by Loraine, Kim
“Fuck,” I muttered.
Ever screamed and pulled on the reins, but the girl kept digging her heels into Skye’s side, sending mixed messages. Skye reared, and Ever toppled off the back of the horse.
“Oh, Jesus.” I hopped over the fence and ran for her, where she lay face down in the dirt. If she was hurt, I’d never forgive myself for agreeing to this.
I dropped to my knees by her side and heaved a sigh of relief as she pushed herself to her knees. Her shirt was covered in dirt, but her knees got the brunt of it. She’d landed in a pile of fresh horse shit, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her.
“Ouch,” she whined, rubbing at her forehead and smearing dirt across her perfect skin.
“You okay?”
She used me to help her to her feet and stared down her body. “Oh, my God. Is that…shit?”
Tristan chuckled from his spot in the corner, and I lurched to standing before running for him. He had no time to stop me. I grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the rail. His hat fell off onto the dirt. “You didn’t teach her the emergency fucking stop? That’s step two. Step one is get on the horse.”
Tristan shoved at my chest, but I was bigger, always had been. I didn’t budge an inch. “Get the fuck off me, Clint.”
“She could’ve been killed.”
“Don’t you think I know that? It’s why she’s in the arena and not on a trail.”
“Stop it, boys. I’m okay. A little sore, but otherwise fine.” Ever placed a palm on my shoulder, and I stopped trying to wring my brother’s neck.
“He’s lucky you’re okay,” I said, releasing him. “He should have taught you the emergency stop.”
“He did.” That took all the wind out of my sails. “I forgot.”
I let out a sharp laugh and shook my head. “You forgot. Your horse was running away with you, and you forgot how to stop the fucking thing?”
“Yes. I panicked.”
I grabbed the back of my neck and squeezed. This was never going to work. We were gonna have injured people and lawsuits on our hands if we had to teach the contestants how to ride. “So, what’s gonna happen when we bring a bunch of people just like you into this arena and try to get them to ride horses? Think they’ll forget too? These animals are smart. They’re fast. And they can kill you with one kick. As much as I’d like to be able to take the money and let this ride, I’m not sure it’s the right thing to do.”
Anger sparked in her eyes. “You signed a contract. You’re stuck with me for the next three weeks, whether you think this is going to work or not.”
“Contracts can be broken. Besides, I know there’s a termination clause. My lawyer made sure of it.”
She damn near growled at me and balled her hands into fists. Then she turned her gaze to my brother. “Can I get back on?”
My eyes went wide. “What?”
She ignored me and strode to Tristan. “Can I?”
His shit-eating grin made my blood boil. “Sure can, gorgeous. Go get your horse. Take him by the lead rope we tucked into his saddle.”
Skye was standing by the gate, staring longingly at the stables. “What are you doing?” I grumbled at my brother as Ever walked up to the horse. She kept herself on his left side, sliding her hand over his rump as she reached up for the lead.
“She’s good on him. Besides, how many times have we all been thrown?”
“More than I can count.”
“Exactly. It was an accident. We’ll practice the emergency stop a few more times before I get her into a trot again. You have to give her more credit.”
She was talking to Skye, nuzzling his face and petting him. The horse nudged her affectionately, and she giggled. Dammit, her giggle was easy and adorable. She could have walked Skye to the mounting block, but I was moving toward her before I knew what was happening. “Need some help?” I asked.
Her eyes found mine, and a tug of something like want began in my belly. Shit. Shit. Shit. I couldn’t let this attraction to her get out of hand. She wasn’t staying. She wasn’t permanent. And, she wasn’t made for this life. “Sure.” She grinned. “What do I do?”
“Put your foot in the stirrup.” I hooked my fingers in the D-ring under the stirrup and waited until her foot was secure. “Now grab the reins and the base of Skye’s mane with one hand, and the horn with the other. Pull yourself up.”
As she did what I told her, I used my right arm to support her leg and helped her onto the horse. The contact was brief, but I felt her strong thigh, the curve of her ass, and I wanted more.
She smiled and nodded. “That wasn’t so hard.”
“Just wait until you’re doin’ it on your own. The first time your horse doesn’t want to stand still while you struggle up on that saddle, you’ll be wishing for some help.”
“I’ll get it. Practice makes perfect, right?”
I laughed. “Sure, but that won’t keep you from getting a shoulder to the chest or a saddle to the face at least once.”
“Has that happened to you?”
I touched my finger to my cheek. “Right here. Just two weeks ago, I was mounting Wildfire. Bastard reared up and smashed my cheek with the hard part of that saddle. I should have been more careful, but I got lazy.”
I adjusted her stirrups and checked the girth on the saddle, tightening it a little before backing away.
“Thanks, Clint,” she said before clicking her tongue and telling Skye to walk. One lap around the arena, and she was confident in her seat again.
“Still think she’s not cut out for this?” Tristan asked, coming up next to me with his hands in his pockets.
“Maybe, maybe not. One day in the arena isn’t gonna prove much.”
“It proves she’s got grit. I thought for sure she’d be done after falling in a pile of horse shit.”
