Riding for Love (A Western Romance) (8 page)

Jackie stared at her cousin as if she’d sprouted two heads. “Yeah, right, cuz. Horses, birds. Yada, yada. Any single men here this week?” she asked Eve.

Eve held back a laugh and told them their cabin assignment, then gave them information on the orientation and dance.

Jackie’s eyes lit up, and she practically started dancing on the spot. “Hey, any available men coming?”

This time Eve couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “Well, a lot of people from the community come out for the dance, so it’s possible.” Even though still angry at him and wished he wouldn’t be here, Eve made a mental note to keep Denton away from Jackie. Too good-looking and as gullible as he’d behaved in the past, Jackie would probably eat him alive.

A few minutes later, she met with the two brothers who co-owned a web-design company. Tires crunched on the gravel driveway. Knowing Denton was the last to arrive, she ignored the prickles going up her neck. Sam and Gary Dixon were clearly identical twins. Blond, short-cropped hair, six feet, bodies that said they not only worked with computers but barbells, they were dressed in blue jean shorts, black tank tops, and work boots. The only differences were the wire-rim glasses Sam wore from “working at his computer all day and night.”

Keeping their attention from the cousins, who lounged outside their cabin, proved difficult, and Eve hoped they followed her spiel. If not, she figured Jackie would be more than happy to fill them in. Between the women, Eve was sure the Dixon boys were going to be fine.

Eve could no longer ignore Denton’s stare, but pretended to check her notes on the clipboard. The tap on her shoulder was difficult to disregard.

“You can’t pretend he’s not here, Eve,” Tom said. “He arrived ten minutes ago.”

“I’ve been busy with the others. Why didn’t you check him in?”

He pointed to her hands. “You have the clipboard, so you’re in charge.” When she tried to pass the list to him, Tom laughed and held his hands back in mock horror. “He won’t bite, and if he does, I’ll be here to punch his lights out.”

Eve’s breath caught in her throat as Denton strolled across the parking lot. Even as her mind kept yelling at her to run, her body remained rooted to the ground like super glue. Thoughts of him nibbling at her neck, moving slower and slower toward her breasts, made her nipples pucker. She shook her head to get rid of her rampant thoughts. Being near him for the next two weeks would be bad enough, having hot steamy dreams was another.

She squared her shoulders. Time to quit running and meet him head on; treat him like any other customer; great him with a smile and information. He grinned and her breath caught. Hopefully, her returning smile didn’t quiver at the corners.

Warmth rushed through him and headed south when Eve greeted him with a smile and stretched out her hand to his.

“Denton Johanson. How nice to see you again,” she said. “I hope you’re ready for a fun-filled two weeks learning to ride our sweet and mild-mannered horses.”

His smile slipped. Guess she remembered his fear of those four-legged, mangy-maned beasts. He refrained from gulping and tugging at the collar of his golf shirt. “Well, I hope I am, too, Eve. I’m willing to give it a try, anyway. I’ve always wanted to learn to ride.”

Eve choked out a half smile. “You never were a good liar, Dent. I’m not sure why you’re doing this. I assume you have good reasons.” She glanced around at the people heading toward their cabins and back at him. “Just because we have a past, and I’m aware of your fear of horses, doesn’t mean we’re going to treat you with kid gloves. You’ll do everything you’re told, when you’re told, whether you like it or not.”

Dent nodded. So she’d dropped the gauntlet. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Eve.” Hoping to switch the subject, he took in the changes to her property. The barn, once with more boards missing than attached, was now covered in red barn siding. White fencing surrounded the barnyard in front of the barn, with large side pasture, and three fair-sized parking lots. The old rusted barbed-wire fence once holding in the few cattle her father had kept, was gone.

A windmill in a diamond-shaped garden had been repaired and was pumping water into an attractive pond surrounded by flowers. As people arrived, they could drive completely around the garden and be offered a view of masses of flowers. A well-worn hitching post stood at the tip of the turnaround.

An ancient machine shed had been converted into a building similar to the barn. A sign, TAMARACK LODGE, in white lettering on old barn wood, hung over the front door. Six cabins resembling miniature barns each with its own flower-lined path and hitching post, replaced machinery once surrounded by tall weeds, a broken-down pigpen and chicken coop.

