“Whoa, big brother,” Wyatt muttered, holding up his hands. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
I released his arm and continued walking inside. I’d never been very good at hiding my emotions and I’m sure everyone would know by the time dinner was done that I had the hots for the new girl.
As I approached the main house, I was happy to see Rachel’s car still in the driveway; Eliza hadn’t scared her off yet. Butterflies started working overtime in my stomach and I felt like a teenage boy again, seeing the girl I had a crush on. It was a long time since a girl affected me like this, not since Hope. But even with her, I don’t think I ever had such intense feelings so soon.
I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a window. I was a sweaty mess and there was no time for a shower before dinner. I lifted my arm and took a whiff, wincing at how I smelled. Rachel probably wasn’t used to guys coming to dinner smelling like a cattle farm after a long day’s work. She was going to have to get used to it, but I’d been hoping not quite yet.
Wyatt brushed past me and headed into the house. I was going to have to apologize to him later; I’m not sure what had come over me. He meant his comment innocently enough, but where Rachel was concerned, I had this overwhelming urge to protect her, even from my own brother.
I followed behind him and was greeted by the smells and sounds of dinner on the ranch. Ma insisted on remaining the ranch cook despite my efforts to hire someone else to do it. At least she let me hire an assistant for her. I was glad she still cooked though; it kept her busy and I loved her cooking. She was easily the best cook this side of the Mississippi.
This was always my favorite time of day. Unless we had an emergency, everyone stopped what they were doing and met here for dinner. There were about ten of us, including the family and the employees. It was noisy and chaotic, but I loved it. Everyone was talking at once and it was hard to get a word in, but we were a family.
Rachel was helping Ma put the food on the table. I was happy to see she seemed to be at ease. She looked over at me and I caught her gaze. She smiled widely at me and I grinned back. She ended up sitting at the opposite end of the table by Eliza and Wyatt and I couldn’t help but watch her throughout the meal. She laughed and joked with them and she rolled her eyes at Wyatt quite a bit. She was too smart to fall for his charms but at least they were getting along.
“She’s pretty, huh?” Ma asked, interrupting my thoughts with a nudge of her elbow.
I pushed my food around on my plate, embarrassed at having been caught staring at her. I grunted, acknowledging her question. There wasn’t much that got past Ma though.
“Clint, you can’t fool me. I saw the way you looked at her when she showed up this morning and she was looking at you the same way. Did anything happen between you two?”
I shrugged, not sure what to say. “Nope, we just met at the diner the other night but there was something between us. Sure, she’s attractive and that was a big part of it, but there’s more.”
“I noticed the bruise on her face,” Ma mumbled softly so the others around us couldn’t hear her.
The muscle in my jaw twitched as I clutched my fork and nodded. I had zero tolerance for anyone that laid a hand on a woman, especially if it was her boyfriend.
“Just be careful with her,” Ma said softly, reaching out to touch my arm.
“Ma,” I said, the tone in my voice warning her that this conversation was over.
I ate the rest of my dinner in silence, listening to her laughter from the other end of the table. Maybe I could get her alone after dinner.
When we were done, we all helped clear the table and I found myself standing next to her at the counter. “Your mom is an amazing cook,” she said, brushing a stray strand of hair from her forehead. “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a meal so good.” She patted her stomach. “I think I might burst.”
I chuckled and nodded. “She is for sure.” I turned around and leaned against the edge of the counter. I crossed my arms across my chest. “So what do you think?”
She looked up at me, her blue eyes bright in the light of the kitchen. “About?”
“Working here?” The stray strand of hair fell again and I had to fight the urge to reach out and brush it from her face.
“I love it, honestly. Never in a million years did I think I’d be working on a ranch, but it’s perfect for me right now. It’s beautiful here. Thanks for the job,” she said softly. Our eyes locked and for a minute I forgot about all the people around us. I wanted to kiss her so bad but the middle of the busy kitchen was not the place for it.
