by Jen Talty
“King. Kong,” JW commanded. “Wanna come love this girl?”
The dogs raced around the sofa once as Kitty practically crawled onto his lap, clutching at his shoulders.
“You’re scaring your own house guest,” his sister mused, knowing exactly what was about to happen and by the amused look on her face, was enjoying it almost as much he and the dogs were.
“Just relax, they love ladies a little differently.” Reluctantly, he pried her fingers from his body. He felt a pang of guilt as this was often a test to see how a date might really feel about his dogs. You didn’t get along with them, there could be a problem.
Something he should have known with Bella.
“You could have warned the poor girl before commanding the dogs to her feet,” JB said, brushing off the dog hair as he made his way across the room, setting his hat on the bar.
JW ignored his family, focusing on the dogs, and the girl who had knocked down some of the wall he’d built over the last year. “King, a little love for the girl.”
King jumped on the sofa, sitting next to Kitty. He raised his paw, resting it on her shoulder before leaning in and licking her cheek.
“Aww. That’s so cute.” Kitty cupped the dog’s face, scratching his cheeks and behind his ears. “You’re a good dog.”
Kong moaned wildly on the floor, taking her pant leg into his mouth, and tugging.
“Down, King,” JW commanded. “Kong, a little love for the girl.”
Reluctantly, King jumped off the sofa, making room for Kong.
JW sat back, tossing his arm around the back of the sofa, watching Kitty and his dogs. She seemed to genuinely enjoy them, and they were certainly warming up to her.
“Thank you, Kong, now get down,” Kitty said.
“He has a hard time listening…” JW let the words trail off. The dogs took his commands, but often ignored others, unless there was a mutual respect.
Kong gave her one more lick, then jumped down, and both dogs went back to their bones, at her feet, not his.
Traitors.
“Since my brother is too busy showing off his dogs, let me introduce myself,” JD said, pouring himself a small glass of wine. Of his two brothers, JD was the more serious one, but both were brilliant when it came to numbers, and he trusted them to run the financial part of the ranch while his sister focused on the management of daily operations. Since he’d officially retired from bull riding, he worked on trying to get the bull riding school started.
“Sorry. That’s JD and the one getting another glass is JB, and they are both a pain in my ass.”
His brothers were what everyone called Irish twins at ten months apart, with JD being the older one and only two years younger than JW.
“Ma’am,” JB said, taking his Stetson off, tossing it on the bar. “How are you liking Whiskey Ranch?”
It had originally been called The Buhl Ranch, but when JW had turned eighteen, and was the highest paid cowboy on the circuit, Chuck had decided to change the name, knowing he’d leave the property, and his wealth, to the Whiskey family. The gesture had humbled his grandparents.
And terrified JW. He worried he wouldn’t be able to fill Chuck’s shoes and still didn’t believe he had. There was no one in this world like Chuck Holland. Not to mention, his ex-fiancé had tainted JW’s reputation, and he still hadn’t completely recovered from her lies.
“I haven’t seen much of it since we only got in a couple of hours ago,” she said, leaning against JW.
The heat from her body scorched his skin like a branding stick. The next half hour or so would be torture. Hopefully he could get rid of his siblings quickly.
“I’m going to get the full tour and then something about some famous ribs in town.”
“Ah, MacAster’s has the best ribs in the entire country,” JD said, sitting next to his brother on the other sofa.
JW tried not to think about the night he told his siblings he’d been secretly dating Bella for a few months, and she was going to move into the ranch house. His brothers had warned him that Bella wasn’t the woman for him, and his sister was concerned about what it would do to the relationship they had built with her father.
For good reason.
But JW hadn’t listened. He thought he was in love. Georgia Moon had just moved out, taking over the guest house while his two brothers had remolded the old manager’s cabin, where they’d grown up, putting on an addition, which included a game room. A true bachelor pad. He often wondered what would happen if one of his little brothers actually fell in love since they seemed to be glued together like Siamese twins, unable to do anything without the other.
“How long are you visiting?” JB asked, swirling his wine. While they all enjoyed Whiskey and beer, they’d developed a taste for red wine, something they all got from Chuck Holland, a man who’d been like a second father to all of them.
“I fly home Saturday,” Kitty said.
“Two days is barely enough time to see all of the ranch and have a girl’s night with me,” Georgia Moon said, winking in his direction. She meant well, but she could scare this one away if she came on too strong. “I’ve got so many good stories I can tell on my eldest brother.”
“Like the time he decided to shoot a pellet into a coil, and it came out the other side and nailed him in the shin,” JD said, shaking his head. “Even I knew that was stupid.:”
“I’m not sure I understand what happened,” Kitty crinkled her nose.
He wanted to reach out and bat it, but his brothers would absolutely say something about that, so he opted for letting his thumb and index finger get tangled in her silky hair that always smelled like strawberries. “There was a big hose, like what comes out of the back of dryer next to the barn. It was coiled like a snake, and I shoved the muzzle of my pellet gun in the top and pulled the trigger. We heard it go round and round—”
“The other end was next to his foot in a slight upward direction, where the pellet projected out. He fell to the ground, wailing like a pathetic pig,” JD said, grinning from ear to ear.
