Bronco_A Contemporary Cowboy Romance

by H. P. Mallory

  “Who’s Liza?” I asked casually.

  Brady clipped another strand of wire and looked over with his perma-scowl. “She’s my cousin. Runs a school for those fancy-pants horses like Summer’s.” Then he eyed me narrowly as I nodded, digesting this information. “I already told you, that girl is off limits. I know what you’re thinking.”

  “I’m not thinking anything,” I answered with a shrug.

  “That’s the biggest load of shit I ever heard,” he frowned at me. “Summer is beautiful. You think I don’t have eyes, boy? I’ve seen you looking at her.”

  I faced him and shook my head. “I was just wondering who this Liza was, that’s all.”

  “Bullshit.” Brady straightened and extended his gloved hand. “Give me another handful of those.”

  I gave him more of the clips. “So how did a girl like that end up in a place like this?” I asked, figuring I’d just go for the jugular. Whether Brady wanted to answer was up to him.

  “Here’s all I know, and after I tell you, you take that mind of yours out of the gutter,” he warned. “I hadn’t talked to Liza in months, but she called out of the blue one night and asked if I’d found help for the house yet. I told her no. So she said she had a girl who needed a leg up. I told her to send her on out and Summer arrived. End of story.”

  I pulled the wire taut while he attached it to the pole. “She seems like she’s running away from something.”

  He glanced at me. “I’m serious about staying clear of her. Whatever reason she has for being here is hers alone. She definitely doesn’t need you snooping around, playin’ detective.” He took a breath. “She shouldn’t be your concern.”

  “I heard you the first eighteen times.”

  “Well, dammit, I know how bull-headed you are when you want something. And I can’t afford to have her leaving in the middle of the season because of a broken heart. I especially don’t want to have to explain that to my cousin. She trusted me with Summer and I’m acting as her guardian.”

  “Who said I want her?” I demanded, suddenly irritated that Brady thought I’d break her heart. Good Lord, what sort of man did he think I was? Apparently he thought I was the breaking hearts type which wasn’t fair or accurate at all. Sure, I’d had my fair share of women and it seemed that women were taken with me in general but how was that my fault. If they chose to have sex with me and fall for me after, well, that was on them. It wasn’t like I lied to women just to get them in bed. If nothing else, I was an honest man.

  “You don’t have to say it,” Brady answered with a chuckle.

  “She’s interesting,” I responded.

  “Yep, I’m screwed,” he chuckled again and shook his head with a sigh.

  Yeah, he most likely was. Because it wasn’t a total lie. There was no way I could stay away from Summer, not when I was already trying to figure her out, to put together her puzzle pieces.

  “Why can’t you just set your sights on one of the women in town?” Brady continued.

  I shrugged as I considered it. It wasn’t like there was a shortage of women in town. I’d pretty much already sampled the ones I wanted to. Yes, there were others that I hadn’t but they were all the same. “Not interested,” I answered as my thoughts returned to the mystery that was Summer. “So, what do you think her deal is?”

  He shrugged. “Liza just said that she’d had a rough time, but that could be anything, I guess. It ain’t my business and it definitely ain’t yours.”

  So, he wasn’t holding out—it seemed he really didn’t know anything about her. Guess I’d just have to find out about her on my own. We worked in silence for a while and I let my thoughts drift back to Summer, lying in my bed in the cabin, hair tousled, eyes hooded and sleepy. Damn. I really was in trouble.

  Chapter Seven

  Summer

  The morning went quickly as I found myself surprisingly absorbed in how Rue ran things.

  “This is an easy group coming in a few days—a mom and her kids. When we get big church groups, it gets a little trickier, and depending on what time of year it is, sometimes I just have Brady barbecue a pig or we do burgers outside. Sometimes trying to work all of this out of the kitchen gets a little tight.”

  I had a heavy feeling that I wasn’t going to be much help to her on any of this. “I’m not a very good cook, Rue.”

  She didn’t look up from her card box of recipes. “Done a lot of it, have you?”

