Dance with Me (Cowboys of Crested Butte 2)

Today would be the first time he saw her since he decided to be noble instead of smart. He and his twin brother, Tucker, were driving over Kebler Pass from Aspen to Crested Butte to spend the holiday with Ben Rice and his family. And she was Ben’s stepdaughter.

Jace worked at Black Mountain Ranch as a wrangler on and off since he turned eighteen, seven years ago. It provided an income, but he didn’t need the money. His grandparents had invested heavily in land development in Aspen back before Walter Pace founded the Aspen Skiing Company. Jace and his brother Tucker each received an income from the trusts his grandfather set up for them.

He worked at the ranch because he loved being around horses, and the guests too, to be honest. For many, coming to a dude ranch had been a lifelong dream, an item on their bucket list. Some rode their whole life. Others had never been on a horse. The ranch embraced both ends of the spectrum, and everything in between.

The day he met Irene Fairchild, he was on his way to the barns, hoping to go for a long ride. Guests would begin arriving the following week, and then there would be no time for afternoon pleasure rides.

When he saw the car come barreling down the dirt road, his first inclination was to yell to the driver to slow the hell down. But when the car came to a stop, and he saw her, he changed his mind.

Out stepped a very beautiful woman putting her long blonde hair up into a ponytail. He wanted to tell her to leave it loose. He didn’t intend to walk over to her, but his feet took on a mind of their own.

“Hi,” he said, tipping his hat. “Welcome to the ranch. Can I help you with your bags?”

“Uh, sure. Thanks.”

“What’s your name, cowgirl?”

“Irene Fairchild,” she answered.

“What cabin are you assigned to, Irene?”

She pulled out her welcome letter. “Fourteen.”

It was one of the few single cabins. Jace wondered how a newbie scored it, but the thought of her sleeping alone every night made the temperature of his blood go up. The ranch management frowned on romances between employees, but as long as both parties were discreet, they looked the other way.

If anyone asked him, he would’ve said he had no interest in a summer romance with someone he worked side-by-side with, day in, day out. But Irene Fairchild made him change his mind. Something about her got under his skin. She was beautiful, but there was more to it.

Her blue eyes sparkled in the sun, and she had an easy laugh. He saw worry lines around her eyes though, which meant she might not be as shallow as a few of the cowgirls the ranch hired. They were after a good time. Irene came here for something else. He wondered what.

“Thinking about her isn’t going to help,” said Tucker.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re thinking about her. It’s over. Move on.”

“Not that easy.”

“It is that easy, quit dwelling on it.”

“Wait until you meet her. You’ll understand.”

“I don’t need to meet her to understand she’s engaged to another man. What else is there?”

“You’ll see.”

Blythe Cochran and Irene Fairchild, who everyone called Renie, met in kindergarten, and had stayed best friends ever since. The last few months had been rocky between them. Blythe hadn’t talked to her since January.

When her parents told her they were invited to spend Thanksgiving with Renie’s mother and her new husband, Blythe tried to beg off and stay home.

“I’m not speaking to Renie,” she told her mother.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she answered. “Once the two of you are together again, it will be as though no time has passed at all. The same way it is between Liv and me.”

Paige Cochran met Liv Rice the same day Blythe and Renie met. A single parent at the time, Liv became fast friends with both Paige and Blythe’s father, Mark. Their families always spent holidays together, along with Renie’s fiancé, Billy Patterson, and his parents, Dottie and Bill.

This year they were spending Thanksgiving at the Flying R Ranch. Liv moved to the ranch in Crested Butte when she married Ben Rice a year ago.

Renie’s fiancé was the main reason Blythe didn’t want to go. For the last couple of years, Blythe pestered Renie to fix her up with Billy. Renie made one excuse after another why she couldn’t, but none were the truth. Blythe recently discovered Renie was interested in him herself. More than interested, she was in love with him.