On the opposite side of the yard stood Eve’s house. With its white siding, yellow trim, shutters, and repaired covered porch, the farmhouse proved the biggest change of all. Denton hoped he’d get a chance to go inside.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, as Sophie had done earlier. The scent of the flowers, horses, and Eve’s subtle fragrance flowed through his senses. He visualized the mass of vibrant flowers seemingly planted wherever a spot stood empty.
Did Eve try to replace the darkness of her youth?

He stuck his hands in his back pockets. “This place is absolutely beautiful, Eve. You’ve worked miracles. I’m impressed.”

“You should be. I worked hard getting the ranch the way I wanted,” she said, a defensive tone in her voice.

“No one said you didn’t,” Dent replied softly. “I always figured you would achieve what you wanted in life. I just wish I had been here to be part of it.”

Eve ignored his last comment and lifted her shoulders. “Thank you.” She glanced at her watch, seeming to need an excuse to change the subject. “Let me show you to your cabin,” she said, heading toward the last vacant cabin, the one furthest from her house. “There’s a meeting at five and supper after, then a dance. You may remember several of people at the dance since many come in from around the area.” When they got to the cabin, Eve opened the door and faced him. “You still dance, don’t you?”

Before he answered, she walked away. Dent grinned, watching the sway of her hips. The distance between his cabin and the house wasn’t lost on him. She certainly didn’t want him anywhere near her. He shrugged as he entered the cabin. Evidently, no one had told her she was his personal trainer. Her temper would more than likely be hotter than hell when she found out. At least her long walk gave him more time to watch her tight and very attractive backside.

Chapter 7

“I want to welcome all of you again to Tamarack Hills,” Eve said, her gaze falling on the guests and staff sitting on benches in the lodge.

Her crew of ten included two cooks, a retired woman who assisted in cooking, serving meals, and cleaning cabins, and a couple of high school kids who worked with the horses, mucked out stables, and did odd jobs for Tom. The other four, who ranged from college students to a retired rodeo circuit bronco rider, helped Eve with clients and riding lessons.

“The staff and I hope you enjoy your time here and leave confident in your riding abilities.” She refrained from looking pointedly at Denton. “By now you should be settled in your cabins. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask myself or one of the staff.

“As you are all aware, tonight after dinner and a short break, a local country band will be coming for a barn dance. Many of our locals join us, so we can have as many as one hundred people here.” Eve picked up her clipboard and checked her notes. “We do serve beer, but please remember we start our first sessions at nine in the morning.” She smiled at the groans coming from the younger clients. “Tomorrow morning you will be divided into groups of two and will be assigned the horse chosen especially for you. During this time, you will learn your responsibilities as a rider, to both your horse and yourself. You will be fitted with your helmet. Did all of you bring the proper footwear and clothing listed in the information packet sent to you?”

Jackie raised her red boots and clapped the toes together, bringing grins to the group. Eve hoped they were as comfortable as they were flashy.

“You will learn the use and proper care of tack, how to saddle and bridle your horse, the proper way to tie, and how to lead. Only then will you learn to mount your horse. I ask that all of you follow the directions of your instructor, for your safety and theirs.”

She secretly enjoyed the next part of her speech. She sometimes wondered where her masochistic tendencies came from. A psychiatrist would probably have a field day.

“Now, I’m sure you all noticed the whirlpool tubs in your cabins.” She always had fun watching the silly grins passing between couples and the secret messages moving among potential romantic liaisons between the singles. “They are not there solely for pleasure.” Eve tapped her pen against her teeth. “Today is Friday. Tomorrow afternoon you’ll be riding. Sunday morning you’ll wake up wondering why you ever thought learning to ride would be fun. If you can get out of bed, you’ll be sore, tired, and wishing you’d never agreed to such a crazy idea.”

“Hey, you want to sugar coat that a little, sweetheart?” Richard called out in his southern drawl.

Eve laughed with everyone and took quiet pleasure in seeing Denton’s face turn a shade lighter. “Sure, Richard. At eleven o’clock Sunday morning we’ll have a religious service with Reverend John from town who’ll come out and bless our horses and bodies. After that, we’ll mount, which is when you’ll likely forget everything Reverend John said about forgiveness and want to call the crew every name in the book, and I’m not talking the Bible.

“Later, we’ll go on a hayride out to a lake, for a picnic and swimming, so please bring along your suits. We’ll provide towels and an afternoon snack. After we return, dinner will be at the lodge, and we’ll have a bonfire for anyone who wants to join. Otherwise, the rest of the evening is free. You can go into town, but I warn you that, like most small towns, this one pretty much shuts down on Sunday night.”

