Country Storm

by Cheyenne McCray

  She grinned at the feeling of excitement that coursed through her. She glanced at Bear, who smiled at the enjoyment that had to be clear on her features. “This is awesome.”

  “I think you’re ready to go for a ride outside the pasture,” he said. “We can save it for next time. What do you think about a ride and a picnic?”

  “Sounds like a lot of fun.” She relaxed in the saddle. “What a difference in how I feel now than I did last weekend. It’s like a switch inside me flipped from terrified to excited.”

  “You look more confident.” He swept his gaze over her. “You’re more comfortable on Angel’s back and your posture is excellent.”

  She basked in the warmth of Bear’s praise and observations. He was the expert and a man who wouldn’t say anything he didn’t actually feel. She could read people, and Bear was an easy man to understand.

  The man she’d killed had been an easy read, which was why she hadn’t wanted anything to do with him. She just hadn’t counted on him following her home to get even with her for telling him to take a hike.

  The pleasure she’d been feeling slipped away at the memory. A burst of anger flared through her that the man had made ruins of her life, even though he wasn’t around anymore. She’d picked herself back up, but she faced uncertainty in her future, all thanks to him.

  “What’s wrong, Rae?” Bear’s tone was firm this time as he asked the question. “You were as happy as anyone I’ve seen, and then you went to upset in ten seconds flat.”

  Her throat worked as she looked away from him. “I’m sorry.”

  “About what?” Bear asked. “Talk to me.”

  “I don’t want to ruin the day.” The words that came out surprised her. She met his gaze. “I promise I’ll tell you about it. Just not today. Okay?”

  He gave a slow nod. “I don’t want to pressure you, but I know you need someone to talk to, and you know I’m here for you.”

  A lightening of the pressure of telling him made her relax a little. “Thank you.”

  “Want to move a little faster?” he asked her. “As long as you stay focused on the horse, I think you’re ready.”

  She smiled. “I’d love that.” She used the reins to give Angel the signal to pick up her pace. Angel did, and for a moment, Rae wondered if she’d pushed her too far too fast. But then she started to enjoy herself again. She pushed away all thoughts that weren’t good ones.

  The beautiful day was filled with sunshine, a sexy man, and a gorgeous horse. Life couldn’t get any better, could it?

  In between Rae practicing commands with Angel, they chatted and laughed as they rode, talking about family and also about the regular and more unusual people she’d met so far in the bar.

  “There definitely are a lot of characters in this town,” she said.

  Bear nodded his agreement. “And you’ve only met a few.”

  She studied him for a moment. “I still think that was amazing, how you handled Bill. He was in again on Saturday night, and he was as nice and respectful as he’d been after his sort-of fight with you.”

  Bear shrugged. “I think you handle yourself well in that bar. Bill just needed a wake-up call when it came to you. I don’t know that it’ll make him any more respectful with other women, but at least he shouldn’t bother you again like he was.”

  “You don’t know how much I appreciate what you did,” she said.

  “It was no problem,” he said.

  Rae shifted in the saddle, leaned forward, and patted Angel’s neck.

  “We should probably call it a day,” Bear said after riding for some time around the pasture. “You’re going to be sore as it is since you’re not used to riding yet.”

  “Okay.” She guided Angel toward the gate. “I’m looking forward to the ride and picnic.”

  He glanced at her. “How’s next weekend?”

  “Sunday would be good.” Rae brought Angel to a halt at the pasture gate. It was starting to feel more natural riding the beautiful mare.

  He brought Roxie to a halt beside Angel. “Ten sound good to you? That’ll give us a chance to ride some before we have lunch.”

  She nodded enthusiastically. “Perfect. I can make lunch.”

  He shook his head. “You brought lunch today. I’m handling lunch on Sunday.”

  Rae smiled. “Then it’s my turn for dessert.”

  “Deal.” He swung down in a graceful movement then opened the pasture gate.

