“Whoa.” Shari’s admiring tone was the one she normally reserved for perfectly crisped risotto balls or exquisitely seasoned red stew. “This is the guest cottage? I’m officially jealous.” She dropped the duffel bag she’d offered to carry and darted past Mia to explore.
Setting down her backpack and medical bag, Mia Zane looked around. She’d known the Climbing W dude ranch was one of the most popular in the state, but the cabin was far more luxurious than she’d expected—gleaming hardwood floor, vaulted ceiling, stone fireplace, fully stocked wine rack and a massive four-poster bed draped in an unmistakably expensive duvet. She wondered if they had to special-order custom sheets. The bed was beyond king; it was a whole kingdom.
“There’s a whirlpool tub!” Shari called from the bathroom. “I can’t believe you’re getting paid to stay here.”
“Just for tonight.” Starting tomorrow, Mia would be staying in a tent, living the slightly less glamorous sleeping bag life. This week she was trading her scrubs for blue jeans as consulting veterinarian on a cattle drive that was equal parts ranch work and tourist attraction. She wondered if the trail boss, Alonzo Boone, would have offered a night in the posh cottage to any vet who took the job, or if she’d benefited from his being an old poker buddy of her dad’s.
Shari emerged from the bathroom with a handful of green bottles. “These toiletries are spa quality!”
“Take anything you want to try—unless one of them’s sunscreen.” Mia had packed some, ever diligent about protecting her pale skin from freckling and burning, but it never hurt to have extra. “You should take my complimentary bottle of wine, too. It’s the least I can do after you gave me a ride. And agreed to house-sit.”
“And finished your packing when you got called into surgery this morning.” Shari grinned. “I’m the best.”
“You really are.” Growing up with three older brothers, Mia had often daydreamed about learning she had a long-lost sister. Meeting Shari Freeman at a luncheon for local business owners had been the next best thing. There might not be much family resemblance between the full-figured redhead and the petite Black executive chef, but they were sisters at heart. “Speaking of the surgery, I should call Dr. Kline and follow up.”
A vet in the next county had phoned Mia about an emergency laryngeal paralysis case because she had more experience with the corrective procedure. He’d been grateful for her surgical acumen; Mia was grateful for the extra income. She was determined to rescue her mixed-practice clinic, which treated both large and small animals. Although patient referrals and the cattle drive bonus were steps in the right direction, they couldn’t undo all the damage of Drew’s embezzlement.
“Hold up, Zane—I recognize that stress scowl. Do not spiral,” Shari admonished. “And don’t waste any mental energy thinking about your rat bastard ex.”
“I’m over Drew. But I’ll never be over what he did to the clinic.” Ironic that her father and brothers had been so relieved by her engagement, glad she had a man to “look out for her.”
“Your practice is going to be okay—not just okay, better than ever. How many vets under thirty already have a reputation as solid as yours? Trust me, you’ve got this.” Her eyes narrowed. “Still, if that SOB ever shows his face in Colorado again...”
“My brothers will pummel him.”
“Not if I get to him first.”
Mia chuckled. Shari might stand five foot two in her bare feet, but only a fool would underestimate her. “What would I do without you?”
“Overwork, forget to eat and waste away. Your life would definitely be less fun without me. That’s F-U-N. You remember the word, right?”
Mia ignored the recurring suggestion that her life had become all work and no play. “We both know I’ve never been in danger of wasting away. After your last batch of test recipes, I’m lucky my jeans still zip.” They weren’t as forgiving as her elasticized scrubs.
“Pfft. You are rocking those jeans, and I could find a dozen guys on this ranch who would enthusiastically agree with me. In fact...”
The sudden gleam in her friend’s gaze made Mia uneasy, and she quickly changed the subject. “Thanks again for the ride. I should head down to the barn, talk to Alonzo, check on the pregnant heifers.”
“Sure, sure, but while you’re doing all that, appreciate the time away from the clinic. Take the opportunity to meet new people.” She jabbed her index finger toward Mia, her tone emphatic. “Have fun.”
“I’m not one of the vacationing tourists, Shar. I’m here in a professional capacity.” Even as she said the words, Mia heard how uptight she sounded. Maybe Shari was right. While the clinic and its employees had to be her priority, it might be healthy to relax every once in a while, reenergizing herself to work even harder.
Shari typed on her smartphone, then read from the screen. “Fun. Noun, meaning enjoyment or merriment. Also an adjec—”
“Okay, okay! Point taken. I promise to enjoy myself this week.” After all, she’d be in the June sunshine and fresh air, doing her dream job. Even with the stress of catching up on the commercial mortgage and rebuilding her finances, she’d never for one second regretted opening the clinic. She loved animals, whether they were beagles, bovines or bearded dragons.
