by Cathryn Fox
He pulled Ashley’s backpack as well as Mel’s from the backseat. Ashley grabbed hers and bounded toward Mel.
“Will we get to ride horses today?” she asked, her eyes wide with excitement.
“You bet,” Mel said, finding it hard to keep her focus as Ryeland came close, so close it made it a little harder for her to draw in air.
“Busy doing what?” he asked, placing the backpack on her shoulder and then pushing his hands into his pocket.
“Are you always so pushy?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“I suppose that’s a good trait for a lawyer.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Can whatever you’re doing wait until after dinner?”
“Ryeland…” she said.
“What? Friends have dinner together all the time. I spent all last semester craving one of Grizzly’s famous moose burgers.”
Instead of answering, she pointed toward the registration building, needing to be away from him before she sagged against him and said yes to anything and everything he was asking. God, what was it about him that did this to her? He was trouble and he made her feel so…so out of her comfort zone. So fluttery inside. “You better get her switched before it’s too late.”
“Come on, Ryeland.” Ashley grabbed his arm. As she dragged him away, Mel smiled. She knew there was a reason she liked the kid. “I don’t want to be late.”
“You have to eat, right?” he asked, clearly undeterred as his kid sister kept tugging.
“Yes, but—”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “Then you’ll eat with me. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
Good Lord did he always have to be so pushy, argumentative…adorable.
“The list is getting longer, Ryeland,” she said, finding it harder and harder to keep her resolve around him.
He laughed and she smiled, wondering what the hell she was getting into with him. Maybe Jaelyn was right and she needed to be a little more careful.
Mel turned and made her way to the lodge to check in with Beatrice. She picked up her assignment for the day and then found her group of ten kids waiting for her. Ten rambunctious girls between the ages of nine and thirteen. Chatty little rich girls who’d likely never spent a day in the woods. She did a roll call, checked to make sure each child had all the necessary gear, then turned to Jaelyn’s ex-boyfriend, Cole, who had his own group of boys in the line next to her.
She looked at him, still pissed that he’d slept around on Jaelyn. Even though it appeared this morning that Jaelyn had gotten over his betrayal last night—in duplicate—she knew before the summer was over they’d hook up again. Like Jaelyn said, you can’t help who you want, but as far as Mel was concerned, that person should treat you with respect. And if they cared anything about you in return, they’d put your well-being above their own. Yeah, she really was a true romantic at heart.
“I heard what happened at the Cave last night.” He lifted his head so he could see her under the bill of the Blue Jay’s ball cap pulled low on his forehead.
From her peripheral vision she caught Ryeland walking to his car, his gaze burning into her and Cole with the power of a thousand suns. The intensity in the way he stared made her feel a bit breathless.
“What did you hear?” she asked, trying for casual.
Cole nodded toward Ryeland. “What are you doing with that guy anyway?”
Mel tried not to show a reaction. “He gave me a lift, that’s all. What do you have against him?”
He gave her a cocky grin. “Only one reason a pretty boy like him is sniffing ’round your backdoor, sunshine.”
Her insides tightened. “Don’t be crude. He gave me a lift and that’s it.”
“Yeah right.” He tapped his head. “I thought you were smarter than that, Mel.”
“There’s nothing between us.”
“It ain’t ’cause he don’t want there to be.”
She didn’t answer right away. Heck, what was she supposed to say? Last night Ryeland so much as admitted he wanted more but wouldn’t ask for it if she wasn’t ready. Cole smirked, like he’d nailed it on the head, and added, “Hey, when I’m right I’m right.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
He adjusted his ball cap. “Oh, it matters. You’ll see.”
She looked at the group of boys under his charge, and when she saw two at the back of the line kicking rocks at a couple of girls a few rows over, she asked, “Shouldn’t you be controlling your boys?”
“Just remember. It’s the townies who don’t leave a string of broken hearts at the end of the summer.”
