12
E leven.
That’s how many times Ruby gasped on our hike today. Sweet, awe-filled exhalations that had my cock jerking to attention and my heart in my throat.
Even her gasps are adorable.
Like an idiot, I counted every little bright blast of joy from her pretty pink mouth. I thank fuck my brothers aren’t around to haze my pathetic ass. Especially Davis.
Against all my good judgment, I enjoyed today. Showing the ranch to an outsider never gets old. And Ruby—the way she understood it, the look on her face as she took it all in—was pure wonder. I drank it up.
Especially our conversation. Opening up about the ranch.
She pulled something out of me. Something raw and real.
How she does it, I don’t know. All I know is I can’t get around the fact that I’m attracted to her.
She’s drop-dead gorgeous. Her carefree nature radiates.
Every time she smiles at me, I have to glance around to make sure I’m the lucky son of a bitch who deserves it.
And when she wears those sundresses ...
It’s all I can do not to haul her against me and kiss her senseless.
Bad idea.
I started over after Maggie and this is where I’ve landed. The ranch life, my daily routine—it’s straightforward, rigid, and mine. Work from sunrise to sundown. The bar on Friday nights. Family on Sundays.
Distractions can’t happen. Especially beautiful ones.
The end of summer can’t come soon enough.
Frustrated, I trudge across the kitchen, covering up the leftovers Chef dropped by for us. Dusk has fallen, the sun muted as it dips in the sky, and when I look up to the window, my eyes find her.
Ruby’s on the front porch of her cottage wearing a long T-shirt that shows off her slight curves, the soft swell of her breasts. Her bare legs are lean and long. Her hair is a tangled mess of wild waves that tells me she just got out of the shower.
Fuck.
It feels too damn intimate seeing her this way. I can’t think straight. She’s on the phone, her mouth moving, her pretty face amused. Who’s she on the phone with? Boyfriend?Christ, what if she’s still working? I don’t know which thought I hate more.
Don’t care.
Can’t care.
I shouldn’t care. But I do. Even after a week on the ranch, Ruby’s as mysterious as she is an open book. A girl who shines like the sun and smiles at strangers and gasps at flowers and could charm even the Wolfington brothers without even trying.
That girl’s got secrets I should stay far away from.
Her refusal to tell me why she’s here was a good move. I’ll give her that. But I recognize a runner. Hell, I’ve been one.
Don’t let it be a man.
The thought has rage sparking through my veins. My fists clench at my side.
If someone fucking hurt her ...
Just seeing her on that cliff edge today set off a primitive protectiveness inside of me. It wasn’t enough pulling her back to my side. I had to hold on to her.
My chest tightens, and I glance up again at Ruby through the window.
If I told her my truth, I’d get hers.
But the truth about Runaway Ranch gets into why I left, which brings up Maggie.
Which tears open an old wound that’s barely healed.
It’s hard to explain that I had to run to keep myself sane. I’m not proud of it. Hell, I’m not proud of much I did after her death. I put my family through hell. Leaving my hometown. Giving up the rodeo.
I did it all.
And I never looked back.
The truth is ugly. And I sure as fuck don’t want to relive it.
I cover the potatoes, then the macaroni and cheese, and stack the containers on top of each other. I walk to the fridge, open it, and glance back at Ruby.
Is she eating? I haven’t seen her leave the ranch or go to the lodge. She’s here to work, but she doesn’t have to hole herself up in that cottage. Though the idea of her heading out on her own in Resurrection has me bristling. Does she have enough money for food?
Her laugh carries, a sparkling lilt that has my heart clenching. I grab a beer from the fridge and head out to my front porch.
Across the way, Ruby lowers the phone. She lifts her hand and smiles, the bright glow in her eyes catching me off guard.
She’s gorgeous beyond words.
I take a step toward her.
The words come over and have dinner are on the tip of my tongue, but before I can make a move, the crunch of gravel freezes me.
A long black Cadillac drives up the winding road to my place.
Instantly, alarm prickles.
