When You Love a Rancher: Ranchers Only Series

by Elle Christensen

  Then he strolled away, and I stood there, speechless until he’d disappeared out the door.

  9

  Kyle

  Leaving Maddie the night before had been the second hardest thing I’d ever done in my life. The first had been breaking off that kiss yesterday morning, especially with the way she responded to me. Fucking hell. It had been even more incredible than the fantasies I’d had over the years. But I wasn’t taking any chances with our future, which meant I was going slow so she didn’t run from her fears.

  I greeted her with another steamy kiss in the morning, and when I broke the connection, she looked a little dazed as if she was lost in a fog of lust. Even when the haze cleared and she glared at me, I couldn’t stop the smug smile that stretched across my face. It grew even more prominent when she planted her hands on her hips and huffed in annoyance. She was too fucking adorable.

  “This could be considered sexual harassment, you know,” she muttered.

  I winked at her with a small chuckle as I stepped back to put me out of temptation’s reach. “All you have to do is tell me to stop, baby.”

  Maddie mumbled something under her breath, and I held in my laughter as she turned her attention to the papers on her desk, shuffling them in what seemed like a poor attempt to look busy. I spent the next few minutes trying to get my hard-on to soften at least a little, not wanting to walk around with the noticeable and painful bulge in my jeans.

  Eventually, she sighed and grabbed a set of keys hanging on a pegboard behind her. After shoving them in her pocket, she took a brown Stetson from another peg and put it on. So much for returning some blood to my brain. She looked hot as hell in a black tank top, worn jeans that looked comfortable but fit her like a glove, and scuffed red boots.

  “Let’s get going. I’ll show you around the parts you didn’t see yesterday and get you set up in your office and clinic.”

  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak without saying something about how fucking great her ass looked in her jeans. Instead, I followed her out the door, quietly admiring and lecturing my dick to stand the fuck down.

  We walked to the stables, and right before entering, she halted suddenly and looked at me with narrowed eyes. “You can ride, right?”

  I grinned shamelessly.

  Maddie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Horses, Kyle. Ride a horse.”

  “Yup,” I answered, deciding not to poke her any further. She gave me a sharp nod, then marched into the stable.

  One of the ranch hands gave her a friendly smile—too friendly, in my opinion—and greeted her. “Mornin’, Maddie. You want Leo saddled?”

  “I’ll take care of him, Bobby,” she responded as she grabbed a saddle from where it hung on the wall with several others. “Bobby, Kyle. Kyle, Bobby,” she introduced as she moved toward the stalls. “Bobby, get Vanity ready for Kyle.”

  “Sure thing,” Bobby answered, then he turned to face me. He still wore a genuine smile, but it sure wasn’t the one he’d been giving my woman. “You’re the new vet?” he asked as he gave me a firm handshake. I nodded. “Welcome.”

  “Thanks.” I gestured to the saddles. “Which one?”

  “I got it,” Bobby insisted as he lifted one off the wall. I noticed that his eyes drifted over to Maddie, and when he saw that she was focused on her horse, he deflated a little, ceasing the effort to make his muscles bulge. He glanced at me and indicated for me to follow with a jerk of his chin. He took me to a stall where a gorgeous Appaloosa with a chocolate coat and a white patch with brown spots circling her middle.

  She was munching on some hay but looked up as soon as we were about a foot away. She shuffled to the gate and stuck her neck over it, extending as far as she could go so she could nudge my shoulder with her muzzle. I laughed and ran a hand down her forehead, making her whinny and push it against my hand. “Hey, pretty girl,” I murmured.

  “Wow,” Bobby said with a chuckle. “Do you have sugar in your pockets?”

  I glanced his way, which Vanity didn’t seem to appreciate because she huffed and nudged me again. “No, why?” I asked, continuing to rub Vanity’s head. “Is she not usually friendly?”

  “No, she’s great with people, but I’ve never seen her go after someone’s attention like that.”

