I didn’t, and I hadn’t planned to, but my buddy’s little sister needed a couple hundred hours of animal time to officially complete her degree so now, I did.
“Not yet but I’m thinking about it,”
“This building could use some TLC son.”
“I know,” I smiled through clenched teeth. I explained the situation to him as we made our way into the barn on the other side of the property.
Walt continued to talk about I don’t know what because I was completely distracted by another sight. Sage Winchester, little sister of my bestest friend in the world, was bent over Cookie rubbing the horse’s hind legs and giving me a front row seat to her heart shaped ass and mile long legs in her painted-on jeans. Damn the woman wore denim like nobody’s business.
“This must be your intended,” Walt said and motioned to the stall at the far end of the barn. At my look of confusion, he went on. “I heard there was a beautiful young single woman in your employ, and I figured she must be your betrothed since this is a small town and all. Unless I’ve got it wrong?”
I heard what he hadn’t said. Walt was a traditional and conservative guy and he wouldn’t approve of anything—or anyone—bringing scandal to the TPBA. He wanted us engaged, or Sage gone. Neither of which was an option. “You’re not wrong Walt but we’ve kind of kept it under wraps.” I felt a twitch grow in my eye at the blatant lie but it was too late to turn back.
“For the love of god, why?”
“She’s my best friend’s little sister, and he’s an Army Ranger off saving the world so we haven’t told him yet.”
The old man’s entire expression softened. “I always wanted to be a Ranger, but it wasn’t meant to be. I understand. Now introduce me to your lady.”
Without another word, I approached Sage and Cookie and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned and smiled at me and hot damn I almost swallowed my tongue at the sight she made. When had Sage Winchester turned into a babe?
“Hey darlin’, how’s it going?” I pulled her in for a hug and whispered, “Follow my lead, please,” and turned so we both faced Walt.
Big blue eyes asked several questions but she’d kept her smile on. “Great. Cookie is feeling much better, aren’t you girl,” she gave the horse a gentle rub. “What brings you…both by?”
I kept my arm around her, ignoring the hum of awareness her proximity created. “I want to introduce you to Walt Hitchman, Chairman of the-,”
“Texas Pure Breed Association,” she finished and stuck out her hand. “It’s great to meet you, I’m Sage Winchester. Rumor has it you have one of the most gorgeous pure Arabians in all of Texas.”
Walt’s face turned a peculiar shade of red at her praise, but he accepted her hand with a gentle shake. “My pleasure Ms. Winchester and I have to say that my Inkspot is a beauty.”
“Call me Sage, please. How do you like the M&M?”
“It’s an impressive operation.”
“Mason’s been working this land since he was knee high to a grasshopper. He’s been playing cowboy for nearly as long. Haven’t you babe?” The look in her eyes and her emphasis on the last word told me she was wondering what I was up to.
Damn now I was blushing like a teenager in front of his first crush. “What she isn’t telling you is that she used to be right beside me and Jack, going faster than the both of us.”
“A beautiful woman who knows horses, how’d Mason get so lucky?”
She looked up at me, eyes shining with something I couldn’t identify and grinned. “He finally saw me as something more than his best friend’s kid sister.”
Her words were loaded but I knew she was just following my lead as I’d asked. She’d had a crush on me as a kid, but that was years ago. Wasn’t it?
“Better late than never,” I told her and felt a rush of male pride at the reddening of her cheeks and the slight shiver that went through her.
“You were a smart man to scoop her up before some other fellow did. When’s the wedding?”
Sage opened her mouth and closed it. Twice. I stepped in and tucked her under my arm. “We haven’t set one yet. Says she won’t make it official until I get her a ring.”
Walt chuckled and pulled out a handkerchief to dab the sweat beading on his forehead. Even late spring in Lucky Flats, Texas could be blistering. “Well maybe Houston will have the perfect ring for her. You can go shopping together in three weeks when you come up for the get-to-know-you dinner we like to do with prospective members. June first.”
