by Desiree Holt
“Don’t forget we’ve got some ready to drop at our place. Buck said you’d be out tomorrow to check on them, right?”
“Absolutely.” Sable looked at her watch. “And speaking of checking on cattle, I have to check on Dan Fusco’s steer that got himself caught in the barbed wire. Make sure infection doesn’t set in.”
“Okay. Spike and I are out of here. See you tonight. Don’t be late,” Amy called over her shoulder.
“As long as I don’t have any emergencies, I’ll be there.”
She stood in the waiting room, watching Amy head out to her SUV. She was amazed at how easily she had settled into her situation here. The house Ryan had told her about had turned out to be both perfect for her needs and affordable. Her practice was thriving, she had made friends and she even got to ride her horse a few times a week. In the beginning, until she knew the lay of the land, Ryan had ridden with her, and those hours had been among her most enjoyable.
Her mind turned to the evening ahead. Would Ryan be there? Did he hang out at Mike’s too? They’d had lunch together once and dinner out twice since that first night. And three nights of stupendous, mind-blowing sex. She’d told him jokingly it was her way of thanking him for finding the perfect house for her, but who the hell was she kidding? She was becoming addicted to him, and that definitely wasn’t in her career plan.
Swallowing a sigh, she headed back to her office to get ready for her next appointment. For the moment, she needed to put tonight firmly out of her mind.
* * * * *
Ryan carried his mug of coffee out to the back porch and stood there staring out over the scene before him. The sight never failed to give him a little thrill. In front of him, three of the horses not currently being ridden were having playtime in the corral, reveling in the sunshine and the cool breeze. To one side of it stretched the two long buildings that housed his pedigree bulls and the rest of his horses. Right now, the young bulls were in the near pasture enjoying their freedom, while the cows he bred milled lazily in the far pasture. The land was his as far as he could see. All his.
Ryan never for a minute lost sight of his good fortune. Sure, he’d worked his ass off and collected a bunch of bumps and bruises along the way to winning enough money for his dream. But now he was here, where he’d always wanted to be. With pedigreed stock bred to buck and cowboys who knew how to train them. His stock was now in great demand at many rodeos, and he was working his way up to the really big ones.
Life was certainly very good.
And then there was Sable. Hot, sexy, tempting, passionate, smart, funny Sable Hunter. God. Every minute he spent with her was an enriching experience in his life. God knows, he’d known more than his share of women on the rodeo circuit. When he was younger, fresh meat and horny as hell, he’d definitely had his share of buckle bunnies. In the beginning, they’d been tasty treats to a guy out in the heat and excitement of the rodeo. But after a while, it had gotten old, a reality that kicked him right in the ass. Who knew he’d ever get tired of an endless supply of faceless women offering inventive sex? Or that he’d yearn for someone to just have a good conversation with? Someone who didn’t see him as a trophy and didn’t want to haul him off to a justice of the peace. Jesus. It seemed all they’d wanted was to latch on to his growing fame and his bank account. By the time he’d been ready to retire, he’d about decided all the women with brains were either taken or too smart to hook up with a rodeo cowboy.
Although he’d been raised in Montana, he’d fallen in love with Texas—especially San Antonio—the first time he’d competed in the city’s stock show and rodeo. He’d driven out to Saddle Wells one day with a friend who had business there and had the instant feeling he’d come home. Looking for land here for his ranch had been a no-brainer.
There were certainly plenty of women for a town as small as Saddle Wells, but no one had really piqued his interest. Until Sable. She’d hit him with the force of a tornado. Unlike a lot of men, he had few misgivings about her ability to handle his animals. She might be only five foot five, but she used every inch to its maximum, just as he’d seen other female vets do on the circuit. He admired the hell out of her whenever he watched her with his stock. She had quick, sure hands, excellent diagnostic skills and something else. Something he’d only seen with a few veterinarians on the circuit. Pete Lynch had it and so did Sable. It was an unconscious instinct, an ability to connect with animals that made her invaluable.
