by Layne, Lyssa
With careful steps, the horses made their way down the narrow canyon. At times, the riders’ knees bumped the gray granite walls. Wet, thick snow stuck to everything, making the ride surreal, silent.
“I’m a long ways from home,” Johnny said suddenly.
Montana turned her head. “Homesick?”
“Not today.”
“Are you enjoying yourself?” She held her breath waiting for his answer. Making sure hunters had an enjoyable trip was paramount to her. They often returned and great word-of-mouth recommendations generally kept her busy. This year had been the exception.
“Wonderful.”
The warmth in his voice gave her spine a tingle. “I’m glad.”
“I know a way it could be better for both of us.”
The tingle moved toward her stomach. “I’m sure you do, but I already told you—I’m not part of the package you paid for.” She twisted in her saddle to glare at him. “I’m not for sale.”
“Everyone has a price.” His voice went to that low raspy place she now recognized as his seductive tone.
She stiffened her shoulders. “Not me.”
“I’ve heard that before.” His sardonic smile infuriated her.
“I’m not your ex,” she spat.
His eyes darkened. “No, you’re nothing like Teal.”
“Thank you.” Montana wondered if his ex’s actions would make him forevermore classify all women as cheaters and gold diggers. Like her, he had major trust issues. She knew all too well how much betrayal could alter your life.
Recognizing it and doing something about it were two different things.
Rather than ever risk her heart again, she’d remain single and childless. Maybe Shannon was right to suggest Montana engage in a loveless affair with Johnny. God knew he was willing and able.
Could she give her body without her heart?
She’d never been able to do so before. After Tom, she’d dated a few times, but when the guys pressed for loveless sex she’d balked. None had come back for round two. Johnny certainly wouldn’t. Not only did he live states away, his lifestyle and hers were worlds apart. If she engaged in an affair with him, it would be temporary.
Not something she would ordinarily choose, or even consider.
Could she make memories with the rock star that would sustain her through the long, lonely years ahead?
The thought of making love to Johnny made Montana clench her thighs. Before her wayward thoughts went too far in that direction, she turned her focus to the task at hand—getting them safely off the mountain before dark.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
As Johnny slid off Gunsmoke’s back, he couldn’t believe what he saw hanging in the trees. “Holy shit, will you look at that?”
Montana looked at what had grabbed his attention. “Somebody bagged a trophy.”
They walked closer for a better look. An elk, skinned and quartered, hung from a branch and the head hung nearby.
“Damn.” He stared at the enormous antlers. “Just damn.”
“Yeah,” Montana agreed. “I can’t wait to hear who got him.”
After they unsaddled the horses, Montana hobbled the two geldings and turned them loose for a well-deserved meal. Carrying their rifles, she and Johnny hurried toward the tent. Snow continued to fall, most of it melting upon contact with the ground.
The tantalizing scents of coffee, beef stew and apple pie wafted out when Montana opened the tent flap, making his stomach grumble. Lunch had been a quick stop for sandwiches at the bottom of the ravine.
“Smells good.” Montana stepped inside with Johnny on her heels.
Shannon looked up from the stove. “You hungry?”
“Starving.” Johnny accepted a cup of coffee with a grateful smile. Adrian sat bundled in a blanket near the fire. He took a closer look at her ice-colored skin and the purple circles around her eyes. “You look like shit.”
“Thanks. I feel it,” she said.
“That blows.” He knew how badly she wanted to hunt. Of all of them, she went the most often. “Feeling pretty shitty, huh, babe?”
“Been healthier,” she muttered. “I stayed in this chair all day. When I haven’t been in my cot, that is.”
Montana approached her. “Not feeling any better?”
“Uh-uh.” Adrian shook her head, then grimaced.
Shannon shot Adrian a sympathetic smile. “The altitude is kicking her butt.”
“Who got the big bull?” Johnny sank into one of the camp chairs near the stove. “And where’s the vodka?”
Ryan and Stoney sat with smug grins on their faces. Joel handed him a bottle. “Stoney did.”