  I shook my head. “No. That’s what I’m saying, I haven’t done any.”

  She slowly lifted her head. “Then how do you know you can’t cook?”

  “Well, doesn’t that automatically mean I can’t?”

  She laughed. “Heavens, no.” I made a face and she patted my hand. “You’ll see.”

  She made a grocery list as we checked the pantry to see what we already had on hand. “Tomorrow, we’ll head to the store and get everything we need. I’ll ask Brady if there’s anything special he might like this week. He has his favorites. And, for dessert, one of them happens to be ice cream. Ever make it?”

  “I’ve scooped it into a dish.”

  “Do you want to try?”

  “Why not?” I shrugged.

  “Did your mom do all the cooking?”

  “Oh, that’s a good one,” I answered with a laugh I didn’t really feel. “No. We had a cook and I think he even had a couple of assistants to help him out. You would have thought we were a family of twelve instead of an only child and her absentee parents.” I blurted everything out before I realized I’d said too much, and opened the door for Rue to ask me more questions. I cleared my throat and pretended extreme interest in the pantry.

  “Ah, well, let’s get to it.”

  Either she sensed that I wasn’t thrilled with discussing my family situation, or she didn’t want to get caught up in what she probably considered a big case of drama. Truth be told, it was, and I was good without it.

  We found an easy companionship as she taught me how simple ingredients created a chemical reaction that resulted in ice cream. I found myself enjoying the process.

  “And now we wait.” She set the container in the freezer. “You can go get that horse of yours out and take her for a ride if you want.” She looked at her watch. “You need to be in town in two hours for your interview. That give you enough time?”

  “It does. Thank you.” I rushed out the door, excited to get Aria moving. Even if I barely had enough time to get it all done—groom and tack, ride, rinse Aria, shower, and drive to the diner.

  I quickly changed into a pair of breeches and my riding boots and headed to Aria’s stall.

  “Hi, beautiful girl.” I rested my palm against her jaw and laid my head on her velvet nose. We connected for a few seconds, drawing on the comfort of the one thing in each of our lives that had been a constant. I was sure all this change hadn’t gone unnoticed by her, but she was doing a much better job of handling it.

  I slipped her halter on and she lifted her head and quivered, excited about going anywhere other than this box. I quickly rigged up some crossties outside her stall and she calmed a bit as I hooked the second lead to her halter, but she was fidgety and could barely stand still while I tacked her. “Almost, girl. Just let me get you ready.”

  I slipped her bridle on after tightening the girth, and looked for a step up so I could climb on her back. But I didn’t see anything. Aria was 16.3 hands to my 5’3” inches, so a step was ideal, but it looked like I’d have to wing it. I led her out into the open and planned to climb on when I heard, “Need a leg up?”

  I turned around to see Jake riding up on Jenny. Brady was directing a half-dozen cows into a pen.

  “Uh, sure,” I said, swallowing down my nerves.

  Jake dismounted and with the reins to Jenny in one hand, he held out the other. I put my shin into his hand and counted to three. Then he gave me a heave and I was up and nearly over the other side of Aria, he’d hefted me up so hard. I looked down at him in surprise. Damn. He was
strong.

  He chuckled. “Sorry about that.”

  “You almost sent me clear over her!” I laughed.

  “Yeah. Well…” He turned away. “Don’t say I never did you any favors, Posh.”

  “I won’t,” I laughed.

  “Have a good ride.”

  “Thank you.” I wasn’t sure why but I was disappointed as I watched him mount Jenny and then trot off. Somewhere inside of me, I’d hoped he would stay. But there was no reason for me to feel this way. I had to get my head on straight. I was going to get my head on straight…

  I rode Aria over to the arena. The sand was a little deeper than I’d like, but beggars couldn’t be choosers, right? In the course of my time here, I found myself repeating that little mantra more times than I was comfortable with.