  I shrugged and pressed my forehead to hers while scratching between her ears. “I have a way with animals. It’s what makes me a good vet.”

  “I don’t think that’s it, but if you say so.”

  We started working on Vanity together, but after a few minutes, Bobby got tired of her trying to shove him away. He snorted with laughter as he left me to finish. I was just leading her from the stall when Maddie approached, holding the reins of a caramel-colored quarter horse. Vanity suddenly stopped and preened for a minute, making me double over in laughter. “Damn, this girl has quite the personality.”

  Maddie raised a brow and glanced at my horse. “Interesting. She’s usually one of the most laid-back horses in our string. You must bring it out in her.”

  We walked the horses outside before winging up into the saddles. Then we spent the next several hours covering the portions of the ranch that were most in use, places I would more than likely be called to treat an animal if they couldn’t make it to my clinic right away. We ended the tour at an area that was slightly isolated from the rest of the ranch and was near the border to Rose Hill Ranch. There were three buildings, two of which looked like large barns, and a third resembled a good-sized ranch-style home.

  Maddie took us to one of the barns that had a paddock out back, and we left the horses there while she took me around the place. The barn with the paddock had one side set up to house different types of large farm animals while waiting for an exam or treatment. The other side was walled off, and when we entered through the door, I let out a low whistle as I looked around.

  They’d turned it into a state-of-the-art surgical center and treatment room. I’d expected things to be a bit more rudimentary, so I walked around the room, looking at all the equipment like a kid in a candy store. Maddie laughed, and I threw her a sheepish smile. “I wasn’t expecting this.” It was certainly on a smaller scale than the standalone hospitals and clinics in more urban areas, but damn, it was incredible.

  “Well, as we told you in the interview, you’ll be on call for Locke Creek, Ranch Red Hill, and Rebel K. There are one or two other ranches a couple of hours farther from town than even we are, and from time to time, you may treat animals who can’t make it to the clinic in town.”

  After giving me a few more minutes to explore, she chuckled again. “Come on, Ky. You can play with all of your toys later. I need to finish showing you around and get back to work.” I sighed reluctantly, though I gave her a smile and a wink before I followed her outside and into the next barn. Like the first, this one was split into two sections, and it was just as impressive. One side was designed to be a rehab center, also sporting state-of-the-art equipment.

  Since Locke Creek bred horses, the other side was set up as a…reproductive center. It was a safe environment for horses to get it on under careful supervision, so the stud didn’t injure the mare. Last, we went to the house-type structure. Inside were a couple of exam rooms for small animals, though I wouldn’t treat them frequently. My office was located in the back, as well as a lab, and an extra office for any staff.

  “I hadn’t realized you had such a large scale setup,” I murmured as I perused the lab equipment. “It’s incredible.”

  Maddie looked around, smiling proudly. “I hope I didn’t miss anything. I did a ton of research and consulted with some large animal veterinary hospitals in the city.”

  I glanced at her with surprise. “This was your doing?”

  She nodded with another bright smile. “James pretty much gave me a blank check and told me to make sure the setup would prevent the need for us to take any of our stock to town. All three ranches invested in this place.”

  I wandered to my office, walked to the l
arge, L-shaped desk, and dropped into the plush leather chair. I stared at her with a slight frown. It wasn’t that I didn’t love what they’d built, but their scale worried me. “I knew I’d have a few staff, but this will require more than a vet tech and a person to do paperwork.”

  Maddie crossed her arms over her chest and leaned a shoulder on the doorframe. “I know. You won’t be staffed like you would at the hospitals in the city. You’ll have the people with the right experience for the tasks at hand, but most of your employees will be part-time, with a rotating on-call schedule for techs, surgical assistants, etc., twenty-four/seven. When they are on call, they’ll bunk at one of the three ranches. Also, we contracted with another vet to take your place anytime you need a sick day or time off.”

