A Cowboy of Her Own

by Susan Fisher-Davis

  He burst out laughing, the sound filling the woods. “Christ, you’re bad.”

  Priscilla laughed low in her throat. “Oh, cowboy, you have no idea but you’re going to find out.”

  “Hell,” he muttered with raised eyebrows.

  Pleased with her teasing, Priscilla walked out of the woods and over to the fire pit where she dropped the logs then turned to watch Roark walking toward her. She couldn’t stop her eyes from skimming down that long tall frame.

  “How tall are you?”

  “Six foot five. All of the Callahan men are that tall.”

  “What does your family do?”

  He dropped the logs then tossed some onto the fire and moved them around with a stick. “Have you heard of Callahan Whiskey?”

  “You’re that Callahan?”

  “Yes. My father and his brothers started the distillery when they were in their early twenties, and it just took off. When each of us turned twenty-one, we were given shares in the company.”

  “Let me get my notepad. Do you mind if I put that in the article?”

  “No, go right ahead. Common knowledge, sweetheart.”

  “I’ll be right back.” She ran to the tent, crawled in, got her pad, then crawled out again and ran back to sit on the log. The air was definitely getting colder as the sky darkened. “Okay, so why do you ride bulls if you have money from the family company?”

  Roark shrugged. “I like making my own money.”

  “Your parents don’t mind?”

  “No. None of our parents mind, as long as we’re doing what we want. Reid used to grow feed on his farm in Butte but he sold it to move back here to be with Lucy, and Devin and Jaxon have their guest ranch. We all built our own homes with our own money. The money from Callahan Whiskey sits in the bank. It’s there if we ever need to fall back on it. If we fail at what we’re doing, that is...but none of us has. The distillery is just outside of Spring City, sits on two thousand acres, and employees four hundred people.”

  “Wow. Unreal. Most people know this, you say?”

  “Yep. I’ve been in bull riding for a long time and once I retire from it, I’ll have the bulls I’m raising for income.”

  “But it sounds like you don’t want your family’s money.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want it, I just don’t need it. If a time comes when I do, then it’ll be there.”

  “Makes sense. Does the guest ranch do well?”

  “Oh yeah. It’s full every year. A lot of returning guests. Dev and Jax have a dance every Saturday night to say goodbye to the guests leaving on Sunday. It’s a minimum week’s stay and they have to check out on Sundays. Maybe we could go Saturday night, if you want.”

  Priscilla put the pad on her lap and stared at him. Did he just ask her on a date? He looked away from the fire to look at her, and she smiled. “I’d love to go. What do I wear? Is it fancy? Do I need to buy a dress? What about shoes? I didn’t bring any dresses or heels with me––” She stopped when he started laughing. “What?”

  “Dear God, woman. It’s a guest ranch and the dance takes place in a barn. You don’t need to worry about what you wear. It’s not fancy, and you can buy a dress if you want but you can wear jeans and those damn sandals you have with you.” He shook his head. “You women worry too much about what you should wear.”

  “Well, I don’t want to look out of place.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that, darlin’. We’ll go and you can meet Devin and Jaxon.”

  “Is Devin married?”

  “No, he’s never married and I doubt Jaxon ever will again.”

  “He’s young though.”

  “Yeah, but he loved Bethany more than anything. Who knows?”

  “I can’t wait to meet them.”

  “No questions for them though. Especially Jaxon. Got it?”

  She saluted. “Yes, sir. Is the distillery the only place to employee that many people? I mean, I know Spring City isn’t very large.”

  “Less than a thousand people but no, it’s not the only place. I mentioned Ash Beckett to you before...he employs quite a lot of people at his ranch. He grows feed for cattle and horses. Then there are his brothers, JD and Gage, who own Beckett boots and that factory is just outside of Hartland and employs close to five hundred people. Clifton has the most people though, at fifteen hundred so I suppose they’re capable of employing the most. The rest of the people work their farms and ranches.”

  “Good information. I think I’m going to have a good article.” She smiled.

