So Tough To Tame

When the door didn’t budge, Dawn stared down at the knob for a long while. She glared at it, then turned to look directly up at the camera.

The skin on Charlie’s arms drew tight as goose bumps sprang to life.

On the video, Dawn frowned and then walked away. Charlie backed up the tape and paused it.

This wasn’t the kind of video they used at the local convenience store. This was crisp and digital. She could clearly see the tightness around Dawn’s eyes. The furtive line of her mouth.

Charlie stared her down.

People were always surprised that Charlie was in security, but these days it wasn’t about big, burly guys with concealed handguns. Well, it wasn’t only about them, though they certainly had their place in the ecosystem. These days it was more about prevention than enforcement. Charlie could read people. She could anticipate. She could pick up on interference that disturbed the flow of normal traffic. On small tells that revealed intentions.

She’d lost a little confidence in her own intuition after the setup in Tahoe, but it didn’t take much skill to read Dawn’s thoughts. That glance was irritation and arrogance, not with Charlie, but with the camera. She was clearly thinking, If only that stupid camera wasn’t there, I could use my master key to get inside.

What Charlie couldn’t see on Dawn’s face was why. Why? Yes, Charlie had met Dawn’s husband for drinks one evening, but if Dawn was going to be that paranoid about Charlie being a femme fatale, why had she recruited her for the job? It made no sense. None of it did.

They’d been close in high school, despite their different interests. Charlie had filled her time with volleyball and track and tutoring, and Dawn had been student council president and head of the honor society and in charge of half the student volunteer organizations. But they’d had something in common, she and Dawn and Sandra and a few other overachievers: none of them had been popular with boys. While other girls had been out drinking beer around bonfires with horny teenage cowboys, Dawn and Charlie and their group had usually been at school. They’d shared running jokes about saving themselves for marriage. They’d assured each other that those party girls were going nowhere fast. They’d shaken their heads at the bad judgment.

But they’d also secretly yearned. Charlie had, at least. She’d tutored those boys in the library after school. Sometimes she’d even gone to their houses to sit in their rooms with them. But she’d never been in danger of being led astray. She was just Charlie. One of the guys. Another runner on the track team. Taller than most of them and flatter-chested, too. They’d hung out with her. They’d asked if they could copy her homework. They’d shoved her on the shoulder when they joked. And then they’d sidled away to flirt with the fun girls.

So she’d claimed not to want anything to do with them and their restless hands and crude mouths, but boy, had she imagined!

Luckily, when she’d gotten to college, she’d found a new role. A new group of friends. She’d assumed Dawn had, too. But all Dawn seemed to have gotten was more uptight.

Charlie shook her head and unpaused the video. Shoulders tight, she scanned the remaining hours, but nothing else happened. Tears sprang to her eyes.

Her instincts had failed her in Tahoe, but she wasn’t going to let them fail her here. Dawn was jealous, that was all. Maybe Dawn’s husband had made a stupid comment about Charlie’s ass or something. Maybe Dawn had just expected Charlie to be the same harmless tomboy she’d known in high school. Whatever the reason, it was Dawn’s issue. Charlie wasn’t going to get sucked into it. Dawn had started spying on her, commenting on Charlie’s comings and goings, implying she was a man-stealing slut, so Charlie had moved out. End of story.

She wouldn’t be paranoid and scared. She wouldn’t turn into one of those people who was carried along by life, tumbled over and knocked around every time the current got too fast. Like her mother, who could never grab on to anything, could never find a handhold.

No. Charlie would work hard. She’d let the scandal in Tahoe die down. She’d pay off her legal bills. And then she’d find a job somewhere else. Anywhere else. Just not at the Meridian Resort.

But for today, just having her apartment at the Stud Farm was enough. She felt a little stronger. A little more herself. She’d hit rock bottom, but she was on her way back up now, and she’d be damned if she’d leave the best parts of herself behind.

CHAPTER FIVE

“GODDAMN IT!” the ranch foreman yelled. “Pull!”

Walker wrapped the rope more tightly around his wrist, took it in both hands and hauled as hard as he could as the heifer struggled and fought against the mud. The slick goo must have felt like a predator’s mouth tugging her deeper in, and her eyes rolled in wild panic. Walker pulled harder, urging the other men on when they wanted to stop. The poor girl was going to freeze to death if they didn’t get her out. Granted, she was destined for the packing plant in a year or two, but there was no reason for her to go like this, cold and shaking and scared.

“Fuck this,” the hand next to him muttered.

“She’s almost there,” Walker said, getting a new grip on the rope. Actually, she seemed to be slipping deeper, but he wasn’t going to give up. “Come on. One more good haul should get her.” In the end, it took three more hauls, but they pulled her free. She stumbled a few feet, then went to her knees.

There wasn’t anything out here to clean her off with, and the ranch was a mile away, so Walker swept his gloved hand down her flank, over and over, sluicing off the thick mud. Her big body shook under his hands, but her panicked lowing had stopped. By the time he stood and went to his horse to grab a blanket, she was breathing almost normally. She struggled to her feet and took a few steps toward him.

