Clint: A Hidden Lane Ranch Cowboy Novel

by Sammi Starlight

  I couldn’t think about her now. Last I heard she was living on the East Coast somewhere and married to a doctor or something. She’d broken my heart, but really, I had no ill will toward her anymore. It was better she’d left when she did than try to stay and end up resenting me.

  I almost turned around a few times on my way. My brother and sister hadn’t been exaggerating; I never went out - ever. The ranch kept me too busy and if I was honest with myself, I didn’t really have any friends. The few friends I’d had growing up had either moved away or were busy with ranches and families of their own. The ranch was my whole life.

  I arrived at the saloon and noticed Eliza’s truck parked near the front door. One glance at the window told me the place was hopping already. It didn’t surprise me. This was one of the more popular places for people to hang out at.

  I went inside and looked around for Rachel. I noticed Wyatt’s friend Steve standing by the bar and headed over to him.

  “Hey man, what’s up?” I greeted him with a handshake.

  “Clint!” He said with surprise. “What are you doing here? What did Wyatt do now?”

  “Nothing that I know of,” I smirked. “I’m just out for a beer or two.”

  “Really?” he asked surprised. “That’s cool. Let me get you a beer.” He motioned for the bartender and ordered me a bottle of beer.

  We made some small talk while we waited for our beers but I was anxious to find Rachel. “Have you seen my brother and sister?” I finally asked him, trying to act casual.

  “Yep,” he said before taking a drink of his beer. “They’re out on the dance floor with Jackson and some new girl your sister has with her. Rachel I think her name was.”

  I nodded. “Yep, she’s someone new we have working at the ranch.”

  “That’s right, that’s what they said. Yeah, they’re out there.” He pointed towards the far end of the saloon where the dance floor was. A slow song was playing and I immediately wondered who Rachel was dancing with. I knew it wasn’t Eliza; that only left Jackson or Wyatt dancing with her. My blood began to boil as I thought about one of them touching her, holding her close.

  I turned and headed toward the dance floor, trying to act casual. I had no claim on her and no right to be jealous of anyone else dancing with her. At least, that’s what my head was telling me. There was some sort of deeper need on a primal level that was driving me to claim her as mine.

  I spotted them quickly; Rachel was dancing with Wyatt near the edge of the group of couples on the floor. I watched them sway gently to the Faith Hill song, willing the song to hurry up and be done. I kept a close watch on where his hands were on her at all times. He managed to control himself and kept them on her waist but I’d really prefer they weren’t on her at all.

  They never even noticed me watching. They didn’t seem particularly too into each other though; more like lost in their own worlds. What was she thinking about? The boyfriend she left back home? Was there even a boyfriend? What was she running from? I had so many questions for her.

  The song finally ended and I blew out my breath; I didn’t even realize I’d been holding it in. A fast song came on and they continued dancing and laughing together. It looked like he was teaching her how to two-step. Eliza and Jackson were still on the dance floor too. The foursome looked like they were having a good time. Maybe she was better off with someone like my brother, someone more outgoing and that could show her a good time.

  I was about to turn around and head home when the song ended and they started to leave the dance floor, their cheeks red from their activity and eyes bright with amusement.

  “Hey, Clint!” Wyatt said when he noticed me standing there. “It’s about time you get here.”

  “Hi,” Rachel muttered and glanced down at Wyatt’s hand she was holding. She looked back up at me and dropped it quickly.

  “Hey,” I grunted, unable to hide my displeasure at seeing the two of them dancing together so close.

  “Clint!” Eliza exclaimed, hooking her arm in mine and leading me back to the table. “Can you get your sister and her friend a beer?” She batted her eyelashes at me and I fought back a groan. I could never resist my sister when she gave me that look.

  “Beer ok?” I asked Rachel and she nodded.

  I went up to the bar, not too happy about leaving her again with my brother. Even if she wanted nothing to do with me, I wasn’t going to let my baby brother use her and hurt her like he had so many women in this town.

  As I waited for the beers I’d ordered, I glanced back at the table. Rachel was sandwiched between Wyatt and Steve and jealousy ran through my veins again. I looked around for the bartender. Where were my beers?

  She finally came back with them and I gathered them up in my hands and weaved through the crowd to get back to the table. The place had gotten busier in the last thirty minutes since I’d arrived and I was reminded of another reason why I never went out - I hated crowds.

  “Yay!” Eliza clapped her hands and took a beer from me. I passed them around the table, making sure to give Rachel hers last so I could stand by her.

  “Clint, tell us more about Mama finding Wyatt with two girls last night,” Eliza urged, resting her elbows on the table.

  “Well, there’s not a whole lot to tell,” I grinned, making sure I was standing close enough to Rachel that our arms and shoulders kept brushing against each other. “He thought he was being so smart and sneaky with his two women; he had no idea that Ma and I would be up.”

  Everyone laughed and Wyatt shrugged sheepishly. “It was late, they were all supposed to be in bed.”

  “I could tell she wanted to give him a tongue lashing so bad, but she didn’t.” I turned to him. “Did she say anything to you today?”

  He shook his head. “No, but she did give me a look. You know the one.”

