“The pleasure’s all mine,” he cooed.
Now positive he was flirting with her, she pulled her hand away and turned her attention to the shorter man as Ethan introduced him.
“This is Rory, Boone’s brother.”
“Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Rory said as he shook her hand. It was a swift, almost businesslike move.
“Likewise,” she responded.
His slight smile faltered as he looked to the side of the room when a raised voice sounded. He seemed squirrelly to her and the complete opposite of Boone’s relaxed posture. The men sat, Rory on her other side with Boone and Ethan across the table from her. She soon learned Ethan and Boone had both served in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and had completed international policing missions together. When Ethan retired from the force, Boone transferred to the service’s Witness Protection Program where he still worked. At her easy nod, Ethan and Boone exchanged a glance and she knew she’d slipped up.
“Wow, most people don’t know that the RCMP does international policing missions or that they run Witness Protection,” Boone remarked.
She shrugged as nonchalantly as she could, her heart rate kicking up at the inquisitive look that adorned both their faces. “I had this silly crush on RCMP officers when I was a teenager. I researched everything I could about them.” Yet another lie, but a reasonable-sounding one.
Boone grinned. “Oh, yet another woman who loves a man in uniform, eh?”
“I think we all do,” she responded, adding an easy smile. Boone seemed to buy her explanation, but Ethan still looked uncertain. She had to be more careful. Another slip-up like that could be disastrous. She’d just managed to quell his discomfort with her, and the last thing she needed was him being wary of her again. Eager to change subjects before Ethan could question her, she turned to Rory.
“What do you do for a living?”
“I’m looking for work,” he responded. His eyes dropped to the tabletop and his tone spoke of his unease in relating the information to her.
“Oh, uh, I guess it must be hard to find work in such a small town,” she offered, hoping to smooth over her inadvertent mood-killer.
He nodded. Boone’s expression seemed sad as he stared at Rory who in turn continued to stare at the tabletop. There was more at play than Rory being out of work. The tension at the table was tangible, and she was relieved when Skip broke it.
“Hey, did Ethan tell you there’s a new rancher in town?”
“No, he didn’t,” Boone replied. “Horses or cattle?” He seemed interested in the information and she saw Ethan and Skip exchange a look that told her Boone would be surprised at the answer.
“Alpacas,” Skip answered.
“What the ever-loving fuck?”
Skip and Ethan laughed at the astounded look on Boone’s face. She found the information interesting, but it seemed to have thrown Boone for quite a loop. His forehead deeply wrinkled, his mouth pulled down at the corners, she found his expression adorable. Not that he’d appreciate hearing that, of course. Boone struck her as a man’s man, macho without being misogynistic, and someone she definitely would have normally responded to sexually. His height was intoxicating. She’d put him at six-six, at least. Athletically built and handsome, he was an enticing package. It surprised her that, despite Boone’s potent sex-appeal, her body didn’t respond to him. Ethan, however, was a different story. She swore she could feel a crackling sexuality streaming from him, one that rushed over the table, and then seemed to wrap around her. It had existed even since he’d first touched her as they entered the bar, and she was certain Ethan was as game for a hook-up as she was.
“Yep,” Skip confirmed, “alpacas. I can’t recall the woman’s name right now, but Sawyer overheard her in the feed store. She doesn’t have them yet, she’s still working on getting the ranch ready. Apparently, she asked Theo about ordering pellets for them and, when Theo tried to sell her some grain mixture he’s been trying to unload, she gave him a lengthy lesson on alpaca nutrition. Sawyer said he didn’t have time to listen to it, but he was stuck in line behind her and didn’t want to be rude.”
Boone smiled. “Since when is Sawyer concerned about being rude?”
“Since the new rancher is very attractive,” Skip quipped. He then turned to Zoë. “Sawyer’s a horse breeder. He’s a good man, just short with others occasionally. It’s a problem with too many young people these days. They’re too wrapped up in work to take the time to enjoy themselves.”
He shot Ethan a look that received an eye roll in return. She bit her lip to refrain from laughing aloud at the sight. They almost appeared to share a father/son relationship, with Ethan embodying the mannerisms of a teen too respectful to argue with his father, but still feeling the need to display his displeasure with the man’s words.
