Resisting the Rancher

by Kadie Scott

  He crossed his arms. “Don’t you two have some horses to be prepping for Rusty?”

  Jordan and Chris jumped at the sound of his voice. They exchanged a glance and hopped off the fence.

  “Yes, boss,” Chris mumbled. Each tipped his hat as he hustled past Will and into the barn.

  Hell. Now he was snapping at his hands and acting all proprietorial about his wife. Even his mother had commented about his touchy mood lately.

  “Hey.” Rusty rode up to where he stood beside the opening into the arena. “What do you think?” she asked.

  Obviously, she was asking about her work with the horse. “He’s coming along,” Will said.

  “Yeah.” She frowned.

  “Problem?” he asked.

  Rusty narrowed her eyes at the question. “Yes, Will. What do you think?”

  “You need to break his hind quarters loose. He’s pulling with the front, more than pushing with the back. He’s losing forward motion when he’s curving around your foot.”

  Rusty was already nodding. “Got it. Thanks.”

  Without another word, she turned the horse back into the arena, and started another exercise, one that involved keeping the horse’s nose down and faced where he was going. At the same time, she’d heel into one side, curving the horse around her leg and forcing his hind quarters to be doing the work. Then she’d let him out of it.

  The horse kept throwing his head up, or losing forward momentum. Will knew the exercise. Rusty would do that over and over for days until the horse would do it naturally without tossing his head or losing the forward movement.

  She was in it, so Will turned and left her to it. He needed to get the hay unloaded anyway, no matter how much he wanted to stay and enjoy the view.

  On his way past the boys, he gave both a friendly nod. No need to run the tyrant over these fellas for no good reason. They knew what they were doing. Hell, they were friends. They shouldn’t suffer because he was hard every minute of the day and getting no relief. Cold showers and hand jobs weren’t helping enough. If anything, they added to his irritation levels.

  And that was just the physical side. Gaining Rusty’s trust in this relationship was proving an exercise in patience.

  By six o’clock, Will made his way to his office in the barn. He and Rusty talked at the end of every day about her progress, changes that needed to be made, and next steps for upcoming clients or searching out new ones.

  She was still brushing out a white mare she’d recently started working with. At the same time, she was on her cell phone, though he couldn’t tell who with. A quick nod told him she’d meet him when she was done, so Will sat down behind his desk and got started on some paperwork he’d been avoiding.

  “Phew,” she said as she breezed in, closing the door behind her. His office was the only air-conditioned part of the barn.

  Rusty dropped into a chair, fanning herself. “It was a scorcher today,” she said.

  Even drenched in sweat, and covered in a fine layer of dust, and smelling of horse and leather, she was still gorgeous. “Hotter tomorrow,” he said. “I’d skip a day if I were you. It’ll be too hot for the horses to be out there working, even in the shaded arena.”

  She nodded as she wiped her sleeve across her forehead. “You’re the boss, boss.”

  Yes. I am.

  Not exactly a happy thought these days. At least not in relation to one Rusty Hill. Because progress in the area of his wife had been zilch.

  “Was that your dad on the phone?” he asked.

  Her lips went flat. “No. That was Doris. He was out somewhere she couldn’t reach.”

  “How’s he doing?”

  “She says pretty well. No major physical signs yet.”

  “That’s great!” Rusty’s relationship with her father was complicated, but Will had a sneaking suspicion she still cared about the old man.

  “He told her to ask if we’re pregnant yet.” Rusty just shook her head.

  Huh. “I guess he wants to hold on to see his first grandchild.”

  Rusty snorted. “He’s not that sentimental.” She sighed. “Do you mind if we drop this?”

  And there she went, shutting down, shutting him out again. “Sure. Give me a sec to wrap this up, then we can talk horses.”

  “What are you working on?” she asked.