“What?” Johnny’s hand, unscrewing the bottle, froze. “No fuckin’ way.”
Stoney nodded solemnly. “Way.”
Montana took the seat next to Johnny. When their knees brushed, she didn’t jump like he’d shocked her this time. “Details, please. Where? When? And how did you bag such a beauty?”
“Tell the truth,” Johnny said. “Ryan shot him.”
Ryan frowned. “Not hardly.”
Montana, Shannon and Ryan glared at him as if he’d accused them of having a threesome.
“A stunt like that could cost us our outfitter’s license,” Montana said.
“Hey, man. That’s some bullshit,” Stoney said. “I killed it, fair and square.”
“Kidding.” Johnny held up his hands. “So, how’d you do it?”
“My boy there—” Stoney pointed at Ryan “—snuck us right up on them. I took aim on the biggest one and pulled the trigger all nice and soft like he told me. Just like hitting a G-spot. I couldn’t believe my eyes when an elk actually keeled over in a big heap of fur and horns.”
Ryan nodded. “He did exactly what I told him to do.”
Johnny poured a liberal amount of vodka into his cup. “Amazing, man.”
“You’re telling me.” Stoney held out his empty cup. “Hit me.”
As Johnny poured, he shook his head. “Un-fucking-believable.”
“You must have been barely out of camp to have time to kill, skin and quarter it on top of getting back here,” Montana commented.
“We weren’t gone an hour when we spotted the herd,” Ryan said. “They were in that first meadow up by Coal Mountain. We got lucky and caught them before they knew we were close.”
Montana raised her cup toward Stoney. “Good job.”
“Thanks.” He toasted her, then turned to Johnny. “You kill anything today?”
“Had a chance, but missed.” He drained his cup and filled it again.
“It was a good shot,” Montana said. “We weren’t quite close enough.”
“When I saw that big elk out there, I thought either Ryan or Adrian had scored,” Johnny said truthfully. “I never figured you’d actually kill something.”
Stoney glared at him in mock anger. “Thanks, man. Did you think I’d weenie out?”
“No,” Johnny lied.
“It was all me,” Stoney said. “My first kill.”
“What are you going to do with it?” Montana asked.
Stoney stared at her. “What do you mean? I can’t exactly take it home and make a pet out of him.”
“You can’t waste the meat,” she told him. “And that’s a trophy head. It should be mounted and displayed.”
Johnny laughed. “Stoney’s never mounted an elk. A few heifers, maybe.”
Flipping him the bird, Stoney shrugged. “How do I do that?”
“We haul it to town. If you don’t want the meat, we donate it to one of the shelters. And we can take the head to a taxidermist,” Ryan explained. “There’s a good one in Montrose. What you do with it after that is up to you, but if it were mine I’d hang it on my living room wall.”
“It might look pretty cool in my den,” Stoney said slowly. “Yeah. I’d like that. Let’s get my elk stuffed and mounted.” He shot Johnny a warning look. “Shut up.”
He grinned. “I didn’t say a word.”
“You were about to,” Stoney said.
“You have to quit leaving yourself open like that, shithead.”
Adrian groaned and placed both hands on her head. “Will you two knock it off? You’re killing me.”
Johnny took another look at her. She looked like she’d had a threesome with the wildest fans out there. “You get any rest today?”
“That’s all I did. Sat around and bitched a lot.”
“I think we need to get her out of here,” Shannon said. “I tried earlier, but she wouldn’t leave without you guys.”
“Hell no, I wasn’t going anywhere without my boys.” Adrian attempted a smile. “But now that you’re here…”
“You want to leave,” Johnny finished for her.
“I don’t want to, but I’m feeling pretty crummy,” she admitted.
“You need to get to lower elevation as soon as possible,” Shannon said. “Altitude sickness isn’t a joke. It can kill you if it goes into cerebral edema.”
Montana nodded. “She’s right. We need to get Adrian off the mountain.”
Joel stood and began to pace in the confines of the tent. “We should leave now.”
