The stallion was one of the most magnificent horses Sinclair had ever seen, which was saying a lot as she’d grown up on a ranch known for its acquisition of quality horses.
She frowned as she stared at the golden horse, trying to recall the name of the particular breed. She was no expert, but as she’d grown up around horses, she was very familiar with many types. It was magnificent: golden in color, nearly platinum, with a metallic-like bloom to its coat. The sun’s rays bounced and played off the animal’s body, enhancing the effect.
Yet, even with the natural majesty of the beautiful animal, it was Nick and Nick alone who held Sinclair’s attention.
The man had more swagger than any man she’d ever met. Natural swagger, something that was innate to a man and couldn’t be taught, learned or imitated; either he had it or he didn’t. And Nick had it.
His natural charm was intoxicating.
She kept her eyes trained on the action ahead, blocking out everything else even as the noise from around her grew louder.
She’d known from the chatter around the ranch that he’d bought a new horse. A gorgeous and rare stallion, but one that was near wild from what she’d heard in the cowboys’ excited comments.
When she’d heard Nick was about to “break” it, she’d carefully gathered the documents that she had been working on in the office and put them away. The fact that the documents weren’t ones pertaining to the Wildes and the Kealohas, but related to another case she was working on made her feel uncomfortable.
She and Nick hadn’t gone over the latest offer she’d put together. Each time she brought the topic up, he found something to distract her, from taking her to one of the orchards or gardens that his mother’s foundation supported, to showing her around the small community, to taking her to hideaway cafés that the tourists weren’t aware of.
All along she was getting to know him, discovering that beyond the fine exterior, the player image she’d so easily bought into, was so much more.
It was that “more” that had her worried. But she kept her perspective, and although she’d contacted the Wildes, she was told, just as Nick had been told by his brother, that she was “in charge.”
There were times, in the back of her mind, that she thought about it and wondered at both sides putting the situation solely into their hands. As well, she felt guilty for working on things for her few other clients, work that had nothing to do with the reason she was in Hawaii, but she forced the nagging feelings away.
“I think I’m going to head out and check out what’s going on,” she had said earlier as she’d stood from the leather chair and pushed away from the small desk.
She’d smiled at Ailani who had offered earlier in the week to share “office” space if she needed it, surprising Sinclair with her generosity.
“I heard the men bought a new mare. An Akhal-Teke,” she’d said, frowning, hoping she’d pronounced it correctly. “I’ve never seen that breed in real life.” She’d said that, knowing that it was best to at least tell a partial truth than a complete lie.
If Ailani decided to come out and saw Sinclair watching the excitement, maybe she wouldn’t know that it was Nick who’d attracted her and not the animal. At least, that was her hope.
Ailani had glanced up from her own computer and smiled distractedly. “Oh, yeah, sure. It’s a gorgeous animal! Nick and I bought it from auction a couple of weeks ago,” she’d said, smiling. Sinclair had nodded, returning the smile. She’d felt just the smallest nod of jealousy but put it away. After the time she’d been at the ranch, she realized that Nick and Ailani were no more than friends. In fact their relationship was close, and very similar to what Sinclair had with the Wildes.
* * *
She’d been spending more and more time with Nick this past week, getting to know him, learning his likes and dislikes as he was learning hers.
She felt that queasy-good sensation in the pit of her stomach that a woman felt when she knew a man was as into her as she was into him. She’d hurried along to check him out, in action.
She stood along with the others near the enclosure, a gated-off area that she’d learned they used for the wilder horses they often bought at auction. Horses that many of the surrounding ranchers who attended the private auction thought were too much bother to buy. No matter how good the bloodline, no one was willing to potentially lose a great deal of money on a horse they couldn’t break.
Her eyes left the beautiful animal and stayed on Nick. He was all alpha male, from the top of his dark head to the bottom of his big cowboy-boot-wearing feet.
Besides her own growing feelings, Sinclair saw what the appeal was for him, his brother and the entire Kealoha ranch for that matter, and what made their reality show the mega hit that it was.
Raw, masculine heat.
Her glance slid around the ranch. There were always female tourists around, no matter what. Although they weren’t supposed to be within certain staff-only areas, some wheedled the younger cowboys into giving them access and the young men had eagerly brought them, only to be embarrassed when Ailani read them the riot act for doing so.
Currently they were not filming the show, for which Sinclair was grateful. Yet there seemed to be an inordinate number of women on the ranch, hanging around the Visitors Only section. Although they allowed visitors on the ranch, most of the ranch was off limits to those who didn’t live on, or work at, the Kealoha ranch.
She knew that the Kealohas more recently had begun to allow a small number of tourists to come to the ranch, outside of the visitors for the show, to a designated section. They’d even decided to give a few “dude” lessons, all for donations to the Aloha Keiki foundation they’d started in honor of their mother.
For all the sheer masculinity and testosterone teeming around the ranch, there was also heart. Although the locale and people were different, there was a similar, familiar vibe at the Kealoha ranch, one that reminded her of the Wyoming Wilde Ranch.
