Stetson was annoyed to find himself stuck in the country without his friend. He was only here as a favor to Jared. He took his shoes off once he got to his room. It was quiet, no taxis honking their horns or sirens blaring. He walked over to the window and looked at the moonlight glistening on the lake. It had been a long time since he had heard crickets. It was peaceful here. Maybe he’d stay a day or two, Jared or no.
As long as he was here, he’d make the best of it. He planned to get up early and check out this little ranch in the morning. He had to admit, he did miss ranching a little. Maybe Jared was right. This might be a great break from the hectic world of New York City.
* * *
AJ was up early in the morning. She grabbed a piece of toast and some fruit and headed out the door toward the stables. She wanted to check out the horses. She opened up the sliding door and breathed in the wonderful barn smells. Either you loved the smell or you hated it. AJ loved it.
“Howdy, ma’am, Carson here. Can I saddle up a horse for ya?”
AJ immediately liked Carson. He had a grey mustache, smartly trimmed, and his well-worn cowboy hat was tipped just so to one side. He was slim, but you could see he was rancher strong. AJ guessed the ranch guests appreciated his rugged good looks. She saw through to his kind eyes and knew she had a friend. When is the last time I rode a horse?
Carson gave her Pug, one of their safer horses. Normally, AJ would have asked for a high-spirited horse, but it had been eight years since she had ridden, so she figured she’d play it safe.
AJ rode Pug toward the covered bridge. She was excited to ride around the lake. And it looked like she was the first one up. The morning air smelled so good in the country.
As she got closer to the bridge, Pug started balking and backing up. AJ got down and grabbed the reins and tried soft-talking Pug over toward the bridge. When that didn’t work, she tried force, but he would not budge. She pulled him away toward the lake so she could head back and ask for a more cooperative horse.
As she was putting her foot back in the stirrups, a male voice shouted, “Hiyah!”
Pug lunged forward. AJ lost her balance, hopped around on one foot, trying to pull the other out of the stirrup, succeeded, and fell backward into the lake. Wiping dirty water off her face for the second time in as many days, she fumed. Who in their right mind…
A man poked his head out from around the horse.
No way. The guy who stole her cab.
“I am so sorry! I just gave the horse a little slap to get him going for you.” He stepped toward the lake and reached out his hand. “I didn’t know you were mounting back up. It’s a bit hard to do from down where you were, anyway.”
AJ grabbed his hand. “I’ll remember that next time someone tries to spook my horse.” Her temper flared, and she pulled hard, yanking him into the lake beside her.
He came up sputtering, and AJ started to laugh, hiccupping and gasping for air. It was embarrassing—she could not stop laughing. And once the man stopped choking on lake water, he burst into laughter as well.
When they finally stopped laughing, AJ reached out her hand. “I am Abby Jane, nice to meet you. What are the odds we’d run into each other again?” She chuckled. “I’m sorry for snapping at you in the airport.”
The cab-stealer took her hand. “Stetson here.” He grinned. “Now can you tell me why I seem to be so annoying to you?”
“You mean, besides the fact that you made my horse dump me in the lake?”
“Yeah, I’m not off to a good start.” Stetson’s charming smile had its intended effect on AJ.
She warmed to him. “You stole my cab yesterday—right when I got to the curb. Then the cab took off, and a wall of water drenched me.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, I didn’t see you at all. I’m sorry.”
“You were pretty preoccupied with your phone.”
“My friend Jared was telling me he was planning to catch a later flight. He should be here later today.” He added, “He talked me into coming here for a week in the country.”
They climbed out of the lake. AJ’s clothes clung to her. “Do you like the country?” she asked as she tried to get her hair back in order.
“Not really. I got plenty of country growing up.” His gaze lowered to her shirt and then whipped back up to her face. He grinned, but had the decency to look away.
AJ flushed. “We better go change.”
Stetson helped her climb up the bank of the lake. “Could we take that morning ride together?”