He laughed. “Even I wouldn’t be back on my horse so quick. I’d at least have changed my pants.”
I watched her lead the horse around a set of cones, stopping him, making him back up, taking him back to a walk. “Emergency stop, Tristan.”
He nodded and strode toward Ever as I let myself out of the arena and headed to the stables where my own horse was waiting. I had cattle to check and fence to survey. It looked like it was gonna snow again, and we had to be prepared.
7
Ever
I ached everywhere. My ass hurt, my thighs hurt, even my shoulders hurt. Every bump of the truck as Clint drove me back to the guest house sent a deep throbbing through me.
“You get enough supper?” he asked. “Didn’t look like you ate much.”
“I’m too tired to eat.”
He chuckled. “You’ll get used to it sooner or later.”
“I just want to open some wine and take a hot bath.”
“Unless you brought yourself some wine, I promise you there’s none in that guest house.”
I sighed. “I know. A girl can dream.”
“I want you to spend the next week training in the arena with Tristan. Then, once he’s confident you can handle it, you and me are going on a ride so I can see how you handle yourself.”
A frown furrowed my brow. “A ride? Where?”
“To wherever I take you.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re such a…”
“Such a what?”
“I was going to say caveman, but cowboy seems more appropriate.”
He grinned, and I saw the ghost of a dimple under his trimmed beard. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
When we pulled up next to the jeep I still hadn’t driven, I expected him to simply let me out and be done with me, but Clint walked me to the door. I stopped as my feet hit the first stair leading to the covered porch. Outside my door, I found a large shoebox and a set of gloves, with a cream-colored wool cowboy hat perched on top. “What’s this?”
“Mama must’ve gone into town. She’ll have bought you exactly what you need.”
A smile tugged at my lips before I could stop mysel
f. She was like a country fairy godmother. I pulled my keys from my coat pocket, and Clint knelt to pick up the gift from Mama. “I got it,” I said, reaching for the stuff.
He shook his head. “I know how much your shoulders hurt. I’ve been on that end of things. Hell, I sometimes still feel that way after a hard day. Let me bring this inside for you.”
I opened the door and walked inside, sitting on the small bench directly next to the door so I could pull off my ruined boots. I was covered in dirt and horse poop and sweat. Disgusting. But when Clint set down my supplies, he looked at me like I wasn’t any of those things. A whisper of longing started to build in my chest, but I batted it away. “Thanks for your help. Earlier and now.”
He grinned and gripped the brim of his hat as he ducked his chin. “My pleasure. I’ll see you in the mornin’, Ever. Think you can drive down, or do you need me to give you a ride one more day?”
Technically, I could have driven myself this morning, but I bit my lip and looked at him. “One more day. To help me get my bearings.”
“See you then.” He moved to leave but turned back. “There’s pain reliever in the top drawer in the bathroom. I’d take a couple before the real ache sets in.” His boots were loud on the wood floor, echoing as he left and shut the door behind him.
My heart fluttered as I watched him walk to his truck. His slightly bowlegged stance was sexy as fuck with the combination of tight jeans and cowboy boots. God, why did he have to be so damn hot?
On throbbing feet, I made my way to the bathroom and said a prayer of thanks that this place had a large tub. I caught sight of myself in the mirror and gasped. I looked like I’d been mud wrestling and lost. But that was sort of what had happened, wasn’t it? Skye had shown me exactly who was boss. But there was no way I was going to let him win.
My forehead was already sporting a bruise where I’d landed on my own fist. I reached up and gently palpated the tender spot, wincing as pain blossomed across my skin. I needed that pain reliever Clint had suggested. Opening the drawer, I found it and a few packaged toothbrushes and a first aid kit. How did he know what was left behind in the drawers of the bathroom here? I wondered if he’d prepared this place for me himself. Maybe.
I popped two pills and stripped out of my dirty clothes before taking out my contacts and stepping into the tub, pulling the white curtain closed around me. Turning on the shower, I yelped as cold water hit me, but immediately sighed because my feet were sore enough the chill felt nice. Before long, the bathroom was filled with steam, and I was squeaky clean.
My phone rang from the bathroom counter as I turned off the water. I didn’t need a bath anyway. I was too tired. Wrapping in a towel, I answered and put the call on speaker.
“Hello?”
“Tell me all about it,” Joey said by way of greeting.
“Hi to you too. I’m fine, thanks.”
“Sorry. How are you?”
“Sore and tired. I got thrown from a horse.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, and I could practically see her grimace. “Already? Damn, I lost the pool.”
“There’s a pool?”
She laughed. “Yeah. Lots of them, actually. One for how long it takes you to come home, one for whether or not you’ll break a bone, one for when you’d get bucked off. And so on.”
“How long did you give me on the horse?”
“Two days.”
I sighed. “More like two hours.”
“Did you break anything?”
“Just my pride.” I remembered the look on Clint’s face as I fell. Absolute horror. He wasn’t gloating or amused. He was genuinely worried about me. “I got back on, though.”
“Good for you. So, other than falling, how’s it going?”
“It’s hard, and I haven’t even really started the work part. Up before the sun, it’s freezing cold, and Clint is…he’s a lot to handle.”