  Eliza and I laughed; we knew that look from Ma all too well. It was almost worse than getting yelled at.

  The DJ played a new song by Luke Bryan and Eliza squealed. “I love this song!” She grabbed Rachel’s hand. “We must dance now!”

  Rachel laughed as she dragged her out onto the dance floor. The other three guys followed along, but I stayed back at the table. I wasn’t really a dancer but I didn’t like her out there without me either. I watched them dance and waited for them to come off the dance floor when the song ended. Eliza must have liked this song too, because she didn’t show any signs of being done any time soon.

  Fuck it. I took a long swig of my beer and set it down on the table. I walked out to the rest of the group. Eliza furrowed her eyebrows at me in confusion; she knew I didn’t dance. She shrugged and went back to singing along with the music and shaking her hips.

  The way Rachel moved out on the dance floor had me wondering if she’d had some sort of formal dance training. She definitely had rhythm and the way she moved her body had me thinking about how she probably moved in bed. I was trying not to be so obvious in checking her out, but she’d caught me staring at her more than once.

  As we were dancing and jumping around on the dance floor, one of the girls Wyatt had brought home the night before came up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pretty much stayed attached to him. The rest of us looked at each other smirking; Wyatt looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. It served him right for messing with girls that way.

  The music changed to a slow song and Jackson grabbed Eliza and wrapped his arms around her. What was up with that? They’d known each other forever, but as far as I knew, they were just friends. Eliza was always talking about having some rich billionaire whisk her away to the big city. She was just teasing; she had plans to stay and help run the family ranch with the rest of us. Still, she’d never mentioned anything about seeing Jackson. Maybe they were only being friendly, but the way he was holding her had me thinking there might be something more there.

  Rachel and I stood there looking at each other. Should I ask her to dance?

  “Want to dance?
” she asked with a small smile. I was usually so confident and known for going after what I wanted.

  “Sure,” I smiled at her and reached for her. I put my hands on her hips and tried not to shiver as she wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her body into mine. Her tiny frame fit so perfectly against mine. I turned my head and could smell a hint of her floral shampoo. I wanted to take the ponytail out of her blond hair and run my fingers through it.

  Her fingers teased the hair at the nape of my neck and my cock stirred between my legs. With her hands on my body and her breasts pressed against my chest, it wouldn’t be long before my body would betray how much I wanted her.

  My hands were on her hips but I moved them down her backside just slightly. God I wanted to reach down and squeeze her perfect round ass. I leaned down and buried my head in her neck, my lips touching her skin. She tensed briefly and I wondered if I’d gone too far, but she soon relaxed again in my arms.

  My hips brushed against hers and there was no way she could miss feeling my erection this time but she didn’t move away; instead she seemed to press her body harder into mine. Good Lord this woman was going to be the death of me.

  7

  Rachel

  I was pretty sure Clint could feel my heart beating against him while we were dancing so close. The way his hands moved across my back had all my clothes feeling like they were too tight. When his lips brushed my neck, he opened a floodgate between my thighs, drenching my thong. His erection was flush against my body and I tried to picture it in my mind; from what I could feel, he was probably larger than any man I’d ever been with. That didn’t surprise me though; he was such a man’s man.

  The song came to an end and I was going to pull away to go back to our table; I needed a drink, but probably something stronger than beer. Another slow song started and he held me firmly against him; he wasn’t letting me go anywhere.

  “One more song,” he whispered into my ear, his deep voice giving me goose bumps.

  I looked up at him and nodded; his already dark eyes were almost black and hooded with desire. There was no mistaking by the look in his face; he wanted me as much as I wanted him. I wrapped my arms tight around his neck and he moved his hands down to my ass. He didn’t grab it, but his hands were definitely on it. I didn’t think we could touch anymore without getting arrested for lewd behavior.

  The song ended and a faster song started. The whole place cheered at the first chords of the bar favorite, causing us to break apart reluctantly. Our group stayed out to dance, but I needed some air. This whole day was surreal and that dance with Clint was just the icing on the cake.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” I said, leaning over so Eliza could hear me. “I’ll be right back.”

  She grinned and nodded, never missing a beat to the song.

  I headed back towards the front of the saloon where I saw the restrooms, my mind a jumbled mess and my body trembling from Clint’s touch. Never had a man affected me like this. I’d known him all of twenty-four hours now and I was ready to jump into his bed and never look back. That was so not like me.

  I finished up in the restroom but I wasn’t ready to face Clint so I went outside for a minute. There were a few people out there smoking and they greeted me with a nod and smile; everyone in this town was so friendly. It wasn’t something I was used to at all. Back home in Buffalo, people pretty much stuck to themselves and rarely would a stranger even acknowledge you if you passed by. This country, small-town living was already growing on me in a short amount of time.

  I found a bench to sit on and pushed my hair back from my forehead. After running around the ranch today in the heat and dancing up a storm tonight, I was sure I looked like a hot mess. Clint hadn’t seemed to mind while we were dancing though. I don’t think he could have held me any tighter.

  “Hey Rachel.”

