by Donna Alward
“Your place sounds great.” She wanted to keep him talking, keep him giving her that little shiver from his deep baritone. “I’ll pay for breakfast. I’m the one who kept ordering more stuff.”
He wrapped his hand around her arm and her pulse broke into a run. “You really think Becky would let me out of here if you paid? She hasn’t grabbed me by the ear in twenty years, but I wouldn’t put it past her.”
With a smile, he rose and strode to the back of the restaurant where Becky had retreated. Watching him walk away caused an image of him taking off that black T-shirt and unbuttoning his worn jeans to slide through her mind. The knowledge she’d soon uncover the promise of what lay beneath wrapped around her like a fog of lust.
If her brothers hadn’t been running off every man who’d come her way since her boobs appeared, she might know how to flirt. Might even be able to make the transition from breakfast to horizontal heaven immediately. After all, there was a bed in her mobile office. But she’d rather be in his, where they wouldn’t be distracted by passing through the equipment she stored in the camper.
She wanted Ray and his smoldering sexiness. She wanted to gaze into his sky-blue eyes and let him do what she didn’t know how to. And if that meant waiting until this afternoon, hell, she’d waited this long. What did a few hours matter?
The next time Ray moved Bones, he’d be using a tranquilizer. The behemoth rocked against the sides of the horse trailer as if he were in the chute, ready to unseat the cowboy who dared climb on his back. Ray prepped to release the beast, noting how much damage he’d have to repair on the inside. The damned bull had turned himself around.
Two of the hands arrived to help. No matter how old the cowboy, they all had a thing for watching a wild bull. And Bones gave a good show. But he was domesticated now. Just like Ray had been able to bribe him into the trailer with food, he’d do the same on the way out. Even wild things knew when they had a good thing going.
True to form, Bones barreled out, aiming for imaginary targets as he bucked and twisted his way into the field. But as furious as his rage was, after a few snorts and hoof stomps, he sampled the grass and then ignored the cowboys watching the revolt.
With a shake of his head, Ray returned to his truck to grab the sign and a hammer. On one side of the gate he attached a sign he’d made in high school shop class.
Do not enter this field unless you can cross it in six seconds. The bull can make it in seven.
Deke and Crosby both gave a chuckle. They’d worked the ranch since before Ray had taken over after his father’s stroke. The older cowboy spoke first.
“I can’t believe that sign has held up.”
Ray shrugged. “It may have had a little help in the paint department.”
“Maybe you should have gone with grey instead of black,” Crosby said, resetting his tan hat. “Old Bones is getting a little long in the tooth.”
As if on cue, the bull looked up and gave a snort.
“I don’t know.” Ray stepped up on the fence. “Bones, you getting too tired of getting your rocks off to earn your keep?”
In response, the bull turned and laid out a load of manure.
“See that, Crosby?” Deke said with a laugh. “The old bachelor ain’t never gonna settle down. Too bad you boys can’t screw your way into old age. Y’all need to find women on the regular.”
“Ray bagged himself a redhead this morning,” Cros offered by way of deflection.
“And that is why you’ll be riding fences with Bones for the rest of your life. You like to gossip with old women and objectify the young ones.” Ray locked up the trailer, an uneasy feeling coiling in his gut. He shouldn’t care that the rumor mill had fast forwarded his date into the dirty zone, but he couldn’t help it. Jacy West wasn’t the usual kind of woman that you could date and forget. She had something about her that made a man curious for more. The way she filled out her jeans was just a bonus.
He’d liked her far more than he’s expected to. She’d looked all glossy beauty queen in her photo, but her reality was comfortable jeans and dirty boots. It had instantly made him comfortable. Plus, he’d never met a single woman who could speak intelligently about irrigation one minute and real estate the next. He had to see her again, or else he’d risk building her into something she was not. Riding with her today would likely tug her off his pedestal of the perfect woman. He’d known forever that perfection didn’t exist, but like a shooting star, the dazzling glimpse of one had you yearning for more.
“You hitting Trophy Room tonight?” Deke asked as he joined Crosby in the UTV.
“No, I had the morning off so I have stuff to catch up on.” Like asking Jacy for a second date.
Jacy left her truck running while she hopped out to open the gate. The crisp fall wind swirled around her, kicking up dirt on the gravel drive. It smelled like rain, but she hoped it would hold off until after their ride. The weather could go all to hell for all she cared, so long as she accomplished her mission.
Her gut quaked, and she pressed her hand there. Carly had been right on that she wasn’t exactly cut out for this sort of thing. But she liked Ray, and that should make it easier. It had to, because she didn’t have it in her to try this particular experiment again. As she lifted the latch, she glanced down at a wooden box made to look like a tombstone. The weather-beaten thing even had rocks in front of it for effect. She read the inscription.
Here lies the body of poor old Nate. The last SOB who forgot to shut the gate.
Jacy grinned as she opened it. She loved the tone of this place already, from the mailbox built to look like the main house, the tombstone and the arcing metal stretching across the drive stating it was Rocky Ridge Ranch.
