* * *
Heart thumping, Geena drove up to the ranch house and climbed out of the rental car. Rosie had sounded like an excited teenager on the phone.
She must have been watching for the car, because she hurried out onto the porch and down the steps. “I sent him to the barn to muck out stalls.” She put a hand on her chest and took a quick breath. “He was driving us crazy.”
“How?”
“Going on and on about what an idiot he’d been to insist you go back today. We had to agree. But of course he didn’t know I’d already called you.”
Geena smiled. “You could have told him I didn’t leave.”
“It’s better if you appear and explain it to him. The shock of seeing you when he thinks you’re gone might finally convince him that this is true love we’re talking about.”
Geena’s throat tightened. “Yes, it is.”
“Have you been online this morning?”
“Of course. I’ve been fielding requests for interviews from people eager to talk to Matt about Thunder Mountain. All the negative stuff is old news. We did it, Rosie.”
“Mostly you did it. Now, get on down there before he takes a notion to come back to the house for some reason and ruins the dramatic moment.”
“Okay.” Geena figured that if Rosie had grown up in Hollywood she’d have become a director.
“I can guarantee you maybe thirty minutes of privacy. Herb’s in the office doing paperwork and Cade’s staying in his cabin until I give him the all clear. He mentioned calling one of his brothers about the caretaking job at Matt’s ranch.”
“So, Matt wants to keep it?”
“Honey, he wants it all, you included. After he sent that woman packing he was a changed man. The realization that he’s nothing like her was exactly what he needed, but he had to see her to believe it. Now, go on so you can make a grand entrance.”
Geena gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, Rosie.”
“You’re welcome. It’s what I do.”
Yes, it certainly was, Geena thought as she walked down to the barn wearing the boots Rosie had given her. Her pants and blouse were clothes she’d brought from LA, but at least she was making this trek in Wyoming-worthy boots. On her way she glanced over at the pasture to admire the horses grazing in it.
After such a short time, the ranch felt like home. But Matt’s ranch would feel that way, too, once Damon and Phil made some changes and the place had furniture and a couple of horses in the barn. She yearned to be part of creating that ambience.
Matt had never had a place of his own, but then, neither had she. She’d postponed buying anything in the city and maybe this was why. She envisioned a no-maintenance rental in LA with plenty of room for two. When she was ready to kick back and relax, she belonged on a ranch in Wyoming. With Matt.
Rosie had assured her that he felt the same, but that didn’t stop the butterflies from swarming in her stomach as she walked inside the cool interior of the barn. The rhythmic sound of straw being shoveled into a wheelbarrow directed her to a stall near the back of the barn.
Although her boot heels clicked on the wooden aisle, he kept shoveling so he probably hadn’t heard her. The wheelbarrow nearly blocked the aisle next to the stall where he was working, but she managed to maneuver around it so she could look in.
He’d pulled off his white T-shirt and tossed it over the open stall door. His back and chest glistened with sweat as his impressive muscles flexed with each movement of the shovel. She almost hated to interrupt him.
Almost. She waited for the brief moment of silence between dumping one load into the wheelbarrow and scooping up another. “Matt.”
He wheeled toward her and stood there clutching the shovel. “Geena?”
“I didn’t leave today.”
He swallowed. “Obviously.”
“I didn’t leave because I love you.”
For one long moment he stared at her. Then he chucked the shovel in the straw and closed the distance between them. But when he was about two feet away he came to an abrupt halt. “I’m sweaty.”
“I don’t care. Hold me, Matt! Kiss me and tell me you love me as much as I love you, because if you don’t, then—”
“I do!” He swept her into his arms. “I love you, Geena.” He held her gaze. “I didn’t think I had the right, but now everything’s different in my mind. That woman is out of my head and out of my life. Which leaves room for us.”
“I love the sound of that word. Us.”
“Good, because you’ll be hearing it a lot.” He smiled down at her. “You stayed. I told you to leave but you stayed. How great is that?”
“Yeah, well, when you love someone, you stick around.”
“I sure hope so, because I want you to stick around forever, pretty lady. I want you to make love to me in the grass and practice tap dancing in our bedroom.”
“Our bedroom?”
“I thought of it that way from the minute we walked in.”
“Me, too.” She looked into blue eyes shining with love. “Now fog up my glasses, cowboy.”
Epilogue
Zeke Rafferty hadn’t counted on tearing a rotator cuff. Disability insurance was a pricey proposition, so he hadn’t taken out a policy. The surgery had wiped out his savings and now he had weeks, maybe even months, before he could go back to trick roping.
So when his foster brother Cade Gallagher called with a job offer that he could do with one arm out of commission, he thanked his lucky stars. “I can absolutely take care of Matt’s ranch for a few months,” he said. “But I have to be honest with you, bro. I plan to go back to roping as soon as my shoulder heals. If he’s looking for a permanent caretaker, I can’t in all good conscience take the job.”
“Here’s how I see it, Zeke. When I heard that you were laid up, I—”
“How did you hear about it, anyway? That’s a mystery to me.”
“You were in Cheyenne when it happened, right?”
“I was.”
“And while you were recovering from surgery you went into Rangeland Roasters for a cup of coffee.”
