight nudge on his foot with her own.

  He laughed. “I guess if you’re willing to take your chances on the dance floor with me, I’ll risk it.”

  How could she say no to an offer like that?

  She held out her hand and he helped her out of the booth and they both headed to the dance floor.

  She’d always had a thing for tall guys and as Mac swung her around and under his arm, she looked up at him and smiled.

  “You’re right, you’re terrible,” he said.

  She poked her tongue out at him and then the band switched to a slow song. Mac held out his hands to her. She slipped into his arms and then he pulled her in close to his body. She detected some spicy cologne while they’d been eating. Now the scent was stronger and she liked it even more. She also liked his muscular arms around her. She rested the side of her face against his chest.

  She liked that a lot, too.

  They moved around, careful not to bump into the other couples who were close by. She took in his scent again, and felt his erection pushing against her belly. She smiled.

  Guess guys were unlucky in the arousal department because their lust and excitement was hard to conceal. Whereas he’d never know that right now her pussy was throbbing and her panties were growing wetter with each second their bodies were melded together like this.

  Mac rubbed his hands up and down her back, causing her nipples to harden and poke against her bra. He probably could feel that. Darn, he probably guessed she was as turned on as he was.

  He was the type of guy she could easily fall into bed with, but not yet. She’d never been the one-night stand sort of girl and she wasn’t going to turn into that sort of woman now despite how tempting Mac was. If Pete was right and Mac was a love and leave ‘em type of guy, that wasn’t who she wanted to get mixed up with. If and when she gave herself to Mac it wouldn’t be just for one night.

  The music stopped and the band announced a break. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Steph hadn’t realized it was almost eleven thirty. She had to be up at seven to head over to the animal shelter for the day.

  “I hate to leave you but I’ve volunteered to be the vet at the animal shelter tomorrow and I have to be up early.”

  “I’m a rancher so I understand about getting up at the crack of dawn. Maybe we can do this again?”

  “I’d like that. Thanks for the burger.”

  “Thank you for your company. It’s about time I headed home too, so do you mind if I walk you to your truck?”

  ****

  Mac pulled into the ranch, got out of his truck and headed into the house. He’d always thought the best way to heal his broken heart was to flirt, go out with lots of women, and best strategy of all, never let one get into his head and heart ever again.

  Sticking his key into the door, he went inside and heard the silence.

  Could you actually hear silence?

  The fact that he was even asking himself that question told him that his life was currently in limbo. What had once worked to keep him sane and not wallowing in self-pity for having a career and fiancée that had both gone away, no longer seemed to be doing the trick.

  Something had changed.

  He’d turned thirty-eight last month. He’d thought he’d have a wife, two kids, and people to come home to when he finished working on the ranch every day. But by his own stupidity, of keeping females at a distance, he’d made sure that never happened. Now he had regrets.

  Slinging his truck keys in the dish by the table, he sat down on the couch and took off his cowboy hat, placing it on the cushion beside him. He was now at the age where being a playboy no longer had any appeal to him. Had it really ever had any appeal to him?

  Just a way to hide the pain, and the shame of being dumped.

  He rested his head back and looked up at the ceiling. Steph’s body excited his. That he couldn’t deny. When he’d first seen her tending the cow and its calf, the familiar pull in his groin had taken over. He’d wanted to get her into his bed and nothing more. Another conquest, one night only, and then move onto the next woman he laid his eyes upon.

  However, being with her tonight…yes, he still wanted her in his bed, but he want
ed to date her, get to know her. Maybe she’d be the type of woman who wouldn’t ever leave his bed. She wouldn’t be his one-night-only girl.

  Rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands, he decided he was tired and like the old thirty-eight year old that he was, he headed up to bed because he had an important stop to make first thing tomorrow.

  ****

  Steph wasn’t quite sure how she’d gotten herself roped into this one. She’d been peed on twice, hadn’t seen the nice neat package that the beagle had left by the door as she went outside for a break, and then the humans had added to the body fluid pile up when a little girl visiting the facility had thrown up down the front of Steph’s scrubs.

  She made her way to the back room where the lockers were. Wiping most of the vomit from her outfit, Steph remembered that Pete had talked her into this. He’d been volunteering here one Saturday a month for the last fifteen years and he thought as she’d be taking over his practice at the end of the year, it would be the perfect way to ease her into the tradition too. A chance to meet people from the community and the ideal way to drum up potential business without it seeming too obvious. Pete knew a thing or two.

  The smell of stale vomit drifted her way as she dabbed the stain with a paper towel she’d doused in liquid soap and warm water. She couldn’t continue the day looking and smelling like this. She’d take off the top part of her scrubs and put her t-shirt back on and hopefully no human or animal would pee, vomit or poop on it. She wasn’t holding her breath, though.

  Raising her arms, she lifted the scrub top over her head and sat it on the countertop. She’d find a bag for it and throw it into the washing machine as soon as she got home. Now where had she put her t-shirt?

  She turned around just as the door opened. She swallowed and panic set in. Mac was the last person she expected to see today, especially back here in the locker area. Her first instinct was to cross her arms over her chest but she didn’t want to seem stupid and immature. Mac had probably seen lots of women in just their bras. Thank god she’d worn one tonight. Sometimes she went au naturel.

  “Hi,” she finally said.

  “Hi, the lady out front said I’d find you in here.” He stepped closer toward her, his eyes glancing downward to her cleavage. “I didn’t expect to see so much of you.”