Forest stopped in his tracks, appalled that the thought would even dare to enter her head. She stared downward, and he used his thumb and forefinger and took her chin to force her to look up at him.
“Patience, do you believe I killed those people?” He waved a hand in the direction of the blue tent, not looking away from her. “Do you really believe that I attacked you and I’m just waiting for the perfect opportunity to kill you?” His voice held his own incredulity.
Her cheeks flushed with a pink hue. “All I know is that at some point a long time ago six young men were viciously murdered and at the time of the crime all of you were working here at the ranch.”
He dropped his hand from her chin, but their gazes remained locked. In her eyes was a hint of doubt that cut through to his heart. “Patience, all I can tell you is that I’m a protective kind of man, not a killer, but I know those are just words. I guess you’re going to have to get to know me better before you have whatever proof you need to completely trust me. Besides, if I wanted to hurt or kill you, I could have done it the night of the barn dance when nobody else was around. I could have stepped on your throat the night I found you unconscious in the grass. I’ve had a dozen opportunities where I could attack you and nobody would be the wiser.”
He gestured her toward the stables, a knot in his stomach as he realized that she didn’t trust him. And yet he asked himself, why should she trust anyone? Even Dillon had intimated that the killer could be right here working on the property.
She must trust him more than she thought she did, he consoled himself as they entered the darker interior of the stable. After all, she had no idea what he had planned for her today and yet here she was right by his side. He had his gun in its holster on his belt. She was going to some unknown place with an armed man. Didn’t that imply a modicum of faith on her part?
“I’m pretty sure cleaning out horse stalls isn’t considered relaxing,” she said as they walked deeper into the building that smelled not just of fresh hay and leather but also of animal musk.
“On the contrary, it can be very relaxing,” he protested. “Especially with a collapsible shovel,” he added teasingly. “Actually, the bag is packed with a picnic lunch and I thought it would be nice if we took a horseback ride out on the property and I could show you something besides the interior of that blue tent.”
“I don’t know how to ride,” she said. “I’ve never been on a horse before.” Nerves deepened her voice.
“I wouldn’t let you ride on your own,” he replied. “I already checked with Clayton to make sure you could get on a horse and he said it was fine as long as it’s for a slow, easy ride. You’ll be with me on my horse and that way I can assure a comfortable and safe ride for you.”
They reached the stall where Thunder was housed. Patience looked at the large horse and then at Forest. “Let me guess, his name is Demon or Devil.”
Forest laughed. “Actually, her name is Thunder and she’s a great horse. You’ll be fine on her with me. Why don’t you have a seat over on that bale of hay while I saddle her up.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked.
“I think it’s a great idea.” He led Thunder from the stall and quickly set to gearing up one of his favorite companions for a day of leisure.
“Was she a wild horse you worked with?” Patience asked.
“No, Cass bought her for me because she was big and strong. I trained her and she’s been mine since she was old enough to ride. She has a gentle soul and is always eager to please.”
“If she’s that nice then she’ll probably buck me right off for being the dragon lady,” Patience replied.
“Thunder would never do anything so unlady-like,” he replied. “Besides, you haven’t turned into a dragon in days.”
It took him only minutes to saddle up the horse and fasten both the duffel and a rolled-up clean, soft blanket to the back of the saddle, then he turned and looked at Patience. “Ready?”
“Probably not,” she replied, although she stood and walked closer. “What do I have to do?”
“Nothing except straddle the saddle.” Before she could protest or have any more time to think, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up and into the saddle.
She was light as a feather and he would have much rather pulled her against his chest in a tight embrace than seat her on the horse. But today wasn’t about his wants or needs. It was about her and keeping her body and brain as relaxed as possible.
She gasped in surprise and clutched the saddle horn in a death grip. “What happens now?”
“I’m going to get into the saddle behind you,” he said. “Don’t be afraid and stay just where you are in the seat.”
He wasn’t worried about them being squished together. His saddle was large and she was small. They would easily be able to ride double.
He stepped into the stirrup and swung his leg up and over to the other side. As he settled in just behind her the scent of her hair filled his head. Peaches. Fresh, ripe peaches, he’d never noticed it before and now fought the impulse to lean forward and bury his face in the sweet scent and red silky curls.
He reached around her for the reins and caught a whiff of the floral fragrance of her light perfume. With a flick of the reins Thunder walked out of the stable and into the sunshine.
When they started toward the distant pasture, Patience held herself stiff and tall in the saddle. “You need to relax,” he said. “Let your body relax and your hips roll with the horse’s gait. It will give you a much better, more comfortable ride.”
She nodded and the tension slowly left her body. As she relaxed her butt slid against him and the contact, combined with the heady scent of her, stirred a fiery flame inside him.
He hadn’t considered how her intimate nearness would affect him and now that was all he could think about. The breeze lifted her hair from the nape of her neck and he knew the skin there would be soft and kissable.
