by Scarlett Ray
“Don’t do me any favors,” I laughed. “But we do still have more of the place to see.” Opening the trap door, I added, “You can go down first so you don’t have to fuss with this thing.” He did, and I followed, making sure the door latched behind me. But when I got toward the bottom of the ladder, Will reached up and put his hands on my hips to keep me steady, helping me down even though I didn’t need it. He had touched me once or twice before, but this gesture was still a lot bolder than I would’ve expected. But gentle, which seemed about right coming from him.
Once I got down, I turned to face him, and even though he was too close, he didn’t step back. “Sorry,” he muttered. “You said not to hold back.” His eyes had drifted down to settle on my lips.
“I did,” taking his hands, I pulled them gently back to rest on my hips again. “So don’t.”
Swallowing hard, he leaned down—damn it, he was tall—and kissed me soft and slow, pulling my body up against his. Nothing about it was rough or demanding, even when his lips parted and his tongue slid into my mouth. His chest was a lot firmer against mine than I would’ve expected, enough to make me wonder what he looked like under that t-shirt. I reached up to grasp at his collar, pressing in closer, but when I moaned against his lips, he pulled away for a breath.
“We, uh…we should get going,” he muttered, his eyes still locked on my lips, his breath slow and deep. The tension in his hands as he was holding onto my hips said he didn’t really want to let go. But part of what I liked about him was that he wasn’t rushing into anything, so I forced myself to take a step back.
“Yeah. You’re right. Let’s go,” I ran my hand down his arm as I passed him, and I swear I saw him shiver despite the heat.
When we got back to the pond where we’d left Noah, he was still right there waiting, pacing up and down the water’s edge. I felt a little guilty for leaving him alone like that after I’d asked him to come with us—but that conversation I’d had with Will surely wasn’t anything he would’ve wanted to see or hear. This time when Will got into the saddle, he was at least a little steadier. He wouldn’t be winning any ribbons for his form, but he did seem more confident. Confidence was important. With a little more instruction, he might actually make a decent rider. Assuming he stuck around long enough for that, anyway.
We continued our tour, circling around the main trail and back toward the Visitor Center. We passed by the campgrounds, where we could see a few tents and Silver Bullets. Every camper who noticed us waved, and I waved back the way I’d gotten used to doing when I passed visitors in the preserve.
My mom had always been the one to do this kind of public relations-style socializing in the past, since Dad was a little on the gruff side. But now this, like everything else, fell to me to carry on, and I’d be damned if I was going to let a single part of the job fall by the wayside. Which was the same reason I patiently introduced Whiskey to some kids from Colorado when they scampered over all big-eyed and interested, rather than telling them to get lost.
“Miss? Miss!” a vaguely familiar voice called my attention. I looked up to find the little girls from earlier leading a man I assumed was their daddy over to meet me.
“Uh, wow,” their dad said as they reached us, looking over our little trio of riders. He looked like the usual sort of tourist who had never seen a horse up close before, so I could imagine how we might be intimidating. “The girls told me they met a group of cowboys out in the woods, but I really thought they were making it up.”
“I told you!” little Ceci piped up, looking in much better spirits now. “The nice cowboy lady saved me!”
“We call those cowgirls, sugar,” I told her with a wink.
“I really can’t thank you enough,” her daddy insisted. “If there’s anything I can do repay you—”
“There is. Keep a closer eye on your kids.”
For a second, no one spoke, and he blinked at me in surprise, “Uh, excuse me?”
“Sir, my name is Dani Vasquez. My family owns this preserve. Now, we’re happy to have people visit; we have all this beautiful land here, so we want to share it.” Folding my arms over my chest, I shifted my weight and went on, “But look around. There are no guardrails here. There are no safety nets. This place is not childproof. We have rangers patrolling, but they aren’t babysitters. That means that while you’re here, you have to watch out for your little ones. There won’t always be a nice cowgirl to come to the rescue.”
