Chapter 3
STONE
Beautiful as she is, there's something odd about this girl. It's natural to admire a sunset, but not to stare at it as if you haven't seen one for years.
She's not just a workaholic. There's a lot more to it than that. I'll have to pry that out of her gradually, though.
I turn to where she's sitting at the picnic table on my patio. I brandish the tongs, then snap them like claws toward her nose. "Every chef knows that tongs don’t work unless you snap them in the air a few times first."
She laughs, gradually unclenching. She watches as I turn the corn, then flip the burgers.
"See? That never would've gone so well without the extra snaps."
Her laugh is light. Quiet. "What do you do here?" she asks. "Not to pry, but—"
"Remy, you can ask me anything you want," I state plainly. "Anything at all. I want you to be comfortable here."
She smiles. “Thanks."
"To answer your question, I’m the rancher of Bone River Ranch."
"Okay, but what do you actually do?"
I chuckle. "This is primarily a rescue ranch. We take in horses that have been mistreated. Or maybe their owners have fallen on hard times and can't afford to keep them anymore. Sometimes their owners have passed but none of the family has the means to care for a horse."
I flash her a smile. "As well as the horses, there’s also a small herd of cattle, a couple of sheep, a few goats, and a llama. I have no idea how to take care of a llama, but I'm figuring it out as I go."
"You took in an abandoned llama?" she asks. Then she stares off into space. "Abandoned Llama. That would be a great name for a punk band." We burst into laughter, and her posture relaxes a bit more.
"There are five men with me here on the ranch right now.
Good guys. There's Boss, who runs the property.
Handles the supplies, does the paperwork, all that.
We've got Hunter who wrangles the cattle and helps me care for the horses.
Smoky is our mechanic. He keeps the trucks and tractors running, the feed machines, the auto gates.
The man can fix anything. Even fences – but we all pitch in there.
" I hesitate for a second. "My little brother Cutter just moved here. He's been doing a bit of everything."
Remy nods, then her chin jerks up when a truck pulls into a driveway down the lane. "Are any of the other guys going to be mad that you brought me here?" she asks. "I don't want to get you into trouble."
I snap the tongs toward her nose again. "I own this house and I'm part owner of the land. I can save a beautiful damsel in distress if I want to."
There's something wistful in her eyes. “Remy, has nobody ever told you how unbelievably beautiful you are?"
“No.” Her fair cheeks flush slightly. "And it's not that." She stares off toward the sunset again. "It’s just…the thought of owning a home. She sighs.” That's my dream."
"Is that why you're killing yourself working two full-time jobs?"
She looks up at me with a shy smile. "Yes. You’ve heard of tiny houses? I'm going to buy one of those. Then I can find some land and live completely free. If I want to, I can take my house to a different plot of land.” Her smile lights up her eyes. "No more basements. Ever."
The back of my mind is turning, trying to think of a good excuse to keep her here.
The light bulb goes on as I plate our food. "You’re okay eating outside? I feel like you need as much fresh air and daylight as possible. We’ve got half an hour before the rain."
She smiles. "Sure. It's lovely out here."
Of course it's lovely. She's here. This beautiful girl with the sad eyes and lips that are going to haunt me until my dying day.
I wait until she's taken several bites. "So,” I say. “One of the things about this ranch is that we always have our eyes open for abandoned or mistreated animals. The word has spread through our network of acquaintances."
She nods. "So people tell you when they see an abandoned horse?"
"Yes. Or any animal…well, not treated well as it should be, put it that way." Her eyes are huge as she nods, hearing what I'm not quite saying. Nobody wants to think about animals being mistreated.
"There's a farm an hour away with an old horse who looks way too skinny to my friend. He can't tell how healthy it is, but he’s driven by a few times, and it doesn't look good."
"Can you call the sheriff on the owner?" she asks. "Or animal control or something?"
“That's a great idea in theory, but the reality is that’s a ton of red tape that takes months. Meanwhile, that poor horse needs more and better food immediately."
"So what are you going to do?"
I grin, reaching out and gently poking her arm. "You mean, what are we going to do?" Her eyebrow lifts.
"My friend says this farmer is a bit of an asshole. But everybody loves money, right? We’ll go for a country drive, then pull up to the farm.
My wife…that’s you, by the way…will gush excitedly about how that horse looks just like the one she had when she was little.
Then I’ll swoop in, the big man who wants to spoil his darling, and announce that I’ll pay anything for that horse right now. The farmer will have to sell it to me."
Remy frowns. "So you're going to pay a lot of money to someone who isn't taking care of their horse?"
“The money doesn’t matter. I have plenty. The only thing that’s important is getting that animal to a safe place where he'll be cared for properly."
I extend my hand to her, palm up. When she takes it, sparks flood my entire back, radiating down my arms. The urge to hold her…warm her…feed her…keep her safe… This sweet girl needs shelter from the big bad world. And I will be that for her.
"So what do you say? Tomorrow afternoon, will you play my wife? You’ll have to make up a name for your beloved childhood horse."
Her eyes shine as she smiles. "His name was Prince ClippyClop, and I can't wait to meet his doppelg?nger.”