“Jeez, Dad. This place sucks,” Rob Sanders complained, curving his spine and sliding down further into his chair. “What the hell did we come here for? I hate you.” With that, he jumped up and stormed from the building.

His father, Chuck, swiped a hand across his face and stared at his shoes. Sophie gave him a sympathetic glance.

Eve wondered if the woman would be any help to him and made a mental note to call some friends to bring their teenagers to the dance. She flipped through her notes. When had a new private lesson roster been inserted? She glanced down the list. Her breath caught and before turning back to the group, she cleared her throat and gulped down some water. Who had changed the roster without telling her? Maybe she’d read the list wrong.

Another peek verified her fears. She did the scheduling with Tom, and remembered everyone was already booked with not only one client, but two. So how on earth did she get stuck with Denton? Alone?

“Something wrong, boss?” Dennis whispered.

Eve gave the roster to him. “You wouldn’t know anything about this, would you?”

“Uh, no. Is there a problem? Should I call Tom over?”

She placed a hand on his arm. “No. I’m fine, Dennis.”
Just a porcupine in my side.

From the corner of her eye, she caught Denton watching her. To her dismay, in front of staff and clients, heat rose to her face and her heart pounded like a herd of wild stallions. She broke eye contact, went back to her notes, and cleared her throat. Damn the man.

“A massage therapist will come out Monday to help soothe your aching muscles. I suggest you sign up. Monday we’ll be back to regular lessons. We have already assigned your partners, but as the week goes on, we may make adjustments based on your progression.”

She chanced a glance at Denton. “Some who signed up for private lessons may do better with a partner.” His returning stare seemed to dare her to move his lessons. Her heart sped up a little more. Those stallions must certainly be chasing a herd of mares in heat.

“Each evening, we’ll post time schedules here in the lodge so you know where to go the next day. Some of you are here for one week and others like Denton and the Hubers are scheduled for two weeks.”

With the exception of Denton’s pale face, the eager expressions of the novice riders made her smile. No matter how much she warned them, it never failed to shock them when they woke the morning after their first lesson. Some gave up and spent the rest of their stay enjoying the outdoors, others, but not many, asked for their money back.

“Any questions before we eat?”

Jackie turned toward Denton, then crossed her legs, letting her already short skirt hike higher up her thighs. She winked. “Ah, can we choose whom we want to take lessons with?”

Not even bothering to hide a laugh, Eve smothered rising irritation at the woman’s blatant interest in the man. “We’ve already made the assignments, but as I said earlier, if you’re equal to someone in the group and if that person agrees, we can always make changes.” She glanced at her watch and made a mental note to make sure Jackie was paired up with Sam or Gary. Not that it mattered if Jackie pounced on Denton. Nope, not one bit.

“Supper will be in fifteen minutes, giving you a few minutes to return to your cabins or get a breath of fresh air. The band starts playing at eight, but the barn will be ready at seven-thirty.”

She picked up her clipboard and headed for the door. Someone reached out and opened it for her. She looked up into Denton’s blue eyes. “Thank you,” she muttered, moving through the door and heading toward her house.

“Eve, wait,” Denton called.

At the little boy tone in his voice, she stopped and faced him. “What, Dent?”

He put his hands in his pockets and stared down at his shoes, unknowingly adding to his little-boy persona. “Ah, can I sit with you at supper?” he asked, peering up at her through his thick lashes.

Eve hid a smile. He may act like a child, but the vibes he gave off were pure adult male. But, after finding out he had signed up for private lessons with her, she wanted to take his vibes and shove them where the sun didn’t shine. Too bad he deserved the same kindness as any other person at her ranch.

“I’m sorry, Denton. I can’t eat supper with you. I really have too much to do for tonight’s dance and won’t be having supper at the lodge.” Before he tried to change her mind, she turned toward her house. “I’ll see you at the dance. Enjoy your meal.” Like a coward, she ran up the steps of the porch, jerked open the back door, and disappeared inside.

Denton flopped onto his bed and placed his arms behind his head. Caught by a breeze blowing from the open window, the ceiling fan rotated lazily. Right now he had about as much energy as the fan. He didn’t remember the last time he’d danced, probably at his wedding.

He rolled to his stomach and wrapped his arms around a pillow. A grin moved from his heart to his lips. Oh, but he’d had fun at the dance tonight. Being in the same room with Eve for four hours was enough to make him reel like a drunk, but he’d only had one beer all night.