So now here he was, with a woman who understood his business, rocked his boat in bed and could make him relax and enjoy life. For the first time, he’d found someone he could really see a future with, and she just wanted to be friends. Have friendly sex. If it didn’t frustrate him so much, he’d be laughing his ass off. He was finally ready to settle down and the woman he wanted to do it with wanted to be just friends. Fate certainly played tricks when you weren’t looking.
“That coffee must be ice-cold by now, boss.”
“Huh?” Ryan blinked, startled by the voice of one of his hands. “Oh, sorry, Sonny.” He gestured with the hand holding the mug. “Just taking this all in and telling myself again how lucky I am.”
“We all are,” his foreman agreed. “You made this a great place to work.”
“Joint effort,” he told the man. He took a sip of the coffee that had indeed grown cold. “Got that stall and pen ready for the new arrival?”
“All set.” Sonny grinned. “I can hardly wait to see this big bastard. He must be really something for you to bring him on, what with Brutus being king of the hill and all.”
Ryan smiled. If he’d learned anything riding the bulls on the rodeo circuit it was that a stud bull made the difference between average bucking bulls and those that rodeos sought after highly. When he’d first started the Gold Buckle, he’d invested a lot in Brutus, knowing that a good bull matched with the proper cow would sire a winner. Many winners. High-performance bulls were worth their weight in gold, and that was a damn lot of weight. Four years after he’d started, he had done well enough to increase his options. Now he’d forked over a bundle for a bull that would do just that.
Three days from now, his latest acquisition, Red Danger, would arrive and be housed in special quarters in the barn. Ryan had used up a lot of his ready cash for the bull, but with the contracts he had for the coming season and the bulls Red Danger would sire, he’d be in excellent financial shape when it all settled down.
Excitement sizzled through him as he thought about it.
Almost as exciting as getting naked with Sable Hunter.
He gave himself a mental shake, remembering that Sonny was talking to him.
“Let’s check that stall and the pen attached to it one last time, okay? I can’t afford for this guy to get loose.”
“Okay. Want me to get Manny too? I thought he could help me with the new guy.”
“No.” He shook his head. “Manny’s just a little too young and a little too eager to show what he can do with Brutus.”
“He’s really been working hard at this, boss,” Sonny pointed out. “He knows how to move the bull from his stall to the pen and back without letting him loose. He’s all hyped up.”
“And that’s part of the problem,” Ryan told him. “I need settled hands with this critter. This new bull isn’t called Red Danger for nothing. Manny hasn’t yet learned patience and attention to detail. And safety—both his and the bull’s.”
“Whatever you say, boss. I’m just sayin’, he’s really been looking forward to this.”
“He can keep looking forward to it until I think he’s ready.” Ryan stepped off the porch and dumped his cold coffee on the ground. “Let’s go look at the setup for Red Danger.”
That should be his number one priority now, not the woman he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about. Not her sharp mind or her luscious body, but the bull that he hoped would put the Gold Buckle on the rodeo map once and for all. He’d thought himself too old for this kind of attack of hormones, but he guessed
his dick hadn’t gotten the message.
And not just his dick. He wanted more than just sex, but if that was all he could get for the moment, he’d take it and bide his time. He was a patient man, and she was definitely worth waiting for. As he walked toward the barn, he made a mental note to call Buck Montgomery. Maybe he could offhandedly find out if the women were having one of their nights out tonight, and if by some chance Sable would be with them. Maybe he could just casually drop in wherever they were.
Pathetic, Donovan. Just pathetic.
* * * * *
Even over the other conversations in Mike’s, Sable heard the laughter of her friends the moment she walked in. They were seated at a large round table in the center of the room. Charity was obviously relating some story, gesticulating with her hands, and the women were in hysterics. Sable knew with Charity, a deputy with Sheriff Dillon Cross, there were always good stories to relate.