“Sure. I’ll meet you at the stables in fifteen minutes. We better hurry; I think we all get ranch work assignments at nine.”
Things had taken a surprising turn. The guy was actually pleasant. She looked forward to spending time with him. He had a great laugh, and it had seemed so natural to just let go and laugh with him. She hadn’t felt like that with anyone for a long time.
* * *
Stet could not stop smiling as he climbed the stairs to his room. This could turn out to be a great week after all. He was still wary of dating anyone, but it couldn’t hurt to get to know her. At the end of the week, they would all go back to their own lives anyway. But it wouldn’t be easy to forget this woman. He had wanted to pull her into his arms as he helped her out of the lake.
Henry chewed on a piece of straw at the end of the hall. Stet had liked Henry right off. He was a tall, thin man with a face that looked like he was always on the verge of smiling. His eyes twinkled like he was about to tell a funny story. He was the kind of person you wanted to tell your troubles to. Stet’s Uncle Jake had been like that before he passed away. These were good men. Stet had spent many hours on the ranch talking out his problems with his Uncle Jake.
“You going for a ride?” Henry’s eyes twinkled like he knew something.
“Sure am, sir. Heading out with Abby Jane.”
“She’s a pretty one.” His smile made Stet laugh.
“That she is.”
He met up with Abby at the stables. As they took their horses around the lake, Abby asked, “Why don’t you like the country? Those jeans look pretty happy on you.”
Stetson laughed. “I have to admit, I am my most comfortable in jeans. But you don’t have to live in the country to wear them. I love the city and all the activity there. You really feel alive and in the middle of life.”
Abby only nodded. “What is your assigned job today? I left my schedule in my room.”
Stet pulled out his schedule, and Abby leaned closer to see. “Everyone has a chore to do if you are doing the working ranch vacation. There are guests here who opt out of that you know.”
Stet leaned closer. “Jared and I are supposed to repair the stable roof. Apparently the cupola blew off in the last storm, and Carson asked if we could get it back up there securely. But Jared is still not here, so I guess it’s up to me. What are you doing?”
Abby sighed. “I think I am going to just wander around. They asked if I wanted to learn how to make tamales, but I don’t even like tamales. I would much rather be outside.”
“What were you doing in New York?” Stet asked.
“Is it hard to imagine that I actually live there?” Abby laughed.
“Well, yes. I just assumed, since you love the country so much, that you didn’t live in the city.” Stet wondered why he hadn’t had the luck to run into her before.
“I work for a magazine. But I am so happy to be away from it for a week.”
They walked their horses making small talk the rest of the way around the lake. The more she talked, the more he wanted to listen. The gulf breeze blew across the water. Beavers swam on the far side of the lake. Spanish moss hung from some of the trees. And the shade was a welcome relief from the constant sunshine, even so early in the morning.
Much of the ranch was forested. On both sides of the ranch house, the woods had been cleared and looked more like a park. But the river bottom woods were wild. Stet figured there was a lot of wildlife back in those woo
ds. He had heard a large pack of coyotes as he drifted off to sleep last night. But knowing the country as he did, Stet was sure there were raccoons, opossums, and probably armadillos ready for their night prowl.
When they got back to the ranch house, Abby wished him luck with his chores and headed inside.
Stet was surprised she headed in so quickly, and he felt the loss of her happy influence. But he had work to do. So he headed over to the barn to find Carson and get started fixing the cupola.
Chapter 3
A s AJ headed into the kitchen, Mary stopped her. “Abby, would you mind heading into town and getting some feed for the horses? We are in the middle of making the tamales, and it’s quite the process when you do it Juanita’s way.”
“Sure,” AJ said, “I would love to see the town. Do you need anything else?”
“I have your cell number, so I’ll call if I think of anything. Take the truck—the keys are on the window ledge by the door. Daniel at the feed store has the order ready.”
AJ grabbed an apple and the keys and headed to the truck. She loved trucks. Her Tesla was a great car for the city, but there was nothing quite as comfortable as a truck. You sat up high and had a commanding view of the road. She drove down US 90A less than a mile and pulled up into the parking lot of the feed store.
