by Casey Hagen
Then, the next second, she sucked in a breath and screamed bloody murder. Baby snakes, several of them, slithered out of the gap, hissing and striking. She jumped back and grabbed a broom to shove them back in their hole.
Then what? Heart racing, gulping air, she brushed at them, praying they would go back where they came from. She needed to get them out. Otherwise they would be there every time she worked and yeah, no…she wasn’t doing that.
She brushed the nastiest one back and the broom hit the wall. Next thing she knew more babies fell out, and she couldn’t keep them all at bay. They slithered and scattered. That’s when she noticed the little rattles on their tails.
“Oh, I don’t think so!”
She ran out of the cabin, her feet hitting the porch just as Slade’s truck rolled to a stop before her. Without missing a beat, she grabbed hold of the side of the truck bed as she braced her foot on the back tire, and scrambled up over the side.
Slade jumped out, leaving his driver’s side door wide open. “What the hell?”
She put a knee up on his roof and hoisted herself up to the highest point, where she finally felt safe. She shook her arms and shivered. The hair on her neck stood up, goosebumps broke out on her skin, and sweat poured off of her.
She heard commotion around her. She heard Slade calling her name, but she ignored it all while she tried to slow her breathing and calm the roaring in her ears.
“Jesus.” Lightheaded, she lay her head against her knees.
“Ryan, you want to explain to me why just climbed onto the roof of my brand-new truck?” Slade asked with an amused glint in his eye.
She looked around her; Levi, Will, Matt, Myra…they had all gathered around, staring at her like she had grown two heads. “Snakes.”
“What?” Slade asked, leaning toward her after stepping up onto the edge of the floor of his truck.
“Snakes. In the bunkhouse.”
Slade glanced over the roof to Levi. “Can you check it out?”
“You got it. Come on, guys.”
Slade reached out a hand to her and she shook her head. “Nope. Not getting down.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. There were tons of them. Nasty little things.”
He laid his hand on her knee. “The guys will take care of it. Besides, you can’t stay on my roof forever.”
Her eyes flashed. “Why the hell not? Myra will bring me a sleeping bag. Right, Myra?”
Myra stood there with her hands on her hips, and let out a fully belly laugh. “Honey, I would, but that would just leave you out here exposed to the bats at night. I’m pretty sure you won’t like those either.”
“Bats?”
“Well, yeah,” Slade said. “But you can run into bats anywhere you go.”
Ivy bounded out of the house then, with chocolate around her face. “All done, Miss Myra. I put the beater in the sink.” She skidded to a stop next to the truck and shaded her eyes from the sun. “What are you doing up there?”
“Not getting bit by the rattlesnakes,” Ryan muttered.
“Snakes? Cool!” Ivy took off around the truck and ran for the bunkhouse Ryan had been working in.”
“Ivy, no!” Ryan jumped off the roof, straight down to the ground. When she landed, a sharp pain shot up her ankle as she rolled onto the side of her foot. “Ouch, shit.” Even with the pain, Ryan managed snag Ivy’s overalls as she ran past, stopping Ivy in her tracks. Ryan pulled her into her arms. “Stay out here.”
Ivy struggled against Ryan’s hold. “But I want to see.”
“Not right now. I’m not taking a chance that you get bit.” Ryan sat on her butt and rubbed her ankle.
Ivy dropped down into the dirt next to Ryan and looked at her ankle. “Did you get hurt trying to stop me?”
“No, baby. I got hurt for not climbing down the way I climbed up, totally my fault.”
Slade stood over them, his large form blocking the sun. “Come on, ladies. Let’s go inside and get some ice on that ankle.”
Ivy extended a hand to Ryan. “Come on, you can lean on me.”
“That’s okay, Trouble. I’ve got her.”
Before Ryan could protest, Slade scooped her up with an arm under her knees, the other around her back.
She wove her arms around his neck. The minute her fingers brushed the skin above his shirt collar, they both froze.
She hadn’t seen him this close, his face just a few inches from hers. His gray eyes, streaked with silver, locked on her.
All she had to do was lean forward, just a small distance, and she could taste him. Just one taste. Really no more than a brush of her lips against his.
“Daddy, are you coming?” Ivy called from the porch.
“Yup, on our way.” Slade pressed his forehead to Ryan’s. Their breath mingled. “You were just saved by my daughter.”
“Saved from what?”
“Saved from finding out just how stupid whatever this is between us can get.”
“I wouldn’t let it get stupid. You’re my boss.”
“Temporarily.”
Yes, temporarily. Slade carried her into the house and set her on the couch.
“I’ve got a few calls to make,” he said as he made his escape.
***
The guys, bless them, had thoroughly inspected both bunkhouses and eradicated the snakes. After an afternoon with ice on her ankle, elevating it overnight, and following Slade’s orders that she stay off her ankle as much as possible, for two days, she was good to go.
She finally managed to get the one bunkhouse clean and ready for the final touches. The bedding and curtains had come in the day before, and Myra had gone ahead and run them all through the washer to get them ready. Matt and Will had moved in the new box springs and mattresses the very morning they had arrived.