“We’ll be there,” Sage promised and stepped forward, shaking Walt’s hand again while also putting space between us.
“Good to meet you m’dear,” he grinned at the both of us, waiting for…something. “Well go on boy, kiss her. My wife never lets me leave without a kiss. Reminds me what’s waiting for me when I get back.”
I don’t know what happened, but between Walt’s expectant gaze and Sage’s big blue eyes, that dark chocolate braid curved at her collarbone and the scent of strawberries wafting from her, I was powerless to stop the overwhelming need to taste her lips. It was as if his words had given me permission to do what I’d been fighting since she started working for me last month.
“You heard the man darlin’,” I told her and cupped her head, tilting it ever so slightly as my mouth crashed down onto hers. It was meant to be hot and short but Sage, the little minx, snuck her tongue out and the moment it touched mine a fire shot through my veins and I deepened the kiss, devouring her sweet mouth. A buzz of something flowed between us and I knew I was in trouble but I was too damn turned on, enchanted, to stop. Somewhere, somehow I found the willpower to pull back and found Sage looking as shocked and discombobulated as I felt.
Walt gave a final wave and I joined him as we left the barn, tossing a grateful smile at Sage as I did. I walked Walt to his car and handed him a bottle of water for the road. “This summer is going to be a hot one,” he complained and slammed the door shut.
It was already a hot one and that kiss only made it hotter. Now I needed to talk to Sage about this mess. Well not now while my body still hummed from that kiss, from the feel of her soft body pressed into mine.
But soon.
Sage
“You want me to do what?” I blinked a few times and tucked a few strands of thick wavy hair behind my ear, certain I’d misheard or misunderstood Mason.
“Don’t make me say it again, Sage,” he pleaded, raking one hand through this blond hair so long it now curled at the ends. Bottomless brown eyes locked with mine and silently begged me to understand.
I sat back in the chair in his office, arms and legs crossed protectively as a sudden thrill went through me. Mason wanted me to pretend we were madly in love—which wasn’t hard to do since I’d been in love with him since I was six years old—and that we were engaged to be married. I could admit to feeling disappointment that it was all for show. “Fine,” I held up my hands, “don’t repeat. Explain.”
He let out a long breath and my eyes wandered to the strong muscular forearms, extra tan from his time spent outdoors, a sprinkling of white blonde hair twinkling in the sun. “Walt thinks you’re my fiancée and I didn’t correct him.”
Okay. “Why?”
“Because his tone indicated it would be better if you were my bride to be than just a beautiful single woman working for me.”
Well if that wasn’t the absolute least flattering option. “Then just tell him that I am engaged. To someone else.”
“But he already thinks we’re engaged Sage.”
I rolled my eyes and waited. And waited. And waited.
“Please help me Sage. Pretend to be my fiancée until I’m an official member of the PTBA. I’ll do anything.”
Oh the possibilities. “Anything?”
He nodded but froze halfway through. “What did you have in mind?”
Damn he was gorgeous, even when he was being skeptical and unflattering. “Mason Manning are you afraid I might ask to unfettered access to
your body?” It was a fantasy of mine but in my fantasy he wanted it to.
“Sage,” he said in warning. “What do you want?”
I wanted Mason but not as part of some devil’s deal so I went with my other dream. “Land. You have more than you need and I have none. I’d like to rent some of your land for a good deal to open my therapy center. We can work out a deal for your horses.”
He was quiet for a long time and I stood because I’ve known Mason my entire life and the man was stubborn as hell. He’d sooner part with his daughter Lily than a plot of M&M land. “How much land are we talking?”
I sighed. “I don’t have a specific amount but the land that your great grandfather used to use for goats should be plenty.”
“And if it isn’t?”
“Then you got the long end of the stick Mason. Why are you being so difficult about this?”
“I’m being difficult? I just asked a friend for a favor and you want half my ranch in exchange.”
