The Cowboy Way

by Stevens, Melissa

  The Cowboy Way

  Melissa Stevens

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Copyright © 2019 by Melissa Stevens

  Cover design by Sweet ’n’ Spicy Designs

  Editing by Elizabeth A. Lance

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Chapter 1

  Levi took a deep breath and wished for the millionth time he hadn't been forced to open the ranch up to strangers in order to make ends meet as he pulled the SUV into the airport in Casper. He had a half dozen clients due to land in the next fifteen minutes and he was running late. He'd gotten away from the X-bar-Z on time, but there had been road construction he hadn't planned for. The entire time he'd sat on the highway, waiting to be let through, he'd stressed about being late and leaving the client's waiting. When his accountant had told him the bad news and suggested they start taking in tourists to help make a little money, he'd hoped it would be easy.

  Now, he hadn't even picked up the first set of clients and he was already on the verge of screwing the whole thing up. He was ready to pull out his hair as he worried about whether or not he was going to be there on time or if he was going to blow the whole thing and lose the X-bar-Z. He couldn't lose the X-bar-Z. He had more than five hundred acres that had been in his family for more than a hundred years. That he was so close to losing the ranch had him desperate. He was willing to do almost anything to save it, including turning part of the ranch into a dude ranch to host corporate fools who wanted their employees to 'bond' and were willing to pay for their employees to come out and spend a week on a ranch in the middle of Wyoming in order to become closer to each other. Levi shook his head as he parked the SUV in the garage. He didn't understand it, but he would sure as hell take advantage of it.

  He hated being away from the ranch to do this but he knew that the Los Angeles big-wig who'd booked this trip would expect nothing less than the ranch owner to pick him and the rest of his party up. He grabbed the clipboard and laminated sign that said X-bar-Z Ranch from the dash and headed for the elevator, praying he would make it to baggage claim before his new clients did.

  Chapter 2

  Mariah waited her turn to get off the plane, not that she wanted to be here anyway. She'd been forced to come on this trip. Her boss, CEO Chandler Sheppard had decided the top executives of Sheppard Entertainment weren't interacting as well as he thought they should and they needed to 'bond', whatever the hell that meant. She just wanted to be home, going to work and home again, living the life she was used to. The entire idea of spending a week in the god-forsaken plains of Wyoming sounded like torture to her. But Mr. Sheppard insisted it would be fun. It might be his idea of fun, but not hers. She liked her bed, she liked her apartment and her car and she hadn't wanted to leave either.

  Chandler stood in front of her and the rest of their party. Mariah glanced at the rest of their party. She noticed, not for the first time, she was the only woman. How the hell had that happened and how had she managed to be required to attend? Not only was she the only woman, she was the only cog in the marketing team. Why was she even here? If Mr. Sheppard had only thought that four of his executives needed to attend, then why on earth had he paid for her to come?

  She pushed her gloomy thoughts away and pulled her carry-on from the overhead bin and kept it beside her as she waited for the others to start down the narrow aisle. Mariah was in no hurry to see the ranch, the horses, or the misery that awaited them, so she planned to be the last of their party off the plane so she would spend as little time as possible in this god forsaken land of nothingness.

  She trailed through the airport following the men from Sheppard Entertainment without paying any attention to her surroundings. She didn't care what the place looked like, she just wanted to get it over with, go home and get back to her life. The last thing she wanted to do was spend a week riding horses, sleeping on the ground and eating food burned over a campfire, much less having to participate in stupid team building activities that she was convinced were nothing more than a waste of time. When they reached baggage claim, they stood around waiting for their bags to appear and she finally looked around, wondering how they were going to get to the ranch, which she knew was more than a hundred miles away still. There was supposed to be someone here to meet them, but she didn't see anyone. Wishing she were somewhere else, anywhere else, she pulled her phone from her purse and powered it up. She hated having to turn it off for the flight and she'd spent much of the trip fuming about not being able to stay in touch as she was used to. With a sigh, she resisted the urge to tap the toe of one boot as she waited for her phone to load.

  "Ms. Stein, is that your bag?" Jeremy Frost, one of the executives along for this week of torture said.

  Mariah looked up and found the luggage carousel was moving and indeed, her purple plaid suitcase, which matched her carry-on bag was moving away. She scowled at it and considered moving around to catch it, but quickly dismissed the idea, opting to wait for it to come back around. Shoving her phone back in her purse, she kept her eyes on the bags, she wasn't going to miss it again. When it came back around she bent and lifted it off the rack, wishing not for the first time someone would step forward and take it from her. Yes, she was a modern, liberated woman, but damn. The bag was heavy. Once it was off the carousel and she'd set it down, and pulled out the handle and slid the handles of her carry-on down over the extendable handle, lightening the load she had to carry when their ride finally arrived.