A chuckle rolled through the line. “He’s a whole lot of cowboy, that’s for sure. All those Ryker boys seemed that way.”
“Yeah, they do.”
“Well, the reason I called wasn’t just to see where I stood in the pools. I set up a Google folder for your notes. Can you drop them there each night so I can type up a weekly summary for the network execs?”
I swallowed back the lump in my throat. “How detailed?”
“I think they want everything.”
Of course they did. I wasn’t new to this world. I’d never been the location scout before, but Clint had insisted. “So, like a journal of my day?”
“Exactly.”
“Sure.” I opened the bathroom door and walked out in nothing but a towel to find Clint Ryker standing in my living room with a bottle of wine and a bundle of firewood in each hand.
“I’m gonna have to call you back, Joey.”
* * *
“What are you doing here?” I asked, clutching the towel closer to my body.
Clint looked me up and down before he set the wine bottle on the kitchen counter and calmly strode to the fireplace, which was cold and dark. “I thought you said you wanted to soak in the tub. I figured that would give me plenty of time to get you some firewood so you didn’t freeze all night. Looked like you were running low when I dropped you off.”
“So you think it’s totally fine to let yourself into people’s homes uninvited?”
He cocked a brow. “It’s my home.”
I didn’t have a response to that. Instead, I watched him as he removed his hat and set it on the couch before kneeling by the hearth. He moved the screen away from the front and started the process of stacking wood and getting the flames lit. It wasn’t long before there was a cheery fire crackling, and he’d neatly filled the firewood rack.
“You planning to stand there in your towel all night?” He grinned, and I felt myself blushing to the roots of my hair.
“So what if I am? Are you staying?”
A shrug lifted his shoulders. “Brought you some leftover supper too. And a piece of Mama’s chocolate cake.” He dragged a hand across the back of his neck. “I think we need to get to know each other a little better if this is gonna work.”
“It’s not like we’re getting married.”
His jaw clenched. “Did I say that?”
“No. It’s…you’re acting like we have to be friends for the show to work. I won’t even be here most of the time while it’s filming.”
“You won’t?”
I shook my head. “It’s really not necessary.”
His brows pulled together, and he stood, agitation clear in his posture. “I don’t think you understand how important this ranch is to me. I can’t have you coming in here and changing everything to fit what your show needs.”
I couldn’t have this conversation standing nearly naked in front of him. “Hang on one second, will you? I need to put some clothes on so we can talk about this.”
“Don’t get dressed up on account of me,” he said.
“Wouldn’t you like it if I stayed like this?” I couldn’t help but tease a little. He was wound too tight.
He didn’t answer; instead he sat on the couch and stared everywhere but at me. I strode past him and into the small bedroom where I dressed quickly in a pair of yoga pants and my favorite loose t-shirt. Then I pulled my damp hair into a bun high on my head and slid on my black-rimmed glasses. If he looked good when I was blindly wandering out of the shower, I couldn’t imagine what he’d look like now.
“Okay,” I said, heading back to the living room. “Tell me your concerns.”
He stood in the kitchen, corkscrew in hand. “I have more than a few. Did you still want this wine?”
Sighing, I nodded. “Definitely.”
He opened the bottle and poured us both glasses. I was surprised to see this place had everything. A full set of dishes, silverware, cooking utensils. But it wasn’t your typical hotel or guest house fare. This was high quality. This was the kind of stuff you bought for your own home.
�
��Did someone actually live here before I got here?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No.”
“So, you just…furnished the entire place on the off chance you needed it.”
He shrugged. “Here.” Handing me the wine, he took a seat next to me and swallowed a long gulp. A grimace told me everything I needed to know about his taste in alcohol.
“Not a wine guy?”
“I’d take a beer or some whiskey over wine any day.”
I chuckled. “Next time.”
“Sure, next time.”
“So, tell me what you’re concerned about.”
He set his glass on the coffee table. “You got hurt today. It’s the first day. You came in here unprepared, and we weren’t prepared for you either. How are we going to manage all these people? And, how are we going to be able to keep ranching if we have to keep them from getting killed?”
“I…” I didn’t have a good answer.
“Exactly.”
“We’ll have to get them acclimated before they get here. Maybe a crash course on riding and safety around the animals. Give them a supply list so they have the right kind of boots and clothes.”
“We’re not a dude ranch. Never even considered it.”
“Do you want to be?”
He frowned again and ran a hand through his dark hair. “Fuck, Ever. I don’t know. All I know is, I need the money and a way to keep this place going. We’re in the black right now, but that’s only because of the advance the network gave us.”
“Was it bad before your dad died?”
He shook his head. “No. We were turning a profit every year. My…our executive assistant stole nearly everything from us. We’re finally able to bring our staff back. But I can’t turn this place into something it was never supposed to be. We’re a cattle ranch. We train horses. We don’t entertain tourists.”
I rested my hand on his and looked into those gorgeous, soulful eyes. “I’ll do everything I can to keep the integrity of your family’s ranch a priority for the network. This isn’t going to be a joke. It’s going to be a test of the contestants. They’ll be learning what it takes to be a cowboy, not performing staged experiences.”