JW rolled his eyes, hiking up his pant leg, pointing to the scar the pellet had left after the ranch veterinarian dug it out of his body. “You have no idea how badly that hurt.”
“That had to be the dumbest thing you’ve ever done, even Dad cracked up.” JD smiled.
JW’s heart thumped at the memory. His dad had been one of those men that had been larger than life. Tall, muscular build, and while a strict man when it came to his children, he had the heart of gold and the patience of a saint.
JW glanced in the direction of his sister, who often complained about how little she remembered of their parents and her early years, and this would be one of those cases. She was as tough as an ox, but no matter how many stories he’d told her over the years about their parents, most would never be a moving picture inside her head.
“How about the time the golf cart died? That was hysterical,” JD said.
“Let’s get the story straight. It didn’t die,” JW corrected. “One of those idiots over there sabotaged it.”
“What happened?” Kitty asked, every syllable laced with excitement like a kid waiting for the next chapter of a story. Her knee pushed into his thigh, sending his libido into overdrive. He shifted, adjusting his jeans, but no way could he ever get comfortable until he was in his bed, naked, with her body draped over his, drenched in lust.
“He got stuck in the pasture with Nelly, the craziest bull we have ever owned. Swear to God, the bull had mental problems.” JB twirled his index finger by the side of his head.
“What did the bull do to keep JW trapped?” Kitty asked.
“He was trying to hump the golf cart but every time JW tried to leave, the bull snarled, jumping down, staring at JW in attack mode.” JB took a large gulp of his wine. He might appreciate the sultry blend, but he’d never learned to sip and enjoy.
“I damn near met my maker, no thanks to you idiots.” JW had never feared a bull before until that
day.
“It was a full hour before we could distract the bull enough to get JW out of there,” Georgia Moon said. “We’ve got video of that one somewhere.”
“I’m not sure I want a ride on the golf cart,” Kitty said.
“It’s not the cart you need to be worried about.” JW slipped his hand under her hair, fingers caressing the back of her neck. “Nor the bull,” he whispered in her ear.
She sucked in her lower lip, staring at him, batting her baby blues.
“I don’t know about you two.” Georgia Moon stood. “But I can take a hint.”
“If that were true, you wouldn’t have even shown up tonight at all,” JW said.
“Before we head out, I need to talk to you about one thing.” JB downed the rest of his wine and then rinsed the glass out in the bar sink.
“I’ll walk you to the door.” He leaned closer to Kitty, pressing his lips against her warm cheek. “Don’t move.” He stepped over the dogs and followed his family to the foyer. “What’s up?”
JB held out his phone, showing a national gossip mag. “Your ex is in Baltimore this week.”
“What the fuck?” He grabbed the phone, tapping the article, resizing it. “I thought she moved to Nashville to pursue her singing?”
“She’s not very good,” Georgia Moon said with venom dripping from her words.
What JW couldn’t understand was why she’d headed to Baltimore, about the same time he had. After the truth had come out, Bella had gone into hiding, only to resurface about three months ago a new woman. Of course, the tabloids still ran the story, calling him a wife beater, or her a lying hussy. No matter how they spun it, he never came out smelling like roses, and everyone felt bad for Bella.
“This guy she’s with, Eric Longstrum, is some sort of artist manager, though I can’t find a lot of information on him,” JB said.
“So, a coincidence.” JW continued to scan the article. “Well, fuck me.”
“What is it?” JB asked.
“Bella is scheduled to sing Friday night at Pat’s Irish Pub.” He tore his gaze from the phone. “That’s where Kitty works.”
Chapter 9
KITTY SAT ON THE FENCE, adjusting the cowboy hat she’d once again stolen from JW, who gave up trying to steal it back and wore one he constantly complained about not being broken in enough. He’d offered to give her any of his hats, except the one on her head.
But not a single hat smelled like a combination of wild flowers being blown around by a warm summer breeze and the musky pine scent of the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on.
JW stood across the pasture talking with a couple of ranch hands, holding the reins of a gigantic horse that made him look like one of the seven dwarfs. The animal’s tail swished back and forth, and his spectacular muscles twitched. The closest she’d ever been to a horse was when Preston had taken her to a racetrack in upstate New York. She remembered enjoying the open country air and the small-town feel of Saratoga Springs.
Her heart thumped in a slow, steady beat. She hated that she desperately wanted out of Baltimore. When she’d married Preston, she’d been thrilled to move from the city into the suburbs and still be close to her parents. However, after that trip to New York, she wanted to be surrounded with mountains and lakes and all the beauty of the wild outdoors.
The only thing keeping her in Baltimore were her parents, but they constantly told her to go wherever she wanted, that there was no reason to stay.
But where would she go?
She had five grand to her name, and that savings wasn’t growing any, and her student loans were only going to get worse and worse.
She twitched, nearly falling off the fence as her phone buzzed in her back pocket. Her jerky movement caught the attention of King and Kong, who had been following her around like little magnets. Even when JW called them to him, they whined like little babies, nuzzling their snouts in her feet, or on her lap.
