by Delta James
* * *
Sierra returned home and once again put Joker away. Charlie must have been waiting for her as he came to join her.
“Ruth and I have talked and I’ve talked to the boys as well. We think you ought to fight this will. This place is your birthright and your daddy had no right trying to back you into a corner and force this thing with Ryder.”
Sierra gave him a sad smile. “Charlie, you tell the boys and I’ll tell Ruth, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for having my back. But I know Martin Scott and I know my father; if there was any kind of legal loophole to get out of that damn caveat, they’d have found a way to close it. Whatever it is my father wanted, he thinks he’s got me trapped. But he doesn’t. We just have to make nice for the next year. Then Ryder Malone will truly be a part of our past. I can endure anything for a year, Charlie. And who knows, maybe he can bring something to the table. I know Crooked Creek was about to go into foreclosure before he came back and he’s got them back on solid financial ground.”
“Only if you’re sure…”
She reached out and touched his arm. “I am. There’s been a Morgan running the Flying M for almost two centuries. I’ll be damned if it’s going down on my watch.”
Charlie smiled. “You’ll make your ancestors proud. I have no doubt about that. You just let me know what you need; I’ll get it done.”
“Thanks, Charlie. I’m going to head up to the house. I’m going to take tomorrow off as well.”
“Any area I should make sure Malone is steered away from?”
Sierra grinned. Very little escaped Charlie Lawson’s notice. “Yes, if you could keep him away from the western borders and out of the high country on that side of the ranch, it might be best.”
“Consider it done.”
Sierra headed up to the house. “Hey, Ruth,” she called as entered the kitchen. Ruth came out of her suite and hugged her tight. “It’s okay, Ruthie. It’s all going to be fine. I ran into Charlie out in the barn. I’ll tell you like I told him. I love you all for being in my corner, but we’ll just put up with my ex for a year and then get on with our lives.”
“If you’re sure.”
“I am. We’re all going to be fine. The Flying M has been through worse than Ryder Malone; we’ll get through this. It’s been a long day and I have a lot to do tomorrow so I’m just going to go upstairs and maybe read a little, surf the net, or watch some TV.”
“You do that, honey. I’ll bring you up a tray with some stuff you can nibble on for the rest of the day. You haven’t had enough to eat today.”
Sierra smiled at her. “If it’ll keep you from fretting.”
“It will.”
“Then I’ll just graze my way into the night. And if there were any leftover hand pies and they made it onto that tray, I’d make sure they didn’t go bad.”
Ruth grinned. “Sweet or savory?”
“Both!” Sierra ran up the stairs and flopped down onto her bed. I don’t know what you were thinking, Daddy, but I’ll get through this next year and send your flunky packing. You raised me to run this ranch and I mean to do it… Ryder Malone be damned.
* * *
Ryder headed into town. He’d been meaning to make both a grocery run for himself and to hit up the feed store to tide them over until the hay and feed for the winter could be delivered. Ryder went through the grocery store and picked up the items he needed for the next few days. He hadn’t decided for certain but he was leaning toward moving to the Flying M before month’s end. It wouldn’t be a popular decision but he needed to maximize the time he could force Sierra to spend with him.
Sierra. Her grief and hurt from her father’s will had been palpable. Ryder knew she’d take all that emotion that she didn’t want to deal with and turn it into something she knew all too well… anger. Ryder knew she was furious with him, but at the moment she was even more angry with her father. That would only sustain her so long, then everything she was avoiding feeling was going to come crashing down around her head. He wanted to make sure he was close by to help her start to heal.
The problem with taking up residence at the Flying M was that it left his ranch without a foreman or any lead-position person in residence. The men he’d hired were good men and had some experience. But they needed someone to lead them day in and day out or they were likely to fall apart. His buddy Andy might have the ability, but he was going to need to be groomed for a leadership position. Ryder had been thinking for a while that what he needed was a man like Charlie Lawson. In that moment he knew what Crooked Creek needed—not a man like Charlie Lawson, but Charlie Lawson himself. That would leave Ryder free to stay at Flying M and be a part of the day-to-day operations and in constant contact with Sierra as well as give him someone at Crooked Creek to keep the positive momentum going.
Ryder loaded his groceries into the cab of his truck. He could have sworn people were looking at him funny. Could word of John Morgan’s will have already hit town? He shook his head. That was a stupid question… of course it had.
By the time he got to the feed store, people were whispering and pointing. He paid for the feed and backed his truck up to the loading dock. Once he was done, he headed back for Crooked Creek. He pulled into the barnyard and helped the one person who’d been left at the ranch unload the feed. Parking his truck out of the way, he went up to the house and took his groceries into the kitchen.
Ryder went into his office and went through the emails that had come in as well as the daily mail and the latest financial statement. By the time he looked up for dinner, the sun had started to set. He heated a can of soup and stepped out onto the front porch with the bowl in his hand. It was cold, colder than it should have been and the air felt still and dry. Even though it was too early for snow, Ryder thought it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if they had snowfall before the week’s end. They’d been predicting a cold, hard winter. Both ranches were prepared and all of the livestock had been brought down from the summer pastures.
