by Jennie Marts
In fact, everyone seemed to be having a good time.
Skye had told him that they held a monthly barn dance in the summer and that the town of Cotton Creek was always invited. It seemed half the townspeople had accepted the invitation and shown up in their country finest. Young and old alike filled the barn, talking, laughing, and carrying plates piled high with food.
Adam’s gaze swept the room, searching for a particular blond cowgirl. He wondered how she would react to seeing him.
She could have just been busy today—she did run a dude ranch, after all—but he felt like she’d purposely avoided him.
Not that he’d been looking for her or anything.
He’d just felt like taking a walk around the ranch this afternoon. And it was pure coincidence that he happened to be in the lodge and thought he’d stop by her apartment to see if he could check his email.
Cody had answered the door and explained that Skye was out. He couldn’t think of an acceptable way to inquire about her whereabouts without sounding like a creeper, so he’d just let it go.
His visit wasn’t completely wasted, though. The kid had let him use the internet, and he’d spent twenty minutes catching up on emails and touching base with Ryan and Brandon. At this point, it seemed unlikely that the pair would make it to Colorado.
Which was actually okay with Adam. He wasn’t as keen on sharing the cabin with his two friends—especially if Skye happened to come by.
He still wasn’t sure why he’d been moved out of the lodge. Had it been done purposely?
He’d have to ask Skye—if he could ever find her.
He continued to scan the crowded barn for signs of her blond head, then his heart leaped as he heard her familiar laughter.
She was standing by the drink table with Captain Cowboy, and suddenly, the sound of her laughter—knowing that it was due to something Clint had said—grated on his already tense nerves.
Why had he even come to this stupid dance?
He turned to make a quick escape before anyone saw him.
“Adam, dude. You made it.”
Too late.
He sighed as he turned back and answered Josh’s enthusiastic greeting. “Hi. Yep, I made it. Looks like you guys are having fun.”
“Yeah, the band is great,” Josh said. “And the food is amazing. You’ve got to try some.”
Before he could protest, the younger man had already shoved a plate and some utensils in his hand. “The barbeque sauce is incredible. And the pulled pork is to die for. Everything’s delicious.”
Adam filled his plate, then followed Josh toward one of the picnic tables.
Another couple sat on the other side of the table, and the man held out a hand as Adam sat down.
“Wade Baker. You must be one of the guests this week.”
Adam shook his hand. “Adam Clark. From California.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m one of the rangers in the state park to the south of Hawk’s Ridge. I come up a couple times a week and do guided hikes or programs for Skye’s guests. This is my girlfriend Reese.”
Adam nodded to the pretty woman sitting at Wade’s side. “Nice to meet you.”
“What do you do, Adam?” she asked.
“I work in the gaming industry.”
“Like fish and game?”
He smiled. “No. Like video games.”
“Adam’s kind of a super star in the gaming world. His company designed and produced Masters of Misfortune,” Josh said, sliding into the seat next to Adam.
“No way. I love that game,” Wade replied.
“Thanks.” Adam fidgeted with his fork. He just wanted to eat and get out of here.
“Wade’s a certified bee keeper,” Josh explained.
Brittany carried over a couple of plates filled with cookies and chocolate cake, setting them on the table before sitting down on Josh’s other side. “Bees are actually kind of fascinating. I never thought of them as cool before.”
Wade grinned. “I don’t want to give away everything about them. I’m coming up the day after tomorrow to do a whole program on bees and native birds for all of Skye’s guests.”
Adam focused on his food, letting the others at the table continue their conversation, wondering how much time he needed to sit there before he could escape back to his room.
“Hey, Skye. We were just talking about you,” Wade said.
Adam lifted his head to see Skye approaching the table. The roll he’d just eaten sank like a hard rock in his gut as he waited to see her reaction. He swallowed when she offered him a small smile before turning back to Wade.
“Oh yeah, well don’t believe anything this guy has to say about me. Nice to see you, Reese.” She leaned down to give the other woman a quick hug.
“I wasn’t telling them any of those stories I know about you,” Wade said, then offered the rest of the group a conspiratorial wink. “Not yet, at least. Skye and I went to school together, so I know a few tales about your ranch hostess. I might even share a few if someone offered to bring me a piece of cake.”
“Don’t you dare.” Skye laughed as she gestured at Josh to sit back down. “Are you still planning to come out on Friday and do the program on bees?”
“Yeah. We were just talking about that. I have a lunch meeting that I can’t miss, so I’ll come out in the morning then head into town. Then I’ll come back up later in the afternoon to lead the hike to the waterfall, if that works.”
“That sounds great. And as long as you’re going to town, I may have you pick a couple of things up for me.”
Skye was doing her best to not look at Adam, but the conversation lulled, and he knew he needed to jump in if he was going to get her attention. But what the hell did he know about bees? “I think your program sounds interesting,” he said. “I know I’ll be there.”
That got her attention. She raised an eyebrow at him. “You want to come to a program about nature?”