Shari nodded her approval. “All right, then. I’m headed back to your place to snuggle that trio of foster cats. The no-pet policy is the only thing I hate about my otherwise perfect condo. Good thing you always have animals around.”
“Try not to spoil them too much.”
“I make no promises.” With a wink and a wave, Shari turned to open the door. “See you in a week.”
Once she was alone, Mia pulled out her phone to call Dr. Kline. But first, she sent a quick reminder to her friend. Text me when you get there so I know you made it safely. Mia was still a little jumpy after last month’s car accident during a rainstorm. This trip had given her the perfect opportunity to leave her vehicle at a garage for the remaining bodywork it needed. She’d debated whether cosmetic repairs were worth the expense, but at least her brothers and father would stop commenting on the dents.
A moment after Mia hit Send, Shari texted back a thumbs-up emoji. And a screenshot of the online dictionary entry for fun.
“Please don’t take it personally. You’re great—this just isn’t where I’m supposed to be at this point in my life.” Jace Malone flashed an apologetic smile and reached out to pat Yenefer’s shoulder.
The young quarter horse nickered softly, assuring him that his complaints hadn’t caused any hard feelings.
“I’ll say this, Yen. You may be the best listener I’ve ever met.” Definitely better than either of Jace’s older brothers, who’d adamantly rejected his input since his return to Colorado. A few weeks ago, getting hired on here at the Climbing W had seemed like a smart first step to earning his brothers’ forgiveness. But now Jace questioned whether he was wasting his time.
It’s not a waste if it proves to Grandpa Harry that I’ve changed.
He owed his grandfather everything. Harrison Malone was the only one who’d doggedly believed in Jace after—
No. Jace couldn’t change anything that had happened, so there was no sense dwelling on the past. What he could do was focus on the future, make amends with his family and take his rightful place at Malone Energy. During his exile in Texas, he’d learned a lot, and he’d come home with ideas for modernizing the family business. His brothers, however, didn’t want his help. Heath, the middle brother and Malone Energy’s chief financial officer, had called his suggestions “naive meddling” that could negatively affect hundreds of employees.
“We have to worry about those people’s livelihoods,” Reed had added. “But why should you care about consequences? You’ve had everything handed to you.”
As if Jace hadn’t suffered the consequences of his actions every damn day for eleven years? “You were born just as rich and privileged as I was.”
“Heath and I worked grueling summer jobs. We earned straight A’s. Harry’s donations got you into college, and when you couldn’t hack that, he called in a favor to land you a job. Which you quit.”
Only because of ethical concerns after years with the oil company.
Jace was no longer a grieving teenager or a hard-drinking frat boy, but his brothers refused to give him a fresh start. Even their grandfather was skeptical. Despite enthusiastically welcoming Jace back to the Triple Pine, the Malones’ sprawling luxury ranch, Harry had sheepishly agreed that it was probably best if Jace didn’t have a role in the boardroom. Jace was determined to prove himself, though. If he gave up his hopes of joining Malone Energy, it would only reinforce their view of him as a quitter.
His long-term goal remained the same, but he’d taken a strategic detour to the Climbing W, getting hired as a ranch hand without using any Malone connections, to demonstrate he wasn’t afraid of long days and hard labor.
“So here I am, Yen. I should be helping steer the family business into a new era, but instead I’m talking to a horse.” He gave her an alfalfa pellet, partly because she’d done well during this afternoon’s farrier training and partly because he appreciated her nonjudgmental company.
“You about done, Mr. Malone?” A lanky ranch hand who looked younger than his twenty years approached from the other side of the fence. “Boone wants your help with orientation and going over pack weights.”
“Yeah, just finishing up here.” Jace untied Yen’s lead. “But, Levi, I’ve told you—don’t call me Mr. Malone.”
“Sorry, Mr. Mal... Er, sorry.”
Jace sighed. Only two men on the spread knew his identity. Too bad one of them was Levi. The ranch hands frequently played poker in the bunkhouse, and the kid’s attempts at bluffing were tragic to behold. “Just call me JT.”
He wasn’t even going by Jace, using his initials to help distance himself from the regionally famous Malone family. Alonzo Boone knew who he was, but the seasoned trail boss was too gruff to suck up to anyone, even a billionaire. Unfortunately, Levi had been a Malone Scholarship recipient and had recognized Jace from family photos. Although puzzled by Jace’s desire to remain incognito, the kid had promised to keep his secret.