Ryan opened the windows to get some cross-ventilation. The bunkhouse still smelled like disinfectant, the plastic from the mattress packaging, and new mattress smell. The second window, facing the pasture, wouldn’t stay up, which explained the piece of wood that sat on the windowsill. She hadn’t gotten rid of it, just in case it had a function. Today, she used it to hold open the window.
She had been on the ranch for just over a week. She didn’t feel awkward in the main house anymore and had actually adopted a kind of routine. Evenings were the best. She showered after dinner and spent time with Ivy, who had taken a keen interest in learning to play guitar.
Ivy was attentive. She had natural instincts, found the notes that flowed well together, and had a sure hand. She caught the strings every time, but didn’t overdo it.
Before Ryan left, she hoped she could do something about getting Ivy her very own guitar so she could continue with it even after Ryan was gone.
Leaving.
The thought hurt. She loved Ivy as if she were here own. That little girl had a way of winding everyone around her finger, and God help Ryan, but she had lost a piece of her heart to the child.
In the process she’d learned a bit about herself. She’d never thought about having kids. Her goals had included climbing the corporate ladder, making a ton of money, and gaining power and respect.
Now, she didn’t even know that woman. Now she dreamed of long days working on the land, having a family, going to bed with a strong cowboy who would never lay a mean hand on her.
Who loved only her.
It may not be here, on this ranch, but she would find it somewhere. With that in mind, Ryan did what she had been avoiding for weeks. She powered up her phone and dialed her father’s number.
“Ryan? Is that you?
She took a deep breath. “Yes, Dad, it’s me.”
“I’ve had enough, young lady. It’s about time you got home.”
Establishing her as the child, that was so her father’s MO. “I’m not coming home. That’s why I called. I’m quitting. Officially. I won’t be back in a professional capacity.”
“This is ridiculous! Where are you?”
“Not important? For all I know you’re in some kind of danger and being held against your will.”
Ahh, and there was the guilt. “If you really believed that, Dad, I would have seen my face all over the news by now. I’m fine. I’m working and I’m happy.”
“What about Carter? He’s been beside himself.”
She doubted that, and even if he was, it’s only because he had lost his in with the senator. “I’m sure.”
“Look. I taught you better than this. You weren’t raised to be like your mother.”
She sucked in a sharp breath as the barb hit its mark. He knew just what to say to hurt her. For once, she wasn’t going to take it. “I have no obligation to you other than employee to employer. If I want to leave my job, my life, I have every right to do so.”
“You abandoned everyone who loves you.”
“No, I walked away from people who had grown too comfortable using me. I kept your life in perfect order. I looked good on Carter’s arm. By the time I left, you saw me as nothing more than one of your underlings, and Carter decided I was his punching bag.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You and Carter are such good friends, why don’t you ask him?” Ryan said and ended the call. So much for an adult conversation. She knew he would make some sort of snide comment about her mother leaving. He had used guilt and Ryan’s desire to be different to keep her in line all this time.
Why had her mother left? All Ryan knew was, the day her mother walked out was the last time Ryan ever saw her. Did she struggle to maintain the expectations of her husband and his political world? Ryan had to wonder. She had blamed her mother for years, but maybe her father drove her to it. Maybe her mother saw no other way out and didn’t have the power to fight a politician with endless money and connections, for custody of her daughter.
Was it really so far-fetched that her mother sought escape? Ryan had. It didn’t matter. Her mother was dead and she would never know.
Ryan smoothed the comforter over the bed and fluffed the pillows. She spun in a circle, proud of the how it had all turned out. The tile gleamed. The small kitchenette shined. The open windows had almost done their job. Ryan moved to the door to get an extra few minutes of air before closing the bunkhouse and calling it finished.
She opened the door wide and came face to face with a giant black horse. “Holy shit!” She slammed the door then leaned against it. What the hell? Who the hell let a horse wander loose on the property like that, and why was it standing on the front porch of the damn bunkhouse?
She had no food in here. Maybe slamming the door in its face had scared it away. Gathering her courage, she turned to face the door, but braced her body, ready to slam the door shut if the horse was still there. With shaking hands, she turned the handle and pulled open the door an inch. A wet horse nose pushed against the seam and whinnied. She yelped and slammed the door shut.
Now what?
She couldn’t just stay in there forever. And really…where the hell was everyone? Any other day, there were people milling about and underfoot, but now that there was a big black horse blocking her in the damn bunkhouse it was like a ghost town out there.
Was seeing a black horse like having a black cat cross your path? At this point, did it even matter? Anything bad that could happen already had.
There was no back door, just two windows. Apparently Ryan was going out one of them and she was going out silently. She took one of the two wooden chairs from the round table in what could loosely be called the dining area. Sliding it in front of the window, she stuck her head out, looked left and then right. Nothing. No horses, no people, just a short drop onto a patchy yard.
It didn’t escape her attention that just below the window was where the snakes had scurried out of the wall. She knew they were gone, but the memory caused her to scramble up the chair and get her upper half through the window.