  Rae encouraged Angel to walk through the gate and brought her to a stop on the other side. She waited for Bear to bring Roxie through and close the gate behind him.

  Bear mounted his horse again. “You’ve come a long way in learning how to ride,” he said. “You should feel proud of yourself.”

  “I have a fantastic teacher,” she said, while wondering if she deserved to feel this happy with a man who didn’t deserve to be marred by the ugliness she faced.

  Again, she threw off the feelings. Today was for fun. She’d worry about the bad when she was alone.

  Rae enjoyed brushing down Angel after removing her saddle and blanket, and it seemed that Angel liked it, too. Rae talked with Angel, telling her what a good horse she was and that she was looking forward to their ride next time.

  After she’d been talking to the horse for a while, she realized Bear wasn’t talking to Roxie anymore. She glanced in his direction and found him watching her.

  Sweet heat and more flowed through her as his lovely hazel eyes drank her in. “Are you finished with Roxie?” Her voice sounded throaty as she spoke.

  “I am.” He patted the mare’s neck. “Looks like you’re about done with Angel.”

  “Yes.” Rae wrapped her arms around Angel’s neck and rested her face against her. “She’s a lovely animal.”

  Bear moved to Rae’s side and she tipped her head back to look into the tall man’s eyes.

  He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. When he drew back, he said, “You did great today.” The husky note in his voice sent a shiver through her.

  “I feel like teacher’s pet,” she said, and he laughed.

  They put up and fed the horses, and then she helped him take care of the ducks, chickens, and rabbits.

  The cattle showed up while they were feeding the other animals. She hadn’t had a chance to meet any of the cattle.

  “They’re Herefords,” Bear explained as they stood outside the eastern pasture, as opposed to the southern pasture where she’d ridden Angel. “Herefords have red coats and white faces.”

  She leaned her hip against a fencepost. “Did you name all of them?”

  He shook his head. “They’re not pets so I don’t give them names. I raise them for beef and to sell to the 4-H kids.”

  Rae slowly nodded. “I see.”

  He turned away from the pasture. “Let’s head back to the house.”

  When they walked into Bear’s kitchen, he let Arthur out of the kennel. Rae got down and sat cross-legged, leaning forward to hug and pet the dog.

  “He’s good-natured and friendly.” Rae looked at Bear who had squatted beside her. “I wonder what happened to his family.”

  Bear shook his head. “No telling. I’ve put up signs in town and asked around, but no luck in finding any clues to who he belongs to. Like I said before, he’s thin and he was scraggly when you found him, so it’s likely he’s been on his own for a while.”

  Rae stroked the dog’s head. “He’s looking so much better.”

  “He’s resilient,” Bear said. “It’s hard to keep him settled down, but his injuries remind him.”

  “You’re such a good boy, Arthur.” She held his head in her hands as she looked into the beautiful brown eyes. “Now you just need to prove you can behave around livestock and small stock, and you might find yourself the perfect home.”

  “Ready for the dessert I promised you?” Bear asked.

  She perked up. “Yes.” She scooted to her knees, then got to her feet and Bear stood.

  A
rthur followed her to the table and curled up at her feet as Bear finally unveiled dessert. He set it on the table between them. “Homemade cherry pie.”

  “My favorite.” Rae clasped her hands. “I’m in love.”

  Bear chuckled. “That was easy.”

  “Oops.” Rae’s face warmed. “I’m in love with the pie.”

  “Too late,” he teased.

  “Seriously,” she said as she tried to recover. “You made this?”

  “My sister-in-law, Kit, did.” He flashed her a grin. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You couldn’t disappoint me if you tried.”

  Bear took his seat. He cut slices of the delicious-looking pie and put each on a dessert plate.

  Rae dug into hers. “This is amazing. I’m in love with Kit and I haven’t even met her.”

  He smiled. “We’re all in love with Kit’s cooking and baking.” He explained how she was a chef in L.A. before arriving in King Creek. “You’ll have to ask her sometime how she ended up as a cook for a bunch of cowhands on Carter’s ranch.”