He was still frowning hard, but he probably realized he had no right to argue this point, “I… Yeah. I wasn’t thinking of it like that. Well, thank you again for your help. I won’t let them out of my sight again.”
“That’s all the thanks I need,” I said with a pleasant smile, “and you girls be good too.”
As we were leaving, Will cleared his throat and asked hesitantly, “You don’t think that was a little harsh? Isn’t it bad for business to argue with your customers like that?”
“They’re not customers, and this place isn’t a product.” Maybe my tone was a little sharper than necessary. “Besides, my daddy said much worse to other visitors over the years—when they deserved it, of course. So I’m not too worried about hurting our reputation.”
“Anyone ever tell you you sound like him when you get mad?” Noah asked.
“I think I’ve heard that once or twice. And thank you.”
* * *
When we finished up our lap back at the Visitor Center, Miguel was waiting by the trailer to take care of the horses. He smiled at me, as usual, but I could’ve sworn I saw him sneer at Will. What was it with the Wrights and their dislike for him? Was there some kind of Hatfield-McCoy feud here that I wasn’t aware of? Will didn’t seem to notice it himself, standing by a little awkwardly after dismounting.
“Noah,” I faced him. “Thanks for coming out. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” It almost looked like he might smile, but when I offered him Whiskey’s reins, it disappeared. “Ah.”
“I would do it myself,” I said quickly, “but I have to…” I gestured vaguely at Will, as if that explained anything. It seemed like enough of an answer for Noah.
“I understand,” he said shortly, taking the reins from me and leading my horse away without another word. Another stab of guilt went through my stomach. I’d been treating him like garbage ever since that night we spent together, a night that I instigated in the first place, and it really wasn’t fair. I would have to put some time aside to have a good long talk with him, an apology as well as the truth about Nicky.
“Is something wrong?” Will touched my shoulder, and I turned to face him with a weak smile.
“No,” I started to lead him away from the trailer and toward his car so he and Noah didn’t have to be around each other any longer. “Has this day been as educational as you were expecting?”
“Oh, I definitely learned a few things. Thank you for taking some time out of your schedule for my benefit.”
“My pleasure.” Remembering why we had done this in the first place, the official reason, I stopped by the car and crossed my arms. “So, have you decided anything?”
“Some things, yes. Others, no. There’s still plenty more to see. I think I’ll need to stay in town a little while longer to make up my mind.” His tone and the way he looked at me made it pretty clear that he wasn’t staying to see more of the preserve.
“By all means, stay as long as you like,” I answered, unable to keep a playful smile off my lips. “And I’ll show you around to whatever else you’re wanting to see.”
“I look forward to it,” he leaned down and kissed my cheek, turned to unlock his car—then changed his mind and kissed me properly, just as slow and deep as before. When he pulled away, running his thumb over my cheek, he added, “Have dinner with me tonight. Let me take you somewhere nice.”
“Not sure what qualifies as ‘somewhere nice’ in this town. We don’t really do fine dining.”
“We’ll go out of town, t
hen. It’s only about an hour from here to Mesa. I don’t mind driving.”
I had to suppress a frown at the idea. I preferred not to leave town unless I had to. Mesa in particular was close enough to Phoenix that it felt a little outside my comfort zone. But the way he said it, it sounded like he’d been planning this already.
“If you insist,” I said, managing a smile. “I can be ready to go by six if I hurry.”
“Good. I’ll see you then.”
By the time he left, Miguel was finishing up with the horses and Noah was nowhere to be seen. Well, maybe that was best for the moment. Maybe he needed some time to himself before I started pushing him for more conversation. I thanked Miguel for his help and headed back into the Visitor Center; there were still a couple of hours left in my office workday.
“Dani?” Maggie peeked her head out of her office door and called to me, “Could you come in here for a second?”
She’s calling me into her office? I must be in trouble. Still, I did what she said, taking my hat off to fan myself with it. “Something wrong?” I asked.
“It seems like you and Noah are talking again now.”
