Sassy Blonde (Three Chicks Brewery 1)

As he slowed his rental truck, he spotted Shep, Nash’s older brother, exiting the barn with two tacked up horses at his side. His eyes were a silvery blue, his hair dark brown, and there was nothing fancy about him. He was a homegrown country man, with a dark-brown cowboy hat, plaid button-down, worn blue jeans, and scuffed brown boots. Hayes quickly parked and got out of his truck. “Can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” Hayes said by way of greeting. He needed a ride. The freedom. The quiet. And the dude ranch had well-trained horses.

Shep gave an easy smile. “It’s not a problem. These two could use a good ride out anyway.” He offered Hayes the reins. “Tie ’em back up at the corral when you’re done. Some of the boys are out on a ride with our newest guests. They’ll put them away when they get back.”

“Will do.”

Shep looked like he was fighting a smile. “Try not to fall off these ones.”

“Ha,” Hayes said with a snort. “These ones are sane. Unlike the horses at your brother’s place.”

“Yeah, but you are the one that rides them,” Shep shot over his shoulder as he walked away.

Hayes shook his head and chuckled.

The crunch of gravel sounded behind him. Hayes turned to find Maisie’s MINI coming up the driveway. The heavy weight on his chest slowly lessened.

After she parked next to his truck, she jumped out of her car. “Ah-ha, I knew it. We’re going for a ride, aren’t we?”

Hayes noted her cowboy boots and her tan cowboy hat sitting atop her wavy hair. She wore a flowered blouse and tight jeans that made focusing on anything but her killer body difficult. He cleared his throat and nodded. “I needed a break from the case and thought you could use one too.”

She smiled when she reached him. “A break is good.” Boldly, she rose on her tiptoes and kissed him like it was the most natural thing she’d ever done.

Up until this moment, he never realized how much he liked that about Maisie. Everything with Maisie was easy. Like a breath of fresh air. Her soft lips brushed sweetly and perfectly against his, making him want to deepen the kiss until they were both breathless and sweaty. He forced himself to back away. He hadn’t invited her here for that, no matter what his body wanted. He gestured at the smaller horse. “Up you go.” She sidled up to the horse, took hold of the reins, and grabbed the horn of the saddle. He took her knee, and she bounced once on her foot before he hoisted her up. He adjusted the stirrups to her size. “How long has it been since you’ve ridden?”

“Years, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be okay.” She winked at him. “As long as you can catch me.” She spun the horse, gave the mare a kick and cantered off toward the hill at the back of the house that led to the vast Colorado meadows.

Hayes laughed, shoved his foot in the stirrup, which was close enough to his height to be comfortable and he clicked his tongue. The chestnut horse cantered off easily, and once Hayes passed the house, he gave the horse a slight squeezing and opened him up to a gallop. The scent of warm earth carried along the breeze, the sun set over the snowy, peaked mountains, and the grasses blew in the wind as Hayes rushed by.

When he caught up to Maisie, she laughed, slowing the mare to a walk. “Dammit, I should have gone faster.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “Trying to show me up, huh?”

“Always.” Her eyes warmed under the beams of sunlight before she turned to glance out in front of her.

Hayes followed her gaze, discovering the reason. Deer grazed off in the distance. Shadows drifted over the meadow as clouds passed overhead. The air always smelled cleaner out here. Fresher. Comfortable silence fell between them as Hayes led them through a trail cut out in the thick forest and then up another small hill. They moved closer to the mountains until they reached the stream bubbling across the meadow. “Let’s hang here for a bit,” he said.

She turned to him with a smile. “Love to.”

He dismounted, as she did, and then he tied their horses to a tree, letting them graze on the long grasses.

“I’ve got some news today,” she said, taking off her boots and socks, and rolling up her jeans. She stuck her feet in the stream. “Good news for change.”

“Oh?” He sat in next to her on mossy rocks. “Do tell.”

She gave him a cute smile. “In a week, I’m holding a big barn dance at the brewery, since we couldn’t get to the festival. Megan’s going to help with the band and giving me some pointers about it all.”

His chest expanded at the pride in her face. “This was your idea?”

She gave a firm nod. “Clara even went for it. Can you believe it?”

“Yes, I can believe it,” he told her. “Your ideas are amazing, Maisie.” Everything about her was amazing. He liked the cute smile she gave and he reached for a pebble next to him. He sent it skipping down the stream. “Is everyone welcome?”

“If you mean you, then yes, you’re welcome. Always.” The softness in her voice drew his gaze. “Spread the word as much as you can. I know everyone here in River Rock will be in for this party, but we need to reach people outside of the locals.”

He nodded. “What’s your plan so far?”

“Tomorrow I’m putting posters up in all the bars that Megan and I can think of. Social media will hopefully help us a ton. Then it’s just word of mouth, connecting with the right people to make it happen.”

“Sounds like you got it all figured out.”