Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
“Hey, Dalton, you ready?”
Carter rolled his shoulders, twisted at the hips to make sure everything was loose, and then stepped up.
“Let’s do this.” He didn’t look at the other cowboys who sat or leaned against the split-rail fence.
He tried to ignore them, and the guests, especially his wife, who had been kept on the outside of the fence for safety.
All of his attention and focus was fixed on the lone horse standing complacently in the center of the paddock.
Quicksilver was kitted up with a trick saddle, and was pretending not to notice Carter as he searched the ground for a stray bit of grass.
Phil, one of the few cowboys who’d been on the ranch since Carter’s time, grinned and stepped back, as he gave the horse a slap on the rump to get him trotting.
Carter had a few seconds to think. Did he really want to do this? It had been thirteen years, or close to it, since he’d tried a vaulting mount. He wasn’t a kid anymore, but he’d once been damn good at this sort of thing, and part of him wanted to see if he could still do it.
Or maybe a week without having his wife in bed with him had driven him insane.
Either way, he’d look like an idiot if he backed out now. He took a deep breath, blew it out and then started running toward Quicksilver. The horse was well-trained, and he knew what to expect. When Carter matched his stride and grabbed for the saddle, Quicksilver didn’t shy away or skid to a stop.
For a second Carter faltered, but instinct and memory kicked in. With a skipping step, he threw his leg over and hauled himself onto the horse’s back with one move. A shout of triumph burst from him and he heard someone in the audience whistle.
When his weight settled into the saddle, Quicksilver tried to slow to a walk, but Carter kicked his heels and the horse erupted into a fast trot.
He laughed from pure exhilaration, and guided his mount in a quick circuit around the ring.
When he passed Phil, he threw out his hand to catch the rope that was tossed to him.
It was already tied into a lasso, and Carter took a minute to adjust it in his hand as the horse made another circuit.
Finally, he gave the signal. A gate at the far end opened and a hefty beef cow was ushered in.
For a moment the cow stood there making a plaintive lowing sound, and then the ranch hand gave it a solid smack on the flank, startling her into a run.
Given her preference, the cow would have staggered to a stop and began looking for a place to graze, but the sight of a cowboy riding her way was enough to keep her moving. He began to swing the rope over his head, but it took two passes before he felt comfortable casting it in her direction.
He missed by mere inches. She ducked away, changing her direction, and thundered off. From the audience there was a mix of shouted advice, laughter, and one loud “You’ve got this, Carter!” from his wife.
He ignored all of it, focused on reeling the rope back in and preparing for another try. What had once been second nature, now took real effort. The skills were still there, but they were rusty. He pressed his heels into the horse’s sides and Quicksilver stepped up the pace.
This time Carter stood in the stirrups when he began to swing the lasso. He took his time spinning and when he finally threw it out … it dropped down neatly over the cow’s head. She let out a startled moo and immediately tried to run away faster.
But it was too late for that. He wrapped the rope around his saddle horn and began pulling in the slack.
As he slowed his mount, she was forced to come to a standstill with them.
“Not my fastest work, but not bad considering how long it’s been,” Carter said as he swung his leg over and slid to the ground.
He gave the cow a friendly pat and then released the rope.
She made a snorting sound that almost seemed indignant and trotted as far from him as she could go.
He was laughing as he turned to face the audience.
There was a mix of emotions among the men who worked on the ranch, and he saw money being exchanged.
Clearly there had been some betting that he wouldn’t be able to do it, which was fair. He hadn’t been sure he could do it either. Some of the men gave him a respectful nod as he walked over, others grumbled, probably over lost spending money.
Carter wasn’t greeted like some conquering hero by them. It was nothing they hadn’t seen before, and most of them could do better. Roping was a time-honored cowboy skill after all, and this wasn’t an especially difficult challenge for someone who worked from horseback every day.
But the ones who’d been put off by a guest getting way too involved with actual work were now mollified, which was why he’d decided to risk the embarrassment in the first place. Now they knew he wasn’t just a tourist, at least.
The cheers from the guests did take him by surprise.