  “Projections for end of year revenue.” He glanced back at the computer. “In fact, while I’ve got you. You should finish up with three of the horses, and we already have an offer for that bay mare you’re done with. So that should add up to…”

  He paused to check his figures.

  “Eighty-six thousand. Assuming they come here to get them. If you add in shipping costs plus taxes, then…” She glanced up at the ceiling as she calculated more then rattled off a figure down to the dollar.

  Smart and beautiful. “I think I married up,” Will said.

  She just rolled her eyes.

  Recognizing he’d made her uncomfortable, Will let it go. Instead he grabbed a water bottle from the small fridge he kept in his office and tossed it to her. “Give me the rundown.”

  After a few long swallows, Rusty launched in to her usual daily report. Will loved this part of the day. Talking horses and business with a woman who got him like people rarely did was always stimulating. He loved the way her mind worked, so similar to his thinking when it came to the best way to train horses. In fact, he loved it best when they debated the best technique to try next. Between the two of them, they were an encyclopedia of horse knowledge.

  Granted, he often had to send her off to shower before dinner without him. He couldn’t stand up from behind his desk, because the damn woman was stimulating more than his mind. Still, the best hour of his day was this one right here.

  He glanced at the clock as she started winding down, touching on the horses she hadn’t worked today but would in two days after the heat wave dropped. Damn, that’d gone fast.

  Too fast.

  He didn’t want to let her walk away.

  “Has anyone mentioned the swimming hole to you, yet?” he asked.

  Rusty blinked as the question interrupted her mid-sentence. “Um… No.”

  “It’s a natural cold spring, three actually, which feed Little Big Creek that runs through our property on the southern side. Great place to cool off in the evenings after heat like today. What do you say?”

  Big brown eyes stared at him like he’d lost his ever-loving mind for a long minute. “You’re asking me to go swimming with you?”

  He thought he’d been pretty clear. Will pushed the brim of his hat up so she could see his face better. “Yes’m. That’s what I’m asking.”

  “Tonight?”

  Now he smiled. “If you’re busy, I guess tomorrow would work too. But you look hot and tired right now, so I figured cooling off that way would appeal.”

  “What about dinner?” she asked next.

  “How about I pack us up something to take along? Mom won’t mind. In fact, she’d love it.”

  Her eyebrows, which had been reaching for her hairline, settled back into their normal position. “Oh, your family goes on hot nights. Yeah, I’d love to come.”

  “It’ll just be us,” he was compelled to end that misunderstanding.

  “Oh.” She blinked at him again. “Why?”

  Will laughed as he stood up from behind his desk. His laugher was as much for him as for her, because hell if he knew how to convince his wife that he was interested in her. “I thought you might enjoy it. Besides, it’ll help with our newlyweds story.”

  “Mmmm…” she hummed. “Autry and Jennings were teasing me the other day about how I’m a low-maintenance wife.”

  Will frowned, but she held up her hands. “Don’t worry. They were just joking.”

  Maybe. But obviously he needed to step it up in front of his family. A few dates would help.

  Hand at her back, he gave her a little shove out of his office. “You go get a bathing suit on under your
gear. Bring a towel and a change of clothes. I’ll grab my own after I get the food and have the horses ready to go. Meet back here.”

  “All right.” She finally acquiesced, though the way he was hustling her out of the barn didn’t give her much time to protest.

  She walked off in the direction of the bunkhouse, and Will stood for a minute watching the gentle sway of her hips as she went. Jeez, I’m a glutton for self-inflicted punishment.

  *

  Rusty held up two bathing suits, wasting precious time debating which to go with. She didn’t own a one-piece thanks to her juvenile need to drive her father nuts. So, the question was did she go with the neon eighties-style suit that had a more modest bandeaux top but showed some thigh, or did she go with the black suit which was more conservative on the bottom, but barely covered her breasts?

  I should tell Will I don’t want to go.