Most of the hands had been at this ranch for years, like Ailani Mowry, the ranch’s foreman. Sinclair had not been sure what to expect from Ailani initially, but she had to admit she was all business when it came to the ranch. And the men she managed seemed to respect her, as well, from what Sinclair had determined so far, in the limited time she’d been at the ranch.
Sinclair still wasn’t sure how she felt about the woman on a personal level; she’d wait and hold judgment. Although she had a feeling that behind the woman’s reserved demeanor, the one she showed to Sinclair, was a more vivacious personality. One she chose only to show to those she knew and or cared about. Like Key and Nick.
Nick.
She sighed.
Piggybacking that thought was the realization that her thoughts and actions, from the moment she woke up excited to head out to see the Kealoha ranch...and Nick...had been so caught up in him, that she’d not missed home.
She experienced a pang when she thought of the Wilde Ranch. She’d expected...wanted...to miss it more than she did.
The truth was that since her arrival and during all the time they’d spent together, she hadn’t. She put those disconcerting thoughts away, both about the Wilde Ranch and her confusing feelings toward Nick.
Just to watch Nick break in a horse.
Yeah...that makes a heck of a lot of sense, her inner voice mocked. She sighed again and leaned into the fence, her eyes glued on Nick as he slowly approached the stallion.
“He doesn’t even use a blind.”
Startled, Sinclair turned, surprised to see Ailani standing near her. She’d been so wrapped up in her own thoughts she hadn’t realized the other woman was in the area.
“So I see,” Sinclair replied, familiar with the term the foreman had used.
Having grown up on the Wilde Ranch, she was as comfortable with cowboy lingo as she was with legal briefs.
“Is he an adept bronc buster?” she asked, thinking of Nate Wilde, who was an expert at breaking in the more unruly horses the ranch acquired.
The foreman tilted her head to the side, a small smile creasing her full lips
“Very impressive. Oh, that’s right, you grew up on a ranch. I’d forgotten that.”
Sinclair scrutinized her face, her voice, looking for any hint of sarcasm, but found none. Her expression was open, honest. Sinclair relaxed and turned back to the scene in front of her.
“Yes. Though all the men at the Wilde Ranch are adept at breaking horses, Nate is the best at it, to be honest. It was how he helped make money for the ranch when he and his brothers were young men,” she replied, hearing the pride in her own voice and not caring if the woman heard it.
“Well, I guess the...brothers have that in common, as well?”
Sinclair gave the woman a glance, again wondering at her motive.
“Nate is the expert, but his other two brothers, Shilah and Holt, are no strangers to breaking in a horse. They’ve all worked hard to see the ranch a success.” Purposely, Sinclair included the three Wildes, although she knew the woman was linking Nick as a Wilde, alluding to the fact that he was the son of Clint Jedediah Wilde.
“They’re like family to you, the Wildes, aren’t they?” Ailani asked after a slightly awkward pause.
“Look, I’m not sure what is going on here. I don’t know your connection with Nick, or how involved you are in this matter between the Wildes and the Kealohas, but for the record I am here in the best interest of the Wildes and their holdings. And that is it,” she said, feeling on the defensive even as she was embarrassed, knowing good and well the foreman hadn’t made the comment with the intent of being nasty.
“For the record, Ms. Adams... I have no pony in that race, as the saying goes,” Ailani said.
Had it not been for the slightly reddish tinge to her café-au-lait skin, Sinclair wouldn’t have known she’d upset the woman. She felt immediately chagrined at her own behavior and just a little bit ridiculous.
She’d been less than her normal cordial self with the foreman and she knew the reason for that was not because the woman had said or done anything besides be close to Nick.
Sinclair was woman enough to admit when she was wrong. “I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind lately and...well...” She shook her head. “I didn’t mean anything.”
Ailani shrugged her narrow shoulders. “Hey...no problem. I get like that with my ‘boys,’ too,” she said, laughing softly as she gazed over at Nick.
Sinclair refused to allow the kernel of jealousy to rear its ugly head again. Enough was enough. Besides, she had no claim on Nick Kealoha.
He was just a job.
She paid no heed to the uproarious mocking laughter in her head that came with the thought.
Hush, she quieted the voice.
“I don’t know anything about the Wildes except what’s common knowledge. Just like my boys...the Wildes are just an internet search away. Information just a keystroke away. And as I’m sure you know, not everything you read is true,” Ailani replied, her voice lowering, her gaze unflinching as she looked at Sinclair.
Sinclair kept her gaze just as steady on the foreman, reading the underlying message she was delivering easily. Then the other woman surprised her, her gaze softening.
“Your Wildes...they seem like good men. Just as the Kealohas are. And just as you are protective of them, I feel the same sense of loyalty for the Kealohas,” she said. She pushed away from the fence post after glancing over at the scene in front of her, of Nick and the animal, surrounded by ranch hands as they cheered him on.