I sucked in a breath as though he’d slapped me. “Oh we’re friends now, are we? Is that why you’ve hardly said five words to me since I got here Mason, a month ago?” I held up a hand to stop whatever he was about to say that would certainly make it easy to tell him no. Hell no. “Save it Mason. I’ll think about it but right now I need to get out of here.” And go back to my crappy apartment above the Double Barrel, the bar owned by my best friend.
“You’ll really think about it?”
I came to a stop at the door but didn’t turn around. I couldn’t turn around because I didn’t want to see those big disappointed brown eyes sway my opinion. “Have I ever denied you a thing Mason?” I didn’t wait for an answer, just left the door open and walked down the familiar hall, for once ignoring the photo of Mason and my brother Jack shirtless and grinning at the fishing hole on our old property.
“Hi Sage, wait up!”
I stopped at the sound of the cutest little girl in the whole world and turned around wearing a smile. “Lily bug, how are you?”
“Fine. Where were you?” Her rosebud mouth pouted adorably and her blonde pigtails hung at a lopsided angle. Green eyes filled with worry and confusion.
“I had to talk to your dad for a minute. Did you miss me?”
She bobbed her head up and down, blonde brows dipped low. “I thought you left and weren’t coming back.”
My heart went out to the little girl. She’d had too many people leave her. First her mother who left of her own free will, then her grandfather in a plane crash just a year later. Tammy Manning, the matriarch of the family was currently recovering from a broken hip which had been the result of a skiing accident. I dropped down so we were eye to eye. “We’re friends Lily bug. If I were leaving I would tell you.”
“Promise? Grandma didn’t say she was leaving,” she held up her pinky finger, the end of promises for seven-year-old little girls.
“Promise,” I told her and hooked our pinkies together. “And your grandma is injured but I know she’ll be back real soon.”
“Wanna play with me?” Her question came out of the blue, earlier sadness already forgotten.
“Oh I’d love to honey but I can’t tonight. How about you see if your dad let you stay the night with me this weekend? We can play and do girl stuff.”
Big green eyes went wide with excitement and then glee. “You mean it?”
“Of course. Friends have sleepovers don’t they?”
“Yeah!” She leapt into my arms, hanging off my neck while she whispered, “thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, you have to ask your grumpy ol’ dad.”
Lily giggled and stepped back. “Maybelle’s making meatloaf tonight so I’ll ask after his first slice.”
“Smart kid. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Bye Sage!”
I drove away from the ranch thinking about the Manning family, specifically if I could do what Mason wanted me to do without getting my heart smashed to pieces.
***
“So do you want me to tell you why this is a good idea or talk you out of it?” I could always count on my best friend Sierra to keep it real with me. I stopped by her bar, well the only bar in town, the Double Barrel to get some perspective on Mason’s proposal.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh come on Sage. We both know you not only want to do this, you’re straight up gagging to pretend you’re getting married to Mason Manning.”
My cheeks turned red and I buried my face in the cold beer before me. “That’s where you’re wrong smartass, I don’t want to pretend. I want it to be real.”
She gave me that sympathetic look I hated more than I hated anything but she was my best friend so I refrained from throwing my beer in her face. “Oh honey I know you do but don’t you think it’s time?”
I smacked a hand against the bar, happy there weren’t a lot of patrons in at this time to see me throw a tantrum. “Don’t you think I would if I could Sierra? I’ve tried dammit!” I had two serious relationships in college and neither produced a fraction of the emotion, the passion of that kiss from Mason. “I know it’s pathetic and believe me, I wish I could move on Sierra. But I can’t.”
Sierra sighed and pushed her lush red hair off her shoulders before she took a long slow sip from her glass. “Then you have to do it.”
“I do?” I had not expected her to say that since she’s been after me for years to end my obsession with Mason.
She nodded. “You do. Be his faux whatever but use this time wisely. Seduce him, make him see how good you could be together. Whatever it takes. And when this is over-,”
“It’s really over,” I finished for her, ignoring the stop and drop of my heart so hollow in my chest.