I smiled at her and was about to say something when Eliza came over to break the spell. “Are you ready to head to town to get your stuff? Maybe we can stop at the saloon for one or two and see if there are any cute guys?”
“Maybe Rachel just wants to get settled here,” I stammered, hating the idea of men flirting with her. I was sure she had to fight guys off with a stick.
“Actually, that sounds fun,” she replied. “I’ve never really had a girlfriend to do those things with, so one or two might not hurt.”
“Awesome!” Eliza exclaimed. “I’ll get my purse and keys and meet you outside. We’ll take my truck.”
Wyatt perked up at their conversation. “I’m going out too; maybe I’ll meet you guys out somewhere. I have to meet a few friends first and then we’re heading downtown.”
I didn’t usually go out, but fuck that if I was going to let her hang out with my brother and his friends for a night or let God-knows-who touch her, much less look at her.
“Maybe I’ll go out too. Sounds fun,” I interrupted their chatter.
The whole kitchen got quiet and everyone looked at me. Eliza put her hand on her hip. “Are you sick, Clint?”
I shook my head. “No, why?”
“Cause you never go out. You’re usually working too hard to ever want to have fun.”
Wyatt came walking over to me, inspecting my face carefully. “She’s right. What’s wrong with you?” He reached out to feel my forehead and I slapped it away before he had a chance to touch it.
“Nothing, asshole.” I glared at him. “Can’t a guy go out for a few without getting the third degree?” I glanced nervously over at Rachel. She was busy cleaning off dishes, but she had to have heard our conversation.
Eliza shrugged and waved her hand, dismissing him. “Whatever, big brother. Just don’t act stupid if I’m talking to some guy.” She walked to the door. “Let’s go, Rachel.”
Rachel wiped her hands on the dishtowel. “Let me grab my keys.” She turned back to me before she left and smiled. Yeah, I was heading to the bar later for sure.
The kitchen cleaned out quickly as we finished with the last of the dishes and soon it was just Ma and I. I was about to go back to my room to take a shower when she put her hand on my arm.
“You have it so bad for her, don’t you?” she teased.
“Ma, I hardly know her,” I insisted. She was being ridiculous; it was just attraction plain and simple. Rachel was a gorgeous, healthy young woman; who wouldn’t be attracted to that?
She shook her head and smiled. “Sometimes you just know, dear. I knew the minute I saw your dad. I told your Aunt Julie, ‘I’m going to marry that man.’ Ma had told us this story a million times, but I humored her. “I don’t think people fall in love like that today.”
She hung up the dishcloth on the sink. “We’ll see, son, we’ll see. Now shower and get out there to meet the girls!” She shooed me out of the kitchen.
I laughed and walked back to my room. As I reached to open the door, I noticed a few of Rachel’s things on bed in the room next to me. She was going to be in the room next to me? My mind started going a million miles a minute, thinking about all the late night rendezvous we could have; my cock got hard at the thought.
My phone beeped and I pulled it out of my pocket. It was a text from Wyatt asking where I was. I typed back a quick reply that I had to shower and then I’d be on my way
.
Even though Rachel had only left an hour ago, I was anxious to see her again. Maybe I could get her alone to talk and learn more about her. Who knows what might happen? Ma was wrong though; I didn’t have it bad for her. Or did I?
5
Rachel
Eliza and I ran back to my hotel and got my bags from my room. I was able to check out and get my money back for the second night. As the friendly lady at the front desk gave me my money back, I had a moment of panic, second-guessing what I was doing. Was it smart to move to this ranch after knowing these people just one day? Was I being too trusting? I liked to think I was fairly street smart and I had a good feeling about them, but was I wrong?
“All set?” Eliza asked me, coming in from outside. She’d been on the phone with a friend, trying to figure out our plans for the rest of the night. I was exhausted, but looking forward to going out. It’d been a hell of a couple of weeks and maybe having a few drinks and letting off some steam would be good for me.