She surprised Sinclair when she finished with, “And just like you and the Wildes, they are the only living family that I have.”
The two women held glances for long moments, neither one moving away, neither one dropping the other’s gaze.
How the foreman knew that she was alone in the world, except for the Wildes, Sinclair had no clue.
She mentally shrugged. But, as the woman said...the internet was just a keystroke away.
Sinclair was adept at reading people. What she was now reading from the woman was...love. Love for the Kealohas’ A’kela Ranch. The same love she herself had for the Wilde Ranch.
If for no other reason, this made her relax.
“I have a good feeling about you. I’m sure all of this will be resolved in a fair manner and...swiftly, Ms. Adams. Good day, ma’am,” Ailani said. And with that, she jammed the beat-up, wide-brimmed, faded-pink cowboy hat onto her head, pulled the long braid from beneath and allowed it to flop in front of her shoulder—a style Sinclair had seen the woman wear each time she’d spied her on the ranch.
She stared after the woman, a contemplative look on her face.
Had she just been warned off and welcomed both at the same time? she wondered.
Sinclair felt an unreasonable smile threaten to break free. The longer she was on the ranch, the more she was strangely feeling like she was...home. The people reminded her so much of those at the Wilde Ranch.
“You got him, boss! You did it!”
Sinclair’s attention was diverted from the woman and back to what was going on inside the small corral
In the short time she’d been in conversation with Ailani, Nick had been successful in breaking the horse. While she knew that it would take another session before the horse was ready to interact with the others, as well as be used by the other cowboys, she was impressed.
He was good. Damn good.
Her gaze ran over him. He was more than good...
His Levi’s were dirty and had seen more wear than any pair of jeans should. Although he wore a belt, complete with a buckle that bore the Kealoha crest—she knew, as she’d noticed it when he’d worn it before—they rode low on his hips, his shirt bearing evidence of a long day’s work.
Helpless to look away, Sinclair watched as he laughed at something one of the other men said to him, his strong white teeth gleaming in the sunlight. It was then he turned and their glances caught.
She noticed, peripherally, the same cowboy glance her way and then say something to Nick.
She couldn’t hear what he said from the distance, although she had fairly good lip-reading abilities—abilities she’d acquired in law school during court sessions—and instinctively knew she was the topic of conversation.
She should be angry.
Or at the very least curious as to why the man was obviously talking about her...or what he was saying. When she saw another man join them, and all three glanced at her, she should’ve at least been uncomfortable.
Should’ve been.
But as she stared at Nick and their gazes held, she didn’t really care what the others had said or were saying.
Nick and Nick alone captured and held her attention.
She watched as he blindly handed the horse’s bridle and bit to one of the waiting men. After dusting his hands down the sides of his filthy jeans, he jammed his cowboy hat onto his dark head and ambled toward her.
She swallowed, taking in the sexy sight of him as his long legs devoured the distance. The man was the walking definition of sexy.
She felt moisture in her panties, a reaction she was now growing accustomed to having whenever she was around Nick Kealoha.
She should leave. She should go back to the assigned office space she’d been given to work out of if necessary and just...leave.
She couldn’t. Instead she remained rooted to the spot.
And waited for him to come to her.
It had been a week of them dancing around each other.
She swallowed the excitement...and fear, biting her lower lip, tugging it deeply into her mouth, unaware of the picture she presented.
Chapter 13
His glance ran over the stallion as it watched him, warily. He needed to keep his head in the game, Nick knew. Breaking a damn-near-wild horse was no playing matter.
The horse threw its head back and snorted, before lowering its head. Its nostrils flared as it exhaled a deep breath.
Nick had known it the minute Sinclair had come within...smelling distance. He’d felt much like the animal in front of him. His sense of smell, as well as everything else, became acute, animalistic, when it came to Sinclair Adams.
They’d been sniffing around each other for the past week. It was all he could do not to take her to one of the stalls and have his way with her. But he’d played it cool. Let his guard down enough to let her in, to show her who he really was.
He knew what her thoughts were about him: playboy and wealthy cowboy. It was an image he’d carefully cultivated. But he’d found that with her, he wanted her to get to know him, not the image.
Damn. It wasn’t the smartest move on his part: letting the enemy close.
But she’d never been the enemy. She’d been anything but an enemy. From the first moment they’d spoken, the first email, she’d sparked his interest.
He ran a gaze over her as he approached her.
Today she wore a pretty peach sleeveless dress, the color a perfect foil to her golden-brown skin, her arms and shoulders exposed, the skin looking so soft. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on it.
He’d found every damn excuse in the book to touch her over the past week, casual touches, when she would come to his office or when he helped her walk over the plants in the orchard.
He knew that he needed more than just casual touches. He needed her beneath him as he rocked into her softness, felt her warmth surround him as he stared into her eyes while they made love.
To Tame a Wilde (Wilde in Wyoming) Page 9