A Rancher's Bride Read online

  He was also filthy, which Kelli had been so eager to point out. But the roar emerging from his belly said it was food first, then a shower. Then he’d have to figure out something to pass the rest of the evening.

  It was just not right that the rest of his brothers had people to spend the evening with and he didn’t—he was the charming one in the family, dammit.

  Luke walked through the kitchen, plugging in his phone and turning on his laptop. He grabbed leftover pizza from the fridge, pulling a stool over with a foot and dropping onto it to check his emails. He ate one piece of pizza cold while the rest reheated in the microwave.

  It was incredible how much crap email a person got daily. There were a couple of messages from his sisters that he marked to read once he had cleared out the mess when his eye fell on a far more interesting subject title.

  Triple Crown Gala.

  A laugh burst free, and he nearly choked on the piece of pizza in his mouth. “Yeah, me and a gala. Good one.”

  Except something twigged in his brain. Why did this sound familiar?

  The message was from a trusted friend. Bertram Cooper was a go-between. He found horses for buyers, or suggested stud placements or training opportunities. Silver Stone had been lucky to count Bert as a friend, and some of their top deals over the years had been brokered by him, so Luke opened the message, curiosity, suspicion and that echo of importance he just couldn’t remember vying for top billing.

  With Bert’s twisted sense of humour, the man was probably setting Luke up for an all-you-can-eat chicken-wing night and pulling his leg.

  Yet when the microwave beeped another reminder the time was up, Luke continued to ignore it because the email was not a tease or a joke or bullshit.

  Bertram had gotten wind of a spectacular event happening in the area and had wrangled Luke an invite. It was a gala. A buyers-and-sellers, by-invitation-only gathering of the elite in horse breeders of North America.

  Not a time with actual horses and cash exchanging hands, but a meet-and-greet with spouses and families, and—

  Luke’s mind raced at the possibilities. For the past while, Silver Stone ranch had been going through some rough weather. They were nowhere near out of the woods yet, even though Walker had topped up the family coffers last fall after some amazing rodeo payouts. The ranch had to take the next step, which should involve the horses Luke had been working on diligently over the years. It was their best shot, and this invitation was a golden ticket falling into his lap.

  He glanced through the information more thoroughly, shuddering at the price tag attached to the event. Thank God it was being held just hours away in Kananaskis Country, which meant they’d be able to drive and not have to fly to Texas or Kentucky.

  A few quick calculations and it was clear that even one new sale would cancel out the oversized price tag, and this gala wasn’t likely to trigger a one-off transaction. These events were king makers.

  Holy shit.

  That’s why this sounded familiar. His ex-fiancée, Penny, and her family had been in a similar situation years ago. The right place at the right time at a gathering very similar to this—and they’d never looked back.

  The gala was exactly what Silver Stone needed.

  The message from Bert was clear and concise.

  Got word of this shindig. Organizers asked me for a couple of recommendations of up-and-coming breeders, and I thought of you. I don’t have to tell you this is a Big Deal event. If I had an operation like yours, I’d be drooling at the opportunity. Feel free to send me a bottle of the good stuff down the road.

  * * *

  Heads up on a couple of things: the group is a bit old school, which doesn’t mean they expect you to bring a wife, but a fiancée is better than a girlfriend. And while they’re up-to-date enough they won’t make you sleep in separate rooms, they do want to deal with family operations. So for fuck’s sake, be sure you bring your fiancée. Don’t let her give you grief on this one.

  * * *

  Best of luck, and I’ll see you soon. I’ve got a couple of requests I’ll send your way come the spring. Touch base if you need anything sooner.

  Part of his brain was analyzing and considering, but Luke’s hands were already moving because this wasn’t something he needed to think about too hard. The gala could save the ranch, so he absolutely had to be there. It wasn’t his fault Bert wasn’t up-to-date on the fact he and Penny had called off their engagement.

  The tip about family operations, though—that was a good piece of intel.

  Luke clicked through the invitation to a Google doc to fill in the required information. The name of the ranch, their top horses and studs to date.

  He got a lot of pleasure out of being able to list animals he’d been instrumental in raising. He wasn’t just blowing smoke out his ass. Silver Stone was one of the top ranches at their size of operation. They just needed a break to move to the next level.

  He filled in his personal history without blinking. It was only when he got to the section that asked for the name of his spouse/significant other that Luke paused.

  Bert’s message had been received. Luke was not going to this gig as a single male even though that’s how everything had been until recently at Silver Stone. Just because they hadn’t been a family with spouses didn’t mean that they weren’t family, but he wasn’t about to argue with already-set prejudices.

  Caleb and Tamara were out. Caleb didn’t like the schmoozing, and Tamara was so sick due to her pregnancy that she’d spend the entire time in the bathroom. Walker and Ivy were out…

  He could contact his ex and ask her to do him a favour, but that was risky. Part of the reason their engagement hadn’t worked was Penny was unpredictable, and he didn’t trust her. A family event meant they would have to at least pretend to like each other.

  They didn’t hate each other. It’s just that they were kind of indifferent, which had always been the problem in their relationship. At least outside the bedroom.