She must not have seen our last few minutes together. “Yeah, I think so.”
“That’s good to hear. He’s come in to visit with me a time or two and I can tell how much it was bothering him, you giving him the silent treatment.” Her guilt-tripping wasn’t subtle, but I still felt it. “I’ve been thinking how it’s unfair he’s not even getting the chance to be around Nicky. He didn’t know he had a baby here that he wasn’t seeing. You can’t blame him for not being around.”
“You’re right.”
“Now don’t give me that, I—” she paused, blinking in surprise. “You’re agreeing with me?”
“Yeah. I was thinking about it myself earlier,” I admitted. “I haven’t been treating him right since he got back, and it was for a stupid reason. I’m gonna tell him about Nicky soon and give them the chance to spend some time together.”
Maggie grinned like she couldn’t have thought up a better answer herself, “Well praise the Lord and hallelujah, she sees reason. That’s all I was hoping for, sugar. Just for y’all three to work something out and be a family.”
“Well, I don’t know about ‘family.’ Let’s take it one step at a time,” I muttered. “Oh. By the way, I need a babysitter again tonight, if you don’t mind. I might be out a little late.”
Chapter Twelve: Noah
If I wanted to fight Will before, I was ready to tear his throat out after seeing him kiss Dani. Maybe it was my fault for “checking on” them as he was leaving. Whatever the reason, even knowing she wasn’t mine, my beast was practically frothing at the mouth with rage at the thought of her being with someone else—worst of all, some urban northern pack wolf. I left before I lost control long enough to drag him away from her. Things were just going from bad to worse, spiraling faster than I could follow, and I was utterly miserable over it.
Even though Dani seemed willing to try being friends again, I had a hard time with it. Over the next couple weeks, if I saw her when I got to the preserve to start my patrols, I kept the conversation short and tried to focus on working. I wasn’t outright rude or anything, but I didn’t let myself stick around and enjoy her company like I might have in the past. According to Camilla—and pretty much all my cousins in town—Will was still there and still hadn’t done anything worth running him off for. His pursuing Dani didn’t count, the way they saw it. So my hands were tied.
I tried keeping my attention on other things, using my spare time to work on Jared and Mel’s ranch or give Luke’s boys wrestling pointers. But no matter how much I enjoyed riding again and no matter much how much I laughed at Matt and Todd’s attempts to tag-team me, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.
My beast had himself convinced that getting my hands on my mate and keeping her out of anyone else’s hands took top priority. There wasn’t a single thought in my mind that was more appealing than getting close to her again. The contradiction between my logical mind and my instincts was driving me up a damn wall.
Those instincts only got harder to fight when Dani showed up at my door. I had a rent-to-own arrangement on a house that belonged to one of my wealthier aunts, the same house I’d lived in before going off to college. It wasn’t anywhere near as fancy as the Vasquez estate or as homey as Luke’s place, but it was familiar and comfortable. Dani had visited me there plenty of times in the past, but usually with some warning ahead of time. When she and Nicky arrived unannounced Tuesday evening, the best I could manage was a bemused, “Hey?”
“Hey, yourself,” she answered.
“Hi, Noah!” Nicky said brightly.
“Do you have a minute to talk? You keep running off when I try to catch you at work, so I thought now might be a better time.” Well, she wasn’t wrong.
“Uh. Sure,” I agreed, taking a step back to let them in. The front door led right into the living room, with a view of the modest kitchen in the far right corner and a sliding glass door to the patio on the back wall. The place was furnished pretty simply, but I preferred that over too much clutter. Dani paused to take her boots off and instructed Nicky to do the same, so they were both sock-footed on the hardwood floors. “You guys need anything? Water, Coke, tea?”
“We were the ones who dropped in by surprise,” Dani said, going to seat herself in one corner of the leather sofa. “So don’t worry about any of that. Besides, we have something important we want to ask you.” Nicky crawled up onto the seat next to her and beamed at me, so I went to join them.