“Sure. I’ve found that I have a new appreciation for doing things outdoors.”
Her eyes widened, and a tiny smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She raised a hand and pointed at his chin, and he waited for her to say something clever in return. “You’ve got some barbeque sauce on your face.”
Oh shit.
His shoulders slumped as he grabbed a napkin from the table and wiped his face. He was batting a big fat zero and was wishing he’d just stayed in his cabin. So far, staying home to read a book had never made him feel like an idiot.
He turned to Josh. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”
“What? No way, dude. The band’s just starting up again.”
The crowd clapped and cheered as the music started and the dance floor began to fill. Brittany hopped out of her seat and grabbed Josh’s hand. “I love this song.”
“Come on, you guys gotta dance,” Josh called as his bride led him to the floor.
“We’re in,” Wade said, standing and holding out a hand for Reese.
Which left him and Skye alone at the table, staring awkwardly at the floor.
He’d already made a fool of himself, why not go for broke? “Would you like to dance?”
She hesitated. Just for a second. But he still caught it. “Yeah, sure.”
“Never mind. We don’t have to.”
“No, I want to.” She stood up and held out a hand.
His mouth was dry, and he took a quick gulp of iced tea, then pushed his glasses up his nose and took her hand.
I am a successful man and just had this woman naked and calling out my name last night, he reminded himself, trying not to look at her butt while he followed her onto the dance floor. Be cool.
He took her in his arms, racking his brain for the steps to the dance.
“Quick, quick, slow, slow,” she reminded him, while settling into the crook of his elbow.
“Got it. Thanks.” He offered her a tentative smile, and his heart lightened at the slight one he got in return. “I’m still not very good at thi
s. I’m afraid I’m going to break your feet.”
Her smile faltered. “I’m afraid you’re going to break my heart,” she whispered.
He pulled back, gazing down into her eyes. “Is that what this is about? Why you’ve been avoiding me today?” He lowered his voice to match the volume of hers. “Why you’ve been acting like I’m some stranger instead of the guy you just spent the night with, curled up in a sleeping bag.”
She nodded. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Last night, it all made sense. But as we were riding back today, it was like reality seeped in with every step we got closer to the ranch, and I realized what I had done.”
“What did you do that was so bad?” His feet kept moving, but his heart felt like it was frozen in his chest as he waited for her response. Was she going to say it had been a mistake?
Was it? Probably.
They lived in different states, in different worlds. She needed someone who could be here for her, who could help her with the ranch, help her with her son. He didn’t know anything about what it took to run a dude ranch, and he knew even less about how to raise a kid.
Hell, he sometimes felt like a kid himself. Memories of the last woman who’d left him filled his head. Those were pretty close to the exact words she’d used. He played games for a living, he spent too much time with his friends (who were actually his business partners, so that one hadn’t seemed quite fair) and never ventured outside of his comfort zone…or outside, at all.
What was wrong with not wanting to go out all the time? He’d created a comfortable home that had all that he needed. Why would he want to leave it to go out to places that made him feel uncomfortable?
Except suddenly, he felt like there was something else he needed.
Someone else. Someone that he was willing to step out of his cozy little box for.
Someone that he was willing to go camping with, to get on a horse for, and to spend an evening feeling like a complete idiot as he tried to country dance on the stained timbers of a barn floor.
Was this all a mistake? Maybe.
But he didn’t care.
Her gaze dropped to the top button of his shirt. “I like you, Adam. But…” She paused, and he held his breath, waiting for all the reasons she had for not wanting to get involved with him.
But before she could finish her sentence, a hard tap poked him on the shoulder.
“Mind if I cut in?” Clint didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he slid his hand between them and pulled Skye into his arms. “You looked like you were having trouble with the steps, Mr. Gamer Guy. Maybe you should stick to the computer, and I’ll take care of Skye.” He gave him a confident wink before leading Skye onto the dance floor.
What the hell? Why did she just let Clint take her from him?
He strained his neck to follow their moves. Was that a half-hearted attempt to pull away he saw, or was she simply relieved that the cowboy had saved her from having to finish her sentence? He couldn’t tell.
Around Clint’s shoulder, she gave him an apologetic look and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
For what, though?
Adam stood at the edge of the dance floor, feeling out of his league.
He didn’t need this shit. He had a life in California—a good life. One that didn’t involve dust, or cow manure, or conceited cowboys.
Turning on his boot heel, he marched out of the barn, trying not to think about the other thing that his life in California didn’t have.
Skye.
…
Adam read the same page for the third time in a row, his thoughts too jumbled to focus on the plot of the novel.
He’d been back in his cabin for several hours but still couldn’t seem to relax. He’d taken a hot shower, made a cup of tea (while wishing for a beer), tried to sleep, given up, and had spent the last twenty minutes attempting to read the book that had totally captured his interest before.
Before Skye.
He’d even tried his hand at making a fire. It didn’t seem like it should have been that hard. Thick stacks of wood sat on the hearth, and he’d loaded a few pieces into the fireplace then thrown several matches on them. But they didn’t catch fire, so he gave up.