  Nope. There was a far simpler solution, especially when he started thinking about the whole concept of family. Maybe it wasn’t what the organizers were thinking, but as far as he was concerned she was as good as family. He filled in the blank space without a qualm, tapping the computer keys happily.

  Kelli James.

  Luke hit send then got up to add another minute to the pizza in the microwave.

  Hell, Kelli would love to come with him. The honest truth was she’d done a lot over the years to help create what Silver Stone had going, and it would be a great opportunity for her to get to know some key people.

  Plus, it was a holiday. Who wouldn’t want to go hang out at a fancy hotel in the middle of the Rocky Mountains for a few days with no chores?

  Energy surged through him. Getting a new lease on the future did that to a man, it seemed. After he got cleaned up, heck, he might have to head out dancing for the night.

  Luke sent off a quick message to a friend, then settled in front of the TV, clicking through channels until he found something borderline interesting to watch while he ate his pizza.

  Funny how fate could step in and change your entire world when you least expected it.

  2

  Kelli James kicked a clod of dirt down the path in front of her in frustration. It was totally unfair how her body had turned into one enormous compass.

  Anytime Luke Stone was around she all but quivered in his direction.

  She meandered back to the bunkhouse, stomping along the snowy trail to where the light outside her porch shone cheerfully. Her space at the end of a long row of identical motel-like rooms had been home for a long time. Other ranch hands had come and gone in the time she’d been working here, so it wasn’t being the only woman on staff that gave her rights to the best location.

  Even Ashton Stewart said she was basically their senior hand, and the responsibilities that came with that title were something she was pretty proud of. She’d taken on a huge task, and found a place for herself where
she was appreciated and useful.

  Although there were moments she longed for more, having a place to lay her head and be a part of something important—it wasn’t a bad gig for a girl who’d been a runaway.

  She grabbed her shower kit and slipped outside, off her porch to the back side of the building.

  “Heads up,” she warned as she stepped into the steaming warmth of the outer change area.

  “Nearly done.” The masculine reply echoed from around the corner. “You can wait inside where it’s warm if you want. Although, if you want to join me, I won’t complain.”

  Kelli ignored the suggestion as she got her things ready, hanging up her towel and prepping her shampoo and soap. “Alex, you’re not only an optimist, but you’re an optimist who thinks the top half of the glass is full.”

  A low chuckle escaped from the other ranch hand who’d been working at Silver Stone since the summer. “I’m using all the hot water. Just saying.”

  “Bullshit on that,” Kelli retorted. “You’re taking cold showers and crying into your beer over me.”

  The water turned off, and he laughed, deep and hearty. “I might have to head to Rough Cut tonight for that beer. You plan on going?”

  “Yeah. I’m meeting my girls,” she told him.

  “Nice.”

  “It’s too snowy to do anything else,” she pointed out. “Rough Cut is a warm place to hang out on a cold evening.”

  “I’m headed your way,” he warned. “In case you want to take pictures of my magnificence.”

  She pretended to gag, deliberately turning her back to give him privacy to towel off.

  It was the only area where they hadn’t figured out a perfect solution with her working at Silver Stone. Kelli insisted she didn’t want preferential treatment. No way did she want the Stone family to face the expense of building a separate shower house just for her. It took a little juggling to make things work, her sharing space with all the guys, but the common shower house had never worried her.

  The guys were like brothers, teasing moments aside. She figured the occasional bit of dirty talk was natural. She didn’t feel uncomfortable or harassed by the guy chatter that went on around the ranch.

  It helped that one of the first talks any new hire got was “keep your hands off Kelli or lose your nuts.”

  “Is Rose going to be there tonight?” Alex asked far too casually.

  Kelli laughed. “Maybe. You want me to put in a good word for you?”

  “Hell, yeah. Dance with me first so she’ll let me take her for a spin.”

  Which made her laugh harder. “You guys figured out how we run things on the dance floor, did you?”

  “I’m decent,” Alex told her. “I mean, I’m dressed. And yes, it doesn’t take a genius to notice you decide who is safe to dance with, and your friends follow suit.”

  Kelli twisted to look him up and down. He’d pulled on clean jeans, but his feet were still bare and his chest was uncovered to expose olive-brown skin, water droplets clinging to his broad shoulders as he toweled his hair dry.

  He wasn’t bad looking at all, and she could appreciate the muscle show as much as the next girl. Only that was as far as it went—appreciation. There were no sparks, nothing that set her belly tumbling in a wild dance.

  Not like when Luke Stone accidentally bumps my side.

  She shoved away the annoying truth and gave Alex a raised eyebrow. The man was talking about one of her besties, and so had better know more than one person had an eye on him. “Are you safe?”

  He dropped his towel to the bench beside him and tugged a T-shirt over his head before offering her a broad smile. “Safe as a kitten. Plus, I know how to dance.”

  “So her feet won’t get crushed, that’s what you’re saying?” She folded her arms over her chest as he draped his towel around his neck and gathered his things.

