by A. J. Pine
“You bet!” she replied with more enthusiasm than necessary. “Let’s hit the trail.”
Sam took the lead, which made sense since he was the one who knew where he was going. But that left her with a perfect view of what she realized was a pretty perfect cowboy butt sitting perfectly in well-worn jeans atop Ace’s saddle.
“Hey!” she called out, then tapped her heels against Barbara Ann’s sides until she caught up with him. “Is this trail big enough to ride side by side?”
He nodded, then gave her a once-over.
“You look good on top of a horse, Harper,” he said. “I gotta say, it’s kinda hard to picture you in Sin City.”
“I know,” she said.
But picturing something sinful with Sam Callahan and those jeans? Unfortunately, that wasn’t hard at all.
Chapter Five
Sam kept looking over his shoulder to make sure Delaney was still there. Riding side by side had lasted for only about fifteen minutes. Once he and Delaney had headed into the shade of the trees, the trail narrowed enough that she had no choice but to fall behind.
It wasn’t just the density of the trees that worried him. The terrain was untrodden, grass having grown over roots so that a less experienced horse—or rider—might take a nasty tumble. If they were going to add this trail to their list, he, Ben, and Colt would have to come through and clean it up. This particular rider worried him more than others. After he heard her story, that fierce desire to protect her had reared its inconvenient head again. He couldn’t protect her from the fallout of what might happen with their land war of sorts, not when he was the opponent. The only thing he could do was make sure she stayed on her horse.
“I’m fine,” she said. “That’s, like, the third time you’ve checked on me in the past thirty minutes.”
“It’s how I do trails,” he told her. “Every ten minutes—especially if my riders get too quiet. I gotta make sure no one fell off a ledge or into a creek.”
“So far, I’ve seen zero ledges or creeks. Plus, I’m not some newbie rider, you know,” she added.
He laughed. She was right. The way she’d hopped so naturally onto the mare’s back threw him for one hell of a loop, though he did his best to mask his surprise. The thing was, Delaney Harper surprised him at every turn. A vet tech who could muck out the stalls in half the time it took his stable hand and ride a horse she’d never met like she’d been doing it for years? It was—it was so…He turned his gaze back to the trail ahead and blew out a breath.
It was so damned sexy. Only he had no business finding this woman the least bit attractive. Yet here he was, making her ride with him to “earn her keep” when what she’d done in the stable was more than enough, especially when he’d have given her the room for free. But she wanted to be put to work—and as much as he knew it was a bad idea, he wanted a reason to spend more time with her.
He decided to lay off on the checking in for a bit, especially since he was no longer sure whether he was doing it to make sure she was okay or because he was hungry for a glimpse of her.
He groaned. He damned well knew his motivation was more self-serving than altruistic.
He started mumbling the lyrics to the Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” under his breath, anything to distract himself from thoughts that were not going to get him anywhere he wanted to be. Mumbling turned to singing—singing he thought no one but he and Ace could hear.
“Oooh!” he heard Delaney call from behind him. “Are we doing a trail-ride sing-along?” She belted out a line of the chorus, overemphasizing the “Hey!” many liked to yell after each line. His shoulders tightened, and he inadvertently pulled up on the reins, which brought Ace to a halt.
“Whoa, girl,” Delaney blurted, and he turned over his shoulder to see her bring her own horse to an abrupt stop. Her eyes met his, and she raised a brow. “Just a solo, then, I guess? Sounds like you got some nice pipes on you, Callahan.” She motioned for him to keep moving. “Why don’t you take us to the second verse and into that clearing up ahead?”
He turned forward again and squinted. She was right. The foliage parted several yards ahead. Had they already made it? They’d been riding over an hour, but he’d thought it would take closer to two. With a group of tourists it probably would—even after he and Delaney cleared a safer path—but Delaney Harper was no tourist.
He’d heard about the swimming hole from folks in town, but it was unreachable by car. If he could get there by horse, and it looked like they just had, he’d be able to add another feature to the list that would hopefully attract another tourist or ten to the ranch.
He gave Ace a nudge with his heels and motioned for Delaney to follow. He stopped right after Ace broke through the trees, and Delaney did the same with Barbara Ann once she reached his side.
“Oh my God,” she said, her voice full of wonder.
He couldn’t even speak. He just stared at the clear, shallow water, at the small waterfall pouring over outcroppings of rock. His breath caught in his throat.
How the hell had he not been here yet? What he’d heard about the place didn’t hold a candle to what he was looking at.
“We’re going in, right?” she asked, a smile spread across her face. “We didn’t come all this way not to take advantage of cooling off during this heat wave.”
“You bring a suit?”
She shook her head, her grin tinged with mischief. “The only difference between undergarments and a bathing suit is how long it takes the fabric to dry. And in this heat, that’s not going to be an issue.”
She hopped off her horse and tied Barbara Ann to the branch of a tree. In seconds her bag was on the ground, as was the hoodie tied around her waist. She kicked off her boots, stuffed her socks inside, and then glanced up to where he still sat on top of Ace, his arms crossed and a bemused smile playing on his lips.
“Are you enjoying the show?”
