by Jennie Marts
Adam shook his head, a grin pulling at his lips. He’d been taken by a twelve-year-old con artist, but he also had to admire the kid a little. It was a pretty ballsy move. “That little sneak.”
“Yeah,” Skye said, her expression not looking quite as amused as him. “That’s just what I was thinking.”
…
A few hours later, Adam was in his room, sprawled in the recliner as he turned the pages of the new psychological thriller he’d picked up in the airport. He’d changed into a pair of loose-fitting shorts and a T-shirt that read: If God didn’t create it—an Engineer did.
A huge fan of the author, he was engrossed in the book, totally immersed in the gritty, dark world of suspense. He was just at the part where the sinister villain had chased his victim into a shadowy maze of tunnels under the city, complete with slime, rats, and most likely snakes, when a knock sounded on his door.
He jolted, the paperback flying from his hands.
“Adam?”
Holy crap. It was Skye.
He shook his head. What the hell was she doing here? It was close to ten o’clock. His heart pounded against his chest as he imagined her on the other side of the door, wearing just a western shirt and a pair of cowboy boots.
He huffed a quick breath in his hand and sniffed. Would it be weird to grab a mint? Did he have time to gargle a quick swig of mouthwash?
“Just a second,” he called, glancing around the room to make sure nothing embarrassing was lying out. He’d emptied his pockets earlier and tossed the contents and his clothes onto the bed. Grabbing the packet of mints, he poured a couple into his mouth and crunched them with his teeth as he crossed the room then opened the door.
Skye was standing there—but she was not wearing his imagined wardrobe choice. In fact, she was wearing a frown as she marched a sullen Cody into the room.
He was wearing a similar expression.
“Hey, Adam. Sorry to bother you so late. But I had to wait until Cody got back from the campfire stories tonight. I believe he has something he wants to say to you. And something to give you.”
Cody sheepishly held out the two wrinkled hundred dollar bills Adam had given him earlier. “Sorry.”
“Wow,” Skye said, sounding unimpressed. “That was really heartfelt. It almost brought a tear to my eye. Why don’t you try again?”
He let out a long sigh, then looked up at Adam. “I’m sorry I tricked you out of this money. I should have been honest and told you the real price of the boots. Here’s your two hundred dollars back. As a punishment for my dishonesty, I’m going to pay for the boots myself out of my ranch paycheck.”
“That won’t be necessary. I can certainly pay for them myself.” Adam had a feeling this punishment would put a hardship on Skye as well as Cody.
“He can pay for them,” Skye said.
“Listen, I don’t want the profits of the store to suffer from a misunderstanding. I understand that Cody needs to take responsibility for his actions, so how about if I pay for the boots and then we work out another type of punishment that won’t cause a problem with the ranch’s finances.”
“What kind of punishment?” Cody asked, his eyebrows wrinkled in skepticism.
“I’d really like him to work to pay off the boots,” Skye repeated.
“Okay. How about if he works for me? I’m really interested in his perspective on the Misfortune series. How about he writes up a report giving me insight into what he thinks I could do with the game?”
“Hmmm. I do like the idea of him writing a report.”
“And maybe he could give me a tour of the ranch, and we could run through some live scenarios of things I was thinking we could do in the game.”
Cody’s eyes widened. “You want me to shoot some stuff? That would be cool.”
“No shooting,” Skye said.
“No. No shooting. But we were thinking about a horse chase and a wagon ride. He could probably offer a little guidance on both of those. And it really would help me.”
Skye looked from Cody to Adam, her face still registering skepticism. “I don’t know.”
“Look, I get that he shouldn’t have taken the tip, but he did actually help me by pointing out my poor taste in footwear and setting me up with some boots that I can actually wear. Boots that are comfortable and hopefully don’t make me look like as much of a dumbass as those snakeskin ones did.” He winced. “Sorry. Anyway, I think he should get a little credit for making a sale for the store and offering great customer service by delivering my purchase right to my room.”
“Yeah, Mom. He makes a good point. I did make some money for the shop and gave him some helpful advice on how to avoid looking like an idiot.”
Skye arched an eyebrow at him, then held up her hand. “All right. You two have convinced me. I still don’t think the helpful advice and delivery charge was worth a hundred dollars, but I’ll let Adam keep the boots and pay for them. And I’ll let Cody work off the hundred dollars by writing the report and spending two hours tomorrow helping you with the game. Does this seem feasible to everyone?”
He and Cody both nodded.
“Can I go now?” Cody asked, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Fine.”
The boy offered Adam a quick wave as he hurried out the door.
“Here.” Adam held out the money. “I really do insist on paying for the boots myself.”
Skye took one of the hundreds and shoved it into the front pocket of her jeans. “Thank you. That’s very nice. And thank you for being so understanding. I can’t believe my son tried to cheat you.”
