They separated to get dressed, with Edward a bit frazzled. He stood in the middle of his empty room, palms pressed against his temples. Watching her play blackjack had been exhilarating, but irresponsible. Ainsley never would have gambled like that. And she would never have worn that tiny green bikini, inviting every man on board to ogle her. He drew in a deep breath, trying to give this some rational thought. His heart sucker punched him, and he wanted to relieve the pain by rushing over to the woman he loved and propriety be damned. The future Mrs. Anders would need refinement and social graces, not a proclivity to act before she thought, to base her decisions on emotions and hunches. That kind of life would not—no, could not—work for him.
Spending this time with Cecelia, away from Ainsley and their mother and the pressures of his job and his life, had opened his eyes to the need for something more. He didn’t want to be the stodgy, boring accountant anymore. But no matter how much he yearned for it, how much his mind craved her vitality, how much his body thirsted for the woman in the next room, he couldn’t afford to indulge that dream. He was a coward. And he knew it.
“Cecelia?” he called from his room. “I’m not feeling well. You should go to dinner without me.”
* * *
Riley rode up to the stables, the energy of a hard day of labor still with him as he took in the land around him. Fifteen acres worth of sweat-streaked dirt covered him from his forehead to his neck, and his muscles were still tense from two hours ago when Robin fell while trying to get her horse to do tricks, but the work had finally been done. An hour and a half longer than it would have taken on his own or with a better-prepared group. Cookie met him at the stable door.
“Don’t go in there,” he warned, a toothpick jutting from the corner of his mouth. “Four of them women are waiting for you.” His gaze shifted to a point behind Riley and he jutted his chin. “And the rest of them behind.”
His stomach clenched. The canter to the stables to buy himself a moment of solitude had failed. These women were so desperate to get all they could out of this singles experience—namely, him. Something must be horribly wrong with the men in their hometowns if they were all so eager to uproot to Little Falls for a cowboy.
An overloud car muffler shook the air as it made its way to the house. Riley stood with his feet in the stirrups and followed the trail of dust to see if he could tell who it was. None of his neighbors would have driven, plus he didn’t recognize the station wagon. It pulled next to the barn and a lanky man got out, searching the women gathered near the stables. He wore light blue jeans ripped at the knee and a sleeveless white shirt. “Daisy!” he yelled. He cupped his mouth and shouted again. “Daisy!!” A dirty gray baseball cap covered his light brown hair.
There was movement to Riley’s right and Daisy planted her horse next to him. If she got any closer they’d be sharing a mount. “Clay, what are you doing here? I told you when I left that I didn’t want to see you anymore.”
“So you leave me to come here and marry a cowboy?” Clay shoved his hands into his pockets.
“At least he knows how to treat a woman!” Daisy’s hand trailed along Riley’s thigh. “His idea of a romantic evening is not watching the birds dive for garbage on the pier!”
How did she know he knew how to treat a woman? He gently tugged the reins and Westley stepped sideways. Okay, so he’d been called emotionally distant a few times. More than a few. But he rarely had any complaints on the first couple of dates. And, also granted, he doubted he would take a woman to watch birds fend for their dinner and call it a good time. He dismounted and the women closed in to get a better view of the proceedings. He searched for the now-familiar golden curls and found Ainsley with Molly at the edge of the crowd. The sight of her relaxed him.
“It’s because I don’t have any money, isn’t it.” Clay kicked the ground. “I can’t buy you your fancy clothes or new shoes or a horse. I didn’t even know you rode, Daisy.”
“Riley taught me.” She gazed at him in adoration before turning her attention back to the other man. “This is not about money. It’s about respect. You don’t respect me.”
“Daisy.” Clay’s voice was a plea. “Please, just talk to me.”
Riley cast a quick glimpse at Ainsley, who was watching with avid interest. His protests over his behavior with Daisy weren’t holding much weight about now. A little smile played about her lips and her eyes sparkled with suppressed amusement. That was a good sign.