He tipped his hat. “Yes, ma’am. Looks like you’re more Vegas than you thought.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, then backed up, ensuring he could see her clearly from head to toe. She gripped the bottom of her tank, like she was ready to pull it over her head, then halted.
“You are joining me, yes?”
He cleared his throat, trying to buy himself some more time. The thing was, he’d had every intention of finding the swimming hole. But he hadn’t planned on using it. If he were alone, it’d be a no-brainer.
“Here’s the thing,” he started. “You know what you said about ‘the only difference’ and ‘how long it takes the fabric to dry’…?”
He paused, hoping to hell she wasn’t going to make him spell it out for her. It wasn’t that he had any issue with the fabric under his jeans—or lack thereof. But it made the situation they were in a tad more delicate.
Recognition seemed to bloom as her eyes widened and her jaw fell open. But she recovered just as quickly.
“Sam Callahan…are you going commando?”
He hopped off of Ace, tying him to his own branch, then spun to face her and grinned. “Like you said, it’s a heat wave, and sometimes a man doesn’t want to feel so…so constricted.”
Her eyes widened. “Didn’t take someone so straight and narrow for a rule breaker.”
He rolled his shoulder, his muscles tensing. “The only rules I follow are the ones I set for myself.”
She was right. It was hotter than Hades out here, and he deserved to cool off every bit as much as she did. If she was fine with his seeing her in nothing but her bra and panties, then she’d have to deal with seeing him in nothing but his—well, nothing. Maybe it was time to bend the rules just a little bit.
And with that, he unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it off.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Wait. What are you doing?”
He kicked off his boots, then lost the socks. He tipped his hat once again, then dropped it on top of his shirt. All that was left were the jeans.
“Living by my own rules,” he
said. “You can cover your eyes if you want.” He winked at her. Then one button and one zipper later, he left a wide-eyed Delaney Harper standing frozen as a statue as he strode past her, buck naked, and waded into the pool.
Once he was deep enough, he dove under, letting himself sink until the cool water washed away the stress of the ranch, if only for a few seconds. When he popped back up for air, Delaney was gone.
“What the—?” he said, scanning the immediate landscape. The horses were still there, but she clearly wasn’t. “Vegas?” he said warily. “You messing with me?”
But all he could hear was the waterfall breaking the water’s surface behind him.
“Harper!” he called again. “This isn’t funny!”
“Woo-hoo!” he suddenly heard from the direction of the fall.
He spun to see her treading water a yard away, a triumphant grin lighting up her face.
“Damn, Delaney!” he yelled. “I thought—” Hell, he didn’t know what he thought. All he knew was that his heart was hammering in his chest, and he was trying to reconcile his anger with his relief that she was okay.
She swam toward him, keeping her head above the water so he could see that gorgeous, victorious smile taunting him. When she reached him, she stood just inches away, and he realized her shoulders were devoid of bra straps. He did his best to keep his face expressionless, but beneath the surface of the water, his body betrayed him as he grew hard in a fraction of a second.
“What’s the matter?” she teased. “Were you worried—about little ol’ me?”
He ran a wet hand through his hair and blew out a breath. “How do you think it woulda looked if you blew into town planning to take half my land and wound up at the bottom of a swimming hole…on my watch?”
Her smile fell, her brows drawing together. “So you were only worried about people thinking you murdered me.” It was a statement, not a question. “Wow. I can’t believe they say chivalry is dead when right before me is a cowboy in shining armor.” Her cheeks turned pink, and she chewed her bottom lip. “I mean, figuratively speaking, of course. Since, you know, you’re not wearing—”
“Neither are you,” he said, interrupting her.
She shrugged. “Wasn’t going to let you have all the fun. Besides, I’ve never been skinny-dipping before.”
His erection throbbed in response, but he hoped his expression remained impassive.
“That’s a real shame,” he said. “And—I wasn’t worried about what people would think if something happened to you. I was worried about you.”
She pressed her lips together, and he could tell she was fighting off a grin.
“Why is it that I’m only attracted to men who will royally complicate my life?”
He took a step closer to her, and she sucked in a tiny breath.
“Are you saying you’re attracted to me, Harper?”
He pushed back thoughts of the ranch and ignored the voice in his head that told him to put his clothes on, get back on his horse, and put as much distance between himself and Delaney Harper as was humanly possible. Instead he stood there, his jaw tight as he held his breath, waiting for her response.
She took the next step. Their mouths were still inches apart, but her breasts grazed his skin, and it took every ounce of his will not to kiss her. Despite her misgivings, he liked to think some modern version of chivalry did still exist. And that meant not making a colossal mistake.
“This doesn’t change anything,” she finally said. “I still want my land.”
He nodded. “And I still want my ranch.” He tucked a clump of wet hair behind her ear and stroked his thumb across her cheek. She shivered. “But heck if I don’t want you too.”
“I dare you to kiss me,” she said, a challenge in her tone.
He smiled at her, letting all pretense fall away. “It’s about damned time.”
She pressed her hands to his chest, then leaned in. They could pretend for a little while, couldn’t they? Reality was back at the ranch. But here…
Sam dipped his head, and her lips swept softly over his…just in time for the sky to darken and the first crash of thunder to startle them out of their little pocket of make-believe.