Nothing good arrives at your doorstep at night. Especially in Resurrection. Although the town is safe, backwoods shit goes on. There’s been murders, kidnappings, and drug deals in the past. A year ago, a body was found down by the train tracks. Meth deal gone wrong. Or maybe right.
I meet Ruby’s eyes across the twenty feet that separate our front yards. Jerking my chin, I send her a silent order to go inside . Now.
Thank Christ she does.
I make sure she’s back in the cottage, the door locked behind her, then turn my attention to the two men striding toward my porch steps. One glance tells me they’re the developers Stede warned me about. The suits give them away. So do the dipshit smiles on their faces.
“You lost?” I ask gruffly, setting my beer bottle on the arm of the Adirondack chair.
“Not lost,” Suit Number One says. “Name’s Malcom Moreau, and this here is Neal Trevino. We’re from DVL Equities. Wanted to talk to you about your piece of land.”
Malcolm’s a tall guy with jet-black hair, glasses, and a round face. Neal is stockier, with a shaved head and tattoos peeking out of his suit sleeves. Brain and muscle, I bet.
Ignoring the business card, I cross my arms against my chest. I meet Malcolm’s gaze with a cool stare. “Not sure what there is to talk about.”
“Heard you were having money problems.”
“Heard wrong,” I growl.
“You sure about that?” Malcolm looks skeptical, a sneer on his lips. “Thought I saw some empty cabins down by the river. Wouldn’t be on account of that video, would it?”
My fists clench, aching to punch a hole through this slimy asshole’s face.
Goddamn that video.
With a smooth flourish, Malcolm hands over a business card. “Mr. Valiante put together a number he thinks you can work with.”
I snort at the lowball offer. “The ranch is worth twice that,” I tell them roughly. “And you fucking know it.”
Neal steps in, lifting his meaty hands. “Help us, help you, Mr. Montgomery. As I’m sure you know, this is a desirable piece of property.
Fifty miles from Glacier. Direct access to Bozeman via the pass.
Let us take it off your hands before the bank does.
” He makes a face. “Cowboys like you have had a good run, but sometimes you need the smooth hand of a businessman to really make the land what it’s worth. ”
“Let me guess ...” I look at Malcolm. “You’re the listener. The quiet one who comes up with the game.” I look back at Neal. “And you’re the fucker who’s about to get his neck ripped off.”
Neal smiles. “Mr. Montgomery—”
I take a step forward, making them take a step back. “You think you’re gonna build a gas station, a strip mall on my land? Take your offer and shove it up your ass.”
A muscle jerks in Neal’s jaw. “DVL can make life difficult for you, Mr. Montgomery, or we can make it easy. The choice is yours.”
“It’s a real nice piece of land,” Malcom adds. “But I imagine there are a lot of bad things that can happen on a ranch. Bones break. Maybe a fire. Maybe a horse gets sick. But I suppose that just comes with the territory, doesn’t it?”
Fury boils inside of me. “Where I grew up, you threaten someone, you don’t walk away in one piece,” I growl.
He holds his hands up in mock fear. “No threat. We fight for the land we want.”
“So do I.” This town is mine. It saved me after Maggie, and I’ll be damned if I let developers take it over.
My knuckles crack as I make a fist. My daddy raised me and my brothers to never throw the first punch, but we better throw the last. “Get the fuck off my property and don’t come back. You hear me?”
“We hear you, Mr. Montgomery.” Malcolm’s eyes sweep over the ranch, then back to me. “Others might not.”
It takes every ounce of my cool not to grab the guy by the throat and launch him across the field.
“Go,” I snap. “Now.”
I watch them get back in their car and head down the drive.
Others might not .
What the fuck does that mean? The idea of trouble coming to the ranch makes my stomach churn. How I didn’t slam a fist into that asshole’s smug face is beyond me.
When I turn to go back inside, I catch a flicker of movement.
Ruby.
She’s watching from her bedroom window, her baby blue eyes wide and alert, her lips parted in a question.
A question I can’t answer.
I give her a stern nod to stay put and head inside. But I still feel the heat of Ruby’s gaze on me even after I drop into bed, the bright glow of her sunshine smile following me down into a restless sleep.