“Several times. They have an excellent brew. Okay, I get it. I talked to Whitney. She’s real friendly, which is perfect for someone managing a coffee shop. I’ve been so busy on the rodeo circuit I haven’t kept up. Didn’t know ol’ Ty was married.”
“Luckily Whitney mentioned you to Ty, who called Rosie, who gave me your number. When the planets align like that, I figure you should take the job and we’ll worry about finding a replacement later. Besides, if you move back for a few months, you can come to my wedding in August. I would have sent you an invitation but I didn’t have an address.”
“You and Lexi?”
“Me and Lexi.”
Zeke smiled at the pride in Cade’s voice when he said that. “Congratulations. You two were always meant to be together.”
“Fortunately she finally saw that, too. So, can I tell Matt you’re on board? That’ll be one less thing he has to deal with.”
“By all means, tell him I’m on board. And also tell him I always knew that scandal nonsense was bogus. The Thunder Mountain Brotherhood doesn’t pull crap like that.”
“Indeed we don’t. Listen, I just realized I have no authority to offer you a salary, so who knows what Matt will pay you. He’s a straight shooter, though, so it’ll be a fair wage.”
“Don’t worry about it. A free place to stay and a little money for food is all I’ll need. I’m obliged, Cade. I didn’t know how I’d navigate the next few months.”
“Yeah, and that reminds me that we shouldn’t have had to find this out by the back door. You should have contacted Rosie and
Herb right away when you ran into a spot of trouble.”
“I feel like they did enough when we were there.” Zeke exhaled. “I’m not the kind of guy who goes running back home to—”
“Hey, we’re the brotherhood, remember? We stick together and we look out for our own.”
“That’s...that’s good to hear. Really good. See you soon, bro.” Zeke disconnected the call. He’d been a lone wolf all his life, even while he was a foster kid at Thunder Mountain. He’d vowed that once he was capable of living on his own, he’d make sure he never needed anybody.
But the torn rotator cuff had punched a big hole in that plan. For the time being, he’d take the job offered to him and be grateful, even if it chafed that he’d been brought so low that he required help. In the future he’d plan better so that wouldn’t happen again.
* * * * *
Want more heroes from the THUNDER MOUNTAIN BROTHERHOOD? Watch for the next book in Vicki Lewis Thompson’s miniseries, SAY YES TO THE COWBOY, coming July 2017, only from Harlequin Special Edition!
Keep reading for an excerpt from THE CHASE by Vanessa Fewings.
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A rising star art investigator finds herself captivated by Icon, an enigmatic international art thief whose heists are methodical, daring, baffling. To Zara the case is maddening—bordering on an obsession. She finds distraction in the arms of a magnetic American billionaire but, as she surrenders to his captivating allure and glamorous world, she must determine if it’s the real thing...or just a convincing forgery?
Enjoy a sneak peek of THE CHASE, the first book in the ICON series by USA TODAY bestselling author Vanessa Fewings.
The Chase
by Vanessa Fewings
My gaze fixed on the living, breathing sculpture.
My heartbeat quickened as I searched my memory for where I knew him from. I was awestruck by this breathtaking Adonis, who was reaching for a white shirt hanging on the back of a chair. He was tall and devastatingly handsome in a rugged kind of way. Thirty, maybe? Those short, dark golden locks framing a gorgeous face, his three-day stubble marking him with a tenacious edge and that thin wry smile exuding a fierce confidence. His intense, steady glare stayed on mine as he calmly pulled his arm through a sleeve and covered that tattoo before I could make out more.
A gasp caught in my throat as it came to me that we’d never actually met, probably because this was Tobias William Wilder, a billionaire. He moved in the kind of refined circles one would expect from a business magnate and inventor who owned TechRule, one of the largest software companies in the world.
And I’d given this playboy mogul his very own peep show.
I’d read an article on him, featuring his Los Angeles–based art gallery, The Wilder. It was an acclaimed museum that was one of the most prestigious in the world.
Although I’d imagined one day I might bump into him with the art world being relatively small, but never had I imagined a scenario as racy as this.
“I’m looking for the stairs,” I managed.
“That way.” His refined American accent felt like another blow to my reason.
That alpha-maleness made him look like he’d just returned from a dangerous adventure in the Himalayas or even the jungles of Peru—
A waft of expensive musky cologne reached me with its sensuous allure and did something crazy to my body.
“You might want to put some clothes on,” I said firmly.
“Well, now I’m dressed.”
Yes, he was, and this was a changing room, apparently, and I’d not exactly represented a pillar of virtue.
“Well that’s good.” I swallowed my pride. “Please keep it that way.”
His gaze lowered to my feet.
And I remembered my strappy stilettos were flirtatiously dangling from my left hand, those spiked heels hinting at a sexy side I wished I had.
Intrigue marred his face, and then his expression softened again as his jade gaze returned to hold mine.
I left in a rush—
Shaken with just how this man had affected me merely with a smile.
I felt an inexplicable need to run back in and continue to bathe in the aura of the most enigmatic man I’d ever met.
Will Zara risk it all when she finds herself on a collision course with danger and desire? Find out in THE CHASE by USA TODAY bestselling author Vanessa Fewings, available June 2017!
Copyright © 2017 Vanessa Fewings
ISBN-13: 9781488014314
In the Cowboy’s Arms
Copyright © 2017 by Vicki Lewis Thompson
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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