“Well, look at that,” one of the cowboys crowed. “You really do have a way with the ladies.”

The younger one laughed. “I’ve heard they follow you around like cats in heat, but damn, I’d never heard anything about heifers.”

Walker laughed off the jokes and took the blanket over to scrub some warmth into the cow. It only took a few moments before she was alert enough to jerk away from his ministrations and trot back to the herd. Hopefully she’d stick close to the others and the collective body heat would do the rest.

“All right,” the foreman snapped. “Move ’em on the last mile, and come collect your pay.” He trotted off without a word of thanks.

They remounted and spread out to move the herd on. Once they got them going, the older cowboy rode closer. “Mr. Kingham is a real asshole, but the trail work with the guests is okay if you can get hired on at the lodge. Heard you was looking for work.”

Walker glanced at the guy. His name was Tom, but Walker didn’t know more about him than that. “Where’d you hear that?”

“Well, you’re here, aren’t you?” He tipped his chin toward the foreman. “He asked me to keep an eye on you, see how you did. Too many years at one of these dude ranches can make for a soft cowboy.”

“You think?”

Tom shrugged. “Teaching pretty ladies how to ride?” He shot Walker an arch look, but he smiled and shook his head when Walker met it with a straight face. “Hey, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it. Just saying if you’re used to having a warm woman at hand, it might make it harder to face a cold night on the range.”

“Yeah, well. They bring their own sets of problems.”

“Don’t I know it? Anyway, the back end of the operation is pretty quiet. No guests out here. Obviously Kingham’s not ‘customer service oriented.’”

“Yeah, I worked here ten years ago. Kingham wasn’t here, but I know they only use a few dozen head of cattle in the guest areas and keeps the rest of the work behind the scenes.”

“Well, you don’t seem soft. I’ll put in a good word.”

“Thanks.” Walker was thankful, but not as thrilled as he should’ve been at the prospect of a permanent job. Maybe Tom was right. Maybe he had gotten soft. He looked toward the distant buildings of the guest ranch almost hidden in the long evening shadows cast by the hills. But they weren’t headed there. The working side of the ranch had its own outbuildings and trailers. The guest ranch was only an attractive outbranch of an operation that ran two thousand head of cattle every year.

It’d be good work, but Walker’s heart fell. He’d gotten used to being around people. Ten or fifteen cowhands, the whole staff of the lodge, the clients: moms and dads and lots of kids. And yes, the occasionally group of raucous ladies looking for a mountain adventure.

Working at a dude ranch was a hell of a lot of fun.

This assignment, on the other hand... Well, shit. At least he could go back to his own place every night. That, and the steady income was probably the best he could say about it.

Freezing rain hit his hat in a slow patter before it picked up to a steady drizzle. The rain left him feeling even more defeated. Apparently he could’ve just left the damn heifer wet and muddy, because she was about to get that way again.

Turning his collar up, he concentrated on edging in a few cattle who were trying to break off from the herd. Soon enough, he was tracking mud and water into his truck and leaving for home, his pay for the day’s work stuffed into his pocket. He’d earn another few bucks tomorrow. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was something. He’d rather not dip into his savings any more than he had to.

Body aching from the cold, Walker cranked up the heat in the truck, then cranked up his favorite George Strait album, as well. No point dwelling on his problems. If he’d wanted stability, he’d chosen the wrong career. At least it came with damn good music.

He was just settling into a good fantasy about the scalding shower he was about to take when his cell phone rang, and his fantasy morphed to something else.

Maybe what he needed was a shower and a beer and a woman in his bed. He pulled the phone from his pocket, already wondering which old friend it could be. Granted, in the past few years, most of his lovers had been brief hookups with ranch visitors, but there were always a few—

His fantasy of a quiet night of good sex died when he saw the display.

Nicole.

Apparently she’d let go of her anger. But Walker hadn’t let go of his, if that’s what it was. Anger at her, maybe, or just at himself. He’d been stupid enough to mess around with another man’s wife. That didn’t mean he had to make it worse.

He declined the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket. A shower and a beer and his hand, then. Good enough. And a hell of a lot smarter than a bad-news woman.

He was so tired by the time he pulled up to the apartment, his hand would’ve been the only good choice, regardless. He’d never been the kind of guy to get off and go straight to sleep. Taking care of a woman the right way was hard work, and he didn’t have it in him tonight.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Normally, he’d never have gotten into his truck covered in mud, but there’d been no bunkhouse washroom to clean up in. And he couldn’t face cleaning off his floor mats tonight. Or the seat. And tomorrow would likely be just as muddy. He’d take care of it when the job was done.

A knock on the window startled him out of his stupor. He rolled down the window and was surprised to see Charlie’s face a few inches from his.

“Hey, cowboy!” She held both hands over her head as if to shield herself from the few raindrops still falling.

A smile stole immediately over his mouth. “Hey, Charlie. What are you doing out?”

“Heading to the saloon. Are you coming over?”