I shoved the money into my purse and nodded, swallowing my apprehension. I felt safe with these people and it wouldn’t hurt to stick around for a bit. I’d just have to keep my guard up and not get too close to anyone.
We went back out to the truck and headed downtown. “I talked to Wyatt and he’s at the saloon already. I guess Clint is going to be there soon too. I don’t know what’s up with him going out. He never wants to go out to the bars,” she muttered and rolled her eyes.
The butterflies went into overdrive at the mention of his name. He may make it hard for me to not get close to anyone. Whenever I got near him, the sexual tension between us was so thick you could almost cut it with a knife. I started thinking about him lying back in bed in those jeans, smiling at me. I took a deep shaky breath. Yeah, staying away from him was going to be a challenge for sure.
“So where are you from?” Eliza asked, her eyes on the road in front of her and putting an end to my fantasy.
“New York,” I really didn’t want to give any more details than I needed to; it was just better for everyone that way.
“Where were you headed?”
“Not sure,” I shrugged. “Somewhere out west.” Eliza got quiet then, but I had a feeling she
wanted to ask me more but I was glad she didn’t push for more information. Maybe one day I would share more about myself, but I wasn’t ready yet.
We turned the corner onto the quaintest little downtown I’d ever seen. It almost looked like something out of the movies. It was a little hard to tell since it was dark and the only light coming from the street lights, but, I could see that the buildings were well taken care of even though they were quite old. It was clean and there were no harsh brightly lit signs from clubs like I was used to in the city.
Eliza parked the truck in front of one of the buildings. I couldn’t help but snicker at the name - ‘Saloon’. I had thought that’s what they called it instead of calling it by name but I guess that was the name of the bar.
She turned off the truck and turned to me with a grin. “Ready?”
I nodded, a little intimidated by the thought of hanging out with everyone and meeting more new people. We jumped out of the truck and headed for the door. I could already hear the faint sounds of country music blaring and I had to fight back a laugh. If someone had told me even week ago I’d be living and working on a ranch, I would’ve told them they were on crack; yet, here I am at an actual saloon full of people with cowboy boots and that plays country music. Total craziness but it felt totally right.
Eliza opened the door and we walked in. The place had an old rustic feel to it. The floors were made of wood and I had to look down when I felt a crunch under my sandals; there were discarded peanut shells all over the place. The walls were covered with the heads of various dead animals. Country music was blaring from the speakers.
It was busy, but not packed; not like the clubs I went to where you were shoulder to shoulder with people and had to weave your way through the crowd. The crowd was filled with an eclectic group of people; there were young people like Eliza and me and older people. Almost everyone had on cowboy boot or a cowboy hat though; some even had both. I felt a little out of place in my strappy sandals.
“Rachel! Eliza!” Wyatt was waving to us from the corner of the bar. He was with a couple other guys that looked like they came out of a Wrangler or truck ad. This place was full of hot-ass man candy and I was surprised Eliza was single with all the opportunities running around.
“Hey,” he said when we got to the table. He offered to get us a beer and took our orders before heading up to the bar.
He came back to the table with a few beers. Eliza grabbed hers and took a drink before looking at him with a grin. “So, where are the girls from last night?”
Wyatt’s face turned a shade of red I’d never seen on another human being before and his eyes darted over to me. I’d heard some rumblings during dinner how his mother had caught him with two girls last night.
“Um, I don’t know,” he stammered.
Eliza shook her head with a smirk. “Ma told me you brought two girls home last night. Seriously, Wyatt…Under the same roof as your mother?” She shuddered. “Did she even say anything today?”
He shook his head sheepishly. “No, and I kept waiting for her to all day.”
“No fair,” Eliza mumbled. “If I brought home two dudes she’d have a fit, but because you’re a guy, she lets it slide.”
Wyatt’s friend Steve perked up. “Well, you could bring Jackson and me home tonight and see what she does.”