  Roark chuckled. “Good. I’m going to make us some hamburgers. Is that all right with you?”

  “Sounds perfect, but I have to pee.”

  “All right.”

  “You have to go with me.”

  “Okay but let me start the burgers first.” Once he had them on the grill, he walked toward her, put his hand out to her, and she took it. “Come on then.”

  “Oh wait...I have to get my toilet paper.” The heat spread across her cheeks as she retrieved her necessities.

  Roark nodded when she returned then he led her to a spot in the woods and turned his back. She hurried and did her business then stood and walked to him.

  “Do you have some water I can wash my hands with?”

  “Yeah, in a bucket. I can smell those burgers so we’d better get back before an animal steals them.”

  “Are you kidding?”

  “No. Animals will smell food cooking and follow their noses.”

  “I hate camping,” she muttered as she followed him back to the campsite. She looked up to the sky to see thousands of stars twinkling then just as quickly, she tripped on a branch and fell into the back of Roark almost knocking him down. He spun around and caught her before she fell. “Thanks. You’re quick with your hands, Roark.”

  “When I need to be, and slow when I want to be.” He winked at her.

  Priscilla laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist looking up at him.

  “Kiss me, please. I love how you kiss.”

  “I love how you taste.” He grinned then chuckled when he saw the blush she felt steal across her cheeks.

  “And you say I’m bad.” She rose up on her toes and kissed his lips then he took over, and deepened it. His hands moved down to her ass and he squeezed it making her hiss in a gasp. He raised his head and looked down at her, his eyebrows furrowing with concern.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you but I can’t seem to keep my hands off your ass.” He rubbed his hands on it.

  “It’s all right. I’ll heal. When we get back, I’ll get in that hot tub of yours. I just dread the ride back.” She nibbled on her bottom lip.

  “You told me you could ride.”

  “I didn’t expect to have to sit in the saddle that long. I’ve only been on thirty minute rides.”

  “Holy hell, Priscilla. You should have told me,” he snapped as he stepped away.

  “You didn’t tell me how long we’d be riding,” she snapped back suddenly feeling defensive.

  “Damn hardheaded woman. You’ll be lucky if you can sit down by the time you get back.” He removed his hat, thrust his fingers through his hair, and then resettled it.

  “I’ll be fine once we get back and I can rest up for a day or two. I can type up what I’ve learned so far and when I’m better, I’ll follow you around some more.”

  Roark shook his head then turned his back and started back to the fire. “Come on, let’s eat.

  Taking a deep breath, she followed him. She hadn’t been lying when she told him she dreaded the ride back. Her ass was going to hurt like hell once she got back in that saddle and had to ride three hours again. Maybe she could convince him to stop once in a while, but she shook her head. It was better to get back as soon as possible because the thought of getting in and out of the saddle didn’t appeal to her at all. If he had told her it was a three-hour trip one-way, she might’ve hesitated but she still would have gone because she needed the story
on him. She was glad she had come along though because she sure as hell wouldn’t have missed the sex for anything in the world. She’d been right when she’d thought he was any woman’s wet dream. She smiled thinking of sleeping with him tonight.

  “You’ve never mentioned any family,” Roark said suddenly as he loaded a burger onto a roll and handed it to her.

  “My mom and dad are divorced. She lives in California and Dad’s in Arizona. He just remarried recently.”

  “Do you get to see him often?”

  “About once every six months or so. I’m not real fond of the woman he married. She’s only a year older than me, and I guess she thought we could be besties. That so ain’t happenin’.”

  Roark laughed. “Ouch.”

  “Yeah. Well, I don’t really trust her either. I’ve seen her flirting with men when we’ve all been out to dinner, but Dad seems to love her. More power to him.” She picked up her burger and bit into it. Her father and his wife were the last thing she wanted to talk about and since Roark didn’t say anything more, she had a feeling he knew it.