  I was surprised to see Wyatt standing near me. He sat down and took off his baseball cap. “I needed to get away from that girl for a minute. I saw you out here and thought I’d join you for a bit.” I couldn’t help but grin. Ever since one of the girls from last night found him she’d been stuck to him like glue and it was clear from the look on his face he really wasn’t enjoying it.

  “Clint really likes you,” he said abruptly.

  I gasped at his bluntness. “He barely knows me.” “I can tell by the way he looks at you. He watches you when you move and he has to know where you are at all times. It’s the protectiveness in him. And shit girl, I saw the way you two were dancing. I would say you really like him too.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but I was speechless. I wasn’t used to being so open with my feelings, especially with someone I barely knew.

  “Just don’t hurt him,” he said. “He’s a good guy and some girl totally fucked him over years ago. He’s still sensitive about that.” He put his cap back on and squinted at me. “If you guys just want to fuck around, that’s cool too. I’m all for my brother getting laid, but if that’s all you want, make sure you let him know that.”

  Despite the cool night air, my face was warm from how candid Wyatt was being with me. I didn’t have a brother or sister to watch out for me like that; Clint was a lucky guy.

  Thankfully I never had a chance to respond to his warnings; Clint came out the door and walked over near the bench we were sitting on. “There you are!” His eyes darted between the two of us and Wyatt shrugged.

  “We’re just having a chat,” he said, smiling innocently up at his brother.

  “Yep, I came out here for some air and Wyatt was escaping that cling-on in there,” I laughed.

  Clint offered me his hand. “Well, the DJ is finally playing the song I requested and I was wondering if you wanted to dance with me.” I wasn’t so sure I could handle being that close to him again, but then he flashed me that smile that crumbled my resolve in an instant.

  “Sure,” I replied, reaching up to take his hand. He pulled me up from the bench quickly, causing me to stumble against him. We stood there for a second, our bodies touching. I looked up at him, lips parted and willing him to kiss me.

  Our eyes locked and he started to lean towards me when Wyatt decided to pipe in. “Get a room,” he muttered. We both turned to glare at him. He smiled back innocently at us.

  “Thanks bro,” Clint mumbled, turning around to head back into the bar, still holding my hand. My heart was beating so fast from our almost-kiss I was thankful for the loud music of the bar.

  I didn’t know country music at all, but he looked pretty proud of himself when he turned me around and held me against him, wrapping his arms around my waist. “I love this song,” he whispered into my ear, causing a shiver to go up and down my spine.

  “What is it?” I asked, my lips brushing his skin. “It’s an old Brad Paisley song called ‘We

  Danced’,” he replied, holding me even tighter. He turned to grin at me. “Something tells me that you aren’t all that familiar with country music.”

  I shook my head and smiled. “No, let’s just say it’s not all that popular where I’m from and with the people I hung around.”

  “That’s ok, city girl, we’ll countrify you yet,” he laughed and his hands moved from my waist to settle on the curve of my ass and pressed me against him. “This is one of my favorite songs. It’s just a simple love story.”

  We were quiet the rest of the song, holding each other. I listened to the words of the song he seemed to love so much, the whole time aware of every movement, running a hand down to feel the hard muscles in his arms.

  This was a man who worked for a living and he worked hard. He was probably one of those guys that rose when the sun came up and didn’t relax until it went down. He made an honest day’s living. Not like him.

  His finger was on my chin, guiding me to look up at him. “What ya thinking about?” He asked softly.

  I shook my head. I was here to forget the past and move forward. “Nothing,” I said with a small smile, hoping I sounded conv
incing. “I’m just listening to the song.”

  He nodded and ran a finger down my cheek. “You looked deep in thought there.”

  I shrugged, not sure what to say. I wasn’t ready to share my past with him; maybe I never would be. I wanted to forget about that part of my life and have a fresh start.

  The song ended and a fast paced song followed behind it. I was disappointed there wasn’t another slow song; I wasn’t ready to leave the safety of Clint’s arms. Eliza came over and grabbed my hand, pulling me away from her brother. He laughed as I gave him a helpless look, holding up his hands in surrender.

  “I love this song!” she exclaimed, moving to the music.

  “I have to go to the bathroom,” I leaned over and said. “I’ll be right back.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes, getting lost in the music.

  I turned and walked down the hallway towards the bathrooms when someone grabbed my arm and spun me around, pushing me against the wall. Clint!

  He held me tight, pinning me against the wall so I couldn’t get away, but I didn’t want to anyway. His dark eyes bored into mine and my heart began to race. “Rachel, I’ve been dying to kiss you all night. You’re lucky we were on a crowded dance floor back there or I would’ve ravaged you. You feel so good in my arms, like you belong there.”

  I was speechless as I listened. No one had ever said anything like that to me before. My face felt warm and desire coursed through my veins. I’d been thinking about kissing him all night too.

  His hand came up and cupped my cheek. He leaned in and crushed my lips with his, kissing me hard. His lips moved over mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

  This time his hands moved from my hips down to cup my ass firmly. His erection pressed against the inside of my thigh and I was sorry I wasn’t wearing a skirt so he could easily take me right there.