Ethan turned to Rory. His expression morphed from pseudo-son to his own version of a father figure. “I haven’t introduced myself to her yet, but I will. She bought the old Williams’ place, you know, the land backing onto my east border. I’ll put in a good word for you when I do see her.”
“Thanks Ethan,” Rory responded.
She couldn’t mistake the look of pity in Boone’s eyes as he clamped a hand on Rory’s forearm and nodded to him. There was something going on that everyone at the table was privy to, except her. Boone’s eyes then swept over everyone.
“Who’s ready for another drink?”
Still nursing her pint, she shook her head, but the others all thanked Boone as he left the table to get another round. Ethan met her eyes and then cocked his head in the direction of the dancefloor.
“Care to dance?”
“I’d love to.”
He stood and extended his hand to her. When she placed hers in it, he curled his fingers protectively over hers and led her to the dancefloor, tapping the brim of his hat to people as they passed by. On the dancefloor, he placed one hand on her hip and held fast to her hand with the other. That electric feeling was stronger now and seemed to penetrate her as they swayed to the music, a slow ballad. After a moment, he sighed.
“Rory’s an ex-convict.”
“Excuse me?”
“You were wondering why he’s out of work, and I know you caught the look between him and Boone.”
“Huh. Well, I guess some people in town must be closed-minded when it comes to Rory.”
“Sure are,” he responded. “You didn’t ask what he went to jail for.”
“I imagine it was serious, if he served time, but that it’s something that you and Boone don’t fault him with.” When his forehead scrunched, she elaborated. “You two are ex-cops, well Boone still is, and I know you wouldn’t associate with someone who was an actual criminal, so I just figured it had to be some act you condoned, at least somewhat.”
“You nailed it,” he said, seemingly impressed with her assessment. “He was convicted of first-degree manslaughter, sentenced to life, but was eligible for parole in seven years, and received it.” He blew out a deep breath. “It really isn’t my place to tell you the story but I don’t want you to hear rumours or half-truths and, if you spend any time in town, you’re bound to hear both. Rory and Boone have a sister Zandra, who you might meet tomorrow as she cleans my house on Saturdays. About ten years ago, Zandra was raped by a man she was dating, Tom Parsons. It happened when Boone and I were away on a mission. She called Rory before she called the police, and he shouldn’t have but he went to Parsons’ apartment to confront him. They fought and it got out of hand. Parsons’ roommate tried to break them up but couldn’t. At one point Parsons pulled a knife on Rory and Rory disarmed him. He didn’t use the knife and the roommate’s testimony prevented Rory from being convicted of murder. However, he still lost control and beat Parsons so viciously he was barely alive when the paramedics got there. Parsons died in the hospital shortly after. I could hardly believe it when I heard it, but that’s what happened.”
The look in his eyes told her he’d suffered right along
with the Bukowskis when all that occurred. She could clearly see the love and concern he had for his friends and her heart ached a little for him. He took hold of both her hips and she slid her hands to his shoulders.
“That must have been horrible. Poor Rory. It’s awful that people won’t give him a break. It seems to me that he’s just trying to rebuild his life.”
Ethan nodded but wore an unreadable expression. The song ended and, when a faster one started, he broke their hold on one another to take her hand again. Wordlessly he led her back to the table. Upon arriving, she saw that Rory had changed seats to leave two empty chairs side by side. She held back her smile at his obvious attempt to play wingman to Ethan who held her chair out for her. Then Ethan took his seat, shuffled his chair a little closer to hers, and sipped from his beer.
14
Zoë held her belly, laughing so hard at the jokes the men shared that she was sore. Murray and Jeff arrived a while ago, joined them, and the discussion about work had dissolved into joke-telling. Since she’d put Murray in his place a few days ago, he’d been nothing but polite with her, but she had the distinct feeling he was trying to impress her tonight. She’d danced with Ethan again, and once more he’d held her close. Skip had asked her to dance, to an upbeat song, and she’d gladly accepted, eager to shake her stuff, absolutely loving the opportunity to dance. She’d also danced with Boone, surprised when he held her close and then ground against her. With a shake of her head, she’d pulled back from him, informing him she didn’t reciprocate his interest. Boone was gorgeous, but she only had eyes for Ethan, and tonight he’d given her many signs he was interested in getting busy when they returned to the ranch. Sure, sleeping with the boss was a bad idea, but she thought they were mature enough to handle a sex-only arrangement, and saw nothing wrong with having some fun while she stayed at the ranch.