“No, they just leave them broken smack dab in the middle of it,” she shot back, thinking about what Trevor did to her last June and what Cole had done to Jaelyn a few weeks ago.
“Yeah, well, you’re one of us, and the local boys around these parts don’t like sharing what’s theirs with the vacationers.”
Sensing he was threatening her—and Ryeland—an uneasy feeling moved through her. “I’m not one of theirs, and I’m not some object that can be shared.” Despite the heat of the morning, a cold chill raced down her spine.
He shrugged but the warning was clear in his eyes as he pitched his voice low for her ears only. “Hey, look, I like you, and I say you can fuck whoever you want. But some don’t see it that way.”
By some she guessed he meant Trevor. Wanting to put an end to the conversation, she turned from him and shaded the sun from her eyes as she scanned the crowd, looking for Ashley.
“Mel,” Ashley called out when their gazes collided. Mel waved to the girl as Ashley yelled, “I got in!”
While Mel liked the little girl, she was happy Ashley was placed in Cassandra Wilson’s camp and not hers. She was pretty certain Ryeland had lied to her, and his fight with his folks had everything to do with her. The last thing she wanted was to cause any more trouble between them.
“Okay, girls, who’s ready to hit the trails?”
A chorus of yesses sounded and Mel grabbed her ball cap from her bag and pulled it on. She guided the girls into the woods and for the first half of the morning they walked the trails. Mel pointed out different things to them, like which berries were edible and which weren’t, as well as all the animal tracks they came across. They made their way along Stone Squaw Trail, Cole’s warning rattling around inside her head. She didn’t want Trevor and his buddies going after Ryeland, not because of her. Her stomach grumbled, effectively turning her attention from Cole. She stopped the girls at the peak of the mountain, so they could all have a snack.
“Miss Spencer,” one of the girls asked as Mel ripped in to a granola bar. “Can I bring Fluffy on the camping trip?”
She looked at Sasha, the cute little redhead in pigtails. It reminded her of the way her mother used to do her hair, before her father went to jail and her mother turned to the bottle—and to a barrage of different men. She gave one of pigtails a little tug. “Who’s Fluffy?”
“My dog.” She held her hands out about eight inches apart. “She’s little, and doesn’t like to sleep alone.”
“We’re not supposed—” She stopped when she saw the girl’s chin tremble slightly, a good indication that it wasn’t really about Fluffy sleeping alone. Damn. Even though she could very well get into trouble—and hadn’t she recently lectured herself on nice girls finishing last—how could she say no? “Okay, but it will be our little secret.”
The grin that lit up her little face was so precious that Mel grinned back. “Now go finish your snacks.” Sasha plopped back down onto the ground, and after everyone had finished eating, Mel asked, “Who’s up for horseback riding?”
“Me. Me. Me,” they all chimed in at once.
“So that’s a no?” Mel teased, stealing a glance at her watch. One by one they began jumping up, yelling “yes, yes, yes”. “Okay, let’s go then.”
Mel led the girls along the path, coming out at the other end where the corrals were located. “Hey, Blake,” she said to the
head ranch hand. “Looks like I have a group of girls who want to ride the horses this afternoon.”
Blake tipped his Stetson, showcasing his graying hair. “Well, what do we have here? You little fillies looking to lasso some cattle? I’ve got me some misbehavin’ sheep over there.”
The girls giggled and all started talking at once and pointing to the horses in the corral.
“All right, come this way.” A sparkle danced in his blue eyes as he winked at Mel. She followed along at the end of the line and when they entered the shaded barn and passed by one of the stalls, Mel’s heart jumped into her throat.
What the hell?
Even with his back to her, she’d recognize Ryeland anywhere. Hot. Hard. Cut. With a cowboy hat on his head, he stood there shirtless, his broad shoulder muscles flexing and relaxing again as he brushed down one of the horses. Her gaze fell lower, taking pleasure in the way his jeans hung low on his hips, showcasing one the finest backsides she’d ever had the pleasure of setting eyes on.