“Tell Boone I’ll be along in a minute. Just let me get Yen back to the barn.”
“Yessir, Mr. Mal—JT.”
Well, that was progress. Sort of.
Jace turned in the direction of the barn. He wasn’t expecting to see anyone there since most hands were currently working to get the busload of tourists checked in. However, a lone woman leaned against the fence adjacent to the barn. Her long red hair glinted gold and auburn in the sunlight. It was pulled back in a ponytail, but the wind swirled strands around her face, momentarily obscuring her features.
As Jace got closer, he saw she was talking on her cell phone. And she was stunning.
About five-and-a-half feet tall, she had lush curves and bold features. Strong cheekbones, full lips. One denim-clad leg was bent and propped on the lower rung of the fence, emphasizing her shapely hip. He itched to be the one who helped her onto her horse tomorrow just for the excuse to touch her.
Who was she traveling with? Guests rarely came on these cattle drive vacations alone. Was she here with friends who had “authentic Western experience” on their bucket lists? Or perhaps coworkers who saw this week as a team-building exercise? Or would she be sleeping under the stars with a lover? Jace gritted his teeth at the possibility even as he acknowledged that, single or not, she was off-limits to him.
Seduce a paying customer? Hell, no. Boone had fired hands for less than that. It would be unprofessional and impulsive and would only confirm his brothers’ low expectations of him.
Next to him, Yen nickered and rubbed her head against his shoulder.
Jace knew she was just angling for another treat, but the timing felt like commiseration. “Thanks for the sympathy, sweetheart. Keeping my distance from her is gonna be...” Hard was an understatement.
Still, he couldn’t undermine his goals and his family standing for an ill-advised fling. Even with a woman who looked like she would be worth it.
The breeze gusting around Mia made it harder to hear the other end of the phone call, but Shari’s unrepentant laugh was unmistakable.
“Fine, you caught me. I added a few things to your bag. You were mid-surgery, so I made some judgment calls. You’re welcome.”
Mia sighed. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the help, but I was trying to pack light, and—”
“A lacy red bra does not add noticeable weight.”
It wasn’t just a bra, but the same logic also applied to the silky nightshirt and the sleeveless knee-length wrap dress Mia had been surprised to find in her duffel.
“You don’t even have to take the extra things on the trail,” Shari said. “Leave them in the guest cottage if you want. I was just giving you options—and a reminder that there’s more to life than vaccinations and surgeries.”
“But—”
“I get it. The clinic is as important to you as my restaurant is to me. But sometimes you need to stop and smell the wildflowers.”
There was, in fact, a field of riotous yellow and purple blooms to the left of the paddock. How sad was it that Mia hadn’t even noticed them until now? Few people were lucky enough to work in an “office” like this, with puffy white clouds dotting an endless blue sky and the backdrop of breathtaking mountains and the sexiest cowboy she’d ever seen staring right at her.
Wait, what?
Where had he come from?
Mia blinked. For a split second, she wondered if the broad-shouldered cowboy leading a chestnut horse was a hallucination brought on by sleep deprivation and stress. Nope, definitely not a hallucination. Instead of disappearing, he was getting closer.
“You’ve gotta learn how phone conversations work,” Shari teased as the silence stretched on. “See, first I say something, and then you—”
“Sorry.” Belatedly, Mia realized she was openly staring at the man.
He tipped his hat in greeting, and his lips curved in a slow smile.
Her mouth went dry. “I have to go. I...” She wanted to tell her friend about the cowboy, but the only thing more embarrassing than being caught ogling would be if he overheard her describing him.
That didn’t stop her from a mental assessment, though. Her gaze swept from his hat to his boots, lingering appreciatively on the areas in between. He was deliciously scruffy with a shadowed hint of beard and well-worn jeans. The sleeves of his checkered shirt were rolled up, exposing sinful forearms. From what she could see, his hair was even darker than the black hat he wore, and though she couldn’t tell his eye color from this distance, the way he looked at her was hotter than the summer sun.
Resisting the urge to fan herself, she averted her gaze to the field of flowers and dropped her voice to a whisper. “There’s a man coming toward me.”
“Okay. Why do you sound weird? Are you in danger or something?”
“What? No. He’s just, um...”
“Oh.”
Damn. There were drawbacks to having a friend who knew you so well.
“This is exciting,” Shari said. “Text me a pic!”
“We both know that’s not gonna happen.”
“Well, give me details, then. What does he look like?”
He looked... Mia risked glancing his way again, and their gazes collided. His grin deepened. An answering smile tugged at her lips.
He looked like fun.