He chuckled. “Honestly, I kind of admire the kid for it.” He shrugged as Skye narrowed her eyes at him. “I do. He saw an opportunity to make a buck, and he took it. And seriously, I was happy to pay two hundred dollars to have a better pair of boots to wear. I don’t mind spending money to get good quality. I like to wear stuff that holds up and that will last a long time.”
Skye’s eyes brightened and her voice took on a teasing note. “Yeah? Like that T-shirt?”
He grinned. “Hey. Don’t be giving my shirt a hard time. I won this in an engineering competition in college. This came with a sweet trophy and a five-hundred-dollar scholarship.”
“Did you need a scholarship?”
“You bet I did. I told you I was raised by a single mom, just like Cody. We didn’t have a lot, but my mom always made sure my brother and I had what we needed. I have a lot of respect for women who raise kids on their own. I don’t know how you do it.”
Skye looked up at him, not saying anything as she blinked back the tears welling in her eyes.
Shit. He hadn’t meant to make her cry.
He glanced around the room, anywhere but at her, at those gorgeous brown eyes that held enough pain to make his own chest hurt. He cleared his throat. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you upset.”
“You didn’t make me upset. Your words just touched me. Especially because I believe you really mean them.”
“Of course I do. Why else would I say them? Life’s too short, and I’m way too busy to waste time on inconsequential bullshit.”
She laughed out loud, not like a small chuckle, but a full belly laugh. “I like you, Adam Clark. And I believe you may have just given me a new mantra.” She pressed a hand to her stomach and offered him a flirty grin. “You are a dangerous combination. Cute and smart. And you smell nice. Minty.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
“This is shaping up to be an interesting week,” she said as she pulled open the door to his room. “Good night, Adam. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
He followed her to the door, searching for the right words to ask her to stay a little longer. But nothing seemed right. The dude ranch didn’t have a bar, so he couldn’t ask her for a drink, and they’d already had dinner together, in a sense.
“Good night, Skye.” He leaned against the door jamb and watched her walk down the hall toward her room, letting out a chuc
kle as he heard her mutter the words “inconsequential bullshit.”
…
The next morning, Skye sat at her desk, trying to make a dent in her mountain of paperwork before she started the business of her day.
A stack of unpaid bills lay scattered in front of her, and she leaned her forehead against her palm and let out a long sigh.
Tourism had been down the past few years, so between that and a few major repairs to the ranch this year, like an electrical fire in one of the cabins and the ranch truck breaking down, the expenses now outweighed the revenue.
Having Adam’s company book the extra excursions would help to cover the electric bill this month, but she was still coming up short on several of the others.
She could only rob Peter to pay Paul so many times. Eventually Pete went broke, too.
She just needed to make it through the rest of the summer. Then she’d need to think of something big to generate new business.
A knock sounded on the door to her office, and she looked up to see a tall good-looking cowboy leaning against the door jamb.
He offered her a grin. “Now that’s what I like to see—a woman who’s not only beautiful, but also smart.”
Chapter Six
Skye held in a groan. Of all the things she did need right now, a flirty cowboy wasn’t even on her list. That wasn’t fair. Clint Carson was her neighbor and one of her oldest friends. And as much as she hated to admit it, she did need the cowboy whose ranch lay next to hers.
He jerked a thumb behind him. “I saw Cody on the way out, and he let me in.”
She pasted on a smile. “Hey, Clint. I wasn’t expecting you till later this afternoon.”
“I finished early and thought I’d stop in to see if you needed me for anything this morning.”
The double-entendre was not lost on her, and her stomach clenched at the thought. She knew what he wanted from her, but she didn’t have it in her to give it to him.
Clint was drop-dead gorgeous and had always been a perfect gentleman, filling in at the ranch and always there when she needed him. They’d been friends since they were kids. But Clint had been making it clear he wanted more than just their casual friendship. A lot more.
And really, it would be so easy. He was funny and nice and charming as heck, and they got along well. It would be so simple to let him step in and take care of her and Cody. The only problem was that she didn’t feel a single ounce of attraction to him.
“Whatcha working on? Do you need a hand?” He took a step closer, his gaze roaming across the bills strewn across the desk.
Skye hastily pushed them under the keyboard, but she knew he’d already seen them—the words “Past Due” stamped in bright red against the white envelopes. “Nope. I think I’m all set. Just finishing up a few things here in the office.”
“Looks like you’re a little behind there.”
Thanks, Captain Obvious, for pointing that out.
She was on a terror today. The past due bills were enough to make her crabby, but she’d also gotten into an argument with Cody that morning. He’d told her that he wanted to take the teenage daughter of one of the guests on a horseback ride that afternoon, just the two of them, and she’d told him no.
Apparently that made her the Wicked Bitch of the West.
He’d informed her that she had to let him grow up at some point and then he’d left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
But none of that was Clint’s fault. The guy was just being nice, and it wasn’t fair to take her troubles out on him.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, trying for a lighthearted tone. “You know how everything picks up in the summer. That stupid electrical fire this spring didn’t do me any favors, though.”
“I could help, ya know. Give you a loan, just to get you through the season.”