Georgie spotted her as she walked up to the table, rose and dragged another chair over for her.
“Sit,” she ordered. “You look like you could use a good drink.”
“That’s no lie.” She dropped into the chair and hung her purse over the back. “I can say in all honesty that while I love all the animals I treat, pigs have to be way down on the list.” She fanned her face. “Whew! I stopped at the house and showered and changed and I still smell like the three little piggies.”
“No, you’re good,” Amy assured her. “Jack Mather having a problem?”
It always amazed Sable that as sprawling as the county was, everyone knew who raised what animals, grew what produce or produced the best litters. Talk about a tight community.
“Yes. The nicest thing to call it is the pig flu, but no matter what name you give it, it’s not pleasant.” She reached for an empty mug in the center of the table. “Jack’s smart, though. He called me the minute he spotted the signs, so we caught it in time. But now I definitely need a drink.” She filled her mug from one of the pitchers on the table, lifted it and took a long swallow.
“Wow.” Amy stared at her. “That must have been some pig disease. You usually just sip.”
Sable set the mug down, picked up a paper napkin and wiped her mouth. “Any pig disease calls for a big drink. Just don’t tell Jack Mather I said so.”
“So tell us, Sable.” Amy leaned forward on the table, mischief glittering in her eyes. “What’s the latest scoop with Ryan Donovan?”
Sable counted to five.
“I see the gossip train is on the fast track again.” She took another swallow of beer. “Can’t a man and woman have a meal without Jinx outing it on the front page of the Hill Country Herald?”
Well, crap.
“Give it up,” Reenie Stark told her. “You’re the new girl in town and Ryan’s every woman’s wet dream. If you had coffee with him at a Cup to Go everyone would know about it before you threw the empties away.”
“It’s okay,” Georgie assured her. “Give it another week and the curiosity will die down.”
“Of course,” Amy chuckled, “if you stop seeing him, we’ll all just see it as a directive for us to fix you up with someone else.”
Sable’s eyes widened. “But what if I don’t want to be fixed up?”
As one, the women burst into gales of laughter.
“Forget it,” Charity said, wiping her eyes. “We’re all on a mission.” She gestured around the table at the other women sitting there.
“Well, you can just find a different mission. I don’t have time for anything more than casual dates.” She gave them all what she hoped was a stern look. “And don’t be gossiping about the new vet.”
They burst into laughter again, and Sable ground her teeth.
“If you ladies don’t simmer down, I’ll have to cut you off,” Liam Douglas joked. He set two fresh pitchers down on the table. He took a minute to give his wife a quick but hot kiss on her mouth before walking away, and the rest of the women hooted at them.
Charity just grinned and refilled her mug.
“Well—” Amy looked toward the front door, “—looks like we’re getting some very sexy scenery here.” She inclined her head. “Look what just blew in. Or should I say who?”
Sable felt an itch on the back of her neck, an uncomfortable feeling she knew exactly who they were talking about. She was determined not to look around, focusing instead on her nearly empty mug in front of her.
“And he’s got company,” Charity commented. “Lordy. He’s got Cameron Myers with him. Too bad we’re not single.”
“One of us is.” Georgie nodded at Sable.
Sable didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Obviously small-town gossip was never going to let her have a private life. Maybe she should have thought of that before moving here. But now that she had, she needed to grin and bear it and not irritate the people who didn’t see anything wrong with it. Besides, if she ignored the chatter, she really had it good. Her practice was going well and she was having the best sex of her life with a man who gave new meaning to the word hot. Not only that, he was funny, smart and treated her like a precious package. How could she go wrong?
She wondered if he’d just wave to her since he was here with Cam.
Charity, who was sitting next to her, nudged her. “Here he comes. Man—” she fanned herself, “—hot, hot, hot.”
“You’re a married woman,” Sable pointed out.
“Married but not dead. I can still look, right?”
Then he was there, standing right at her shoulder.