Boone nudged Ethan. “What sexual position produces the ugliest children?”
Ethan’s face told her he knew his friend was setting him up, but he shrugged. “I don’t know, which?”
“Ask your mother,” Boone replied and then burst out laughing.
Ethan shot her an I-knew-that-was-coming look that had her laughing. The closeness between the men was endearing and she liked Ethan more as the night progressed. His grumpy bastard persona hadn’t reared its head at all. In fact, he’d been nothing but pleasant since dinner earlier at the ranch. The many looks he’d thrown her way, ones that spoke of his sexual interest in her, had her leaning in her chair, trying to be closer to him, figuring the others wouldn’t appreciate her crawling onto Ethan’s lap as she wanted to. She bit back a laugh at the thought of her straddling Ethan, instantly picturing his shocked expression.
After catching her eye, Murray grinned at her. “What do you call a woman who can’t make a sandwich?”
Knowing the punchline, and hardly believing he’d choose this particular joke to impress her, she merely stared at him. “Single,” he related and then laughed heartily.
Only Jeff joined him. She knew the rest of the men were too well-mannered to tell sexist jokes in her presence, but Jeff and Murray seemed to lack such decorum.
Murray frowned. “Huh. I thought you’d like that one, seeing how well you can cook. Oh well, how about this one: What do women and condoms have in common?” When she didn’t answer him, he grinned. “If they’re not on your dick, they’re in your wallet.”
Again, the pair laughed riotously but no one else at the table did. She read Ethan’s expression. He was about to chastise Murray. Although the little shithead deserved it, she didn’t want to see any tension between the men who, so far, had been having such a great time. Murray was ruining it, and she decided to take it upon herself to set him straight. Smiling sweetly at him, she tilted her head.
“What’s the difference between you and eggs?”
His expression told her he knew she was setting him up but couldn’t figure out where she was going with the joke. When he shrugged stiffly, her smile turned wicked.
“Eggs get laid.”
Everyone aside from Murray laughed uproariously.
“We were having fun. You didn’t have to be a bitch about it,” he snapped as he shot her a hard look.
Ethan tensed beside her and she could see the irritation on Skip and Boone’s faces. While she appreciated their chivalry, she was more than capable of handling Murray on her own. Placing a calming hand on Ethan’s forearm, she turned a reproachful look on Murray.
“And you didn’t have to be a sexist prick. We both got our licks in, so, what do you say? Truce?”
“Sure,” he replied huffily, then looked to Jeff. “We should get going.”
He and Jeff stood and, after saying goodbye to everyone, the pair left. As the tension at the table ebbed, Skip looked to Ethan.
“That boy is trouble and I’ve told you so.”
She stiffened, hoping she wouldn’t see an argument between the pair. Ethan pursed his lips. “You have, and as I told you, I’ve already written him up twice. One more screw up and he’s out, but I can’t do anything about him being an asshole outside of work hours.”
Skip nodded and, much to her relief, changed the subject entirely. Soon the group was telling her stories about other ranchers and she found the ones about the Carson brothers the funniest. According to Skip, the ‘city-slicker’ brothers didn’t let their ignorance of ranching operations stop them from starting one up. They ran an escape ranch, offering a respite from city life, a place that provided authentic ranching experiences. Visitors could go trail riding, drive cattle, and even shear sheep on the ranch. It was a great idea to be sure, even if the brothers were out of their league in the ranch’s early days.
“Tell her the story about Shane and the footbath,” Skip prodded Ethan.