Maybe he should give up on this stupid dude ranch, too. He’d come here to do research for the new game and had actually compiled pages of notes. He might not have the internet, but he could still work on his laptop, so he backed up all of his plans for the new game on a flash drive.
It felt so old school, taking notes with a pen and paper and not saving things online. In some ways, he thought it had helped his creativity, given him a new medium for getting his ideas down. And it had actually been kind of nice to not be encumbered by the constant need to keep up with social media and technology, to not be tied to his phone or constantly checking his email.
His phone had been in his bag for the last two days. The thing probably wasn’t even charged. And he wasn’t sure how much he really missed it.
But it didn’t matter. Didn’t matter if he was starting to enjoy the simpler, slower pace of life at the ranch, didn’t matter that he kind of liked the smell of pine that wafted through the open windows of the cabin, or the view of the mountains every time he walked outside.
It didn’t matter, because this wasn’t his life. It was just a vacation from his reality.
Maybe that’s all this thing with Skye was, an escape from his normal life.
Maybe once he got back to California, to his real life, he’d forget all about her.
He hoped so.
He let out a sigh and laid his head back against the chair.
Closing his eyes, he let his mind drift to Skye. To thoughts of her soft skin, the way she smelled, the way she felt naked and wrapped around him.
He was almost asleep, when he heard a soft knock on the cabin door.
Or thought he heard it. Maybe he just wished he heard it. Wished that she would knock on his door, then come in and crawl into his bed.
He crossed the room, his nerves taut with anticipation as he yanked the door open.
But no one was there.
Shit. He must have been dreaming.
He took a step outside, his gaze going automatically toward the lodge, and saw a figure walking down the path, away from his cabin.
A figure of a woman.
“Skye?”
She turned, just for a moment, and then continued to walk away.
Chapter Twelve
“Skye. Wait.”
She heard Adam calling her name and his footsteps as he hurried to catch up with her. She considered the option to just keep walking, but she’d been raised with better manners than that, so she stopped, letting out a sigh as her head and shoulders slumped forward.
This had been a stupid idea. She’d been a fool to sneak out to Adam’s cabin in the middle of the night.
But she couldn’t help it. She’d hated the way he’d left the dance, and she hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind as she’d been lying in bed, trying to sleep. She’d finally given up, decided to take a walk, and her feet had led her to his door.
The lights had been on, and, as if her body had a mind of its own, her hand had reached up and rapped softly on the door.
Relief had flooded her when he hadn’t answered, and she’d tried to flee back to the lodge. He would never have to know that she had even been there.
Or at least that’s what she’d thought as she’d snuck away. Until he called her name.
“Hey, wait up,” he said, catching his breath from jogging after her. He was barefoot, and the gravel had to be digging into his feet. All he wore was a pair of black shorts, and she tried to focus, her attention distracted by his lean, muscled chest.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” It was the only thing she could think of to say. She’d had seventeen other ideas rehearsed—all perfectly executed passages that would end with him inviting her in and accepting her lame apologies by taking her in his arms and then into his bed.
>
Okay, they hadn’t all ended that way. But most of them had.
She’d been a mess all day—one minute giddy over the amazing night they’d spent together, the next chiding herself for getting involved in something she knew would never work.
“You didn’t wake me. I couldn’t sleep,” Adam said. “I was just going to make some tea. Come in. Have a cup with me.”
“Okay.” She followed him back into the cabin and sat on the edge of the sofa as he grabbed cups from the cupboard and filled them with water. She glanced around the room at the discarded paperback and the logs piled haphazardly in the fireplace. “What happened here? Were you trying to start a fire?”
He chuckled as he stuck the mugs into the microwave. “Trying is the operative word. I’m used to fireplaces that turn on with a switch. They have fake wood and gas flames. I never knew starting an actual fire would be so hard. I probably threw twenty matches on those stupid logs, but I couldn’t get any of them to burn.”
“That’s because you have to light the kindling first. Once it catches hold, the flames will move to the logs. But you have way too many of them in there.” She pulled two chunks of wood out, then built a nest of kindling and newspapers under the remaining logs. Striking a match, she lit the kindling and blew softly on the tinder, nurturing the flames until they caught on fire.
He handed her a steaming mug, the teabag’s string dangling over the side. “So that’s the secret—I should have started slower then let the fire build, instead of trying to force it. I guess I just needed you.” He held her gaze for an extra beat, evidently trying to make sure she got his message. Then he backed up and sank down on the sofa.
He must have turned off the kitchen light as he came in, because she suddenly noticed how dim the room was. The glow from the fire was the only light left in the room.
He patted the sofa next to him.
Sitting gingerly on the edge of the couch, she took a sip of her tea, letting the warm liquid soothe her dry throat.
He waited, patiently watching her, as he sipped his own tea.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said.
“For what?”
“For everything.”
“Everything? That’s a pretty big apology. Are you including global warming and the Cuban Missile Crisis in there?”