  Chapter Seven

  Roark needed to get up and add more wood to the fire but Priscilla was draped on top of him, and Snowy was across his feet. Gently, he managed to scooch away from her without waking her, and crawled out of the sleeping bag. Standing, he stretched then added wood to the fire and watched the embers reaching for the sky. It was cold so he had to keep the fire going. The only sounds in the air were the flames snapping around the logs, bullfrogs croaking, and crickets chirping.

  “Roark, get back in here, I’m freezing.”

  “So you only want me in there because you’re cold.”

  “But you warm me up so well,” she said then laughed and it shot right to his dick.

  He walked back to the sleeping bag but froze when Snowy suddenly jumped up and growled, looking in the directions of the woods. Roark slowly squatted down, keeping his eyes on the tree line, picked up his rifle, and stood.

  “Roark?”

  “Shhh,” he whispered.

  He heard the fear in her voice but he didn’t want her to let whatever Snowy had growled at to hear them. He snapped his fingers and Snowy lay down again but didn’t take his eyes from the woods. Roark could see the brush moving so he raised his rifle and aimed it in that direction. Glancing down at Priscilla, he could see the fear on her face. When the cougar emerged from the woods, Roark heard her gasp. The cougar stopped and stared at him for a few seconds then turned and ran back into the woods. Blowing out a breath, Roark lowered the rifle then crawled into the sleeping bag with her, set the rifle alongside, and then pulled her close.

  “Oh, dear God,” she whispered against his chest.

  “It’s all right. He’s gone.” He could feel her shaking and a sudden need to protect her overwhelmed him, surprising him too.

  “But he was right there.”

  “Cougars rarely attack unless provoked. Because I stood tall, he didn’t want a confrontation. We’re fine, he won’t be back.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, and if he does, I have the rifle. Snowy will let us know if anything comes around.”

  “You said you’d never seen anything while camping.”

  “I said I never saw bears. I’ve seen cougars several times but I knew if I told you that, you’d freak.”

  “Ya think?” she said with heavy sarcasm.

  Roark chuckled. “Come here. Let’s get some sleep.” She snuggled against him. He closed his eyes and fell asleep thinking he would never let anything hurt her, and that he could definitely get used to this.

  The next morning, after eating some breakfast, they cleaned up the camp. Roark made sure no embers remained in the fire pit then he saddled the horses, and vaulted into his saddle. He watched as Priscilla slowly mounted her horse and winced when she settled into the saddle.

  “Are you all right?”

  “No, but I will be once we get back to the ranch.”

  “Let’s go then. The sooner we get back, the sooner you can take it easy.” He glanced around then gave a shrill whistle.

  Snowy came running from the woods and ran ahead of them. Roark tugged on Bouncer’s reins as Apache made his way through the tall grass. Glancing over his shoulder, Roark noticed Priscilla sitting stiffly in the saddle.

  “Relax, darlin’. You’re only going to make it worse.”

  “I don’t think it can get any worse.”

  He reined his horse to a stop to wait for her. She stopped beside him and looked at him. He saw tears in her eyes.

  “We can stop whenever you want,” he told her. “Just tell me when. Okay?”

  “I want to get back as soon as I can. I don’t want to stop and get down then have to get back on. I’m never going to be able to feel my ass again.”

  Roark laughed then covered it with a cough when her eyes narrowed at him. He shrugged. “Honest, I wish you would have told me. I never would’ve had you come along.”

  “It’s okay...the great sex makes up for my sore ass.”

  “I’m serious, Priscilla. You’re going to be hurting for a few days. I have some salve you can use when we get back.”

  She nodded and he nudged Apache to go. Roark felt bad because he knew she had to be sore and it was bound to be a whole lot worse by the time they got back. They never should have had sex. Roark mentally snorted. The sex had been fantastic and he was hoping she’d sleep with him in his bed once they returned to the ranch...sore ass or not.

  Two and a half hours into the ride, he looked back at her and saw tears on her cheeks. He reined Apache to a stop. “Priscilla, do you want to stop?”

  “No, we don’t have much farther, do we?”

  “A little less than an hour but if you want to stop...”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to get out of this saddle until we’re back because once I get out of it I am not getting back in it.”