Delaney yelped.
Sam swore under his breath. “We need to get out of the water. Now.”
For the first time, it seemed, Delaney Harper didn’t argue with him.
They pushed through the water as fast as they could. When Sam started to gain the lead, he reached out his hand, and she grabbed hold, allowing him to buoy her forward with his longer strides.
“Rain hasn’t hit yet!” he called out. “But it’s close. And from the sound of it, a pretty big storm as well.”
The two of them scrambled onto the pebbly bank and ran straight for the grass where Ace and Barbara Ann were tied to their respective trees, whinnying as they both paced at the startling noise.
Sam and Delaney fumbled their way back into their clothes. It was no small feat getting jeans onto wet legs, but Sam managed with a few seconds to spare, which meant he could sneak a glance at Delaney trying to do the same. She’d thrown on her tank, then her underwear, and was using her hoodie to dry off her legs.
“You’re gonna want to keep that dry,” he said. “Temperature’s probably gonna drop once the rain hits, which means good-bye, heat wave and hello, autumn.”
She looked up at the sky, which was growing increasingly gray. “We can outride it, though, right? I mean now that we know the trail and—”
She was cut off by another clap of thunder and the gray sky illuminating with the first visible lightning.
Sam shook his head. “We’re going to need to set up camp. And quick.”
He didn’t bother with his shirt. Instead he went to work unpacking his supplies from where they were attached to Ace’s saddle.
“Grab me a few long branches!” he called as the first drops of rain began to fall. “Nothing smaller than two feet.” He reached into his back pocket and tossed her his Leatherman multi-tool. “You okay with using a pocketknife?”
She nodded and ran off toward a nearby tree with the exact thin, spindly wood he needed.
Sam gave Ace a reassuring pat on the nose and retied Barbara Ann so she was closer to Ace. They were good horses, but thunder and lightning spooked the best of them.
He was less than thrilled to be in a forest during a storm, but at least they were in a small valley of land. The taller trees lay inward, back the way they came. He hoped that meant they were safe from a nearby lightning strike.
Yeah, he wasn’t going to dwell on that idea right now.
He busied himself unrolling the tarp and fastening the center around a branch above Ace’s and Barbara Ann’s heads. Using a couple of tent spikes, he hooked the corners of the same edge to two different tree trunks.
Delaney returned with a handful of branches, the rain coming down hard now. Using them as makeshift poles, he transformed the tarp into the best version of a tent that he could while Delaney gathered the rest of their belongings and brought them inside.
“This is amazing,” she said, her teeth chattering as goose bumps dotted her skin.
“And you’re freezing,” he said. “Come here.”
He grabbed a rolled-up blanket from the ground and wrapped it around her shoulders. She shivered beneath his hands. He wanted to pull her to his chest, to warm her with his own body heat, but somehow—even after what had just happened in the water—it felt too intimate. It was something a man who cared about a woman did, but he’d known Delaney Harper for only a matter of hours. Caring didn’t come that quickly.
“How did you know to bring all this? I checked the weather earlier, and it said clear skies until early evening. Storms weren’t supposed to hit before five o’clock.”
Her teeth chattered, so he pulled the blanket tighter and rubbed her upper arms with the heavy material, hoping to warm her without coming across as too concerned.
“I bring a pack whenever I hit the tra
il. Just in case.” He raised his brows and glanced around their poor excuse for shelter. “Welcome to just in case.”
She laughed, even as her teeth clacked together. “Let me guess,” she said. “M-m-my lips are blue, aren’t they?”
He nodded once. “As a corpse. It’s kind of freaking me out.”
She snorted, then swatted his shoulder with a blanket-covered hand. “It feels like the temperature dropped more than twenty degrees. And I’m not exactly dressed under here.”
Right. And he was standing there in nothing but his jeans.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she must have read the change in his expression, and beat him to it.
“We don’t have to talk. I mean, what almost happened before, out there…”
She trailed off without finishing her thought, which meant he had zero clue how she actually felt about what almost happened—before.
“There’s an attraction,” he said coolly, hoping his voice didn’t betray how strong that attraction was. What would be the point? Nothing could come of it long term, even if he wanted it to. He wouldn’t risk hurting someone who’d already been hurt enough. “We would have acted on it if not for the storm, but we didn’t. Since nothing happened, there’s nothing to discuss. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
She blew out a shaky breath. “Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried you were going to think it was a thing, but it obviously can’t be a thing because, well, I’m me and you’re you and we want really different things—when it comes to the land, I mean. I don’t know what you want when it comes to relationships, and you certainly don’t know what I want, and I don’t even know why I’m bringing up relationships when I obviously have no idea how to have a healthy one, so I’m just going put an end to this verbal—”
Boom!
The thunder shook the ground, and the royal-blue tarp lit up in an electrifying hue.
Ace let out a groaning neigh while Barbara Ann seemed to dance in place.
Delaney screamed and launched herself at Sam. On a normal day, he’d have caught her, no problem. But his feet were bare, the grass was wet, and he wasn’t exactly expecting her. So he stumbled backward, slamming against the trunk of a tree.