  I let her walk for a few minutes on a loose rein, staying relaxed as she got accustomed to the surroundings, then I collected her up and got her into a nice frame to start our hack. Her back was tense and I was sure she was tight from the drive out. After some time, I felt her back loosen and we did some basic exercises, including a spiral in and spiral out, we worked a square, a triangle, threw in some serpentines and finally did a slalom exercise.

  After forty-five minutes, I put her back on a loose rein and cooled her down. That was when I noticed that Jake was sitting on the porch with Rue, both of them watching me.

  “Nice riding,” she yelled.

  He held up a water bottle. “Want one?”

  “Sure,” I replied.

  He jumped off the porch and approached us as I halted Aria. He handed me the water and smiled up at me in that flirtatious way of his that was getting under my skin. “You’ve got skills, Summer.”

  “Did you doubt me?” I smiled down at him as I took a few gulps of the water and then handed the bottle back to him. Aria started to whinny like she was getting bored just standing here with me atop her.

  “Nope. Hey, Rue says you’ve got to go into town for a job interview over at the diner,” he started, sounding like an excited kid. “I can take you.”

  “I don’t want to be a nuisance,” I answered as I glanced back at the Chevy. “And I’ve got my own ride.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah, I’m still amazed you made it here in one piece in that thing.”

  I sighed because it was the truth.

  “Look, it’s no problem,” Jake continued. “Rue’s sending me to the store for some things anyway.”

  “Okay, thanks,” I replied, hearing the hesitancy in my voice.

  “You better get a move on then,” Jake continued. “Want me to rinse her off for you?”

  “No. No. I can do it.”

  “Okay. See you in forty minutes?”

  “I’ll see you then.”

  He headed back over to Rue, as I rode Aria out of the arena, all the while trying to ignore the sensation in my stomach which felt a lot like butterflies.

  Chapter Eight

  Jake

  Bob was nowhere to be found again, which probably meant she was at Summer’s. I walked up to the door and knocked but there was no answer. I turned the knob and it opened, so I popped my head in. “Hey, Summer, you around?” Still nothing.

  I took a step into the living room and didn’t see her but I whistled, figuring Bob might be in the bedroom. At the sound of Bob’s collar jingling, I realized I was right. I took another step inside and closed the front door behind me.

  “Summer?” I called in a louder voice. “Posh Spice!”

  “Yes!” she answered. “I’m in the bathroom about to take a shower!”

  “Sorry!” I yelled, my Johnson immediately stirring as soon as I wondered if she was naked yet. “Didn’t mean to bug you but I figured I might find Bob here,” I said. “I forgot to tell you that she has a knack for opening doors. You probably want to keep it locked.”

  “Oh yeah. Thanks,” she yelled back, through the cracked door of the bathroom. “I’ll be ready in a few.”

  “Good deal,” I answered as I called for Bob. The damned dog wouldn’t come. I took a few steps into the hallway toward Summer’s bedroom, calling for Bob a few more times. I heard her tail thumping against the bed and her collar jingling but that was it. I needed to get her fed before I took Summer into town.

  “You can come in and get her,” Summer called out from the bathroom with a laugh.

  “Thanks,” I grumbled as I walked into her bedroom and spotted Bob where she was sitting on Summer’s bed.

  “Gotcha,” I said to Bob as I grabbed her by the collar. “Sorry, Summer,” I apologized as I started to turn around and head back out.

  “Hold on, Jake!”

  I faced the bathroom, the door of which was cracked open a few inches, enough so that steam was pouring out of it. “Yes?”

  “Uh... would you be able to hand me my shampoo? I accidentally left it on top of the bed.”

  “Sure,” I said as I turned around and immediately spotted the shampoo. I grabbed it and then started for the bathroom, stalling with my hand on the doorknob. “Are you covered up?” I asked.

  “Yes,” she answered as I pushed open the door before I stepped inside. I could see the silhouette of her body behind the white shower curtain. If I had to rate a silhouette’s sexiness, I definitely would have given this woman a twelve out of ten. Maybe even a fifteen.