Daisy held out her hands to him, and he helped her dismount. Instead of approaching Clay like he expected, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, a quick brushing of her lips against his. Muttering came from the women behind him and he berated himself for not remembering Daisy played by her own set of rules.
Movement caught his attention and he stepped in front of Daisy as Clay got closer, his fists clenched. The man’s hands ended up in his pockets again, his entire body slumping with defeat. “It’s obvious you two have something special going on. I know when I’m beaten.” He stretched out his hand. “You take good care of my woman.”
Accepting the handshake would make it seem like Riley was agreeing. He opened his mouth to speak, raising his hand at the same time. To shake or ward him off, Riley wasn’t sure. Clay grasped Riley’s hand, not giving him a choice.
“Clay, you ever ride around on a ranch?” he asked, his mind in a panic for inspiration.
“I’ve never even been on a horse.” The man’s long face radiated misery.
Riley flung an arm around his shoulders in brotherly camaraderie and guided him to Daisy. “I don’t think it’s fair for you to dismiss your boyfriend so quickly. He came all the way out here to see you. The least you can do is show him around.” Hopefully Clay would continue to pull from whatever strength dragged him to Wyoming to start with.
“I had to rent a station wagon to get here, too.”
“I wondered what you were driving.” Daisy sniffed at the rental. “Not at all like your Camaro, is it?”
“Cookie, why don’t you saddle Rufus for Clay over here, and Daisy can show him what she did today? It will give you two the chance to talk.”
“But Riley,” Daisy protested. “I—”
“It’s fine.” No way would he give her a chance to talk her way out of it. “Go.”
Clay lumbered off to the stables and Riley helped Daisy get back on her horse. She cupped his cheek after she mounted, and he removed it as quickly as he could. Soon Clay reappeared on one of the gentler horses and he and Daisy set off. Riley nodded to Dallas to follow in case they needed a guide.
The unhappy couple lumbered down the path. If this kept up, the women would leave in a steady stream until only one was left. And that was absolutely fine with him as long as Ainsley was the one who stayed behind. He brought Westley inside the stable, the women trailing him like he had them on leadlines.
“I had a great time today.” Jewel sidled next to him. “I never knew ranch life could be so much fun.”
“I love it,” Leigh told her. “There’s nothing better after a long day than knowing how much you accomplished on your own land. Right, Riley?”
“Right.” He tried not to offer any more encouragement but her smug smile told him she came out ahead in some kind of unspoken feminine battle.
“I agree,” Jewel said with an edge to her voice. “I never knew repairing fences and watering lost baby sheep would be a great way to spend the day.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves.” This verbal competition needed to be defused before anyone else decided to get involved. He went through the motions of unsaddling his horse, giving the women a lesson on what to do and how to cool out their animals. Of course most of them wanted him to show them up close and personal, except the one person he wanted to help. She wasn’t even in the stables.
Where did she go? He led his entourage back to the house where Molly had set up dinner with an extra setting for Clay, but neither he nor Daisy showed up to eat. Afterward, the wom
en were on their own and Riley would be free from the wife wannabes until the next day. He did some quick calculations on how much real work he had to do and wondered how to get Ainsley to meet him later. Her luminous green eyes had never glowed with the predatory gleam he saw in Daisy’s and the others’. He could be himself when he was with her, not a bachelor cowboy looking for a bride.
He said good-bye to each woman as she left the house, suffering through their flirty pretensions and practiced smiles. When Ainsley said good-bye, she stood on her toes to brush her pink lips against his cheek. “I’ll be in the greenhouse around nine,” he murmured before she drew back. He gave her the barest of smiles before turning to Robin.
* * *
Ainsley affected neutral indifference for the benefit of anyone watching, but her heart skipped and warmth curled inside her. No, she told herself. She was here only to keep her mother away from Charleston Blooms, not to snag a husband. Not even if the man set her pulse racing every time she saw him. Or if she imagined his strong hands stroking her like he had that lamb. Not even then.