With a smile, Ethan began the tale and it was obvious to her that the men still found the story funny. “Well, you’ve seen the footbaths at the ranch, right?” She nodded. “Just after they started up the ranch, they called Cole to come out there because some of their cows were ‘walking funny’.” His accompanying air-quotes had her smiling. “Cole showed up and sure enough, some of their cows had infected feet. After instructing the brothers on proper foot care, Cole helped them buy and set up the baths. Shortly after, I got a call from Zeke that he and his brothers were having problems with a heifer and couldn’t catch her. I went over there and sure enough this heifer was feisty but with my instruction, Shane caught her and haltered her. He was leading her toward the barn when something spooked her. She ran hell-bent for the barn, dragging Shane behind her. I was already laughing because not five minutes before I’d told him to never let go of the lead and to show her who was boss. Of course, I didn’t mean for him to hang onto it if he was in danger of being hurt, but there he was hanging onto it for dear-life as she charged for the barn. She saw the footbath and tried to jump over it. She pulled the lead real hard and Shane went flying into the lip of the bath and then flipped over, landing flat on his back and sloshing water everywhere.”
She, Boone, and Rory chuckled, but Ethan and Skip howled with laughter, the pair obviously still finding the story hilarious. Regaining control, Ethan continued his tale.
“I was laughing my ass off, but worried Shane was hurt. I ran up to him and he got up on all fours, soaking wet, and turned a green-looking face to me. He said, ‘I think I got cow shit in my mouth’, and then he threw up in the bath.”
They all laughed. She was glad it was back to the five of them, the tension caused by Murray long gone. Even Rory laughed loudly and seemed totally at ease now. Skip dabbed under his eyes.
“Those boys are a riot. I thought they were dumb as dirt at first, but they were just inexperienced. They learn quickly though, and listen to advice, I’ll give them credit for that. The ranch is running smoothly now and they’re all doing well working it, and Kit is becoming quite the horseman.”
“Wait,” she broke in, grinning, “Kit? You did say their surname was Carson, right?” Sk
ip nodded, smiling, his eyes dancing with humour. She chuckled. “Kit Carson? His name is actually Kit Carson?”
“Yep, apparently their daddy has quite the sense of humour. Story goes he’s a huge fan of old westerns and wanted his boys to have cowboy names. Hence Shane and Zeke. Kit told me their mother was reluctant to name him Kit, especially given their surname, but their daddy eventually wore her down and she agreed to name their third son after the legendary frontiersman.”
“Oh my God that’s funny,” she enthused, chuckling again. For such a small town, Bison Bluffs seemed to house quite the collection of characters.
Skip stifled a yawn.
“I’m tired, too,” she announced. “We all get up so early that this has been a really long day. I mean, I had fun, but it is getting late.”
“Then let’s get out of here,” Ethan suggested.
After bidding the Bukowski brothers goodbye, she left the bar with Ethan and Skip, Ethan holding her hand the entire way to the truck, making her smile with the expectation he wasn’t too tired for some fun when they arrived back at the ranch.
15
After parking the truck, Ethan rounded it to open Zoë’s door for her. She took his offered hand but he knew she required no assistance to negotiate the steep step down from the cab. Her skirt slipped up her thighs to reveal a flash of black lace and his mouth went dry. It was no accident, for she smiled sexily at him. He steeled himself for his next act. It wouldn’t be easy to resist her, but he had to, for his own sake. There were too many unknowns about her and, despite his body’s craving to be with her, he had his ranch and staff to consider. Something about her wasn’t right and there was no way he’d sleep with her without finding out what it was.
As Zoë remained extremely close to him, Skip dipped his head to the pair. “I’m turning in. Goodnight.”
Both he and Zoë bid Skip goodnight and Ethan watched the older man walk to the small house he lived in. Sitting near the bunkhouse the other men shared, the house was a gift to Skip from Ethan’s father, to thank him for his years of faithful service. When Skip was far enough away, he turned to see Zoë staring at him, that seductive smile back on her lips. The porch light picked up scarlet and ruby highlights in her hair, and somehow made her dark eyes even more inviting. He’d long ago deduced her hair was a dye-job, but it complimented her creamy skin so well he couldn’t fathom what her natural hair colour might be. She was stunningly beautiful, and her expression told him she was his for the taking. As she ran her hands down his chest, she leaned up on tiptoes to press her lips to his. He bit back the moan that tried to escape. Her soft lips parted for him and he couldn’t help but dip his tongue into her sweet mouth, wanting to taste her. He wanted so much more but, despite his raging body, he used what remained of his control to pull away.
Done a Runner (Wanted Men of Bison Bluffs Book 1) Page 6