Cowgirl Fever (Novak Springs Book 1) (6 page)

Emma waved toward the Civic and said, “Leave your car where it is. If it needs to be moved, we can have it relocated later. Where’s your friend?”

“Oh Tori will be here tomorrow. She’s having someone drive her up here. I actually have to do an interview with him when he gets here. It shouldn’t take too much time. Then he’ll leave afterward. I hope that isn’t a problem.”

Emma shook her head to reassure her. “Not at all. Do you have any idea what time they’ll be here?”

She had gotten a text from Tori as she drove to the ranch, complaining about having to bring Colt all the way to Novak Springs. All Ginnifer could think was too damn bad, but Emma didn’t need to know all of that, so all she told her was, “Not until after lunch. She texted me earlier and said it would be close to two o’clock before they arrived.”

Emma rustled through the folder she was carrying and pulled out some papers. She turned her face toward Ginnifer and smiled. “Good, then you’ll be able to get up with us at sunrise to do our first round of yoga. We are going to do horseback riding this evening if you’re interested.”

“No, I want to rest tonight. I’m not even sure if I can manage to come up for dinner.”

Emma had two sheets of paper and a set of keys in her hands. She handed them over to Ginnifer. “Well, here is a list of our two-week itinerary and the keys to your cabin. If you have any questions, feel free to ask at any time. Here is your cabin now, we have you staying in the green cabin. In case you get confused, it has a green door. We painted all the doors different colors to help guests remember which one they are in because they all look alike sitting like ducks in a row. Dinner is in two hours if you decide to join us. The itinerary has details about everything, including when and where we’ll have each meal.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

With that, Emma walked away as Ginnifer unlocked the door and entered the cabin. Everything was clean and smelled heavenly. It was really too bad she was too tired to enjoy it all. She scanned the room and walked to the nearest full-size bed. It had the prettiest green and blue patchwork quilt on it with two matching fluffy pillows. That was what she really needed, someplace to lay down and leave the rest of the world for a little while. She would get a good look at everything else in the cabin once she had some more sleep. Ginnifer dropped her bags, kicked off her shoes, and fell face first onto the bed. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep and enter the world of dreams. She didn’t know that a certain sexy cowboy was going to star in them, or she might have held off trying to get the sleep she desperately needed. All she got out of the deal was a frustration she wasn’t prepared to handle.

A loud noise erupted through the stillness and echoed louder with each bounce of acoustics across the cabin’s walls. When the sound reached Ginnifer’s ears, she shot out of bed and pounced on the offending object to make it stop. Damn phone, who the hell tries to call at five a.m.? The reverberation of the phone was the equivalent of getting a bucket of cold water thrown on her face, successfully jerking her awake. She picked up her phone to see who dared to disturb her sleep. She had been tossing and turning all night from the erotic dreams her subconscious decided to bestow upon on her. Stupid sexy cowboy had to make a starring role in those erotic dreams too. A happy camper she was not; patience was not a virtue when you were jolted awake before the sun rose in the sky. If they were expecting her to have a charitable mood, they were in for a not so pleasant surprise. She slid the unlock button on her phone and scrolled to her missed calls. Damn it, Tori. She should know better than to try to call her this early in the morning. If there was anyone on the planet that should realize how she hated mornings, it was her best friend.

Crap! What if something happened? She needed to call her back to find out why she had called her before even a rooster was awake to cock-a-doodle-doo with the sun’s morning rays. Tori hated mornings even more than Ginnifer did. If she called, there should be a damn good reason for it. There must be something seriously wrong. Ginnifer raised her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes rapidly to scrub the sleep from them. To make sure she was as alert as possible, she lightly tapped her cheeks with the palm of her hand to get the circulation flowing and help remove the cobwebs from her sluggish brain. Some serious stimulation was in order—well that and a strong cup of coffee. Ginnifer pulled her phone up and hit Send on Tori’s name. It rang several times and went to her voice mail. What the hell is going on? She just called and then didn’t bother to answer her own phone. When Tori got there later today, she was going to get a mouthful on the many ways she was going to die for doing something so diabolical.

Ginnifer listened to the recording and waited for the beep, debating what she should say on Tori’s voice mail. After the beep sounded in her ear, she began to speak, “You’re dead to me. When you get here, I’m gonna make you regret that you’re still breathing. There better be a damn good reason for calling me at this unspeakable time and an even better reason for not answering your damn phone when I called back. Be prepared for hell once you get here.”