“No, really. Thank you, but I couldn’t accept that.” The last thing she needed to add to her mess of problems was being in debt to Clint Carson.
She didn’t want to be in debt to anyone. And she sure as hell wouldn’t accept charity. She could, and would, do this on her own.
The ranch was her responsibility, and she wouldn’t let her dad down, God rest his soul. He’d been gone for five years now, yet she still felt like she was trying to prove something to him—to show him that she could manage on her own. That just because she made one mistake twelve years ago, she wasn’t a total dumbass.
Hawk had been friends with Clint’s dad, who’d passed the good old boy mentality down to Clint. She hated the thought that he saw her as a weak woman who needed a man to step in and bail her out.
“You know you’re not alone. You can count on me for whatever you need,” he said.
Ugh. Now she felt even guiltier. Because the truth was that Clint was one of the good guys. He was genuinely nice and had never been anything but kind to her. And she could count on him. He’d been there for her after her dad died, helping with the details and making arrangements, when she couldn’t even string two coherent thoughts together.
He dropped his hands onto her shoulders and massaged the tightness there. It should have felt good, having warm hands knead the sore muscles, but instead she fought against another wave of guilt. He seemed to always go out of his way to help her, and even though he didn’t push her, he made it clear that he was interested and willing to take things to the next level.
He was a great catch, and someday he would make a very good husband for some woman. That woman just wasn’t going to be her.
Sometimes she chastised herself for not even trying to make things work with him, but even now, with his big hands caressing her shoulders, she felt nothing more than friendship.
And really, she did value his friendship. Their land shared water rights, and their fathers had been not just friends, but good neighbors, often helping each other out on the adjacent ranches. Both of their dads had often joked about her and Clint getting married and joining the family’s lands.
But Clint didn’t see it as a joke.
And he didn’t seem to listen no matter how many times she told him she wasn’t interested in getting married.
Not to him. Or anyone.
She had enough on her plate, trying to raise Cody and get the ranch out of the red. Having a man in her life right now would only complicate things.
Especially if that man was her exact opposite and lived in California.
Where had that come from?
She’d been thinking about Clint, not Adam. Yeah, right. Who was she kidding? She’d been thinking about Adam all morning. And all last night.
She couldn’t seem to get the cute computer engineer out of her head. He’d looked so adorable the night before, in his glasses and funny T-shirt. But the thoughts she’d been having about stripping him of both his glasses and his shirt had been downright dirty.
“Come on, Skye,” Clint said, breaking into her thoughts. “You know Hawk would hate to see anything happen to this place. We could work out a deal that would be mutually beneficial to both of us.”
His hand slid across her shoulders and intimately caressed her neck. She clamped her hand down on his, stopping him from going any further, as annoyance filled her. It bugged the crap out of her when he used the memory of her father against her.
She took a deep breath, swallowing her irritation as she gave his hand a friendly pat, then pulled free of his grasp. “I know you’re just trying to help, Clint. But I’ve got this. The ranch is my responsibility, and I’ll take care of it. Besides, I’ve got some ideas about how to bring in some fresh revenue.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, a frown forming on his face. “What kind of ideas?”
“I’m not ready to talk about them yet. They’re still in the planning stages. But I’ll let you know.” Yeah, I’ll let you know as soon as I come up with some.
She gestured to the door. “We should probably get outside. I think Cody is starting those lasso lessons, and there is a young newlywed couple that was interest
ed in a private horseback ride. As long as you’re here, do you think you could get them set up for that?”
He sighed, as if resigned about his advances being put off again. “Yeah, sure. Then I’ll be back later this afternoon to help with supper and do the wagon ride.”
“Sounds good.”
Clint took on a few of the highlights that the ranch offered, taking the guests on an evening wagon ride, doing guided horseback tours, and helping with the country dance lessons.
He was a good guy, but he wasn’t doing everything out of the goodness of his heart. They’d worked out a bartering system, where he helped her out with the ranch activities and she let him use a section of her land to graze his cattle. Plus, he got to keep the tips the guests offered, and with his wholesome, good looks and flirtatious grin, he often had the guests eating out of his hand. His cowboy charm, country twang, and western songs, helped ensure the guests had a great time.
And with the mountain of debt piling up around her, she needed her guests to have a good time—to tell their friends and to come back again.
So for now, whether she liked it or not, that meant she needed Clint.
…
Adam had spent the morning learning how to throw a lasso and discovering the fine art of how to muck out a stall, and his whole body ached. There wasn’t anything in him that was remotely interested in learning how to dance the Texas Two-Step.
Taking a tentative step toward the door, he wondered if it would be bad form to duck out quickly before the lesson started. No one would probably even notice.
He risked a quick glance at Skye, and she flashed him a dazzling smile.
Shit. He wasn’t going anywhere.
Not just because her smile did funny things to his insides, but because he didn’t want to disappoint her. And it had been a long time since he’d really worried about disappointing a woman. Usually if his behavior bothered the woman he was dating, he considered it her problem, not his.