  "Mariah, are you ready?" Mr. Sheppard's voice drew her from her musings.

  She looked up and found him, as well as the other four executives who had come from Sheppard Entertainment, all watching her.

  "Any time you are, sir." She plastered a smile on her face and took the handle to her suitcase, waiting to see where they were going.

  "Good." He turned and followed someone she'd not noticed. A tall man dressed in dark blue jeans, boots and a jacket. Jacket? It’s July, why on earth would he be wearing a jacket this time of year? She followed along, wondering now if she'd packed everything she would need. She hadn't brought a jacket or anything more than a couple long sleeved blouses. Trailing along behind everyone, to the door and out to the parking lot They didn't go far before the man they'd been following, who she still hadn't gotten a good look at, stopped beside a large SUV and opened the back gate. One by one he took each of the men's bags and stacked them inside, each of the men moving around the sides of the vehicle and climbing inside as they were relieved of their burdens. Mariah was the last one to h
and off her bag, finally getting a good look at their driver. He was tanned, as if he spent a good deal of time outside, with pale gray eyes that caught her attention.

  "Is that all, ma'am?" he asked.

  "Um." She glanced down, realizing he'd loaded both her suitcase and her carry-on. "Yes, that's all."

  "Great. If you'll have a seat, we'll get started. We've still got a couple hours ahead of us."

  Shit two more hours? They really were headed to the middle of freaking nowhere. She found an empty seat on the passenger's side of the second row of seats and climbed in, thankful the men hadn't pushed her into the middle seat, or worse, into the third row. She smiled at her seat mates, Jeremy Frost and Howard Lawrence, then turned to see the other two executives, Conner Knowles and James Gould sitting in the third row. They didn't look too cramped, but not comfortable either. Mr. Sheppard had taken the front seat, which she'd expected. He was the CEO and the leader of their motley crew.

  Chapter 3

  Levi got all six of the clients loaded into the Excursion and took a deep breath. Now he just had to survive the drive back to the X-bar-Z. Maybe they would entertain themselves. He was hopeful, but wasn't going to hold his breath. He closed the back doors on the SUV and made his way to the driver's seat wondering what now.

  He'd known there would be five men and a woman, but he hadn't expected the one woman to be closer to his age than the rest of her party's. Mariah was her name according to the booking. She looked maybe twenty-five while the men were all north of forty by Levi's estimation. How exactly did she fit with this group and why was she the lone woman, the lone person not in the same age bracket? He shook his head and got in the driver's seat. He started the truck and was making his way out of the parking lot when he spoke up.

  "My name's Levi, I'm the owner of the X-bar-Z where I hope you'll be enjoying the next week. Before we head out of town, does anyone need to stop? Maybe use the restroom or get something to drink? We've got about another two hours before we get to the ranch, where we'll have light refreshments, then we'll show you to your cabins. Dinner will be at six." He glanced at the clock on the dash, double checking that they weren't running too late, and found it to only be a quarter to two. A little earlier than he'd planned for, leaving them plenty of time for an extra stop.

  "I'm Chandler Sheppard, that's Howard, Jeremy and Mariah in the middle and James and Conner in the back." The man in the passenger's seat spoke up. "I'd like a cup of coffee, you all want anything?"

  "I'd take a bottle of water if we can find one," Mariah said. She seemed a little hesitant and Levi wasn't sure if it was because she was somehow subservient to the men or what, he only knew he didn't like it.

  "No problem. We'll stop at a little shop a few minutes from here and you can get whatever you'd like." He drove to the little convenience store on the edge of town, the one he preferred to use, and pulled into the lot. He'd filled the truck with gas on his way into town so he parked in front of the store. "Is fifteen minutes good? That will give you a chance to get whatever you need, stretch your legs a bit then we can finish the trip." He did his best to sound upbeat and happy, he needed to keep the clients happy, even if he wasn't thrilled about having them around.

  Chapter 4

  Mariah hurried to use the restroom, it was plain, but clean, then grabbed a bottle of water, paid for it before heading back outside. No one else was there yet so she wandered the small, almost empty parking lot while she waited for the SUV to be unlocked. There wasn't much to see. They were on the edge of town with only rocks, highway and bushes for miles. And she was stuck here for the next week. Well. Not here, two hours from here in the middle of freaking nowhere Wyoming. With a sigh, she pulled out her phone and checked facebook. Who knew if they'd have signal out in the middle of god knows where.

  Footsteps on gravel alerted her that she wasn't alone any longer and she turned and looked up. There he was, Levi he'd said his name was.

  "Is everything all right, ma'am?" He looked worried.

  "Fine, I'm just waiting for the SUV to be unlocked so I can get back in."