Eliza looked at him with horror. “What? Are you crazy? No way! I’ve known you boys since we were five years old. Ick.”
Jackson pretended to look heartbroken as we all laughed. Maybe that was why Eliza was still single. It was a small town and her choices were probably limited.
“So who’s the new girl?” Steve nodded at me and took a drink of his beer.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Eliza turned to me. “Rachel, these are two of my brother’s asshole friends, Steve and Jackson.” She fought back a grin despite the look of horror on Jackson’s face. “Guys, this is Rachel. She’s my new assistant on the ranch.”
The boys took turn shaking my hand. “Don’t listen to anything Eliza says about us,” Jackson warned me.
“Well, if you’re friends of Wyatt’s, I have to say I probably will have to believe her” I teased and winked at Wyatt.
We continued laughing and drinking as we sat around the table. Everyone was so nice and I couldn’t believe how they accepted me into their group with no questions asked. Back home everyone was so weary of any outsider.
I found myself watching the door for Clint; Eliza had said he was coming, but maybe he’d changed his mind. Why couldn’t I get him out of my head? If I was going to keep my distance from him, the less I saw him, the better.
“Want to dance?” Eliza asked me. I glanced towards the dance floor; there were about ten people out there dancing to some country song I’d never heard before. Who was I kidding? I hadn’t heard most country songs before.
“Yeah, let’s dance!” Wyatt said, grabbing my hand and dragging me out to the dance floor.
I’d had a couple of beers by now and was feeling more relaxed so I didn’t put up much of a fight. Eliza and Jackson followed us and we danced like crazy, working up a sweat. They tried to teach me some line dancing, but I wasn’t the most coordinated and ended up in a fit of giggles. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had so much fun.
A slow song came on and I was about to get off of the dance floor when Wyatt grabbed my arm. “Let’s dance. I promise I won’t bite.”
I couldn’t resist the boyish grin he had on his face and Eliza was slow dancing with Jackson, so I agreed. It was just a slow dance anyway, not marriage.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and I had to admit, his strong arms felt good. I seriously loved the way the men in Wyoming were built. With all the hard work they did, they were all
muscle.
We swayed to the music, each lost in our own thoughts. I thought about Seth back in Buffalo and shivered. Thankfully Wyatt didn’t even seem to notice. I wasn’t ready to tell anyone here about him. The bruise on my face was getting better and I was able to pretty much hide it with make-up, so hopefully I would never have to speak of him.
The slow song ended and I was about to exit the dance floor when Wyatt spun me around and begun dancing again. “I’m going to teach you how to two-step.”
I laughed and shook my head. Despite my protests, he started instructing me and we made it through the song with me only stepping on his feet a few times.
“I need a break,” I said, brushing a strand of hair from my forehead.
“Fine,” Wyatt agreed with a grin. “My feet are getting sore anyway.”
We turned to leave the dance floor and almost ran right into Clint. He’d been watching us on the dance floor and I swore I saw a muscle jumping in his jaw. He had his arms crossed over his black t-shirt and he didn’t look too pleased.
“Hey big brother! It’s about time you got here!” Wyatt greeted him.
“Looks like it,” he mumbled.
6
Clint
After I showered and gotten dressed, I got into my truck and began the drive into town. We were about twenty minutes away from downtown Sheridan. I lived here my whole life and hadn’t really traveled anywhere else. I’d never been to a big city and I didn’t really have the desire to. Maybe Rachel thought I was some dumb country bumpkin.
Just like Hope had.
I gripped the steering wheel and turned up the radio, blasting Blake Shelton to try to drown out my thoughts. The country life hadn’t been enough for her. We dated all through high school and had even gotten engaged. She left me two weeks before our wedding, telling me she wanted more from life than being a rancher’s wife. She couldn’t even tell me that in person; she left a note on my truck. I found it one morning on my way out to the fields.
Clint: A Hidden Lane Ranch Cowboy Novel Page 3