At the start of the evening, Eve acted as hostess, greeting the locals and newcomers alike. With her crew and those staying at the ranch, nearly one hundred foot-stomping, hand-clapping dancers whooped it up to line-dances, polkas, the twist, and every type of music in between. At times, Denton thought for sure the old barn floor would collapse beneath all those happy feet, until Tom told him the floor had been reinforced when they’d started holding the dances.

Hardly anyone sat on the blanket-covered hay bales lining the walls, or the chairs placed around tables near the mock western bar. Even the teenagers, who in Denton’s mind usually congregated in groups to make fun of their elders, greeted Eve warmly and got into the act.

When she introduced them to Rob, they drew the young man into their fold. After watching father and son at supper, and talking to Chuck after the meal, Denton realized the strain on their relationship came from his wife dying a year ago from a long battle with cancer. For some reason Rob blamed his father. Neither he nor their grief counselor was able to reach the boy. At least, tonight, Rob had loosened up with his peers.

Sighing into his pillow, Denton couldn’t imagine having a teenage son and wondered what kind of father he’d make. If he had his way, Eve, as the mother, would make the job easier.

Simply thinking her name, made his heart jump and his palms sweat. Man, after only one night of dancing with her and he was addlepated, goofier than a teenage boy in throes of his first love, drunk on her scent and smile.

Not that she’d personally acknowledged him. Every time he’d asked her dance she said no. Her staff, whether intentional or not, helped his case, bless their hearts. Whenever a partner-switching dance came along and she happened to be with one of her employees, they made sure to pass her off to him.

Since leaving him alone on the dance floor or leaving a square dance group less one dancer was rude, Denton was able to wrap his arms around her more often than he thought possible. It was pure heaven. How she denied the electricity passing between them when their hands touched was beyond him.

He scratched the palms of his hands, reliving the touch of her skin against his, then clenched them into fists as he recalled the number of other men she’d
agreed
to take a turn on the floor with. Each time she danced with Max, Denton slipped his hands deeper into his pockets to keep from punching the guy. Someone must have forgotten to tell Max that he and Eve weren’t a couple, or his mother had gotten her information wrong. The way Max held Eve against his body and swayed his hips to hers, he obviously thought he had some claim to her.

Denton closed his eyes to relax and, again, her beauty flowed over him as she lifted her dark, curly hair from the back of her neck to cool off, or when she tossed her head back and laughed at something someone said. He hadn’t been this jittery, yet blissful, since he’d last seen her ten years ago. He swore. If only he’d get through mounting one of her horses without constantly thinking of mounting his sexy instructor.

“It’s going to be an interesting two weeks,” he mumbled into his pillow.

Eve rolled to her side and punched her pillow. Her nerve endings tonight were as prickly as the bales of straw she’d sat on between dances. To be in Denton’s arms again. Damn, pure bliss.

As the evening wore on and his warm, enticing arms and sense of humor wore her down, resistance became more difficult. Her employees, damn them, didn’t help any and doubted they knew she had been on to their little subterfuges to get her and Dent together. They’d saved her from having to say “yes” to Denton’s requests to dance and admit he was the only one she wanted to be with. Although she’d danced with plenty of men throughout the night, none made her face turn an unbecoming shade of red, or made her palms sweat and heart race.

Each time she danced with Max, she sensed Denton’s ire. She had an idea Max knew what he was doing as he took her into his arms, because they passed Denton standing on the sidelines too many times to be a coincidence. Her efforts to put some distance between her and the vet had had no effect.

Whenever Denton danced with another woman, especially Jackie, the jealous, green monster reared its ugly head and had Eve wanting to tear the woman’s hair out.

Man, how ridiculous. She was still angry for what he’d done. Eve rubbed her arms trying to erase the goosebumps holding him had evoked. He’d imprinted his scent, his essence, into her and they’d only danced. Hell, a kiss would be akin to racing her favorite mare across the skies, past the moon, and into the galaxy.

“Stop it, Eve Dayton!” she screamed into the darkened room. “This is ridiculous.”

She crunched her pillow in half and rolled to the middle of her queen-sized bed. “How am I ever going to get through the next two weeks when I couldn’t even make it through one night in a room filled with people? I need to get someone to take over his private lessons or make sure we’re never alone. It’s going to be an interesting two weeks.”