Kong raised up on his hind legs, resting his front paws on the wood railing next to her butt.
“Sorry to have disturbed your rest.” She scratched the back of the dog’s neck while checking her phone.
A text from Preston.
He’d called her last night but hadn’t left a message.
He called her again this morning, leaving a message that she hadn’t listened to.
And now a text message that she wasn’t going to read. Whatever he was up to, she wanted nothing to do with it. She’d trusted him once, a mistake she would never make again.
She turned her phone to silent, so it wouldn’t vibrate again and stuffed it back in her pocket. She watched in awe as JW tugged on the reins and the horse leaned forward. There was no saddle, so nothing for JW to put his foot in, but he managed to heave himself on the horse, tapping his heels. He adjusted his hat three times as the beast carried him across the pasture, his body moving in rhythm with the horse.
“Sexy man, isn’t he, Kong?”
The dog cocked his head, staring at her, and making a noise that sounded like Scooby Doo.
“Okay, not your type, I get it.”
The dogs left her side and meandered in the field, sniffing the ground before King jumped Kong, and they started racing around each other like wild bulls.
“Howdy, ma’am.” JW tipped his hat. “Hop on.”
“No way. No, thank you. I’m not getting on that animal.”
JW guided the horse right next to her, his thick stomach pressing against her knees.
“Rudy is the most docile Quarter Horse we have.” JW held out his hand. “Come on.” He pushed back, making room in front of him. “I’ll hold on to you.”
“Now I’ve got that song, Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy, stuck in my head.”
“You can ride this cowboy a little later.” He circled his arm around her waist as she eased her leg over the massive creature.
“I’ve never been on a horse before.” She sucked in a deep breath, leaning against JW’s strong frame.
JW made a clicking noise, and the horse rocked forward.
“Whoa,” she said, grabbing his thighs, digging her fingers into his flesh. As scared as she was, she felt more alive than she had in a long time.
“Just relax,” he whispered in her ear, his hot breath sending a wave of goosebumps across her skin.
“Please don’t go any faster.”
He wrapped his arm around her stomach, his lips pressed against her neck, the brim of his hat pushing hers back. “Rudy is an old horse, and he just likes to walk.”
Her heart rattled behind her ribs as her body jostled with each hoof stomping the ground. After a few minutes, the sensation felt more like rocking in a hammock.
He led the horse out of a gate where one of the ranch hands had been waiting and closed the gate behind them. The ranch seemed like it went on for miles with barns and buildings nestled in meadow after glorious meadow all with a backdrop of woods.
“You really are in the middle of nowhere out here. Don’t you get lonely?” While she felt crowded in the city, she couldn’t imagine having to drive thirty minutes just for a gallon of milk. She nearly laughed at the thought. With all the cows on the farm, JW had never-ending supply of milk.
He pointed off to their right. “See that?”
“The golf cart? Is that the one—"
“Not that, the building.”
“Oh yeah.” The golf cart raced in front of them about fifty yards away and disappeared into the woods.
“I’ve got over a hundred ranch hands that live there and if you look just to the left, you can see the front porch of a cabin. There are fifteen where some of my employees have moved with their families.”
“They rent from you?”
“I take a small fee to cover the water and utilities. Ranches often have a high turnover, and I learned that if you take care of your people, they will stay for the long haul.”
“You have your own little village,” she mused.
The shrill of children laughing stole h
er attention. When she turned her head, she saw a dozen or so young children running out of the woods into the open field, followed by three adults.
“Who are they?”
“Some of the kids whose parents work for me.” He waved as the children approached.
“Hey, Mr. Whiskey,” one of the young boys said. “I went ten seconds on the mechanical today.”
“That’s great progress.” JW tugged on the reins, and the horse stopped walking.
“Who’s the girl?” the same boy asked, pointing to her. “She the new tutor?”
“No. This my girlfriend, Kitty.”
Half the kids covered their mouths, giggling.
Kitty swallowed her breath. Things were going too fast, and she had no idea how to slow them down.
If she even wanted to.
The idea that she was honestly toying with a long-distance relationship with JW told her she was certifiable and should be hauled off in a straitjacket. There was no way this could work.
Yet, she would bend over backward right now just to have a repeat of this week, even if for just one night.
Or an hour.
“Hi, everyone.” She wiggled her fingers at the children, who she guessed ranged from ages six to twelve.
“Mr. Whiskey, we didn’t expect you back so soon,” one of the young adult males said, “some of the children have been working on a show. Perhaps you could stop by the training pasture tomorrow and give them some pointers.”
“I’d be happy to. Did the maintenance crew fix the AC in the daycare?” JW asked.
“Yes. Thank you,” the young man said. “Enjoy your day, sir.” The kids took off running through the open field toward the buildings on the other side of the meadow.
JW tipped his hat and clicked his heel against the horse’s belly.
“Daycare?” she questioned with a faint whisper. “You have one on the ranch?”
“The closest one is over a half-hour drive, so a few years ago, we built one just for my employees, but we now have a couple after school and summer programs we’ve extended to the community.”
She took her hat off, resting her head on his shoulder, and raised her hand to cup his cheek. “That’s amazing.”