He wanted to stop the horse, spread out the blanket and forget all about lunch. He’d rather kiss her until she couldn’t think, slowly remove her clothes so he could caress every inch of her body. He wanted to make love to her until she believed in fairy tales and happily-ever-after, until she believed that science and facts weren’t the answer to everything.
Unfortunately he wasn’t going to do any of those things. In any case she’d given him no indication that she was even open to a single kiss from him.
For her this was meant to be a day to continue her healing process. For him, it promised to be a long, torturous day of tamping down his desire for a woman who was all wrong for him.
Chapter 7
She was on a horse. It was nothing short of amazing. She had never thought about taking a horseback ride before, but she relaxed with each step that the horse took away from the blue tent and the tedious yet important work that still awaited her.
It didn’t take long for her to be so relaxed that her back rested comfortably against Forest’s broad chest. In the back of her mind a little voice whispered that she should straighten up a bit, remove the physical contact that was far more intimate than she’d shared with any man for a very long time.
Still, it wasn’t just the gun in the holster around his waist that made her feel safe, it was the broadness, the very strength of his body against hers.
She was probably a fool for trusting him, knowing that Dillon had all the ranch cowboys on his list as potential suspects of the long-ago murders. She apparently was all kinds of fool, for without any real evidence, she did trust Forest to be a good guy.
Besides, he’d been right. If he had really wanted to hurt or kill her, he could have accomplished it a dozen times when they’d been alone with no witnesses around.
It had been obvious the night before that Dusty worshipped Forest, probably due to that time o
n the streets when Forest had been Dusty’s hero and had saved him from being preyed on by bigger, stronger boys. It had also been apparent that all of the other men held both respect and great affection for the big cowboy.
Forest had nursed her through a long night with the gentle caring of a mama bear tending to a wounded cub. He’d rushed her to the hospital when she’d been unconscious and completely vulnerable. She trusted the people she worked with because they had credentials to prove that they were professionals. To her surprise, she trusted Forest on a gut instinct she hadn’t known she possessed.
Despite not having any real concrete evidence that he was the good guy she believed him to be, the warmth of his body, the press of his thighs against hers made her feel safe and protected and more than just a little bit hot and bothered.
She focused on the pastoral scenery that surrounded them, shoving away inappropriate thoughts of the man in the saddle behind her.
The Holiday Ranch was a vast operation, with plenty of large and small outbuildings and pasture as far as the eye could see.
The air smelled of grass and cattle and sunshine and nothing like old bones or burial pits. She drew in a deep breath, giving herself permission to let her brain simply enjoy this novel experience, one she didn’t expect would happen again.
Forest kept Thunder at an easy walk, and as they crested a hill, she caught her breath at the sight of hundreds of big black cattle. Riding among them were two men on horseback who waved at them as they moved down the rise.
“Are we going to picnic with cows?” she asked.
Forest laughed, his breath warm on the back of her neck. She fought against an unexpected shiver of sensual pleasure. “I promise you I haven’t invited any cows to the lunch table. We’re heading to a place on the property where the cows aren’t allowed. There’s a nice pond and great shade trees. It’s near where Cookie lives in a small cabin.”
They began to veer to the left, away from the herd of cattle and as they rode she asked questions about the various outbuildings they passed and what the cowboys they met were doing.
This was a view into a world she’d never encountered, far away from academia and crime scenes. Idyllic and peaceful, the landscape was definitely conducive to just being and not thinking.
She hated to admit it, but Forest had been right. She needed this extra day of no brain drain, of just enjoying the faint breeze on her face, of smelling the country air and the warmth and comfort of the man behind her.
Tomorrow would be time to get back to work, to dealing with the puzzle of the final skeletons and trying to discover anything that might help Dillon in his investigation to find out what had happened so long ago and who was responsible.
It took them almost an hour to reach the pond where the water sparkled in the sunshine and nearby ancient trees provided thick leafy shelter.
They dismounted and Forest loosely tied Thunder to a nearby tree, giving the horse plenty of leeway to amble about and snack on the sweet green grass beneath the tree.
He then spread a plaid blanket beneath one of the nearby trees. “Are you hungry?” he asked and unfastened the duffel bag.
She sat on the blanket and shook her head. “Not right now.”
He joined her on the blanket and set the bag to the side. “I think this is one of the nicest places on the ranch.” He pointed to the right where in the distance a small cabin could be seen. “That’s Cookie’s place. It used to belong to the ranch foreman, but when the foreman ran out on Cass and she hired Cookie, he took it over.”
“What’s his story? He doesn’t seem to be much of a part of the rest of you other than feeding you.”
Forest shrugged. “Nobody really knows his story. He’s very private and was already working here when I first arrived. I don’t know who scared me more at that time, Cass or Cookie.”
“Tell me more about Cass.” She liked the sound of his deep voice and he had so much more life to talk about than she did. She stretched out on her side and propped her head up on one elbow.