The cool air helped calm the tingle that ran over her body as she returned to her cabin with Meagan. A couple of birds flew overhead and she followed their flight until they got lost in the streams of brightness from the setting sun. Two hours until nine.
“Ainsley!” Her roommate’s voice was sharp in her ear as she almost kicked one of the lights on their path.
“What? Oh, sorry. It’s been a long day. I must have been daydreaming,” Ainsley said.
“Daydreaming,” Jewel said to Robin from somewhere behind them, “of something that is never going to be.”
Ainsley tamped down the need to turn around and confront Jewel. Like with Sophia, she knew the confrontation would only give the woman more ammunition instead of doing any good. Better Ainsley ignore her.
“Oh, look at me,” Jewel simpered. “I can chase a little baby lamb in hopes that the big, dreamy cowboy will chase me.”
Ainsley filled her lungs and exhaled before turning around. “What are you talking about? I should’ve let the lamb stay lost?”
Jewel smirked, placing her hands on her hips and jutting her chin forward. “I’m sure Riley didn’t appreciate you wasting his time when you went after Fluffy. He was only trying to be nice when he chose you to help.”
“I’m sure he also doesn’t appreciate you wasting his time every time you open your mouth,” Meagan responded.
Jewel gave her glossy hair a shake and kept her cool stare focused on Ainsley. “We’ll see who’s still here in a few days, PB.”
What the hell did PB mean? If the price of knowing was asking Jewel, Ainsley would rather remain ignorant. “Whatever.”
Jewel and Robin took the path to their own cabins, leaving Ainsley and Meagan to continue on. “I don’t understand what I did to earn her animosity,” Ainsley said.
“Oh, please. It’s not you. Some women just can’t deal with friendly competition. It darkens their auras. Every time. They feel their femininity is threatened, so to make up for their insecurities, they lash out. You’re only a target.”
“Great. I’ll go paint a bull’s-eye on my forehead.”
They got back to their cabin and Meagan yawned. “I am so looking forward to a hot bath,” she said. “I haven’t been on a horse in ages, and I think I’m paying for it now.”
“Let me jump into the shower first.” If Ainsley was going to see the cowboy, she didn’t want to do it stinking like a farm. Hot water loosened her tight muscles and she let the water run over her until she felt human again.
Meagan ran a bath while Ainsley stood in front of her closet and pawed through her clothes. She returned to the common area and glanced at the clock on the mantle. Eight fifteen. She fished out her book and sat on the sofa, then settled in to read. A moment later, the words on the page swam and she shifted her eyes to her watch. Eight seventeen. It confirmed the time on the clock. Maybe there was another clock in the kitchen. She stretched to see.
“My watch matches the clock,” Meagan said, causing Ainsley to shriek.
Busted. “I wasn’t looking at the clock.” Ainsley shifted her gaze around the room for something to latch on to. On the mantel sat a sketch of a brown colt nudging its mother. Both animals had white stars on their foreheads. She picked it up and brought it under brighter lights. Two shaded figures decorated the background, one in a cowboy hat and one in a long skirt. “Did you do this? You’re really good.”
“Thanks. I wanted to capture something of what I saw when Montgomery was born. It was such an amazing experience that I didn’t want to forget it. And nice try changing the subject.”
Ainsley picked at a piece of lint on her light blue robe. “What was that?”
“What’s going on with you?”
“Me? Nothing. Why would you think something was going on?” She put the picture back on the mantel, then picked up a sofa cushion and studied it before putting it down again and smoothing it out.
“Jewel didn’t get to you, did she? You can’t give her that power.”
“No. I couldn’t care less what she says.” She sat on the sofa and crossed her legs, her raised foot bobbing up and down in rhythmic time to the seconds hand on the clock.
“Perhaps you enjoyed your time chasing the lamb with Riley more than you want to admit to me?” Meagan gave her a playful shove. “I mean, we are supposed to be in competition over the same man.”
Hiding in her room to avoid this whole conversation sounded very appealing, but she owed her roommate. She jumped at the story. “I had a really good time with him today,” she said, almost afraid of the other woman’s reaction. “It feels strange talking to you about it, doesn’t it?”