  "Truck's not locked, ma'am. But it might be a good idea to wait anyway, your seat's the one that flips up to let the two in the back."

  Mariah frowned a moment then remembered the way the seat had been divided. It hadn't even occurred to her to wonder how James and Conner had gotten into their seats.

  "All right." She looked up, noticing again how striking his pale eyes were against his tanned skin and dark brown hair cut short and neat. "Tell me, is there signal at the ranch?" She held up her phone in case he didn't know what she meant.

  "In some places. In others the mountains block it."

  "Oh, thank you."

  She would have signal. At least part of the time. That meant she wouldn't be totally out of touch with the world and her friends. Mr. Sheppard stepped out of the little shop with the other four executives right behind him. They went to the SUV and climbed in, each sitting where they'd been before. Mariah resumed her seat as Levi, the ranch owner got in behind the wheel and soon they were back on the road.

  Levi started talking, telling them about the history of the area, pointing out landmarks and keeping his passengers from being bored, but Mariah didn't care what he was telling them. She let the deep rumble of his voice wash over her as she turned her attention back to her phone to pass the time until they got to the ranch where she could at least put on something a little more comfortable than the suit and heels she'd worn for the trip.

  Wishing she hadn't had to come, she sent a quick text off to her best friend Lizette, filling her in on Levi, what kind of name was that? And the nothing that she wasn't looking forward to.

  * * *

  The SUV pulled to a stop at the end of a dirt road Mariah had found smoother than she'd expected. When they'd turned off the pavement she'd braced herself, preparing for a rough, bouncing ride over a dirt road, but the road was well maintained and it had been a smooth ride. Still, she was glad to be able to get out of the truck, which she did almost as soon as the SUV rolled to a stop. Her stomach rumbled and she remembered she'd only had a bagel for breakfast, planning to eat once they'd arrived. What she hadn't planned on was it being an additional two hour drive once they'd touched down in this empty place.

  "Welcome to the X-bar-Z ranch. This is the main dining hall." Levi motioned to a good sized building that Mariah would have guessed to be a barn of some kind. "There are refreshments inside, help yourself. In the meantime, we'll get your bags unloaded and in just a little while we'll show you to your cabins."

  Figuring she might as well go inside and see what there was to eat, she turned for the dining hall and promptly twisted her ankle. Mariah gritted her teeth and made her way inside, doing her best not to whimper at the pain. Three inch heels weren't appropriate on a ranch, she knew that, but they had been in L.A when they'd left. She hadn't planned to be traipsing all over the place in them. No. She'd planned to change into either the runners or the pair of cowboy boots she'd picked up just for the trip.

  Inside the dining hall she found a long table laid out with cookies, fruit, chips and other high carb food she normally wouldn't touch. Weighing her empty stomach against her choices she took an apple then moved on down the table, leaving the executives to eat at their leisure. She snagged a bottle of water from an ice filled tub at the end and found a place to sit.

  After the flight and the drive, sitting wasn't what she wanted to be doing, but she needed to take the weight off her ankle. Tempting as it was, she didn't slip her shoe off or lift her foot into the seat of a chair, she didn't even look down at it. She didn't want to see. It was throbbing enough as it was and seeing it, even if there was nothing to see, would only make it worse. Instead she leaned back, took a bite from her apple and looked around. The room wasn't what she'd expected. One long table, about three feet wide ran down the middle of the room, chairs lining either side, one of which she'd pulled out and now sat in. Without counting, she estimated it wo
uld seat about twenty and she had to wonder how many other groups would be here with them this week. Maybe there would be someone she could flirt with. The week might not be a complete bust after all.

  By the time she'd finished her apple her ankle throbbed less and she hoped they'd gotten the luggage unloaded and were ready to show her where she'd be staying. She was eager to get out of these heels and into something she wouldn't break her neck in.

  Chapter 5

  Levi watched the group head into the dining hall, actually it had been the bunk house, the bunks had long ago been stripped out and they'd only had to do a little decorating and remodeling to turn it into the dining hall. He'd been lifting suitcases from the back of the Excursion when he'd seen the woman, Mariah he reminded himself, twist her ankle. Heels were not meant to be worn in gravel. He started to go help her, but she straightened and went inside as if nothing had happened. Levi went back to work, wondering at people who showed up in clothes more fitting to a board room than the ranch. Not that Mariah was alone. No she fit right in with the rest of her party. The men all wore suits, high end from Levi's guess and dress shoes polished to a perfect shine. She had on a suit herself only not one with slacks, no, it was a skirt suit, designer if he wasn't mistaken, which showed off her pretty little body to perfection. Not that he didn't like looking at her, but he sure hoped she'd packed something more appropriate for the rest of the week.