Ryder rolled into bed, thinking that he had taken the first steps toward sharing a bed once again with Sierra. He had fond memories not only of making love to her repeatedly throughout a night, but of being snuggled up next to her to actually sleep. She had always been soft and warm and smelled of lilacs and wild honey. He fell asleep with a smile on his face and had several erotic dreams starring his sultry cowgirl.
* * *
Sierra had spent the remainder of the day nibbling on all the goodies Ruth had brought up for her, making sure everything was set for tomorrow. Once that was done, she’d amused herself by thinking of all the ways she could make Ryder Malone’s life miserable for the next year. That had caused her to giggle several times. She had to find a way to annoy him, without giving him an excuse not to sign off at the end of the year or to cause the ranch any harm.
As much as she loved her, Sierra knew that she couldn’t depend on Ruth to make Ryder’s life miserable. He was far too smooth and charismatic and had always been able to wrap any woman he wanted around his little finger. As one who’d been wrapped and then come undone when his true nature was revealed, Sierra was immune to his charms.
Sierra focused on the task ahead tomorrow. There would be five riders and forty horses. That was going to be difficult but not impossible. They’d have to make sure they had control of the stallion and the lead mare. If they could keep those two horses moving in the direction they wanted, most likely the rest of the herd would follow along. They’d need to put the two strongest riders on either side at the front of the herd, two more toward the back, and a drag rider to pick up the stragglers. The two riders toward the back of the herd would need to watch to ensure the middle didn’t collapse into itself.
The good thing was that it was pretty much a straight shot to the canyons that ran through the Bitterroot Range and up into the Flying M’s summer pastures. Once the herd had time to settle after being rounded up, they would need to be moved to the protected ground she’d found. They’d need a lar
ger group of riders to move them south and into Wyoming on to federally protected land.
Feeling good about her plans to protect the roan stallion’s herd and to bedevil Ryder Malone, Sierra crawled into bed and closed her eyes. The only thing that kept her from falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow was the memory of hearing her father whisper again that he’d left her in good hands. Her dreams were a mixed bag—including an incredibly erotic dream/memory of a stormy night she’d spent with Ryder in one of the line shacks that were dotted all over the panhandle.
Chapter Eight
Five years ago
Sierra had persuaded Ryder to go for a ride to get a brief respite from everything that was leading up to their wedding. They’d left in the late afternoon planning to be gone just until dusk. As was known to happen, a sudden thunderstorm blew in from out of nowhere. Having grown up on the Bitterroot range, they both knew the location of the closest line shack. They were able to get to the rustic lean-to and cabin before the storm hit in earnest but not before their clothes were soaked through.
Leading the horses into the lean-to, they’d unsaddled them and found dry hay to give them to munch on. Sierra positioned the water trough so it was half under the lean-to and half out. That way the rain could fill it and the horses would have fresh water. They took their gear into the shack so that it could dry out and they’d have the food Sierra had packed in their saddlebags.
Entering the shack itself, Ryder had gone to the fireplace and built a fire. One of the unwritten rules of the range was that you always left the line shack with plenty of dry firewood so that the next person trying to get out of the weather had a way to keep warm. You always replenished whatever you used so that the next person also had what he or she needed to build a fire quickly.
“You’re soaked. You should probably get out of those clothes,” said Ryder, grinning at her.
“I’ll bet you say that to all the girls when you conjure up a storm while out on a trail ride.”
“If you will think back, Miss Morgan, it was your idea to come riding. I think if anyone is trying to get anyone out of his or her clothes, it’s you trying to get me naked again so you can have your way with me.”
Sierra had giggled. “Hmmm. You might be right. We really do need to get out of these wet clothes and set them out to dry in front of the fire, but that’s going to mean we won’t have as much space by the fire to keep ourselves warm.”
“Are you suggesting that we share body heat?” he’d said, drawing her into his embrace.
Sierra had shucked out of her shirt and bra, revealing her ample ivory breasts with their large dusky areolas and erect nipples. She followed his gaze down to her chest and giggled again. “As you can see, I’m very cold. You’re going to have to work hard to heat me up.”
He’d chuckled as he unzipped her jeans and pushed them down past her sweet backside. “You do realize, Miss Morgan, that you forgot to put on any panties, don’t you?”
She wiggled out of her wet jeans until she was standing completely naked. “I didn’t forget, Mr. Malone. I just figured it was one less thing for you to have to get out of the way before you fucked me.”
He laughed out loud. “So, you admit you planned to get laid when you talked me into this ride?”
“I didn’t think it was much of a secret. After all, I did invite you for a pleasure ride, didn’t I? And don’t you always tell me your most pleasurable rides are the ones you have between my legs?”
He laughed again and stripped quickly so he was as naked as she. He laid out their clothes so they could get dry and made a makeshift bed for them in front of the fire. He returned to her, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her waiting mouth. He continued to allow his tongue to plunder her mouth’s recesses as he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the blanketed pallet he had laid out.