  “All right but if you change your mind, let me know.” He waited until she nodded then nudged his horse. Snowy ran around them until they were close to the ranch then he took off running. The horses picked up their paces too, since they knew they were close to the barn and their oats. But Roark turned his horse back toward Priscilla and grabbed the reins from her hands.

  “What are you doing?” she asked him.

  “Slowing Dazzle...so she won’t run to the barn and hurt you even more.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered as she blinked tears away.

  Once they rode into the barn, Roark dismounted and walked back to where Priscilla sat on Dazzle and looked up at her.

  “Can you get down?” She shook her head as a tear rolled down her cheek and his heart ached for her. “Come on, baby, I’ll help you.” He put his arms up to her. She put her hands on his shoulders and he pulled her off the horse then he pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Go on inside, I’ll take care of the horses.”

  “Are you sure? I know the rules.”

  “I’ll let you slide on it this time. Go.” He lightly kissed her lips then she turned and slowly—very slowly—walked to the house.

  As he led the horses to the stalls, Roy came walking down the aisle of the barn.

  “Hey, boss.”

  “Could you get one of the guys to cool the horses down? I need to get Priscilla some salve. She’s sore from riding. She told me she could ride but forgot to mention that not for longer than thirty minutes at a time.”

  “Damn. Yeah, I’ll get Raul and I’ll help him. Go help her. We got this.”

  “Thanks Roy, I appreciate it.”

  Roark turned, strode from the barn, and headed into the house. Walking down the hall toward her bedroom, he heard the jets on the hot tub fire up so headed into his bedroom instead. He saw her settling into the hot tub on the patio.

  Stepping through the patio doors, he leaned against the post of the porch, folded his arms, and cleared his throat. Her eyes opened and she looked over toward him and her eyes squinted at him. He swore his
heart stopped.

  “Can you see me at all?” He grinned at how adorably her nose crinkled when she squinted.

  “Yes. I’m farsighted. It’s just a habit for me to squint when I’m not wearing my glasses.”

  “Is the hot tub helping?”

  “I just got in here, but I think so.” She smiled at him. “Care to join me, cowboy?”

  Roark grinned, pushed away from the post and tugged his T-shirt off over his head, dropped it to the floor then unsnapped his jeans, and lowered the zipper.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting in the hot tub with you.”

  “Where are your trunks?”

  He stopped what he was doing and stared at her, not believing she asked that. “Trunks? I don’t own trunks. I get in there naked. Aren’t you?”

  “No! I have my suit on.”

  He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Not for long.”

  Priscilla burst out laughing. “Then come on in, cowboy, the water’s fine.”

  With a grin, Roark sat on a chair and tugged his boots and socks off then stood and shucked his jeans and boxer briefs off. Then he climbed into the tub and sat beside her. “Come here, sweetheart.” She slid over next to him and he lifted her onto his lap but cringed when she gasped out in pain. “Damn, you’re really hurting, aren’t you?”

  She blinked back tears from her eyes and nodded as he gently set her down on the seat beside him again.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “There’s no reason for you to be sorry, Priscilla. I just wish you had told me that you hadn’t ridden that long. I would have gone alone or taken one of the men with me.”

  “I’ll be all right. Can you rub that salve you said you have on me? I’m not sure I can reach all of it.”

  “Are you saying you have a big ass?” Roark chuckled.

  “No, I am not! Are you?”

  “Hell no, you have a great ass. You should get out and take that suit off though. Wrap a towel around you and lay face down on the bed while I’ll get the salve.”

  “All right.” She kissed his lips, stood then gingerly climbed out of the hot tub and slowly entered the bedroom.

  Roark frowned as he watched her limp slowly into the room then she entered the bathroom. He stood, reached for a towel stepped out and dried off, then picked up his jeans, and entered the bedroom to see her carefully climbing onto the bed. Damn, he really wished she felt better because he’d love to have her again. Shaking his head, he pulled his jeans on then went in search of the salve. After retrieving it from the bathroom, he reentered the bedroom and stood by the bed.