As the temperature inside the barn jumped, she suddenly realized Blake was talking to her. “Uh…what?” she asked.
“How about we get Ryeland to help out?”
At the sound of his name, Ryeland turned. The way his eyes narrowed in on her, like she was the only one in the barn—the only person in the universe—had her throat nearly closing over. Good God, he looked so hot in that hat, his bare chest all slick with moisture. She swallowed down the dryness in her throat and tried to keep things light. “Sure. I guess. I mean, if he knows what he’s doing.”
“I know what I’m doing,” Ryeland said, tipping his hat in such a sexy way she thought her knees were going to give.
“Well okay, then,” she said for lack of anything else and gave an easy shrug.
A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”
“I guess I can say the same.” Honestly, it surprised the hell out of her to find him here, getting his hands dirty in one of the stalls nonetheless. She had no idea Ryeland knew anything about horses. She wondered what else she didn’t know about him but then pushed that thought aside. Getting too close was not in her best interest.
“Why don’t you take these little fillies outside and give them each a ride,” Blake suggested.
“I’m on it.” Ryeland dropped the brush and looked over the girls. “Who’s first?”
All hands went in the air, and he walked around them, tapping each child on the head and giving her a number from one to ten. As the girls all blinked up at him it occurred to Mel that there was just something so sweet about him, something that drew everyone in and put them at ease. He really did have a way with little girls—and big ones too.
The girls all took off to line up outside, and he turned to her. “How about you, sunshine. You want a ride?”
Before she could answer, Jamie came in with her group of ten. “Ryeland,” she said, looking him over like he was a big slab of meat and she’d just come off a vegetarian diet. “I hear you’re giving rides today?” she said, the suggestion behind her words more than obvious. Good God, could she be any more blatant?
He nodded his head toward the corral and reached into the stall to grab his shirt. “You bet.” He took off his hat and after tugging on his shirt, he rolled his shoulder for everyone to follow.
Keeping her distance, Mel followed him out and hung back as he took turns giving lessons. Every now and then he’d cast a glance her way, wagging his brow for her to climb on for her own lesson. Even though she kept refusing him, Jamie quickly took him up on the offer. Before she knew it the rest of the morning slipped by, and as the sun rose high in the sky, her stomach grumbled once again.
“Okay, girls. Lunch time,” she called out.
After a round of grumbles the girls all lined up and Ryeland gave her a grin as he tipped his Stetson at her. Ignoring the way Jamie was looking at her, Mel left the stables and walked the kids to the canteen so they could grab lunch. She grabbed a slice of pizza and sat down at the counselors’ table. Shifting her chair to keep herself shaded under the umbrella, she bit into her pizza and chased it with a soda.
“What’s up with you and Ryeland?” Jamie asked, taking the seat opposite her. “Have you two hooked up?”
Mel looked into a pair of dark curious eyes. “No, we’re just friends.”
“Could have fooled me. He was all up in your stuff.”
“Why? Because he helped me with the kids? That’s hardly up in my stuff.”
“Yeah, well you didn’t see the way he was looking at you.”
Her heart gave a little start, because yeah, she had caught the way he looked at her. And dammit, it was stupid of her to like it so much. “We’re friends, that’s all.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
She looked past Mel’s shoulders, like she was searching for him. “So it’d be cool if I checked him out.”
“Sure. Go ahead.” She felt an unwise pang of jealousy as she chewed on her crust and swallowed.
Jamie leaned in her voice all conspiratorial as she asked, “When did he get so hot, anyway?”
He’s always been hot…
“Who’s hot?”
Cassandra sat down next to her best friend Jamie, and as the two discussed Ryeland Mel’s phone pinged. She grabbed it from her backpack and slid her finger across the screen. A jolt raced through her when she saw that the message from Ryeland. Wait! How the heck did he get her number? Or better yet, how did his contact information get put in her phone?
Moose burger… Mmmm.
