16
I tilt my phone and look at the photo on the screen. Colton, who looks more like a floppy-haired surfer than a young hired-hand, leans up against the barn, boots kicked out like a country singer.
“That’s perfect,” I chirp, glancing up. “But how about one more?”
“Sure thing, Miss Ruby.” Colton adjusts his flashy belt buckle and scuffs his heels in the dirt. The soft nickers of the horses make up our background noise.
Today’s job duties include snapping photos of each employee to profile for Runaway Ranch’s Instagram feed. I plan to build up a solid cache of photos and social media posts to give to Charlie for when I’m gone.
I wipe my brow and scan the ranch. On this Saturday, the ranch is bustling with new groups arriving and others leaving.
The blazing sun sits high in the sky, and even the cool breeze can’t stop the sweat rolling down my brow.
I wave at Wyatt, returning from an early-morning ride.
This morning, he and a handful of guests headed out to get acquainted with the horses and wranglers.
The ranch seems busier than when I first got here, but maybe that’s wishful thinking.
I flush when I glimpse Charlie exiting the lodge, the two-way radio in his hand.
At the very sight of him, my heart is a riotous pump. Maddening.
Compelled to catch him in his element, I raise the camera and snap a photo. I smile at his stoic expression, then bite my lip at the slow pulse of warmth in my core.
He’s so damn handsome.
And for the past two weeks, he’s been mine.
I hold my breath, waiting for him to look my way, but he disappears into the Bullshit Box.
Damn my disappointment.
Damn my heart.
It’s a slow burn, this game we’ve been playing.
We meet at night, on lunch breaks, or whenever we can sneak away.
Giving our hearts a distraction to sink into.
Barely able to keep our hands, our lips off each other, Ever since Charlie offered to help me with my to-do list, good sex is the only item we’ve crossed off.
Over and over again.
I never spend the night. That’s too dangerous. Because the once-in-a-lifetime feelings Charlie Montgomery gives me make my heart beat faster than SVT ever could.
We’re temporary. But it doesn’t detract from what we’re doing.
Sex. In his plush bed, in that gorgeous room. His muscular arms wrapped around me, his calloused hands dragging their way up my spine, over my curves.
Sex. Good sex.
Still, I know myself, and I know my heart. If I keep doing this, I’ll fall for him.
If I haven’t already.
I get hopeful when I see Charlie, thinking he might actually care.
I love when he half-smiles at me like it takes everything out of him.
His intense, broody gaze when we catch each other around the farm.
But most of all, I love how he’s been slow and sweet with me.
This rugged cowboy has the gentlest hands in existence.
I close my eyes. I should call it off.
My end goal is California. Living my life to the fullest. Not giving up my heart.
Even if it feels so damn good.
Jumping into bed with Charlie Montgomery is just one check off my bucket list.
And when it’s over, I disappear. There is no need to tell him about my heart. No need to pretend this is anything more than a summer fling.
“You do all of this for the internet, huh?” Colton’s cheerful voice snaps me from my daze. “Run all those accounts?”
“I do. It’s my job.” I wipe my screen off, sticky from humidity. “The goal is to keep doing this until we get the ranch booming.” I smile and raise the camera. “Strike a pose.”
He gives me an adorable aw-shucks grin, fingers through his belt loops, in a classic cowboy pose. “Perfect,” I chirp, snapping the camera. “Got it.”
“And how long is that?”
Examining the photo, I murmur, “How long is what?”
“How long you sticking around for?”
I give him a small smile. “August. By then this place should be hopping.”
I have confidence this will work. I have to. I love this ranch, and I see how much Charlie loves it. After a month here, I have a good handle on the inner workings of Runaway Ranch and its people.
Davis, who is always in that red brick building training his dogs, barking his commands, keeping them to heel, but also giving them a shelter when they’d have none.
Ford, knocking baseballs into the pasture with any kid who dares to take him on, can fix anything on the ranch, whether it’s a tractor or a truck.
And Wyatt’s never without a cowboy to train, running his workshops in the evenings. His sharp shouts of instruction carrying across the pasture.
It all feels like mine. For the summer, at least.
As Colton adjusts his position, a shiny glint catches my attention. His silver and gold belt buckle shines in the sun.
“I like your buckle,” I say. “It’s bright.”
Colton laughs and pulls a can of Skoal from his back pocket. “Graduation present.”
“Thanks for the pictures,” I tell him. “You’re free.”
“See ya, Miss Ruby,” Colton calls over his shoulder as he lopes off.
I wave over the next cowboy, waiting for his glamour shots.
Sam Hopkins, the cattle foreman, stomps my way.
Disdain fogs his leathery face as he grudgingly settles next to the barn.
I smother a smile. By now I’m used to people hating on social media.
Don’t get me wrong, it has its negatives, but if it can bring people together and help small businesses, well, that’s the kind of goal I love.
“You need me to pose, sweet thing?” he drawls. His gaze skates over my legs, stopping at my breasts.
“Just a smile, thanks.”
Angling my camera, I back up to get a clear shot.
Too far.
The backs of my legs hit the round galvanized steel water tank the horses use for their water. Tottering, I half-turn, bracing a hand on the tank’s sun-warmed side to steady myself.
That’s when my gaze lands on something white.
Something in the water.
Logs.
Not logs.
My eyes widen. My heartbeat races in my chest.
Bones.