She reached her arm through and accidentally caught the piece of wood holding the window open. “Oh no! Shit. No, no, no, no! Damn it!” She scrambled to catch it before slid away completely, but nope, it dropped to the ground in front of her. Because she was so talented, as she thrashed she had mistakenly pushed against the chair, causing it to slide away.
So there she was, with the window frame in her gut, on arm trapped against her side, her right hand hanging out the window, the toe of her left foot barely supporting a smidgen of her weight on the edge of the chair.
Stuck.
Like Winnie the Pooh in the freaking honey tree. Almost. She had one hand free. She could flail and wave, on the off chance that maybe, at some point, someone might have mercy on her by seeing her or hearing her.
Taking as deep as a breath as she could with a window frame in her gut, she called out. “Hello. Anybody. Somebody. Help!”
She lifted her head and in the distance she saw someone, she couldn’t make out who, on a horse, riding along the fence. “Help!” She waved her one arm as best she could. “Hey. Over here!”
The horse and rider disappeared into the tree line.
Well, fuck.
The problem with yelling, Ryan realized a tad too late, was that it didn’t get just the attention of people if they were in close enough proximity. It also drew the attention of…horses. She heard the click of horse hooves, glanced left toward the porch, and there was said horse, peering over the railing at her.
It made one of those sounds that horses do. She didn’t know what it was called, that blowing thing, and pulled its head back. Maybe it would just go away. That could happen, right? She heard the clicking hooves again and nothing. Maybe it stopped. Maybe it still stood on the porch.
Totally possible.
No. That was fantasy land, and here he came, sauntering around the corner. Horses could saunter, right? He was walking with swagger, damn it. That’s the only way to describe it. Head high, with a “Which way to the weight room?” gait.
He walked like his owner. The frustrating man. All these days giving her hot looks, lingering wherever she was, carrying her around, and not kissing her once. The butt.
“Oh, please, don’t do it. Don’t bite me,” she begged.
He sniffed her hair, blew out a breath in it, and then started chewing her ponytail.
“I’m begging you. If you just leave me alone, I’ll bring you apples every day. I’ll move here to do it. Even if Slade doesn’t want me, I’ll pitch a tent and make a career out of giving you treats. Just don’t bite me.”
“Jesus. How the hell do you manage to get yourself into these situations?” Slade said.
“Oh, thank God. Get that thing away from me.”
A low laugh rumbled out of him. “Oh, come on, Satan won’t hurt you.”
“His name is Satan? Are you serious? What kind name is that?”
“It’s the one he came with when we adopted him. You wouldn’t want someone to adopt you and name you, oh say, Bonnie, would you?”
She glared up at him. “Do I look like a damn Bonnie to you?”
He smiled a genuine smile, one that reached his eyes and transformed him into easily the best-looking man she had ever laid eyes on. “You look beautiful to me.”
The air whooshed out of her lungs. He cupped her cheeks and lifted her face to his, not that he had to lift far with her hanging out the window.
He dragged his thumb along her bottom lip. Her blood pumped hard, her heart knocking against her rib cage. “Slade, stop teasing me and get on with it.”
He smirked. “Ryan…shut up,” he said as he hovered over her lips. The minute the words were out, he took her mouth with his. Between the heat, the taste, the way he owned her mouth with every slant of his lips over hers, every sweep of his tongue, and the soft bites he took of her bottom lip, Ryan lost all desire to get out of the window.
Sure, her stomach hurt, her calf had cramped, and she was fairly confident she had a sl
iver in her left arm, but who the hell cared when a tall cowboy with broad shoulders and wolf eyes locked his sights on you and took what he wanted.
He kissed her like an alcoholic desperate for his next drink. Like a die-hard chocolate lover having just been handed a lava fudge cupcake.
He made her forget that she liked to be in control.
He made her love being swept away.
He made her his.
“We have disaster written all over us,” he mumbled as he trailed his lips over her cheek and down her neck.
“I don’t know. I had disaster written all over me the day you brought me home. This ranch has been one hell of an eraser.”
“I have to stop. Ivy might see.”
“Yeah, then she’ll want to know where babies come from.”
He winced. “Too late, she already asked me that,” he said.
“Jesus, it’s a wonder you don’t have gray hair.”
He lifted his hat and although there were a few, you would have to be close to see them. Intimately close. “Working on it.”
“You’ve got a long way to go. Look, I love talking to you and all. The kissing wasn’t so bad either, but do you think you could get me out of this window before it leaves permanent marks? I mean, my eye healed, my neck is about ninety-five percent, and now this.”
He looked up to the window pinning her. “Here, I’m going to lift the window, you back yourself back in.”
“No can do there, Cowboy; the chair is too far away and I can’t reach the floor.”
“Okay, come on then. Wrap your arm around my neck.”
She did as he instructed and he slowly pulled her out. He let her slide down his body until her feet hit the ground. She tried to step back, and stumbled.
“Whoa, easy. Give the blood a chance to get back to all the right places.”
She nodded and leaned on him. “Solid plan.”
“Yeah, and here’s the next one. We’re going to get you used to the horses.”
She tipped her head back to look at him. “How do you propose we do that?”
He brushed the hair from her cheek. “That’s a surprise. Meet me on the front porch after dinner tonight and we’ll start.”