True Blue Cowboy

* * *

THREE DAYS HAD PASSED since Beth had discovered Mack was an employee at the dude ranch—how they’d managed to avoid each other was a miracle in and of itself. Then again, she’d taken all her meals in her cabin to increase her odds of not crossing paths with the cowboy. Nights were another story. As soon as her head hit the pillow, Beth’s mind raced with thoughts of Mack. And when she finally drifted off, visions of their night in the motel plagued her sleep, and each morning she woke emotionally exhausted.

Twice she’d walked down the path to Dave’s office to thank him for the use of the cabin and notify him that she was leaving. But her feet had a mind of their own and she’d ended up meandering away from main ranch quarters as she was doing right now. She stopped at the entrance to the barn then glanced at the parking lot. Mack’s truck was missing among the vehicles. Maybe she’d sneak inside and visit the horses.

“Hoss?” She waited for her eyes to adjust to the dimness.

“In the storage room.”

She passed by the empty stalls, the scent of fresh hay and grain surprisingly pleasant. “I thought I’d visit the horses but—”

“Jake let ’em out to graze.”

She exhaled quietly.

“You bored, missy?”

“Maybe a little.”

“Mind if I ask a personal question?”

Other than introducing themselves, she and Hoss hadn’t exchanged more than a “thank you” or “you’re welcome” all week. “Sure.”

“What’s goin’ on between you ’n’ Mack?”

Had Mack mentioned their one-night stand to the ranch hand? “Nothing. Why?”

“You don’t eat in the dining hall with the rest of us.”

“I’ve been working right through dinner.” That was partially true. One day this week she searched the internet for employment opportunities while she ate her supper.

Hoss’s rheumy eyes latched on to her and she worried he could see clear through to her soul. “Mack hasn’t cracked a joke all week.” He removed a towel from the shelf and wiped his hands. “Acts like a man who’s—”

“Hoss, don’t you have better things to do than bother the guests?”

Mack lounged in the doorway as if he didn’t have a care in the world. How long had he been standing there?

“Guess I’ll take a few carrots out to the horses.” Hoss left the room, his shuffling footsteps echoing through the barn.

Mack unnerved Beth. She hadn’t seen this serious side of him the night they’d met. Then he blinked and for a split second she saw a wounded look in his eyes before it vanished.

“Wait.” Could it be that he’d asked for her number because their night at the motel had been more than just sex for him? Beth’s heart raced with hope...then dread.

You’re not the Beth he took to the motel room.

She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. That night had been the worst-best mistake of her life. “Mack, this isn’t going to work.”

He glanced up, his brown eyes devoid of emotion. “What are you talking about?”

“Us...together at the ranch.” She scuffed the toe of her athletic shoe against the floor. “I’ll tell Dave that I’m leaving in the morning.”

“You don’t have to go.”

“But you don’t want me here.” She’d find some other place to hole up. Maybe even return to the El Rancho Motel and rent the same room she and Mack had slept in. It would serve her right after going off the deep end and celebrating her divorce with a night of hot sex with a stranger. That ingenious plan sure had backfired.

“You’re right,” he said. “But this is Dave’s ranch. He can invite whoever he wants here. Even women I’ve had sex with.”

Beth’s gut twisted. “I can explain...” I think.

“No need. I get it. You were out for sex and—”

She gasped.

“What?”

“You don’t have to be so crude,” she said.

“I call it like I see it. You dolled yourself up then set your sights on me. After you got what you wanted, you walked away without a backward glance.”

Miffed, she planted her hands on her hips. “And I see it like this... You approached me in the bar and unlike my husband, I at least waited for my divorce to become final before I took a walk on the wild side.” She narrowed her eyes. “And the reason I dolled myself up was because men like you never give women like me a second glance.”

“What are you talking about?”

She spread her arms wide. “When it comes to passion and desire I’m no man’s fantasy.”

“You don’t think very highly of yourself.”

She would have fled, if her only escape route hadn’t been blocked by six feet of wide-shouldered cowboy. “I think we should—”

“Pretend that night never happened.”

Forgetting her evening with Mack was the last thing she wanted to do, but she didn’t dare tell him that unless she cared to keep torturing herself.

“Fine,” he said. “We’ll act as if we never met before.”

Beth didn’t know if he was serious or if his bruised ego was talking. Ego aside, how were they supposed to act as if they were strangers—they’d touched and kissed each other in places strangers wouldn’t dare.

He thrust his hand toward her. Warily she placed her fingers on his callused palm. Her chest tightened at the tiny electrical pulses that skittered up her arm. Now she knew she hadn’t imagined that sensation the night in the motel—only it hadn’t been their hands rubbing together that had created the electrifying feeling.

His fingers folded over her hand and squeezed gently. “Mack Cash. I’m from Stagecoach and I work as a wrangler at the Black Jack Mountain Dude Ranch. I also play in a country-and-western band called the Cowboy Rebels.”

He wasn’t joking. “I’m Beth Richards and I used to work for Biker and Donavan as an investment counselor. I’m recently divorced and in the process of deciding whether or not I want to remain in Yuma or move away.”

The corner of Mack’s mouth lifted in a semblance of a smile. “Nice to meet you, Beth. I hope we can be friends.”

This was foolish, but she was at a loss when it came to Mack. “Same here.”

He released her hand and she resisted curling her fingers into her palm to trap his warmth from escaping. He tipped his hat then left the storage room. Mack strolled through the barn, forcing one foot in front of the other until he stepped into the sun.