The store smelled of alfalfa and grain. After living in New York, it was a rare treat for AJ to be in this feed store. She loved everything about it. Men and women in cowboy hats, jeans, and boots were shooting the breeze about the latest tractor auction. No one was in a hurry, and everyone seemed comfortable in their own skin.
She told the manager she was there to pick up the order for Mary. Daniel stopped to look her over and said in a smooth Texas drawl, “Ma’am, we have that waiting at the side. If you would drive up, we will be happy to load it for you.”
AJ wasn’t ready to leave the store yet, so she wandered up and down the aisles just soaking in the ambiance of the place. On a whim she asked Daniel if he had lamb-and-rice dog food—it was all her dog could eat due to allergies.
Daniel stopped and looked at her. “Ma’am, we are simple country folk here. We just have dog food.”
AJ had to laugh. Would her dog, Sasha, put up with just “dog food?”
She drove to the side of the building and met Chet, Daniel’s younger brother. He took one look at her and was all smiles. “What can I do for you, ma’am?” He walked up to the truck and leaned his forearms in the open window.
AJ laughed and leaned away a little. “I’m picking up the feed order for Mary.” He was cute and had a great smile. But those dark eyes were full of mischief.
“Oh, you’re a guest at River Lakes. Listen, if you get bored over there, I can really show you a good time.” He pushed closer. His black cowboy hat was pushed back, showing off his dark curly hair.
“Well, I am sure you could, Chet. But I am here to get away from nice, helpful men like yourself.” AJ winked.
“There’s going to be a barn dance here in two days.” Chet lifted his hat and mussed up his curls. “The Rockets are coming to town and they put on a great show. I would be happy to teach you some good Texas line dancing.”
She did love line dancing And she might as well have some fun while she was here. “I’m not a stranger to line dancing. I might be able to teach you a thing or two.”
Chet looked like a fun date, but she was more interested in Stetson. It was too bad he didn’t have any interest in country living—that was one thing AJ definitely wanted in a husband. She had been in New York long enough to know she would not be happy in the city.
As she was backing the truck up, Chet waved and called out, “I’ll pick you up at eight.”
She wasn’t sure she would actually go with Chet to the dance. But he didn’t wait to get an answer, so, if she decided not to go, it was his own arrogance that stood him up.
After the feed was loaded, she drove up and down the main street and imagined living in this small town. They had a tractor store, a Dairy Queen, a Mexican restaurant, and a small grocery store. The town didn’t come close to her much loved grandfather’s land in Wyoming, but it was perfect in its own way. Clothes-buying trips to New York would solve the lack of a clothing store. But truly, what would she wear here anyway, besides jeans?
As AJ drove into the ranch’s driveway, she saw Stetson on top of the stable, holding the cupola in one hand and a power drill in the other. He had a rope loosely tied around his waist and was stepping from one metal roof screw to the other to avoid slipping down the steep roof.
“What in the world is he doing?” she muttered to herself.
He seemed like he knew what he was doing, but then Stetson teetered, lost his balance, and started to slide down the roof. AJ drove the truck straight to the stables and ran over to the ladder that was propped against the side.
As she leapt out of the car, Stetson seemed to catch himself. Then he sat down to look at his foot.
“Are you okay?” she yelled up to Stet.
“There’s a lot of blood. I haven’t had a chance to take my sock off to check how bad it is. I was doing okay until my shoe flipped off—then one of the nails tore through the ball of my foot.”
AJ got her phone out and called the house. “Mary, can you send Carson over here? Stetson has had an accident, and I need help getting him off the roof.”
Carson came over in the other truck, and, between the both of them, they got Stet down the ladder and into the truck. “Abby, can you take Stetson over to Doc Becker? He’s two doors down from the feed store. I’m birthing a calf over at the barn, otherwise I’d be happy to go.”