“Okay. I’m all ears.”
Rather than answering me herself, Dani looked to Nicky, who was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement. He asked me, “Have you been to a rodeo before?”
Oh. Of all the places I expected this conversation to go, that wasn’t one of them. Dani was smirking at me from behind him, already knowing the answer, and I tried my best to be casual as I answered, “Yeah, once or twice.”
“Once or twice?” Dani repeated knowingly, raising an eyebrow.
“All right, a few times.”
“Because…?”
With a heavy sigh, I caved and admitted, “Because I used to ride in them myself.”
“Really?” Nicky asked, eyes wide. “What did you do? Did you ride bulls?”
“Nah, my cousin Luke is the bullrider. I did saddle bronc riding, which is a lot harder to do right,” I told him with a wink.
“Didn’t you two rope together a few times too?” Dani added.
“Yeah, but it didn’t last long. We were better working alone. Guess Wright boys are too pigheaded for teamwork.”
“I’ll say,” she snickered. Nicky continued to grill me about my years in the rodeo, what it was like, what kind of scores I got, injuries, just one question after another rapid-fire. I tried my best to keep up, and Dani seemed amused by my efforts—but at least she was smiling.
“Wait, hang on a second,” I jumped in when Nicky finally stopped for a breath. “Why are we talking about the rodeo anyway?”
“Well, it’s Nicky’s favorite subject,” Dani said, ruffling his dark hair. “And I knew you had some stories to tell. But besides that, we’re going to the one in Kingman this weekend. I was wondering if you might like to join us.”
Another turn I didn’t expect. I didn’t know where she was coming from with this or why she was inviting me instead of her new boyfriend, but it didn’t have much effect on my answer. “I’d like to. But I have work Saturday. I just started this new job of mine, so I’m not sure about taking time off so suddenly…”
Dani rolled her eyes, “Who do you think’s gonna fuss at you about it? Me? Maggie? Not likely. Just get someone to cover your routes and it’s fine.”
“When you put it like that, it doesn’t seem like I have much choice.”
“Oh, you don’t have to go,” she told me. “I just figured if you really were still a cowboy, you’d
be interested. But if you’re saying you got soft from all that time away from home—”
“Watch it with those accusations,” I warned, only making her grin wider. “I said I’d go. I’ll be happy to go.”
“Good. Then come meet us at the house Saturday afternoon. I wanna leave by two at the latest.”
As she started to get up, Nicky, who had been impatiently holding back his barrage of questions, frowned at her, “But I wanted to talk some more!”
“You can talk as much as you want on Saturday and Sunday,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s getting late, and you still need a bath. Come on.” Despite a very obvious pout on his face, he did as she said. Before leaving, she stood on her toes to hug me tightly around my neck, letting me hold her for about two seconds before she pulled away. “We’ll see you Saturday.”
“Can’t wait,” I said honestly, giving them one last wave from the door as they left. Alone again, I was forced to actually think on all my questions about where this invite had come from. Why me? Why not Will? He definitely wouldn’t have fit into that scene as well as I would. Was it just so Nicky would have someone who could share his interest in the rodeo? Some stupid part of me said it was because she wanted to spend time with me herself so she was using this as an excuse.
No. This is just a friendly thing. Maybe she didn’t have any other friends who would be interested and she just didn’t want to look after Nicky by herself. No, that was stupid; she’d been raising him on her own all this time, so why would one weekend make a difference? I just really couldn’t think of a reason she’d involve me in what seemed to be a family thing between her and her son.
And speaking of family, although I knew Luke would probably want to know I was going out of town, I made a firm decision not to mention it to him. Or anyone. He would be quick to tell me that going on an overnight trip with the woman I wanted but couldn’t have was just plain stupid. And he’d probably be right, but damned if I wasn’t going to take the opportunity to be close to her. It would be fine. I could keep myself under control. I could hold back any romantic or…other thoughts that came to mind while we were together. It would be fine. Probably.