26
A fter a long day spent picking up bags of feed and waiting to get a saddle repaired in town, I head back to the ranch.
An old country song plays on the radio as I steer my old truck down the winding backroads.
I glance at the buckskin cowboy hat with a blue ribbon tied around the crown in the passenger seat.
A gift for Ruby. That girl needs a damn hat.
While I love the freckles that pop on the bridge of her nose when she gets a little sun, her getting burned isn’t an option.
I check the time and punch the gas. It’s later than I’d like, nearing six o’clock. I had hoped to finish up some chores on the ranch, but now, all I want to do is get Ruby in my arms.
Ever since our ride to the creek last week, she’s become a seamless part of my daily routine.
Mornings, she joins me for coffee in my kitchen. We talk about our day, then we get in some time in with the horses. Afterward, we each break to go about our days. Then, we come together at night.
I don’t know what I was thinking, offering to help that girl ride. Watching her wide-eyed wonder and listening to her squeals of laughter around the horses has a permanent lump lodged in my throat. Riding puts a smile on her face and I want to bust my ass to keep it there.
Or maybe, selfishly, I want to keep her here.
Even if it terrifies me seeing her up on a horse.
But it’s what she needs, and if I’m honest about it, it’s what I need. Ever since Maggie, it takes everything I have to watch a woman on a horse.
But with Ruby, I don’t see Maggie. Because Ruby is not Maggie.
She’s the one girl I never saw coming. And I’m realizing she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
I like her beautiful soul. Her gorgeous face. Her sexy little gasps that have me going hard every time I hear that sharp intake of air. Her wide-eyed sweetness. I want to give her every damn sunrise in the sky.
Hell, I’d take her to California if she asked.
Christ. Is that how far gone I am?
Yes. With Ruby, the answer is always yes.
Slowing at a stoplight, I check my phone. As if on autopilot, my fingers pull up our Instagram page. More often than not, I catch myself scrolling through the feed when she isn’t around. Because goddamn, do I miss her.
The photo she snapped of us is up to three thousand likes. Comments vary.
Y’all did that 100 percent.
You two are beautiful together.
Where are the mountains?
How can I find a cowboy?
But fuck the comments and fuck social media. The only thing I’m focused on is Ruby’s smiling face. I must have stared at it fifty times in the last week.
She looks drop-dead gorgeous in the photo, luminous like the sun, hair blowing in the breeze, pressed into me like she belongs there.
And hell, I look like a happy man.
The thought is like a kick to the sternum, uprooting everything I know. But I can’t ignore it anymore.
It’s more than good sex.
Christ, I gave her a nickname.
She’s my sunflower, causing chaos ever since she came into my life. Chaos I can’t do without.
I tear through the bright green blaze of the traffic light, taking a left to hit the road to the ranch.
There’s no denying it. She wrapped me around her finger with a single kiss. Every day, she lights up my life with a smile. A fucking smile. How she does it, I don’t know. All I know is I want it around me. Because when I’m done busting up ranch work, all I can think about is rushing back to her.
And the closer we get to each other, I wonder if I’ve been fooling myself all this time. Letting fear rule this entire summer. The fear of caring for anyone else, of losing anyone else ...
Of starting over.
Do I want to do it?
Yeah. I fucking do.
As I approach the entrance to the ranch, I ease off the gas. Ford’s truck sits at the end of the creek near the road. I spot my older brother in the ditch, tugging out rotted fence posts. Bypassing the turnoff, I pull over and hop out. Ford grunts a hello, his face shaded under his baseball cap.
Without talking, I pick up a hammer. Despite the back-breaking labor, Ford cussing the sun, we finish removing the posts in just twenty minutes.
I wipe my brow. “Wasn’t Wyatt supposed to do this?”
A nod. “Wyatt’s MIA. Haven’t seen him all day. I might knock him in the mouth. Or the head. I haven’t decided yet.” He jerks his chin down the line of the creek. “Some idiot clogged up the creek bed with beer cans, so that’s next on my list.”
“You call him?” I ask, already picking up my phone and dialing Wyatt.
“Twice.”
It rings and rings, finally switching over to voicemail.
“He could be out of range,” I say. Sporadic bursts without cell service are typical on the ranch. If he’s out of reach, there’s no way to get ahold of him until he moves in closer.
“I’ll head back,” I tell Ford, trying to shake off my worry. “See if he’s there.”
On the short drive back to the cabin, my mind stays on Wyatt. I don’t like it. He dicks around, sure, but it’s not like him to shirk his responsibilities. When we were kids, he was always up with the sun to help me with the horses and our chores.