His smile was soft and distant with obvious memories. “Cass was bigger than life. She could wield a bullwhip like a champion and was a stubborn and tough taskmaster. It was a gutsy thing to do, bringing in street kids she didn’t know to work for her. But she was determined to transform this ranch, our lives and us and she managed to do it all. She wasn’t just an employer. She became our mother, our mentor and made us into a family.”
“You still miss her,” Patience said.
“We all do,” he agreed. “She gave us all a sense of self-worth and unconditional love we might have never found without her.”
“What do you think about Cassie?” she asked of the new owner of the ranch.
“She’s fine. She’s come a long way since she first arrived in her fancy high heels and city clothes. She’s worked closely with Adam to learn what she needs to know about running this place effectively. There is some doubt among the men as to just how committed she is to remaining here.”
“Why?”
“We all know she still has a store in New York City. Some of us believe that she was going to sell the ranch, and then the skeletons were found.” He stretched out to mirror her position on the blanket. “The crime scene definitely set back any plans she might have had to sell out. I guess time will tell what she decides to do. We can only hope that if she does sell the new owner will keep us all together on the ranch.”
“It must be tough not being sure about your future,” she replied. The sun shifted through the leaves and dappled his face in both light and shadows. Once again she was struck by his handsomeness.
“There was a time I didn’t believe I had a future at all. Whatever happens now, we’re all strong enough to roll with the punches. Did you always know what you wanted to do with your life?” he asked.
She frowned thoughtfully. “I’m not sure I ever made a conscious decision about it. It’s what my father wanted me to do and so I did it. Thankfully it worked out because I love what I do.”
“Me, too,” he replied.
She moved her gaze to the right where beyond the pond six silos rose up from the ground. “What’s in those?”
“They’re filled with last year’s corn. Eventually it will be sold to other ranchers to make room for this year’s crop.”
She looked back at him. “Silos have always scared me. I told Devon one time that they remind me of something otherworldly, something slightly ominous. I hate them.”
His eyes twinkled. “And what facts do you base that feeling on, Dr. Forbes?”
Heat filled her cheeks and she contemplated whether to tell him the truth or not. She finally opted for truth. “It was in the shadow of a silo that I lost my virginity to a callous college guy who had a bet with his frat brothers.” She looked down at the blanket, shame washing over her as she thought of how stupid, how naive she’d been. “Afterward I was the laughingstock of the entire campus.”
She didn’t see his hand move, but suddenly it was on her cheek. She looked up into the simmering blue depths of his eyes. “You gave him a precious gift and he didn’t take care of it.”
His slightly calloused fingers moved tenderly on her skin, caressing her from the corner of her eye down to her trembling lips. “If I could, I’d take that memory away from you. If I could, I’d beat the hell out of that stupid frat boy.”
She laughed and he dropped his hand back to the blanket. “I think I’m ready for lunch now.” She didn’t want to think about how much she’d liked his touch, how bereft she had felt when he’d withdrawn it.
She definitely didn’t want to think of that traumatic event that had occurred next to a silo on a ranch just outside of Oklahoma City.
He sat up and grabbed the duffel and pulled it between them. “Let’s see what goodies Cookie packed for us.” He opened the bag and first withdr
ew two cold bottles of water, then began to lay out containers of a variety of food items.
“Fried chicken, potato salad, bread and butter sandwiches...it looks like Cookie intended us to stay out here for days,” she exclaimed as he continued to pull food out of the duffel. There was also fresh fruit, slices of cheese and several thick, moist brownies.
“It wouldn’t be a bad place to spend a couple of days,” he replied when the bag was empty. “If you listen closely you can hear the splash of fish in the water and the birds singing in the trees.”
She sat up and he handed her a paper plate, a napkin and a fork, and for the first time she noticed the musical birdsong, the ripple of water from the pond and from the distance the deep lowing of cattle.
“It is peaceful here,” she said.
“Nature at its finest,” he replied.
They fell silent as they filled their plates and began to eat. “You were right. I needed one more day and this is nice,” she said after a few minutes.
“At least you haven’t said you don’t like it so far,” Forest teased.
“I say that too much,” she replied. “It means I’m uncomfortable with the situation.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for future purposes,” he replied.
She took several bites and then eyed him curiously. “How can you just take off work to babysit me? I’m sure you have some sort of daily duties to attend to. Won’t Cassie be upset with you?”
“It’s not like I won’t be doing any work at all. I still plan on working with the horse in the corral next to where you’ll be working.”
“But I know you have other duties expected of you besides that,” she protested.
“Cassie knows how it is around here. If one of us goes down for any reason, then the others pick up the slack. We all do everything on the ranch and pitch in to see that what needs to be done gets done each day. The others will cover for me until I’m working again.”
“It’s not like that on my job. Devon has the credentials that I have, but despite being older than me he doesn’t have the same field experience.” She wiped her fingers on her napkin and set her plate down next to her. “I’m totally stuffed.”
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