As AJ sped down the highway, Stet tried to reassure her. “I’m fine. Let’s not get ourselves killed on the way to the doctor. Trucks handle differently than whatever car you drive.”
“Stetson, I grew up driving trucks. In fact, they’re my favorite vehicle.” Annoyed with his comment about her driving, AJ grit her teeth, trying to stay silent, and then huffed, “If you want to talk about safety—what in the world were you trying to do up on that roof? I know you probably don’t have much experience with metal roofs, but those loafers you were wearing were an accident waiting to happen.”
“Abby, I have more experience than you think with metal barn roofs. But you are right about the shoes. My friend Jared talked me into this, and I didn’t look at it too closely before I threw a few things in the suitcase and came. Seems like a great idea but, honestly, pretending to work on a ranch is not my idea of fun.”
“Well, I guess some people love it, and some don’t. Let’s get your foot fixed.” She didn’t need to argue with him about why she loved the ranch life more than any other.
Stet hopped on one foot, leaning on AJ for support as they made their way into the doctor’s office. When the nurse saw all the blood, she took them back to one of the exam rooms immediately.
Once the nurse had washed the wound, the doctor came in.
“Stetson, the heel is really a large callus and stitching it up isn’t going to make much of a difference in the healig. This cut isn’t that deep, the foot would probably heal without my intervention.”
AJ looked at Stetson.
“Listen, doctor,” Stet said, “just fix this so my shoe quits filling up with blood.”.
As the doctor started stitching the heel, Stetson turned ghost-white. AJ jumped up from the chair and grabbed his hand. “It’s okay Stet, don’t watch the doctor. Tell me about your favorite vacation.”
His color returned as he tried to mumble some words about Cancun.
The doctor smiled. “Well that did the trick. Nothing like a pretty lady to bring the color back into a fellow’s face.”
AJ’s laugh made him grin. She felt her face heat in pleasure at his reaction. Her heart sped up, but she didn’t let go. She didn’t want to let go. And besides, she was helping him.
Stetson turned to look into her eyes. “Thank you. I’m not too good with blood.”
AJ return
ed his look and felt herself being drawn closer to him. She smiled. “Don’t worry. My grandpa was the same.” She tried to move away, but Stetson would not release her hand. So she studied his face and the intensity with which he stared back into her eyes. Something about him made her want to know much more.
The doctor cleared his throat. “Well, I think you are going to be just fine now. Come see me in three days, and we will take a look at it.”
Once back at the ranch, with everyone fussing over Stetson, AJ went upstairs to her room. What in the world was coming over her? She couldn’t fall in love with a city boy. But she was scared that she might just relent and give up her dream of living in the country.
Chapter 4
T hat night another guest arrived. When the car drove up, Stet jumped up gingerly, thinking Jared had finally arrived.
But instead of Jared, Sherrie stepped out of the car and walked up to the front porch, followed by three men carrying her luggage. Stet cringed and looked over to Abby. Everyone was out on the porch, sitting in rocking chairs. They’d been watching the grass grow and enjoying a lovely evening breeze. “Sherrie, what are you doing here?”
“Hello, dear,” Sherrie crooned. “Jared told me he couldn’t make it to the ranch this week after all. And when he told me about your accident, I booked Daddy’s jet and came out to nurse you back to health.”
Stetson felt sick. He’d almost started to enjoy this trip, even without Jared. But now that Sherrie was here, it was definitely spoiled.
Mary stood up. “Welcome, Sherrie, let me introduce you to our guests.” As she came to Abby she said, “This is Abby. She’s the one who saved Stetson, getting him off the roof and to the doctor quickly.”
“I see,” Sherrie said with a not-too-friendly look at Abby.
“It’s nice you have a friend here to help you, Stetson.” Abby stood and starting heading inside. “Good night all.”
“I don’t need any help!” Stet exclaimed, not bothering to hide his frustration.
The others on the porch quickly got up, making excuses to leave. Soon, Stet and Sherrie were alone.
Her Billionaire Cowboy Page 2