She hopped in and scooted the truck through, then returned to close the gate. Not that she thought she’d end up like Nate. But it was protocol. If you open a gate, you close it. Back in her truck, she wiped her hands against her jeans before gripping the steering wheel. She’d been fine driving out here, but then she drove to places like this all the time. Now that she was here, her nerves were announcing the difference. Sure, she was here to see a man about a horse, but this time it was the man she wanted.
The winding drive moved past a garden her mother would love on one side, and the rise of a hill on the other. The road ended between the house and a horse barn, with several other outbuildings joining to make the place feel like a small town. She parked the truck and found her phone, hoping she could call Ray and not have to play some door-to-door knocking game.
Only Carly had found the time to load Jacy’s inbox with two dozen texts. Jacy shook her head and dialed Carly’s number, mentally preparing for more warnings and advice.
“Did you do it?” Carly didn’t bother with hello.
“I’m at the ranch, but I haven’t got out of the truck yet.”
“You don’t have to do this. You could leave right now.”
“Cool it. I want to go on a ride with Ray. And I’m hoping that leads to more. I only stopped to call you because you seem obsessed.”
“I’m worried about you. You’re hours away with a guy you met online and your original plan failed to execute. Plan B is an even worse idea. He’s a person now, not just a dating profile. And you like him, I can tell. Sex can’t be zipless when emotions are involved.”
“I’m taking this one step at a time. There are more steps than I realized, but I found the guy, I met him, liked him, and now we’re going riding off into the sunset. Just because I want to have sex doesn’t mean I can’t let him think he’s charming me horizontal.”
“There’s nothing sexy about laying down a horse blanket in a hay field. Trust me.”
“Noted. But trust me here. I’ll do what I want, when I want. But so help me, if you text me again tonight, I won’t be sharing any details.”
“Call me if you need me. No matter how late it is when t
he deed is done and you’re driving back.”
Ray emerged from the stable and excitement jolted through her body. A ball cap with the logo of their alma mater shaded his eyes, focusing her attention on the way his lips curved in a wicked grin. She ended the call quickly and then tucked her phone into the center console. She didn’t want any interruptions. She wanted some time with her cowboy until he had her feeling calmed down and turned on, the way she’d felt this morning. Then she’d do anything to make Ray her first.
Ray knew his smile was probably a bit too wide, but it matched Jacy’s. He pulled off his gloves and stuck them in the back pocket of his jeans as he crossed the gravel yard to meet her beside her mammoth truck. Just like earlier, he felt that instant tug of desire, the urgent longing of man for woman. Every stray thought since he’d left her had been about her naked. And standing here with her flaming-red hair, worn jeans and a white tank top, she slid into every fantasy he’d ever had.
“You found me,” he said, instead of asking to skip the ride and take things indoors.
“The directions were spot on.” She put her hands in her back pockets, drawing his attention to her breasts. He forced his gaze up to the watercolor swirl of her hazel eyes. “How long do you think we’ll be out for? Should I take a coat?”
“I’m not taking one.” He rubbed his hand against the back of his neck, suddenly all hot and prickly. He’d prefer she not cover up, but that was for selfish reasons. Good thing one of them was practical.
“Then I won’t either. I tend to run hot.”
Her words hit him right in the libido. But like this morning, he didn’t know how to read it. He didn’t want to jump too far ahead and risk getting kicked out of the game entirely. He nodded and walked back towards the stable. She fell in step beside him.
“Who am I riding today?”
Him, if he had anything to say about it. He clenched his fists and dragged his dirty mind out of the gutter. Since he’d sworn off dating-site hookups six months back, he hadn’t bothered with sex, a fact his body had decided to alert him to today. He hadn’t been this focused on bedding a woman since his first time.
Ray cleared his throat as they entered the paddock. “I saddled Little Joe for you. He knows this place better than I do. Plus, he’s as smooth as we’ve got since Candy’s getting ready to foal.”
She stopped beside him and reached for the gelding paint. “And who is this handsome fella?”
“No flirting with my girl, Hoss.” He patted the horse’s neck and undid the cross ties keeping the youngster in place. Joe whinnied in his stall.
“Let’s make him jealous,” she mock-whispered before mounting his horse in a smooth movement.
“Seriously?” He spoke more to Joe than anything, since Jacy had ridden Hoss smoothly into the corral. He climbed onto the horse his mother usually rode. “You better keep up, old man.”
Out in the corral, Deke had Candy on a lead and a boot on her front leg. “What happened there?” he asked his foreman.
“I was just telling the doc here, Candy’s about to throw a shoe, but I don’t want to bother her with the farrier until after she foals.” Deke gave him a wink.
“She has another month.” He looked down at his father’s horse, a melancholy mare who’d had her way with a wild mustang while grazing. That, or immaculate conception. He sure as hell wasn’t about to breed a twelve-year-old who’d had stillbirths her last two seasons.
Jacy turned toward him. “I’d be surprised if she makes it the week. Do you see how she’s gone wide, and her teets are full?”
He didn’t, but cattle were his bread and butter, not horses. “Good call, Deke. Mind getting the gate?”
Deke looped Candy to the fence and pulled the gate wide. “You should see how Bones is doing. I think he’s looking for a way into the alfalfa field.”