“You’re right. You are the best ride of any kind I’ve ever had. Nothing compares to feeling my cock slip into your pussy and hearing you moan in pleasure.”
Sierra had been a quick learner when it came to sex. Ryder had often teased her that she had been the most willing pupil he’d ever had. She had responded by punching him and demanding to know just how many virgins he’d deflowered. He laughed at her old-fashioned term. Then he assured her that while there may have been others in his youth, hers was the only one he’d ever truly wanted to claim and the last one he ever intended to have.
She wrapped her hand around his hard cock. “Now that feels nice and warm,” she purred.
Ryder couldn’t say much as his mouth was full of one of her breasts as he suckled her. His hand was playing with her other nipple, flicking it with his thumb and then rolling and pinching it. Sierra moaned and whispered his name. He rolled her onto her back and settled himself between her legs, removing her hand from his cock. “It’ll be a lot nicer and a whole lot warmer as soon as it gets into that wonderful wet pussy of yours. And you are wet for me, aren’t you?”
He didn’t wait for her to answer but slipped two fingers up into her waiting channel and began to pump them in and out. As he had guessed, she was dripping wet and not from the rain. He chuckled as she started to orgasm. He loved the ease with which she came. She was so responsive and climaxed easily and always several times. There was no doubt in his mind, the woman he would soon call wife was the hottest piece of tail he’d ever had and he got to have her for the rest of his life.
“Ryder,” she groaned. “Please, baby, don’t keep me waiting. I need you.”
“I know, Sierra, but not nearly as much as I need you.” With that he had positioned himself at the entrance of her core, cupped her bottom in his hands, and sunk his entire length into her heated passage. “Jesus. How did I live without fucking you daily?” he asked in true wonder.
It was true. He woke up hard for her. He went to sleep hard for her. He got hard for her every time he saw her or thought about her. It didn’t seem to matter how many times he got to fuck her. The need seemed to increase with each time he had her as opposed to abate. They had taken to trying to find a way to have sex at least daily and more often if they could. She always seemed disappointed if they couldn’t figure out a way to be together. Ryder often shook his head when he thought about what her father would do to him if he ever caught him climbing up the side of the house and into Sierra’s bedroom.
Ryder began to stroke her long, hard, and slow. He loved how she reveled in the pleasure he gave her. She was wild and abandoned. There was nothing shy, reserved, or quiet about the way she responded to him. She clutched his upper arms and tried to wrestle her hips away from him. She knew that if she moved with him as opposed to him being able to hold her still while he stroked her, he would come more quickly. The fact was as much as Sierra liked to fuck and easily as she achieved her own orgasms, she was never truly satisfied until she felt him thrust that one last time with great power and felt him release his seed into her.
“Ryder, please take me.”
He chuckled. He loved it when her need overtook her and she began to beg for him to find his own release deep within her. What she didn’t seem to grasp was that the pleasure he derived from feeling her pussy contract around his cock when she climaxed was like nothing he’d ever experienced. It wasn’t until she became so frustrated that she went from grasping his upper arms to clawing at his back that he finally relented and drove into her repeatedly at a much harder and faster pace. Sierra found her last release when he finally thrust home and emptied himself into her.
“Hang onto me, baby. I’m going to roll over and want to stay up inside you.”
She complied and wrapped herself around him, moaning with delight when he changed their positions. He swatted her behind.
“You, Miss Morgan, are a very naughty fiancée.”
She giggled. “Really? What are you going to do about it?”
“I supposed I’ll have to spank your naughty bottom and fuck you for the rest of your life.”
She giggled again and sigh
ed contentedly.
He pushed the hair off of her face and kissed her gently. “I love you, Sierra. Promise me you’ll never forget that.”
“I won’t. I love you too.”
Chapter Nine
Present day
The morning light crept through the window of Sierra’s bedroom. The sun had only begun to clear the eastern horizon. This time of year, the weather could be tricky. A clear morning could mean a beautiful, temperate day or it could be beautiful, but bitter cold. And in the panhandle, it could change rapidly and with little warning.
Sierra rolled out of bed and grabbed her old chenille robe. Ruth teased her constantly that she needed a new one. Granted the robe was threadbare in spots, but it was comfortable and since the only people who ever saw her in it were Ruth and occasionally Charlie, Sierra opted not to bother. She padded downstairs and started the coffee. She didn’t drink coffee, but her father and Ruth did and Charlie always joined them for breakfast. Sierra liked to think that having it made or making it when anyone came into the kitchen gave a little lift to their morning.
Sierra reached in the fridge, grabbed a cold Diet Coke and poked around to find some kind of leftovers to have for breakfast. She wasn’t a big breakfast food kind of girl and preferred just to reheat something from the night before. Finding some leftover meatloaf, she quickly made a sandwich and disappeared back upstairs before Ruth was up and about.
Today was the day she was to meet with the four other riders and move the roan stallion’s herd from its current location on the open range to one of the Flying M’s upper pastures. They’d be there for a week or two at most and would then be moved to protected ground to hopefully live out the rest of their days in freedom.