“Ladies.” He squeezed her shoulder.
She looked up at him and all the saliva in her mouth dried up. Tonight he wore a sweater almost the exact shade of blue as his eyes, and black jeans that made his long legs look longer and his lean hips look leaner. Crisp curls of hair peeked over the vee of his sweater. Sable had to stop herself from licking her lips.
“Hi there. Did you and Cam decide to crash ladies’ night?”
He twisted his features into a look of mock horror. “Heaven forbid. We’re just a couple of men having a manly night at the bar. We thought we’d hang out with Liam for a while.”
“Yeah,” Cam added. “We figured he needed protection from such a rowdy crowd.”
“As long as you don’t cramp our style,” Amy told him.
Ryan nodded. “No style cramping allowed. Got it. Well, I think we’ll go see how good old Liam is doing while his wife is getting rowdy here.”
Charity lifted her mug in a toast to him.
He squeezed Sable’s shoulder again and trailed his fingers over the edge of her hair where it rested on her sweater as he walked away. Everyone at the table made a point of signaling her with their eyes that they’d noticed. Sable just ignored them and refilled her mug.
“Okay, so who wants to know more about the pig flu?”
When everyone groaned, she laughed and sipped her beer.
The evening passed quickly as the women shared jokes and stories and got just a tiny bit tipsy. Charity regaled them with tales from her days at the Dallas Police Department, about the stupidity of criminals. Sable told them some funny animal stories. She kept glancing as surreptitiously as she could at the bar, where Cam and Ryan were indeed engaged in conversation with Liam. She noticed Ryan kept throwing sideways glances at their table instead of just chatting with Cam when Liam had to wait on someone.
And with every glace she caught, her body responded. Her blood raced and pulse beat and the walls of her pussy throbbed with insistent need. It seemed all it took was one hungry look from him and she was hot and ready. She did her best to act nonchalant about the whole thing, but the women were too sharp for her.
“Does he always look at you like that?” Reenie asked.
“Like what?” Sable feigned innocence.
“Oh, please. Like he wants to strip off every stitch of your clothing.” She looked around the table. “Right, ladies?”
Sable felt heat creep up her cheeks. “I have no idea what you mean,” she sa
id in what she hoped was a prim voice.
Everyone hooted at that.
“Should we invite them to join us?” Georgie asked with a laugh.
“No.” She nearly shouted the word and then dialed it back. “No. They have their space,” she said almost primly, “and we have ours.”
The women exploded with laughter.
“Oops,” Charity said. “They’re leaving. My husband must not have been very entertaining.”
Sable shrugged. “Ryan doesn’t stay out late much anyway.”
“You keep track of his nocturnal habits, do you?” Amy asked.
More laughter.
Then Georgie drained her mug and pushed back from the table. “I don’t stay out late much either.” She winked. “Not when I have a very hot hunk waiting for me at home. See you ladies during the week.”
Sable stood up and grabbed her purse. “That’s my cue too. I don’t have a hot hunk waiting for me, but my patients show up early in the morning. Thanks for including me, you guys.”
Amy flapped a hand at her. “Please. We made you a member the day you checked into the Butterfly.” She pushed back from the table, came around and gave Sable a big hug. “You’re ours now, and don’t forget it.”
Warmth flooded Sable’s body, and a feeling of belonging she hadn’t had in years. She was so glad she’d answered Pete Lynch’s ad for his practice. Saddle Wells was becoming home more than any other place she’d lived.
Now if she could just keep the situation with Ryan under control, she’d have the best of everything.
She exchanged waves with Liam as she headed out the door and then climbed into her SUV. Nothing was happening on Main Street as she drove through town, nor was there any traffic in the residential area where she lived. Not unexpected, since she lived close to the edge of town. She loved the peace and quiet this time of night, especially when there was a full moon like this, highlighting the mature trees and the houses with pitched roofs. And the truck parked in front of her house.
Wait. What? The truck in front of her house?