  Summer peeked her head out of the shower and smiled at me as she reached her arm out and I started to hand her the shampoo. I could see the long, elegant line of her neck that led to her collarbone and then below, to the swells of each of her breasts. I tried not to look but, damn me, that was a hard deal. I wasn’t sure if she was aware she was revealing so much of her beautiful body but I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.

  “If you could peel off the wrapper for me?” she asked hesitantly. “My hands are soapy and wet.”

  And from what I could see, so was the rest of her amazingly luscious body. I peeled off the wrapper on the top of the shampoo bottle and turned to face her. From my angle, I could see just enough of her to make my heart start doubling its beat. She opened the shower curtain a bit more as she leaned forward and extended her hand. I put the shampoo into it and she smiled at me. She closed the curtain again but not all the way. There was still a sizable gap. She started lathering her hair and closed her eyes as she leaned back into the water. I knew I should have turned around and walked out but I couldn’t. It was like my feet were suddenly in tar. All I could do was stand there and watch her. And I had to wonder if she’d intentionally left the sizable gap in the curtain. She also had to have known I was still standing there because I was a big man, so it went without saying that she would have heard me leaving.

  No, she knew I was still there. She had to have known. And she hadn’t closed the curtain all the way on purpose. It was as if she knew what she was doing and was deliberately teasing me. Sweat began to build on my brow, which was an indicator that I was extremely turned on. This was possibly the sexiest woman I had ever laid eyes on. Although I couldn’t see all of the goods, the curves I could see were enough to make my brain go numb.

  “Shoot, the conditioner is on the counter,” she said with a sigh.

  That meant she knew I was still standing there. I turned to face the sink and noticed the pink bottle of hibiscus scented conditioner.

  “Here,” I said, handing the bottle to her. When she reached up for it, she accidentally exposed her right breast. It was the most perfect example of the female breast I had ever seen—the skin was white and unmarred by anything, not even a freckle. And the pinkness of her small nipple made my mouth salivate because I wanted nothing more than to suck it, to take her into my mouth and taste her. After my eyes went to her breasts, I quickly looked up at her face... well, at those stunning green eyes. Her strawberry blond hair was wet and plastered to her pale shoulders. She looked absolutely stunning.

  She quickly covered her breasts with her tiny hands, shock registering in her expression. Her hands were only capable of covering a
bout half of her breasts though. She snapped the shower curtain closed as a wave of disappointment rode through me.

  I could feel my dick swelling as I continued to stare at the outline of her, envisioning those perfect breasts. This woman was hot. The whole series of events had my heart racing, and my Johnson was now straining against my boxers, demanding action.

  I watched as she lifted her slender leg and pushed it through the curtain as she started shaving. This was all deliberate, on purpose! It had to have been. I mean, she knew I was standing here, watching her. She knew I’d seen her luscious breasts. And she hadn’t asked or demanded I leave. For the first time in a long time, I was completely confused. Was she teasing me? Was this her way of seducing me? Was I supposed to strip down and jump in there with her? Or wrap my arms around her and pull her out, deposit her on the bed and make sweet love to her?

  Or was she completely unaware that what she was doing was driving me to madness? I didn’t have a clue and found myself immobilized in place, as if my feet were stuck in cement and I couldn’t move. Move, shit, I couldn’t even think!

  I continued to stand there and watch her shave her legs, knowing full well that she knew I was still standing there. And that was when I realized I was being completely moronic. Of course she wanted me to make a move. A woman didn’t put out such strong signals for nothing. She was just too inexperienced or maybe too embarrassed or shy or something to make a more overt gesture. She was waiting for me to act like a man and make the first move. So act like a man and make the first move I would do.

  I slowly unbuttoned my jeans and then unzipped them, pulling them down my legs, along with my boxers. The material caught itself around my more than generously large Johnson that was standing at full attention. I began stroking myself. My dick was throbbing right along with my heart.

  “Uh... Jake?”

  “Yeah?” I asked, hesitantly.

  “I can see what you’re doing,” she said but there was nothing angry about her tone. There also wasn’t anything… excited about it. Instead, it was amused, curious, inquisitive.