She clicked End on the phone and placed it on a nearby table. Ginnifer chewed her lower lip and debated what her options were. She looked over at the itinerary that Emma had given her yesterday and decided to see what was on the schedule for the day. She rolled her eyes over the agenda and landed on the first activity. Yoga outside in the south pasture at seven o’clock in the morning with breakfast to follow at eight thirty. She had a little less than two hours before anything was happening on the schedule. Where the hell was the dining area and south pasture, anyway? She looked at the papers again and noticed a detailed map on the back. Well, she would say one thing about Emma Novak, the young woman was certainly prepared for everything.

Ginnifer let out a breath and contemplated what she should do for the next two hours. She could check her e-mails and see if there was anything that needed attending before she started her day and make some notes of what little she experienced so far on the ranch for her article. What she needed, though, was a hot shower and some coffee to get her moving. Going back to sleep was out of the question at this point. Once she was awake and moving, it was futile to attempt to gain any more shut eye. Her brain was not wired to doze back off once she was jolted awake.

Maybe if she got the shower out of the way, she could see if she could locate the coffee somewhere on the ranch. Surely there was someone awake taking care of things, or at least they should be by the time she was done with her shower, anyway. She might as well go bathe and get ready for the day. Coffee would be helpful if she was going to make it through the morning. It was a little slice of heaven she was not used to denying herself. It would be worth almost any price to her to get her hands on a cup of hot java with a side of cream and sugar. She would even consider putting up with Dallas’s sexual innuendos to get her mouth around the rim of a cup filled with the blissfulness the caffeinated drink would bring. The man was so unnerving to all of her senses. The promises in his eyes made her want to give in and see if he could keep each one of them. She would have to steel herself for the onslaught of emotions that he evoked in her. If she had one hope, it was that she wouldn’t run into him in her hunt for her morning brew. That male had the power to make her forget what she wanted most.

She went to her bags and picked up her largest one, dragged it over, and plopped it on top of her bed, unzipping the sides to release the top. The top of the luggage was thrown open as she began to dig through its contents. She pulled out a pair of soft black yoga pants trimmed with black and white polka dots, the matching top, a pair of panties, and a sports bra. She zipped the suitcase closed and placed it on the floor. Bundling everything up in her arms, she made her way to the bathroom to take a hot shower. It was going to be a lot longer than she had originally planned, and she had Tori to thank for the impromptu wake-up call. Something she would make sure she paid for once she arrived at the ranch later on in the afternoon. In the meantime, she would make the best of the situation and start her day without snarling at anyone, well, hopefully not too much anyway.

After she was finished with her shower, she dried herself off and threw the wet towel into a nearby hamper. Picking up the clothes she had pulled out of her suitcase, she dressed as quickly as possible to stop the chill of the morning from seeping through to her bones any more than it already had. Her brush was lying on the bed where she had dumped it when she pulled her toiletries out, so she grabbed it and ran it through her hair, untangling the knots that had developed overnight. With a flick of her wrist, she twisted her long hair between her fingers. A thick braid formed and fell down the middle of her back. She grabbed a hair tie and wrapped it around the end of the braid. Ginnifer strolled over to her small bag and began to sort through it. She pulled out a small, clear lip gloss and ran it over her dry lips; the sweet strawberry flavor of the lip gloss rolled over her tongue. She picked up the jacket, pulled her arms through it, and zipped it up. Her cell phone was still lying on the table where she had placed it earlier after her unsuccessful attempt at calling Tori back. She grabbed it and placed it into her other pocket in case Tori tried to call or text her again.

Ginnifer looked around the cabin one last time to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything and then made her way over to the door. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at the time. A whoosh of air left her mouth as she sighed when she saw it was past six in the morning. The key to the cabin still rested upon the table she had tossed it on when she walked in, so she grabbed it as she exited the cabin so she could lock up as she left. It was time to go see if there was anyone else awake. She began the short trek to the main house, hoping that someone could help her find some coffee. In a small part of her subconscious, she was actually hoping the angel of mercy making her favorite beverage was a sexy cowboy by the name of Dallas. If caffeine didn’t work to boost her liveliness, a dose of him would work wonders in bringing her energy level to a brand new point of existence. She pushed thoughts of the sinful man out of her brain and continued her journey to the house. It wasn’t conducive to her mood to be reminded about how she was struggling with the combination of instant lust and loathing for the man.

