The Bad Boy's Bride

There are other ways I’d like to help her not be able to walk.

The thought comes out of nowhere, and yet I can’t exactly say that I’m surprised. I had to walk away from this woman the second that we got married because I knew that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t have let her go.

That kiss haunted me in ways that it shouldn’t, and that I can’t describe. But now she’s here on the ranch, looking even more delicious than on our wedding day last week. And she’s spotted me.

“Can’t say that I ever thought I’d see a city girl like you in a place like this.”

She smiles, and I feel like I’ve been hit by a bolt of lightning. My wife—that sounds strange to my mind—hadn’t really smiled during our first meeting. But that made sense. It was a whirlwind of a meeting, and there frankly wasn’t too much to smile about.

But this lights up her face. In the sun, her dark hair has tints of red in it, and again I have that urge to weave my fingers through it and see what it would feel like to kiss her again. The first kiss already imprinted on me in a way that I’ll never forget, the second one might wreck me.

“Thought I’d take a vacation and come see what I sacrificed any future married life for.”

I raise one eyebrow. Does she realize that she’s not the only one that did that? We both did. I don’t like the sarcasm in her tone. It rubs at my skin like sandpaper. For one brief moment I hoped that this would be a happy reunion of sorts. But of course not.

“You should have called first,” I say. “None of the guest cabins are open.”

A slow smirk. “Last I checked, I still owned this place. Or half of it, I guess, if I’m splitting it with you. So I’ll just stay with you.”

My pulse is suddenly thundering in my ears and I’m honestly not sure if it’s because I’m aroused by the thought of her sleeping so close to me, or the fact that she’s thinks she can just stroll in here and get whatever the hell that she wants. Like she owns the place. Shit!

“But I actually would love a tour of the place if you have the time,” she continues. “Like I said, I want to see what I’m saving by signing my life over to you.”

Glancing at her hand, I see that she’s actually wearing the wedding ring that Katie bought for her, and I pause. I’m not wearing mine. I didn’t think it really mattered—the papers are signed. But seeing the ring on her finger makes me wonder. Should I be wearing it? Why the hell do I like seeing it on her finger so much?

I’m reminded of the fact that she changed her tune when she heard about the people that lived here. I’d been thinking it was selfishness and wanting the security of what we’re paying her, buy now I consider there’s a chance that I misjudged her. That she’s actually curious out the ranch.

Might as well give her the benefit of the doubt. If it goes badly, I can always ask her to leave. “Best way to have a tour is on horseback. You ever been on a horse before?”

There’s a flash of uncertainty on her face. “No. But that won’t stop me.”

I smile. “All right then.” Leading her into the stable, I take her over to where Blue is resting, already saddled in preparation for guest rides later this afternoon. “This is Blue. She’s our gentlest horse. We usually save her for kids, or older people. She’ll be perfect for you.”

For a moment, Rachel looks at me like she’s wondering if I’m insulting her. I’m not. This is the simple truth. She finally nods and lets me help her up into the saddle. She doesn’t seem entirely comfortable, but she’s doing okay. I give her the basic commands on how to lead the horse before pulling Blue out of the stall and grabbing my own horse.

Exo has been my horse for years, and even though he’s starting to get up in years, he’s still fierce and fast. There’s nothing like taking him into one of our open fields and letting him run.

“Let’s go,” I say. “It’s not a short tour.”

The ranch is way bigger than she’s bargained for, and it’s going to take forever, especially with the terrible posture that she has on the horse. It’s so bad that it actually makes me smile and erases a touch of my lingering annoyance.

I start out toward the cattle fields. We won’t wander all the way through them, but they’re impressive from afar. We have over three thousand cattle that we manage, and her face is shocked when she sees the sheer amount of them. “Yeah,” I say. “You don’t realize how many three thousand is until you see them all.”