When I pull into the gravel drive of my house, I spy Ruby making her way back from the lodge. Her dress hem flares out as she floats toward her cottage with a bag of apples in her hand.
Instantly, at the gorgeous sight of her, all thoughts of the ranch, of Wyatt, evaporate.
I throw the truck into park, grab her hat, hop out, and meet her between my cabin and her cottage.
She brightens and bounces over to me.
“Hey, Cowboy,” she drawls, lifting the bag of apples in greeting. “Chef gave me some extra apples from the baking contest.” She leans in, her blue eyes sparkling. “I still think you need a garden.”
I chuckle and shake my head. She’s practically the queen of my ranch.
Fuck. I like that. A whole damn lot.
The thought hits me like a bullet.
She belongs here.
She belongs with me .
Setting the bag of apples down, Ruby nods at the hat clenched in my hand, her red lips parting. “What’s that?”
“Got you somethin’ in town.” I drop it on her head and suppress a grin. It makes her look like a tiny, sassy cowgirl. “You gonna ride right, you gotta dress right.”
She gasps. “Oh, Charlie,” she says, clasping a hand to her heart, joy a charm on her pretty face. She looks up at the brim, then her gaze meets mine. Tears glitter in her eyes. “Thank you. I love it so much.” The breathless appreciation in her voice lands like an arrow to my heart.
Adjusting the hat, she gives me finger guns, then twirls. The hem of her sundress flutters in the breeze and something hard lodges itself in my throat.
“Well,” she says, propping her hands on her hips. “How do I look?”
Like you’re mine.
“Perfect,” I rasp out. “Cowgirl looks good on you.”
She does a slight one-shouldered shrug and flashes a flirty smile. “Well, see you.”
Oh, hell no.
I snag her wrist before she can turn away. “Hey, where you goin’?”
Her eyes widen with that stunning, earnest innocence I’m used to. “Back to work. I’m slammed, Charlie. Your website needs more copy. Not to mention, I have to finish the calendar before the end of the—”
I kiss her to make her stop talking. No more about her leaving. I can’t handle it.
With my hands on her waist, I sweep my tongue over hers, pressing her tiny form against my chest. She clutches my neck and whimpers into my mouth. My cock aches for her. Our hearts thunder as I consume this woman who has me on the verge of insanity on a daily basis.
Right now, right here, is how I want to stay.
With her.
“Come over,” I tell her when we pull away. I slip a hand into her silky tresses and cup the back of her neck. Need has me by the throat. “Stay the night.”
She laughs, looks at me like I’m crazy. “I’ve already been staying over.”
“Stay the weekend.”
I don’t want her leaving.
She shakes her head, peering up at me beneath long lashes. “Charlie ...”
“Pack a bag,” I order. “Don’t argue with me.”
“When?”
“Now.” I thread my fingers through hers, stopping her from pulling away. “Dinner. Whiskey.”
Surprise crosses her face. “You’re cooking?”
“Damn right.” I chuckle. “Not sure what you’ll get, but I’ll wrangle something.”
“Okay.” Her eyes glimmer in the setting sun. “I have to photoshop some photos for the August posts. Give me an hour.”
I grab her around the waist. “Twenty minutes.”
She giggles, throwing her head back, a musical sound that jerks my cock to attention.
“Soon, Sunflower,” I growl, dipping my head to nuzzle her neck. I inhale her strawberry scent. “I can’t get you out of my head. I’ve been without you for less than twenty-four hours and I’m mad. You drive me fucking wild, Ruby.”
I’ve laid all my cards on the table and I couldn’t care less.
She props a hand on my chest to push me away, her face flushed, triumphant. “Don’t you worry, Cowboy. I kinda have a thing for you, too.”
My gaze dips to her plump lips, and I slip a finger under the strap of her sundress. “Baby, I’m already counting the hours.”
Eyes turning dreamy, she kisses me again, grabs the bag of apples, then extricates herself from my grip. “See ya soon.”
Heart thundering, I watch her as she skips up the steps to her cottage and disappears.
Then it’s my turn. I pound up the porch steps to the cabin, my mind already on tonight.
Already on my girl.
“Out,” I growl as soon as I hear the screen door slam.
I glance at the clock on the wall. Any hope of a night alone with Ruby dashed.
I need to move to the goddamn moon. Burn off my fingerprints, pack a U-Haul and get my ass living on a mountainside, far, far out of reach.
Because the last thing I need is my idiot big brothers chiming in on what Ruby and I have going.
Ford and Davis swagger inside with shit-eating grins on their faces and scour the mess I’ve made of the kitchen.
“Really clocking right out at the end of your shift, huh?” Ford lifts a brow.
I glare. “Had better things to do.”
“That better thing ...she comin’ over or ...”