“Tonight?” Adrian shook her head, then pinched her nose. “I don’t think I could sit on a horse and I sure as hell don’t feel like walking.”
“First thing in the morning,” Montana said. “Unless you take a turn for the worse. If that happens we’ll call in a chopper.”
“A helicopter isn’t coming out in this weather,” Ryan said.
“I don’t need one,” Adrian protested. “I’ve been in the mountains before and I know what serious illness is. I just feel a little queasy. I’ve had worse hangovers.”
“She’s puked a half-dozen times today,” Shannon told them.
Montana knelt beside Adrian, her expression grave. “This is severe. If you start having shortness of breath, or feel as if you’re going to pass out, you need to let us know immediately.”
Adrian gave her a wan look. “I know. Shannon has already given me the rundown. She chewed my ass earlier.”
“Good. She should have.” Montana’s smile softened her words. “That’s why I pay her so well.”
Adrian shot a smile in Shannon’s direction. “She’s worth every penny.”
“I know it,” Montana said. “You need to stay hydrated. Have you kept down any water?”
“Not much,” Adrian admitted.
“How about some tea? We have plain or herbal. How about apple-cinnamon? It’s my favorite,” Montana said.
“That sounds good.” Adrian closed her eyes.
Patting the singer’s knee, Montana stood with an unreadable expression. “Hang in there.”
Johnny watched Montana with Adrian, and her compassion touched him more than he cared to admit. Adrian put on her tough-girl exterior so often, he and the other guys sometimes forgot she was a woman.
“If we’re taking Adrian out in the morning, I might as well go, too,” Stoney said. “My work here is done.”
“Will you head back to L.A.?” Ryan asked.
“Nah. I think I’ll stick around until Adrian feels better. Plus, we need to hang until Cowboy comes out so we can all fly back together.” He shot a glance Johnny’s way. “Unless you’re done, too?”
“Not yet. I have a full week booked and I want to enjoy every second.” He didn’t want to leave. Not until he knew Montana better.
“I’ll stay, too,” Joel said immediately.
“What?” Johnny laughed. “You’ve been dying for hair gel and a massage since you got here.”
“That’s true. But I should hang with you.” Joel shot a meaningful glance Montana’s way.
Irritated by his manager’s over-protectiveness, Johnny said, “I’m a big boy. I don’t need a keeper.”
“You can stay at the ranch,” Montana offered, seemingly oblivious to the swirling undercurrents. “In the cabins you rented. They’re empty, so you might as well use them.”
“Maybe Shannon could cook for the guys?” Johnny asked. “We’ll pay for it, of course.”
“It’s up to her.” Montana looked at Shannon. “You can use my kitchen. Stay at the house if you want.”
“Sure,” Shannon agreed. “No problem.”
“That’s settled then,” Johnny said. “You all ride out and stay at Montana’s place. I’ll come at the end of the week.”
Montana glanced at him. “A word of warning first. I’m not the cook Shannon is. You’re not going to eat salmon steaks and rosemary-chive potatoes every night. I can warm up beans and fry bacon, but that’s about it.”
He grinned. “I’m not picky about what I eat.”
“Or who,” Stoney muttered under his breath.
Johnny glared at him. “Shut up, man.”
Surprise flitted across Stoney’s face. The comment wasn’t any different than a million others he’d made in their years together. “Sorry, dude.”
“Speaking of food, I’m starving.” Johnny fought his irritation. Stoney hadn’t said anything he hadn’t said before. “That smells wonderful.”
Shannon stirred the stew. “It’s ready when you are.”
Johnny stood. “I’m going to wash up first.”
Joel reached for his coat. “I need to as well.”
“What are we, bitches? Do we have to go to the toilet in groups now?” Johnny knew why Joel wanted to tag along—to lecture him about Montana. He didn’t want to hear it.
His manager feigned hurt. “I need to wash my hands. Is that a crime?”
“Fuck it. Come on.” Johnny slipped into the sleep tent, where he grabbed a towel and soap. He then walked at a fast clip toward the hot springs with Joel hard on his heels.