  “Now that sounds like it could be an interesting story,” Rae said.

  She finished her pie and looked at Bear, who was watching her. “I know we just had dessert, but would you like to stay for dinner?” he asked.

  Rae wanted to say, “Absolutely, yes,” but instead she shook her head. “I have some things to take care of at Marlee’s.”

  He looked disappointed but smiled at her.

  She couldn’t help but smile back at him, while wondering why she was letting things go so far.

  Not true. She knew exactly why—she was coming to care for Bear more than she’d cared for any man in her life. “I’m looking forward to our ride and picnic next weekend.”

  “I am, too,” he said. “I’ll have lunch ready when you get here, and we’ll have a nice ride up into the Superstitions.”

  She stood and picked up her plate and his. “I’d better get going.”

  He took the plates from her and carried them to the sink before he retrieved her purse off the coat stand and handed it to her. She slung it over her shoulder and looked down at the borrowed boots. “I have to admit I’m looking forward to getting these things off.” She raised her eyes. “My feet are killing me.”

  “Soak them in Epsom salts.” He walked with her to the door and opened it for her. “They’ll feel lots better.”

  “I’ll buy some on the way home at the pharmacy,” she said. “Are they open on Sundays?”

  “Yep.” Bear nodded. “I’d send some home with you, but I ran out. I need to pick some up.”

  They walked side by side to her car. He opened the door for her, and she threw her purse inside.

  Rae tipped her head to look into his eyes. “Thanks for the wonderful day, Bear.”

  He rested his palms on both her shoulders. “You did great today. I think you’re going to enjoy the ride up into the Superstitions for our picnic.”

  She smiled. “I know I will.”

  He lowered his head and gave her one of the most amazing kisses of her life. Every kiss she shared with Bear was incredible, and she just couldn’t help but feel like they got better and better every time.”

  When he drew back, she had a hard time breathing. “Bye,” she said softly.

  “Be careful driving home.” He pressed his lips to her forehead before sliding his palms down her arms then letting them fall to his sides.

  It seemed like she was always leaving. But the thing was, she kept coming back.

  She climbed into her car, gave him a little wave, then drove back into town.

  Chapter 10

  Rae drove her car across the cattle guard and onto Black Bear Ranch.

  Due to Bear’s schedule and Rae’s, they’d had to postpone their riding date for another couple of weeks, so today was finally the day.

  The original date they were supposed to go, he’d had an emergency with a mare on a neighboring horse ranch. Rae had been disappointed, but during the prior days, Bear had come in each night she worked at the bar, and she’d gone out to a late lunch with him on Saturday, before she’d had to go into work.

  Over the next two weeks, Bear and Rae gone out to dinner at local restaurants, including Ricardo’s. Bear came over to Marlee’s for dinner one night, which had been fun. In between glasses of wine for Rae and Marlee, and a Guinness for Bear, her cousin and Bear told stories about their school years and had Rae in giggles throughout the night.

  He continued to come into Mickey’s on the nights she worked. She knew her face lit up every time he walked through the doors and his expression seemed to do the same.

  She didn’t get a lot of time to spend with him while she worked, but they talked every break and he always waited for her after she got off work.

  Every moment spent with Bear was uplifting. Rae had never felt like this in her entire life. He was such a good man and everything about him made her want to spend as much time with him as she could.

  Sometimes what was bad in her world would intrude and she’d have to force it away with everything she had. The trial date was creeping closer, and with it a sense of dread.

  But not today. She wouldn’t allow anything to ruin her time with Bear. Now she would have a full day with him, just the two of them.

  Bear walked out of the house as she parked and hugged her and gave her a big kiss when she got out. They headed inside the house and she greeted Mervin, Katie, and Maggie. Bear let Arthur out of the kennel and the dog wiggled with excitement despite his injuries.