  “Just put in a good word for me, please?” Alex asked, this time a little more seriously. Holding her gaze until she nodded. “See you later, Kelli.”

  He slipped out the door and she followed him, hanging up the sign she’d made years ago to announce she was occupying the space. Then with Kelli’s Private Spa as a warning for any of the rest of the hands that they’d have to wait, she locked the door and stripped.

  Steam lingered in the main shower room, which meant it was warm as she flipped on the nearest tap and let the forceful spray run over her aching shoulders.

  While she had a few privileges, like getting to lock the door to have the shower house to herself, and the best room in the bunkhouse, her work responsibilities were no less because she was a woman.

  Over the years the guys had slowly stopped giving her easier tasks because of her size. It might take her a couple extra trips to move heavy equipment, she still got it done.

  But at the end of a long day where she’d moved her weight in bales a number of times over, the forceful massage on her shoulders felt damn good.

  Hands raised in a long stretch, she snickered for a second. It would probably seem weird to a stranger looking in that she was so comfortable chatting with Alex like that, but this was her reality. She’d lived on the ranch for long enough that whole “just one of the boys” thing worked ninety-nine percent of the time.

  She lathered up and rubbed soap over her body, efficient and quick, undoing her braids then working her fingernails against her scalp as her hair plastered down against her torso nearly to her butt.

  She really was one of the boys, which was good—

  —until it wasn’t. The whole “keep your hands off Kelli” thing had made it damn difficult to do any experimenting of a sexual nature. Not that she’d been chomping at the bit, but she had been curious, and sexual frustration wasn’t exclusive to the male portion of the population.

  Kelli tipped her head back to rinse off the shampoo, amusement drifting in as she remembered the shower house was where she’d tried sex for the first time.

  The ranch hand she’d hauled in with her had been cute enough, she supposed. And they’d been hot for each other, but neither of them were looking for more than casual, so it was pretty much a one-off deal. Stealing away time in the shower had been a way to scratch an itch. One that she really didn’t get that often. It had been time, that was all.

  You’re a liar, her brain told her.

  Kelli did the mental equivalent of sticking out her tongue and blowing a raspberry at herself. “Yeah, because I’m just gonna up and confess I had sex with somebody else because Luke got engaged.”

  She had liked the guy, but her conscience was right. It had been more about trying to wipe out the cravings she had for Luke than the other dude being super-special.

  Having a long-term, unsatisfied crush was something she was far too familiar with.

  Kelli figured for the first years the emotion had been nothing more than puppy-love. She’d been way too young to do anything except keep her distance and hope Luke never got a clue that walking past him made her heart rate jump.

  Instead she’d focused on the fact she was living her dream in so many other ways. Getting to do what she loved—working with horses, and living on a ranch—heck, it was the closest thing to paradise she could imagine.

  When she finally hit twenty-one, though, she figured there was no reason not to make a move. Luke wasn’t the high-and-mighty type who would look down on getting involved with someone just because she was a ranch hand. Besides, they were already friends. She’d needed to convince him they should move the friendship into something more hands-on. Short-term would be fine.

  Then he’d gone off and met Penny, and before Kelli could say “lost-opportunity,” Luke was engaged and off-limits.

  Three damn years she’d been forced to put her cravings aside and behave. Three long years where she’d held her tongue—mostly—as a woman who was all wrong for Luke got to be in his life and his bed.

  Kelli had shown amazing restraint, really. Three years, and not once had she accidentally shoved Penny into a dung
heap.

  She still felt the sense of relief that had struck when Luke suddenly called off the wedding and Penny was no more. Thank. God.

  Kelli finished up in the shower house then marched double time back to her room, sliding into a well-worn pair of jeans and a soft cotton top. She braided her hair so it would stay out of the way, slipped on her dancing boots and was ready to roll.

  Luke Stone might be back on the market, but she didn’t want to move too fast and be nothing more than a rebound fling. But she wasn’t going to move too slow either and lose out again.

  Just like working with jittery horses, it was all about the timing. Right now, Luke wasn’t ready for her to show her hand.

  Which meant tonight? She was going to have a rip-roaring good time, kicking up her heels and pretending the man she wanted more than anything didn’t exist.

  Maybe she’d do Alex a solid and dance with him first.

  “You’re shitting me. You got an invite where?” Josiah Ryder shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t know if I should be jealous or offer you high-test tranquilizers to deal with the stress.”

  “I’m pumped,” Luke admitted, “but it’s not a done deal, so don’t go passing that information on yet. And that means not even to Caleb, because I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up if my attendance doesn’t get approved.”

  Joshua raised a hand in understanding. “Smart move. I know about this in real time because someone in my circle at veterinarian school got an invite to one of these gigs then got un-invited.”

  Luke turned toward their local pub, the bright lights of the leftover holiday decorations reflecting onto the snowy main street of Heart Falls. “That’s harsh.”

  “The guys who organized the event were serious about the family-positive focus of the event, and it turns out the invitee had a few too many skeletons in her closet.”

  That sounded like a load of bullshit. “Right. Because your average farmer who decides to go into veterinarian training has links to the Mafia or some other nonsense.”