  I leaned back in my chair, my brow raised in surprise and a little awe. “Seems you’ve thought of everything.”

  “If not, let us know, and we’ll see what we can do about remedying the situation,” she said as she straightened. “We hired some beginning staff for you, but James wanted to make sure you were comfortable with who you worked with, so starting Monday, you’ll spend a few days interviewing. We already weeded out the unqualified applicants, those who would require too much training, and a few we knew wouldn’t be a good fit right off. So hopefully, the process will be quick and smooth.”

  Even though the setup and entire situation had me ecstatic, I was also a little shell-shocked. Instead of throwing me a curveball, they’d lobbed a bomb. “Okay.”

  Maddie cocked her head and studied me. “Second thoughts?”

  “Hell, no,” I replied with conviction. “Just taking it all in.”

  She nodded. “Understandable. Well, take the next couple of days and get settled in. We have a temp coming in for the weekend.”

  10

  Kyle

  I settled into a semblance of a routine over the next few weeks. I didn’t see a lot of Maddie during the day, but I made sure to always start by meeting her in the office for a good morning kiss. When I left her with reddened lips, some whisker burns, and flushed skin, I felt slightly better about the time she spent around all of the male ranch hands. Although, when I was called to treat an animal outside of the clinic, there were times when I caught one of them being overly friendly and had to warn them off.

  It was clear that Maddie had a tight rein on her employees, but she seemed to be clueless to the fact that some of them hoped to break the boss/employee barrier she erected. However, they respected her too much to walk through it without her permission. Still, my possessive side took over, and I let them know right away that she was off-limits.

  Whenever I did see Maddie, our friendship often resurfaced, and we forgot the tension between us, laughing and teasing like we used to. However, I used every private moment as an excuse to touch her. At first, she was standoffish and tried to escape, but I wasn’t deterred. Eventually, she began to melt with every kiss, every brush of my hand against hers, and every heated look I sent her way. Yet the stubborn woman continued to turn me down every time I suggested that we spend time together outside of work. Still, it didn’t discourage me.

  I also ended each day with another hot, deep kiss, leaving us both panting and wanting more. It made for a torturous night, but I consoled myself with the reminder that she was worth it. Because she was. She was everything.

  “How are things between you and Maddie?” My fork stopped halfway to my mouth at Helena’s question. I glared at Stone, and he just shrugged, offering no help.

  “Fine,” I said succinctly and went back to my dinner. Helena sighed and drummed her fingers on the table, making me roll my eyes.

  “I’m not giving you any gossip to run over and tell Lia and Rose.”

  She gasped. “I would never—” I cut her a look, and she broke off, her mouth turning up into a sheepish smile. “Okay, fine. But it might be nice to get a woman’s opinion on the situation. I’m just saying I’m here for you, you know.”

  I smiled warmly at her and nodded. “I know, sis. Thanks.”

  Her face brightened as she smiled, and I was relieved I’d said the right thing because she went back to eating instead of pestering me for information. Not that it wasn’t true. Helena was as much my sister as Stone was my brother, and I loved her fiercely. However, that didn’t mean I was going to come to her for advice on girls like I was a teenager.

  After dinner, Stone and I went out to the back porch and watched the sunset behind the vast pastures. For a while, we were quiet, sipping our beers and simply enjoying the peace.

  “Not to pry, but how are things going with Maddie?” he asked, breaking the silence.

  I sighed and took a long pull of my beer. “Slow. I swear she is the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”

  Stone snorted and jerked his chin back toward the house. “I don’t think so.”

  “I’m going to tell her you said that when the time is the most beneficial for me.” I snickered.

  He rolled his eyes and waved off my threat. “Do you want some advice?” I thought about it for a minute, and he added, “I don’t want to butt in, so feel free to tell me to mind my own business. However, I wanted to offer.”