“Or he realizes he’s been a big fat dummy all this time and you get your happy ending,” she smiled and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Yeah or that. Except we both knew there was a better chance of keeping a snowman standing on Main Street in July. “So I shouldn’t keep asking to use his land for my equine massage business?”
Sierra finished her beer and swiped the foam from her mouth. “If you think it won’t slice you open every day to see him. Especially when he does move on, which he will.”
“Just the thought of it slices plenty, thanks.” I had already spent years watching him date women who weren’t boring like me. They were tall and thin and most important they were busty and blonde. They weren’t average height with brown hair and blue eyes like me. I didn’t have pouty lips and my C cups weren’t impressing anyone. “Well I guess I need to find some land and see about getting a loan.”
“How much do you need?”
I shook my head. “No Sierra. I love you and I’m grateful for the offer but I can’t take that kind of money from you. If my business fails you’ll hate me.”
“Gee, thanks for thinking so highly of me.”
“Oh come on, you know it’s not that. That money is for your future. You paid a steep price for it.”
She shrugged like it didn’t matter but I knew it did. Her parents and baby brother died in a freak boating accident when we were fourteen and with no family to take her in she came and stayed with us until graduation. Dad couldn’t take care of two ranches so it had been sold and the money added to the trust left for her. “I know but your parents never touched that money and they should have.”
“You were family well before that and you know it. We all loved having you there and I know for a fact they wanted to make sure you could do whatever you wanted with your life with that money.”
“Fine but I’ll co-sign a loan for you because you’ll need it.”
“I can get Jack to do it.”
Sierra rolled her eyes. “Honey he’s got less collateral than you unless you count his guns and body armor.”
Crap she was right. Being a Ranger for the past six years and regular Army a decade before meant he had no home base, no car. No collateral just as Sierra
said. “I’ll think about it, okay?”
“You know where to find me and my pocketbook.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I told her and finished my second beer of the night. “I have a ton of sleep to miss out on tonight.” I knew I would help Mason because I was powerless where he was concerned but I didn’t know if I had it in me to do what Sierra suggested. He hadn’t noticed me in all this time, what would make this time any different?
Mason
Sage was avoiding me. I didn’t know if it had to do with the kiss or the proposal but it could have possibly been my reaction to her asking to use my land. Why had I reacted like such a jackass? It was perfectly reasonable to expect a quid pro quo when a favor was this big. And what had she said, I hadn’t said five words to her in a month. That couldn’t be true…could it?
I hadn’t seen her in a few days but I knew she’d been at the ranch because she documented her hours—down to the minute because there was no rounding up or down with her—and because the horses she’d worked moved smoother, had a more relaxed gait and were less anxious. She’d even picked up Lily for their girls’ night while I checked on the animals after dinner
Lily was due back tonight before dinner giving me and Sage the perfect opportunity to talk. Since it was Friday it would be me and Lily for dinner, Maybelle and her husband went dancing on Fridays and the ranch hands would be at the Double Barrel looking for a pretty lady to spend the night with. I finished the chores outside and took a quick shower before grabbing a beer and settling in at my desk to go over a few things. I didn’t get more than twenty minutes of work done before I heard Lily’s boisterous yell and loud stomping the hard wood floors. “Daddy we’re here!”
With a smile I stood and caught a barrel of blonde curls coming at me full speed. “He Lily pad, did you have fun?”
“Uh-huh. We did nails and toes, and Sage put gunk on our faces so we shine!” She pushed out of my arms and stood beside Sage who just appeared in the living room. “And we’re twins!”
I looked back and forth and sure enough, they both wore short denim skirts and pale blue tank tops but where Lily looked adorable and ready for summer, Sage looked like temptation on a platter. That frayed hem made my hands itch to caress her mile long legs, to see if they were as soft as they looked. And her breasts, good god they were amazing, sat high and perky in behind her cotton tank. “You sure are. You both look beautiful.”
Cowboy's Barmaid: A Small Town Military Romance (Lucky Flats Ranchers Book 2) Page 75