Meagan nodded, her wet hair slinging around her shoulders. “If it helps, I’m not feeling the same connections that I bet you feel. I’d be thrilled if you and Riley got together. You may even end up married.”
Ainsley leaned back with a groan of resignation and covered her face with her hands. “This is so not what I was expecting when I came out here.”
“Me, neither.” Her roommate stifled a yawn. “I’m exhausted.”
Ainsley snuck another glance at her watch. Eight twenty. “I’m not ready for bed yet,” she said. “I may take a walk later.”
“Have fun,” Meagan said, going to her room. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Her door clicked and Ainsley looked at her watch again. Before she could tell what time it was, she sat on her hand to prevent herself from seeing it.
“The question is,” she muttered, “do I want to go?” Her head told her no. There would be no point in getting involved. The only one-night stand she’d ever had was a huge mistake, and this would be no different. On the other hand, this rough, sexy cowboy was a completely different breed from any man she knew in South Carolina. She sighed and rubbed her eyes with her palms. So many times she wished she could be as carefree as Cecelia. Here was the perfect opportunity. But did she want it?
Where was her book? She thumbed through the pages and read, stopping every few minutes to check the time. Eight thirty-two. Eight forty-six. Eight fifty.
She exhaled, counted to ten, then threw her robe on her bed. Underneath she wore a teal green dressy shirt emphasized by sparkly silver. Her favorite black jeans hugged her legs. Three minutes after nine. Perfect. Not early and eager, but not too late that Riley would think she wasn’t coming. She opened the front door and crept out, leaving behind the safe shelter of her cabin and riding the excitement she accepted like a dare.
Chapter 7
Don’t these women ever think of going to bed? We’re doing something wrong if they aren’t tired after working all day. Riley stood behind a cabin, staring down at the greenhouse. Leigh and a blond woman entered it and soon it blazed with light. He wasn’t about to go down there and spend time with them, opening himself up to another dissertation on Henry Ford and assembly-line work. Too many women crawled around his ranch. He couldn’t be with the
one that attracted him, even if it was just lust and not the deep, soul-melding experience his sisters craved for him. At least he didn’t have to worry about Daisy anymore. Clay had managed to sweep her off her stiletto-covered feet and into the station wagon.
After a few minutes, the two women left. Riley blew out a quick breath of relief and checked his watch. Eight forty-seven and he stayed put. The ground below him hid more wife wannabes. Jessica appeared over the small hill but passed the greenhouse. When she blended into the shadows, he jogged to the glass building and made it inside unseen. Eight fifty-three.
Funny how two days ago he’d avoided going into this building, hiding from the emotions that came when he thought of his father. Whether intentional or not, hiding with Ainsley in the plants, breathing in her vanilla scent, had started new memories for him.
The three-quarter moon provided some light in the darkened building. He stood a couple of steps away from the door, partially hidden behind some large, blossoming plant. It hadn’t had flowers the other day. He filled his lungs, breathing deeply. The air was more floral than the last time he’d been in there, too. He touched the dirt. Moist. The other plants also showed signs of improvement. Someone had tended them.
Instead of the rage he had felt before, he now felt acceptance. His father was gone. He wouldn’t have wanted the greenhouse turned into a shrine. He would’ve wanted others to experience it and love it like he had.
Nine o’clock. Perfect. He figured Ainsley would be a bit late, but he had to be on time. Which he was. Hiding behind a plant.
His skin tingled with awareness when the door swung open. A hand fumbled for the switch before filling the area with fluorescent lights and he banked his anticipation. It wasn’t Ainsley. He contemplated ducking under the table behind him but decided to remain still and hope the plant would provide camouflage. He should have brought Seth along as a wingman to watch his back. Riley frowned. He hadn’t seen his brother all day and he hadn’t been at dinner.
“Riley!” Jewel’s voice came from over his shoulder and he closed his eyes in resignation.
Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy? Page 12