***

The sun was beginning to rise, and its rays were bouncing off of the walls in the kitchen, displaying various hues across the white walls. Dallas had just poured himself a cup of coffee, black and strong the way he liked it. He didn’t understand how anyone could drink it with sugar or cream. In his mind that ruined a perfectly good cup of his favorite morning brew. With the drink in hand, he began to carry it over to the table so he could sip at it and slowly let its caffeine infuse into the cells of his body. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a movement outside. The cup was placed on the table and forgotten as he spied his target through the window directly over the kitchen sink. The object of his latest fantasies was wandering outside, and it looked like she was headed directly to the house. He couldn’t have asked for a better start to his morning. Forgetting about his coffee, he decided to seek her out and further his agenda. All he had to do was cross paths with her and get her into the position he wanted. Well the position he was capable of achieving this morning, anyway. The other positions he wanted her in would have to wait for an even more opportune time. This was only the beginning of his plans for the blonde beauty he was planning on intersecting paths with. He was pleasantly surprised when he realized she was the reporter doing the article for his sister’s program. With that knowledge, he knew she was going to be around for the next two weeks. It would give him plenty of time to play with her, and he could take his time a tad bit. Not too much, just enough to get exactly what he wanted. What Dallas wanted was to savor her, and sex was only part of that equation.

Dallas walked outside and headed her off along the path. When she looked up and saw him standing there, she stopped dead in her tracks. She looked like she couldn’t decide if she wanted to turn around and walk back where she came or to continue on her current path. She pulled her lip between her teeth and bit down with indecision spreading through her green eyes. After she made a decision, it became evident as she continued toward him with a purposeful stride. Once she reached him, she stopped and looked directly into his eyes. “Please tell me you have coffee. I would sell my soul for a cup.”

Dallas couldn’t help but laugh at her begging him for a simple cup of coffee. The question was how to use it to his best advantage. She said she would sell her soul for one cup. Surely she would give him something a little less valuable in the grand scheme of things. A smile grew on his face when he realized what he was going to get from her. “I might. I’d even be willing to give you a cup, for a price of course.”

Frustration lacing through her voice, Ginnifer said, “I already offered up my soul. Being one of hell’s demons, I figured that’d be payment enough to give your boss for a piece of heaven.”

The smirk on his face should have been a warning for her to run; luckily for Dallas she didn’t take the hint. “Well a piece of heaven might be worth your soul, but I wouldn’t be giving that up for anyone. I want you all to myself. So it’s a good thing I don’t work for anyone but me. Give the devil his due, darlin’, I’m needing a little heaven of my own, and your soul alone won’t get the job done.”

Ginnifer took a step back away from him and glared up into his eyes. “I don’t have the time or patience to play right now. Please have a heart and gimme some damn coffee. It would be my preference to not snarl at every living creature today.”

Dallas took a step toward her and leaned in close with his eyes mere inches away from hers. “I’m not a giving person. If you want something from me, I expect a payment of equal value. I’m willing to make a deal and give you one of the best damn cups of coffee this ranch has to offer. Say the word and it can be all yours.”

“What do you want for a freaking cup of coffee?”

His eyes raked over her body, his desire shining through. Her tongue darted out of her mouth, and she licked her bottom lip. The corner of his mouth turned upward into a cocky smile. Oh yes, he was going to get exactly what he wanted from his Gin today. “Well do you want a piece of heaven?” he asked her.

She nodded her head in agreement, sarcasm filling her voice. “I want some caffeine pumping through my veins. That’s my own personal heaven at this time of day.”

With his voice growing a bit husky, Dallas said, “I bet I could get your blood pumping in other ways, and because I’m so altruistic, I’m willing to give you both.”

“What the hell are you getting at? Didn’t I mention already I’m not a morning person?”

He leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry, darlin’, we’ll fix that soon enough. Are you prepared to give me what I want?”

She glared at him and stomped her foot. “Quit playing games with me and give me what I want, damn it.”

He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. “Well all you had to do was ask nicely.” He leaned into her as she looked up at him in shock. Her mouth gaped open in surprise, and he took the opportunity to swoop in and claim it as his own. Glossy lips with the taste of strawberries and cream filled his mouth, and he couldn’t get enough. He pulled her closer, intertwining her tongue with his. No protest came from her. She lifted her arms up, wrapping them around his neck, and rested her hands at the base of his neck. Her fingers wandered up and raked through his hair on the back of his head. He took the opportunity to explore her face with his lips, trailing kisses across her cheeks and sucking her neck below her ear. She sighed in his ear as she relaxed in his embrace. He drew back and looked in her lust-filled gaze. It wouldn’t take long at all to have her in every way he wanted.

He pulled away from her, and his arms felt empty without her lush figure filling them. “Now how about that cup of coffee?”

Ginnifer reached up and slapped him across the face. “Damn you, why couldn’t you have given me the coffee without groping me first?”

His laugh rumbled loudly over the quietness of the morning. “What fun would that be? Come inside and have a cup. I think you need some time to adjust.”