She grinned, despite herself. As she shoved it back into her bag, it occurred to her how much she was looking forward to tonight. When she looked up, she found two sets of curious eyes looking at her. Ignoring them, Mel finished her lunch, then gathered up her girls, deciding it would be a nice afternoon to spend at the pool. They spent the rest of the day swimming and playing in the water, and as the end of the day approached, Mel marched them all back to Beaver Lodge where she found their parents waiting for them.
As she approached the log building she couldn’t help but look for Ryeland, and her stomach twirled when she found him there waiting for her—and Ashley of course. He no longer had his Stetson on, and there was nothing impersonal in the way he looked at her as she lined her kids up for pickup.
Once the last kid was gone, she sauntered toward him to find him smiling down at his kid sister.
“I take it you had fun,” Mel said to Ashley, careful to keep her eyes off Ryeland and her mind off how wired she felt.
“Thank you so much for switching me, Ryeland,” she rushed out. “I made two new friends and I can’t wait to go camping.” Ryeland took both Ashley’s and Mel’s backpacks, and as Ashley continued to chat endlessly about her day, they all climbed into his Jeep. Ryeland kept throwing glances Mel’s way, his grin so damn cute she couldn’t help smile back.
He pulled up in front of Wolf Creek Lodge, and when she reached for the handle he said, “I’ll be right back. I need to get a shower.”
“Me too,” she said.
“Twenty minutes. That’s all I need.”
“I might need longer,” she said.
He rolled his eyes at his sister. “High maintenance girls,” he teased, then he turned to Mel, his face serious. “What if I told you I won’t be able to wait a second longer?”
“Then I’d add impatient to the list.”
He laughed, grabbed her backpack from the backseat, and handed it to her. He leaned in and whispered, “Take as long as you like, but I’m warning you now, I can’t be held accountable for what I do after twenty minutes. I might just come up there and grab you from the shower.”
She glanced at the clock and jumped from the seat. “And I’ll do anything to avoid that.”
Mel could still hear him laughing as she hurried inside the building. She bolted up the stairs two at a time and quickly stripped off her clothes when she entered her room, the essence of Ryeland’s pres
ence still lingering from last night.
The water was still cold when she jumped into the shower, so she washed fast, scrubbed her hair, and jumped out. After another quick glance at her clock, she stood before her closet trying to figure out what to wear. Clothes weren’t a huge priority for her, and other than jeans, a few tank tops and blouses, along with a couple sweaters, her closet was pretty much bare. She grabbed a short sleeve white blouse and tugged it on. It was the least flattering of all her tops and despite her rather ample breasts, it hung awkwardly on her body made her look like a twelve-year-old boy, but since it had been discounted so heavily, she’d went ahead and bought it. Tonight it would be perfect. She didn’t want to give Ryeland the impression that she was trying to look good for him.
Leaving her hair loose and face makeup-free, Mel stuffed her notepad and laptop into her backpack. After a quick glance at the clock, she darted downstairs to wait for Ryeland, only to find him already waiting for her, leaning against his Jeep, legs crossed at the ankles.
Ryeland Montgomery. The catalyst for the fierce storm brewing inside her. Honestly, he was the kind of guy every girl wanted, yet he’d passed them all up, seemingly determined to get to know her better. What she couldn’t figure out was why. If she wasn’t giving him sex, then what did he really want with her?
“That was fast.” Ryeland removed his sunglasses, his pewter eyes raking over her clothes.
“Not high maintenance at all,” she returned, her voice coming out a little higher than she would have liked.
“Not at all,” he returned, and the smile that came over his face sent heat careening through her. “You look beautiful.”
He leaned forward and pushed off the Jeep. She instantly became aware of his closeness when he took her backpack from her and put it in the backseat. He left the door open for her, and she watched him circle the front of the vehicle, everything about him making her feel jittery.
He climbed in and gestured with a nod toward her backpack. “You going somewhere?”