Just as he figured, Joel started bitching almost immediately. “Cowboy, maybe we ought to cut this trip short. All of us leave in the morning. Adrian’s sick, Stoney killed that poor animal and I’m so over camping I could cry.”
“I’m not,” he said. “It’s a kick in the ass.”
“You can’t tell me you’re actually enjoying this. I realize the whole thing was my idea, but I had no clue how primitive hunting actually would be.” Joel shuddered. “I may never get the sight of blood and gore out of my mind or be clean again.”
“One shower and you’ll be good as new.” Johnny masked his irritation. “I’m staying.”
“For the girl,” Joel said. “Not the ambiance.”
“Maybe both.” The words came out before Johnny thought them through. Were they true? He loved not being harassed by the paparazzi and overzealous fans. No cell phones and internet was bliss. Today had been superb in spite of his missed shot at the elk, but there was more to it. If not for Montana, he wouldn’t be enjoying himself half as much. She intrigued him and he was loath to leave before he tasted her charms.
“Remember what Teal put you through,” Joel cautioned. “And Peyton.”
“Montana’s nothing like Teal.” He ignored the remark about his backup singer.
“I know she’s not. She’s a good girl.” Joel sighed. “I can’t dissuade you from pursuing her, can I?”
“No.” He knelt at the edge of the pond and dipped his hands into the warm water. After splashing his face, he lathered the soap, and making sure none of it got into the spring, scrubbed his hands and face. He could stand a shave. Maybe in the morning. Or maybe not.
Joel shoved his hands into his coat pockets. “Damn, man. I like Montana and I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
“I won’t do anything to her she doesn’t want me to.” He stood and dried his hands and face. “Quit worrying.”
“That’s what you pay me for,” Joel said.
Johnny slapped him on the shoulder. “That reminds me. I have some work for you to do when you hit internet access.”
“What?” Joel looked wary.
“I want to change some of the tracks on the CD. I need you to get hold of the rest of the band and tell them to be ready to record first thing next
week.”
Joel opened and closed his mouth. “This CD? The one releasing in about nine months?”
“Yeah. The more I thought about it, the more I think it’s going to bomb. There are too many whiny-ass tunes on it. We need to rock it up.”
“It’s supposed to drop next summer,” Joel said as if Cowboy didn’t remember his own release date.
“I know. But we can’t afford another fuck up and I’m afraid we have one on our hands the way it is now. I think we can pull off the changes, but we’re going to have to move fast.”
“Where are you going to find new songs on such short notice?” Joel looked like he might throw up.
“I’m going to start with the band. Most of them write. Adrian pitched one I turned down. I might take another look at it. It might be exactly what I’m looking for. Stoney might have something, too.” Johnny ran a small brush through his hair. “I have dozens of songs that didn’t make the old records. And I’m working on something I like a lot.”
Joel gaped at him. “Working on it? Do you have time to write and record something brand new?”
“If we kick it hard from the minute we get home, I think we’ll make the deadline.” He tugged his hair into a ponytail. “If not, production will just have to wait.”
“All the more reason for you to come with the rest of us in the morning.” Joel was like a dog with a bone. Not going to give up until he got what he wanted.
“I’m staying.” Johnny usually did what his manager wanted him to, but this time he dug in his heels. “That’s final.”
“You do realize a delay could cost us thousands,” Joel said. “Maybe tens or even hundreds of thousands.”
“I know, but another failure could cost us more than that in the long run.” Johnny had thought extensively about all the pros and cons and he knew he was right to put a few different songs on the CD. He knew convincing the band would be difficult, but it had to be done. Joel had to get on board, and now.
“Okay,” Joel agreed with obvious reluctance. “I’ll get on it as soon as I get off this godforsaken mountain. Are you sure you’re not suffering from altitude sickness like Adrian?”
“I’m positive.” Johnny slapped his friend’s shoulder. “Thanks, man.”
“I still wish you’d reconsider everything,” Joel said. “Starting with your stance on Teal’s album. I’m afraid she’s going to sue us if we don’t give in and let her have it.”