  The trouble was, she did want to go. Swimming in a cool spring sounded wonderful after her hot, sweaty, grimy day. And, if she was honest with herself, spending some time with Will without the entire family watching their every move or in their room pretending to fall asleep was also appealing.

  Rusty scowled.

  Spending any time with Will had gotten more and more appealing with every passing day. She’d been able to work with horses all day long without interruption or interference. She discussed her work every evening with Will. He listened, he gave opinions that she respected, not only because they were well thought out but because he couched them in a way that never demanded or insisted. They were opinions or suggestions, and that was all.

  He trusted her to do her job.

  She’d never had that at home. Granted, she found herself caught up watching him. His blue eyes lit up when he talked about horses. Will truly loved what he did for a living, and his passion was contagious. The hour they spent together talking at the end of the day was quickly becoming her favorite time of every day.

  And that was not good.

  Even though she loved how his mind worked, how they connected through their love of horses, her brain still recognized the need to keep her distance. When she inherited Rising Star, she would move back up to Wyoming, and this relationship would be all business. Why risk the pain of a breakup when this was only temporary? Too bad her body wasn’t on the same wavelength. She woke most every night throbbing with need. She’d had to take care of herself in the shower almost every morning and some evenings. She’d never experienced anything like it.

  But that didn’t matter. Why would she screw up such a good situation with messy stuff like hormones and lust? Will had obviously drawn a professional line between them after that first night, only touching her when his family was around, and otherwise treating her more or less like an employee. She was determined to keep it the same.

  “Guess it’ll have to be the neon suit,” she muttered.

  Quickly she pulled the suit on, then dressed in her already nasty jeans and shirt since she’d just be getting on another horse. In a bag, she stuffed a towel and a change of clothes. Then, trying not to be too eager about it, she headed back to the barn.

  Evaline caught her in the kitchen. “You look eager.” Her mother-in-law smiled.

  “The swimming hole sounds wonderful after being in the heat all day.” Rusty tried to downplay the fact she’d been practically skipping out the door.

  “I’ll bet. Of course, some alone time with Will probably appeals too.”

  “We don’t get much alone time,” Rusty murmured.

  Had this been her father, Rusty would’ve worried that a double meaning applied to the comment, that Evaline was concerned or suspicious about their relationship. But she could tell by the open, honest expression on Evaline’s face that wasn’t the case. Will’s mother truly was a sweetheart, always including Rusty in the conversation or asking about her own experiences or shooing Jennings and Autry away when they appeared to be pestering her.

  “Part of living on a family ranch.” Evaline nodded in understanding. “Will was just saying you two needed a date night.”

  He was? When was that? “That would be… nice.”

  “You better get going.” She was shooed away. “Will’s already out there.”

  She found Will in the barn, strapping a few packs to their horses’ saddles. The food, she assumed. He grinned when he saw her, and Rusty couldn’t stop an answering grin.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “To cool off in a spring-fed swimming hole? Absolutely.” That’s right, girl. Keep it about enjoying the activity. Nothing to do with the man.

  “All right.” He laced his fingers to give her a leg up.

  He’d picked Lady Luck for her—a lovely bay mare who loved to run fast. Then he mounted his own horse. Shadow was a big black brute who was actually a softy underneath that intimidating size. Both horses pranced, seemingly eager to get a move on as well.

  The ride wasn’t a particularly long one, taking them around a half hour, though they did give their horses their heads for a while. Rusty laughed, exhilarated as her mount flew over the undulating ground and Will beside her. She pulled up when he did, setting their horses to a walk. Eventually, he led her down an embankment to a small river which pooled at a natural bend in the land.

  “You really love to ride,” he commented as they dismounted.

  “So do you.” She undid the packs from the saddle, then started loosening Lady Luck’s girth. The sweet horse had earned a nice laze in the shade.

  “True.” He patted Shadow’s neck. “Did you leave your own horse at Rising Star?”

  Rusty stiffened a bit, she couldn’t help it.