Most of them still found it hard to mount without help.
Riding at more than a walk made them nervous, and the idea of trying to do something with a rope while staying in the saddle…
it all seemed like magic to them. As he climbed over the fence he was surrounded by the other couples and the compliments flew hot and heavy, while he ducked his head and muttered thanks.
Allegra shoved through the crowd and threw her arms around his neck as she slapped a big kiss on his lips. “That was brilliant!” she blurted.
“Aw shucks, Ma’am. All in a day’s work for this cowboy,” he said, using a deliberately cheesy western accent. His arms wrapped around her waist, and he swung her off her feet.
She laughed and kissed him again. “I like this rough working vibe you’ve got going on, Daddy,” she said in a low voice against his ear. “It’s been giving me all kinds of naughty thoughts.”
He chuckled. “Has it now? Good thing we’re going to be moving into our private cabins then.” In fact, Ma was waving everyone over with a handful of old-fashioned metal room keys, which jangled merrily over her head as she shook them. They moved over to stand at the back of the group.
“I’m so proud of all of you! I know this week has been rough—not just because of all the hard physical work you’ve been doing, but also because we put a deliberate separation between you.
And some of you”—she looked around at the guests with narrowed eyes—“really struggled with this. Yes, we did notice our dark corners were getting an awful lot of traffic.”
An amused laugh rolled through the audience. It was easy to find it funny now that the separation was over.
“But we had good reasons for it, and I bet some of you have figured out at least one of them,” she paused, raising an eyebrow to the audience.
There was more laughter, and a few guests shouted out answers, mostly funny ones. Allegra remembered the phrase Carter had jokingly used. “Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder!” she called.
It was Ma’s turn to laugh along with the guests. “You got it, kid!”
Allegra pointed at Carter, giving him the credit. “Blame him.”
Carter rolled his eyes and gave her butt a light smack, as everyone turned to look at them. He really didn’t love being the center of attention and ducked his head to hide his face.
Ma just shook her head, grinning. “But you all made it through the week, and I hope each of you have learned a greater appreciation for your lover. As of now … your cabins are waiting for you. I will ask that you, uh, wait to get too involved in each other. We have a lovely dinner planned tonight up at the main house, and I wouldn’t want any of you to miss it. ”
Pa appeared behind her with a clipboard and began calling out last names. As they came up, he checked them off, and Ma handed them a key. Ally accepted it with an excited grin and began dragging him off to find their cabin.
It had only been a week. They’d gone a week without sex before. Not often, it was true, but occasionally when they were both wrapped up in heavy workloads, or sick. But this week had felt endless. “We should wait to do anything,” he warned her.
Ally shot him a look. “Are you kidding? You don’t really think she expects us to keep waiting now that we don’t have to… do you?” Her lips pouted when he nodded.
“Pretty sure she does. Maybe it’s a test?
” He looked at the identical row of storybook cabins with their gingerbread trim.
They were new, since he’d lived there. Probably built specifically for the romance aspects.
Each one had been painted white like a picket fence, but the trim colors came in a variety of pastels, and the delicate lace curtains in the window at the front matched the shade.
“This is so cute!” Allegra said, stopping short in front of the one with teal accents and a brass number eight on the door. She slid the key into the lock and then stopped short in the doorway with a faint sound of surprise.
He gently moved her out of his way, so he could see. After a second of silence, he said, “Wow. This is … not what I expected.” The upgraded bunkhouses had been nice, but this felt like some kind of an elevated reward, and it didn’t match the old-fashioned innocence of the outside.
They moved inside and began to explore.
Between the king-sized bed with padded headboard, and the two-person jacuzzi tub that shared the main room, it had an almost Vegas honeymoon vibe, but with more focus on comfort.
He leaned down to stroke the luxurious bedspread, pleased with the softness of the velvety fabric.
It was definitely not the standard hotel bedding.
White rose petals had been sprinkled across the covers and stood out nicely against the deep wine shade. There was a bottle of champagne chilling in a silver ice bucket by the bed as well. “Glad we followed the rules now?” he asked, turning to grin at her.