  I leaned back in my seat and stared out in front of me. “Yeah.” I sighed. “I suppose if anyone understands my situation, it’s you.” Helena had put up quite a fight when Stone had first gone after her. She’d been afraid of commitment, and he’d had to convince her to give him a chance to prove they could make it work between them.

  Stone finished his beer and set the bottle on a small table beside him. He glanced back at the house, his eyes probably searching for any signs that his wife was lurking around the door or windows. He seemed satisfied after a minute because he turned his attention back to me. “I wouldn’t make this recommendation to everyone. But I’ve known Maddie for several years and have gotten to know her pretty well. When I look at you two, I can almost see Helena and me. So I’m going to give you a suggestion.” I found myself leaning toward him, eager to hear what he had to say. “Kidnap her ass.” His statement was so nonchalant that it took a minute for what he said to sink in.

  “Do what?” I asked incredulously.

  Stone bobbed his head in a sharp nod. “Force her to face the reality of your situation. Don’t ask or take no for an answer. Grab her and take her home and don’t let her leave until she either gives in to what she really wants or breaks it off entirely and walks away.”

  I thought about what he said, running my hands through my hair in frustration. It seemed crazy, but…it also might work. “What if she chooses to walk away?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.

  “Then you let her go, and you both move on.”

  Definitely not the answer I wanted to hear.

  “But make sure it’s what she really wants before you give up, Kyle,” he insisted. “Don’t let her hide from you anymore.”

  I sat back and mulled over Stone’s advice while I drank the last of my beer. In my heart, I was confident that Maddie wanted the same things I did. She was just scared. My head was surprisingly in agreement. This was probably the best chance I had at getting her to see the truth. To convince her to take a chance on us and believe what I already knew to be true. We were meant for each other.

  “Maybe you’re right,” I finally murmured. I stood, prompting him to get up as well, and we gave each other a brotherly hug. Then he picked up both of our empty bottles and gave me a lift of his chin before heading toward the door to the house. “Good luck,” he called over his shoulder.

  I scrubbed my hands down my face and took a deep breath before stepping off the porch and meandering out to where my truck was parked.

  All the way back to Locke Creek Ranch, I pondered my choices. By the time I reached my house, I’d made a decision.

  11

  Maddie

  Kyle was wearing me down. He was constantly reminding me of how much I’d missed my best friend and how much fun we still had together. However, the b
igger problem I was facing was that I wasn’t sure how much longer I’d be able to hold out before jumping him. The only thing that kept me from giving in was knowing that I wouldn’t be able to ignore my feelings anymore if I slept with him. My fears were controlling me, and I knew it, but it didn’t stop me from letting them win.

  Sitting at my desk, I was buried in paperwork and reminding myself, yet again, that I needed to hire an assistant manager. The door hinges squeaked, and I looked up to see Kyle walking into the building. When our eyes met, he smiled, but the glimmer in his blue orbs that I’d never seen before sent shivers down my spine.

  “Hey, baby,” he greeted me softly as he rounded the desk. He turned my seat to face him and bent over to put his hands on the armrests, caging me in. I expected another one of his mind-blowing kisses, but when he put his face close to mine, it was to kiss the tip of my nose. “Are you about done for the day?”

  Was he going to ask me out again? Because if that was the case, I didn’t think I’d be able to turn him down again. Not when my body craved to be near him, and my heart thundered in his presence. My head reminded me that he was my best friend, and we’d always had so much fun together. It was a losing battle, and to be honest, I often wondered why I was fighting it. Then I remembered why Sam left me. If I ever gave my heart entirely to Kyle, and he got bored with me and left, I’d never survive.

  “Um, yes?” Was I asking him or telling him? Why did he always manage to send the badass inside me into hiding?

  “Fantastic. Come on,” he said as he straightened. He held out his hand for me to take. “I want to show you something.”

  Curious, I let him pull me up to my feet and guide me toward the exit. Vanity was tied up outside, and he stopped at her side and then gestured for me to climb onto her back. “We have to ride there?”