He cast the older man a look as they passed through. He didn’t need any advice on the best places to take a lady on his own spread.
“So, Bonanza?” Hoss moved in close to Little Joe, as they often did when his mother took her Sunday ride with Ray.
“The names? Yeah, my granddad started that tradition. This is actually the sixth Little Joe.”
“You just recycle the names?”
“Usually. The Bonanza bunch are more pets than anything. Hoss is the only one that’s working the ranch. We keep a half dozen ranch horses up top.” The animals turned towards the road that led up to the ridge without the slightest guidance from him.
“Ray, when you said you’d like to go on a ride, I didn’t count on it being on a carousel.” She wrinkled her button nose and grinned over at him.
“They’re used to the route. I take my mom out on Sundays to show her what we’re working on. It’s something of a tradition from when my dad was running things.”
“So when you took over the ranch, you took over that too.”
“He kept it up for the first few years, but after the second stroke, he had a hard time balancing and took a spill.” He lifted his ball cap and turned it around backwards before replacing it. He hated to think about that awful day. “He broke his hip, and since he already struggled to walk, the recovery has been long.”
“Well, if you’re trying to impress me, it’s totally working.”
His shoulders relaxed at the change of subject. “Yeah, it’s a nice spread. My great grandfather started with the first hundred acres right off the highway. The house is his original homestead, just added to. My grandfather picked up the back forty in a card game, no joke. Dad snagged the land beneath the ridge pasture by pasture until he doubled the size of the place. I bought the parcel across Salt Creek, complete with a herd of wild mustangs that started crossing the river as soon as the title was signed over. The natural breaks in the land make it easier to maintain the bulls, especially in the winter when boredom makes them punchy.”
“Ray?” She waited until she caught his gaze. “I was talking about you, not your ranch. It seems our generation is giving up this kind of life, not gravitating towards it. Agriculture is about more than fields and livestock. The connection to the land and the balance of family, that’s something you can’t fake or force. You either feel it, or you don’t. And you do.”
He blinked and rubbed away the tightness in his chest. “Good lord, woman. That is the hottest thing anyone has ever said to me.”
She parted her soft, pink lips, her eyes wide with bewilderment before she threw her head back with a laugh so full it seemed to come up from the ground. The sun dripped butterscotch over the red waves of her hair. He couldn’t help but join in.
“Ray, honey, if that’s your definition of hot, I can blow your mind with awkward sentiments. I can’t flirt for shit, but saying things that border on the uncomfortable is my specialty.”
His laugh was all his own this time. “I see you completely differently. You’re all relaxed comfort from where I stand.”
“No one has ever accused me of being relaxed before. It’s the oddest of compliments.” She tilted her head with a confused narrowing of those pretty eyes.
“You must have some tragic war stories.” They crested the top of the ridge and the horses headed towards the new barn, the sweet smell of manure swirling around them.
“War stories?” She sat up higher, taking in the set-up.
“You know, flakes you’ve dated, exes you’ve shed.”
“Ah, I refer to those as tales of woe. You have no idea what it’s like to show up at a restaurant to find the man you’re meeting is wearing more makeup than you. And jewelry. And tighter jeans.”
He nodded in camaraderie. “It’s the ones who seem to have put up pictures of their daughter and not themselves that freak me out.”
“And the ones who have been drinking the crazy sauce, or who try to get grabby.”
“I apologize on behalf of all men.”
Sh
e shrugged. “I usually wind up having to apologize, or administer first aid. With four brothers, I don’t exactly hit like a girl.”
He pulled Joe to a stop beside the working pens and Jacy circled Hoss around until she was facing him.
“Too much? I tend to over share.” She sat up taller in the saddle, her hazel gaze wide and clear. “If it helps, I’ve never done any permanent damage. And by the looks of your nose, you’ve broken it before, so you know a bloody nose looks worse than it is.”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “This is the standard issue Mitchell nose.”
She covered her mouth. “Shit. Sorry. Shit, I shouldn’t be swearing.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“It’s not ladylike.” She gave an exaggerated sigh. “I’m a complete disappointment in the girly department.”
“Can’t say I agree with that.” He gave her a look that brought a blush clear to her shoulders.
“Can I rewind the last five minutes and not be so weird?”
“No rewinds in life, babe.”
“How about fast forward to the point where you forget I insulted your nose, confessed violence against assholes and admitted my intolerance for metrosexuals?” She turned Hoss toward the pens. “Tell me about your barn, or Bones the bull.”
He moved Joe to ride beside her again. “This is my new barn, went up this spring. Twice as big as the old one because our heifers had a fertile season, and the old one had bats.” He gave a mock shudder.
“Bats are a sign of a healthy farm.”
“Yeah, until one flies into you. Then they’ve got to go.”
“You know they’ll come back, right? There are measures you can take, but bats serve a purpose.”
“This is not my first rodeo, remember?”
She arched a brow. “Clever.”
“Two bat houses on the south side of the barn, and fake snakes on the rafters inside.”
“Fake snakes?”
“Yeah. You want to see?”