  Will frowned over Shadow’s back at her. “You don’t have to tell me if I’m being a nosy jerk.”

  She shook her head. “It’s okay. Most of the horses I had at the ranch were ones I trained for other people. My horse, Sadie, died last year.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  She scrunched up her nose against the sting in her eyes. “Thanks. She was six when Dad bought her for me. I was only six myself at the time. She lived a long, happy life.”

  “You didn’t buy a new horse?”

  “Nah.” She twitched a shoulder in an attempted shrug, but he must’ve caught that it wasn’t as casual as she’d like to play off.

  “Why not?” he pressed.

  “By then I’d finished college and had come home. I was determined to make my own way, rather than live off Daddy’s charity.” She rolled her eyes. “I lived off the money I made training horses, but helping with the rodeo stock limited how many I could take on at once. So money went to things like my truck and trailer, rather than a horse for me.”

  “I see.”

  They didn’t talk for a few minutes as they unpacked the bags and laid out a picnic blanket and the food.

  “Swim or eat first?” Will asked.

  The cool water beckoned. “Definitely swim,” she said.

  Without thinking about it, she whipped her shirt over her head, dropping it on the blanket, then toed off her boots and zipped out of her jeans, which stuck a bit thanks to the heat and humidity and her sweat. Still she managed to get them off, then glanced up to find Will, his hands at the button of his jeans but not moving, his body still as he watched her.

  Damn the man looked good without a shirt—his cowboy-lean body muscled in a way that made her want to do bad things. Dangerous things. Inappropriate things.

  Don’t screw up a good thing. Other than the constant state of arousal issue, they’d settled into an easy relationship.

  “Come on, slow poke,” she urged. “Get a move on.”

  She didn’t wait for him and waded right into the water, the mud squishing between her toes gross, but worth dealing with as cool water enveloped her body. With a blissful sigh, she slipped beneath, letting the pond wash away the dirt and sweat of the day.

  She came back up to find Will had joined her and obviously dunked under as well. His dark hair was wet and slicked back.

&
nbsp; “You were right, this is fantastic.” She gave a happy little sigh.

  “It’s one of my favorite places to come in the summer,” he admitted.

  “I can see why.” She skimmed her hand over the surface, enjoying the sensations as the chilled water slid over her skin.

  “So…” Will paused. “If you were so determined to be independent, why’d you go home after college?”

  Ah. Back to the conversation they’d been having a minute ago. At least it would take her mind off the half-naked man standing not three feet from her, and how she wanted to close the distance. One would think she’d be used to resisting him after all the time sharing a bed.

  She should’ve known his question would come anyway. What surprised her though, wasn’t the question, but the fact that she wanted to tell him. Will was… easy to be with. And she trusted anything she told him would be kept in strict confidence.

  She kept her gaze trained on the sky over the water—starkly blue and turning toward evening colors with hints of pinks and peaches. A few lazy white clouds floated along. “I assumed Rising Star would be mine one day, and was determined to learn the business.”

  “So, you tried to what… prove yourself to your father for years?”

  She shrugged. “Something like that.”

  “That’s bullshit,” Will snapped.

  Rusty bobbled in the water, eyes flying wide, mouth open.

  “What?” Will asked.

  “You swore,” she squeaked.

  He laughed. “I swear a lot, just not in the presence of a lady.” He tipped an imaginary hat in her direction.

  Rusty chuckled. “Still. You swore.”

  He shrugged. Was that… Was he blushing? No way. It had to be a reaction to the cold water.

  “It’s just that you are so obviously qualified to run that ranch. Your dad’s attitude is ridiculous,” he said by way of explanation.

  For the second time in as many minutes, she stared at him with wide eyes.

  In response, he slid closer to her in the water. “I mean it, Rusty.”

  “I can tell,” she murmured, her voice a bit croaky.

  He really did believe in her like that, she could tell by the intent look in his eyes. And the swearing.