  Rae rubbed the dog behind his ears. “Look at you. You’ll be running the range before we know it.” She glanced at Bear before turning back to Arthur. “Providing you know how to behave yourself on a ranch.”

  Bear nodded. “He’s a smart dog and I have a good feeling about him. I think he’ll learn just fine.”

  “Can he go with us today?” she asked.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea just yet,” Bear said. “His injuries haven’t fully healed, and we’ll be going out a ways from home. I also haven’t seen if he’ll behave around the horses, so that’s always a concern.”

  “That makes sense,” she said.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  She smiled. “Am I ever.”

  “My sister, Leann, left a hat here that you can use.” Bear grabbed the straw western hat for her and pulled his own low on his brow.

  “She won’t mind?” Rae as she plopped Leann’s hat on her head and adjusted it. The hat was about the right size, so it would work.

  “Nah, she won’t mind.” Bear carried a saddlebag over his shoulder that he’d filled with their lunch and thermoses of water.

  Rae saddled Angel and Bear checked over her work and pronounced she’d done a great job. She felt inordinately proud of herself.

  The ride from the ranch, up into the Superstition Mountains, popularly referred to as “The Superstitions,” was a pleasant one. Rae enjoyed talking with Bear about anything that came up, as long as it didn’t come too close to what she had come to think of as her “secret.” She’d have to tell Bear, but she wasn’t ready, and she didn’t want to ruin the time she shared with him.

  The air was cooler when they reached the forest. During their ride, clouds had built up over the mountains, threatening to bring monsoon rains later in the day.

  Bear found a nice area to tie the horses and lay out a blanket to have their picnic. He slung the saddlebag he’d brought off Roxie and rested it on the blanket. Rae sat cross-legged on the blanket while Bear sat and began pulling out their lunch and the thermoses of water.

  “Barbeque sandwiches.” He laid plastic-wrapped thick slices of bread filled with beef, on the blanket. He pulled out containers of potato salad and cowboy beans and spooned out everything onto paper plates.

  “You made all of this?” Rae set Leann’s hat aside as she looked at the food with surprise. “It looks amazing.”

  “I’m a man of many talents,”
he said with a teasing grin as he set a plastic fork on her plate.

  “So I’m learning.” She smiled and unwrapped her sandwich.

  “Has something to do with being a longtime bachelor and getting tired of boxed meals in college,” he said. “Out of self-preservation, I had to start cooking. Fortunately, Mom taught us how. It was just a matter of putting that training to use, rather than taking the lazy way out, like I had in my younger days.”

  “I am much appreciative.” Rae took a big bite of her sandwich and chewed. She swallowed and used the napkin Bear had laid on the blanket for her. “This is fantastic.”

  “Glad you like it.” He bit into his own sandwich.

  “I have a question for you.” She held onto her sandwich. “How did you get the name “Bear?”

  The corner of his mouth quirked. “I used to read to my youngest sister, Haylee, and she loved the story of The Three Bears. She started repeating “bear” around me because she wanted me to read it to her yet again. My brothers thought it was funny as hell, so they started in and it wasn’t long before everyone was calling me Bear.”

  “That’s cute,” Rae said. “What’s your real first name?”

  “Bart William,” he said. “But I’ve been called Bear so long I might not know who you’re talking to if you call me Bart.”

  “You don’t look like a Bart.” She shook her head. “But that’s probably why your sign at the clinic uses the initial ‘B.’”

  He nodded. “It’s my legal name.” He looked thoughtful. “Is Rae your full name, or is it short for something?”

  “It’s my name.” She shifted on the blanket. “I was named after my great-grandma Rae Fox.”

  They continued to chat about family as they made their way through all of the delicious food.

  After they ate, they stretched out on the blanket and stared up at the sky, which could be seen through gaps in the tree cover. They talked about his work and hers. They never seemed to have a time when they didn’t know what to talk about. Rae found Bear incredibly easy to talk with. He was interested in so many things that she could talk for hours with him and never get tired of it.