His gaze slipped to the porch of the saloon as he reached for the door. Charlie hopped back as he eased the door open and got out. He stretched his back. Yet again, he found himself turning down a good time. “I’m sorry. I’m beat. I need a shower as soon as possible. And then bed.” He cleared his throat, knowing what he meant by bed and telling himself she couldn’t have any idea.

Her eyes swept down his body. “You are kind of a mess. You look like...”

“I’ve been wrestling cattle in the mud?”

“Something like that.” Her eyes lingered on the mud smeared across his shirt. “So shower and then come play.”

Come play. Jesus, did she say that kind of thing on purpose? “I wish I could.”

“Aw. Are you really too tired?” Her little smirk was a challenge. He wanted to accept it.

He found himself leaning a little closer before remembering that he smelled like horse and mud and sweat. “I’d love to. But after I take a shower, I won’t be able to talk myself into going back out in the cold.”

“Well, I can’t fault that, I guess. But I won’t lie. After the day I had, I’d be willing to dare a lot of discomfort for a drink.”

“Trouble in paradise?” he asked.

Charlie opened her mouth; then her eyes swept down his body again and she shook her head. “All right. I wasn’t exactly wrestling cattle in the mud. I suppose I’ll recover from the office politics.”

“Hell, Charlie. Any redneck can wrestle a cow. Put me in a room with computers and the kind of work you do, and I’d look like a trapped bear.”

A wide smile spread slowly over her face. “I admit, I can’t imagine you dressed in creased pants and sitting at a computer.”

“Aw, shit, darlin’. Nobody can. That’s why I’ll never be anything but a dirty cowboy.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” she purred. “Hard work is a beautiful thing, Walker Pearce. It really is.”

“Jesus, Charlie,” he said, huffing out a shocked laugh.

“Go on and take your shower. Get cleaned up and maybe I’ll take pity on you and bring you a beer later.”

“Ha. I’ll be sure not to still be in a towel, then.”

“Don’t get all dressed up on my account.” With that, she sauntered off toward the saloon, her ass a sweet, swinging demand for attention.

Suddenly, Walker wasn’t half so tired. In fact, he felt like a man who’d just gotten home from a two-week vacation. Or so he assumed. He’d never had more than a few days off at a time, but one thing he’d learned was how to jam a hell of a lot of good time into a quick moment. Maybe he could put that skill to use tonight.

He forgot all about his muddy truck and headed inside.

CHAPTER SIX

THIS DEFINITELY WASN’T the Charlie he’d known in high school. That Charlie had been comfortable and low-key and studious. This Charlie was sitting on a man’s lap at the bar, leading the whole damn room in a sing-along of “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places.”

Walker shook his head in shock, but he was smiling when he headed toward the bar. He tipped his hat when she looked up.

“Oh, my God! Walker!” She hopped off the stranger’s lap and hurried over to hug Walker. He couldn’t say he minded. “I thought you were too tired to come down?”

“I decided I didn’t want to miss the fun.”

“We’re just getting started.”

He raised an eyebrow. “This is you just getting started?”

“Oh, sure. I’ve got hours of fun left in me, Walker. I could go all night.”

Yeah, she was definitely doing this on purpose. And now that he was clean and scrubbed, he could lean as close as he wanted. “When did you turn into such a flirt, Ms. Allington?”

“I’ve always been a flirt.”

“Liar. You never flirted with me. I would’ve noticed.”

She threw back her head and laughed, drawing his gaze to the long curve of her neck. “You wouldn’t have noticed in a million years, Walker.”

“I would have. You smart girls didn’t flirt with me, so it would have been memorable.”

“I guess we were too smart to get pulled into trouble with boys like you.”

“Exactly. So what happened?”

Her hand curled around his arm as she edged close enough to speak into his ear. “Now we’re smart enough to know exactly the kind of trouble we want.”

He couldn’t sleep with her. He couldn’t. And she was just flirting anyway. It meant nothing more to her than sitting on that other guy’s lap had. But, God, his heartbeat picked up at the thought. Charlie. Sweet, smart Charlie, filling his head with images of sex. It was wrong. And more than a little intimidating.

She was way smarter than he was. Always had been and always would be. She’d been a great tutor, but his skin still prickled in fear at the memory of having to write in front of her, concentrating so hard at shaping the letters the right way and spelling everything correctly. Damn embarrassing that the only girl he’d had to do schoolwork in front of had also been the smartest girl he’d known.

He’d hated every moment of it, but her kindness had made it easier to make a fool of himself in front of her.

Despite all that, she still seemed to like him. And he’d never have to do homework in front of her again.

Charlie pressed a beer into his hand.

He tried to give it back. “I’m not drinking your beer.”

“I’ve got a whole pitcher. I’m a big girl, but I can’t drink that much on my own.”

“I suppose. You are tall, but not as tall as you used to be.”

“That’s because you kept getting bigger and bigger. I like that. Have you ever stopped growing, Walker?”

This time, when she pressed the beer into his hand, he took it. And downed it in two gulps. He could handle this. He could. It was just good-hearted fun, like flirting with any other woman.

“Come on.” She took his hand and tugged him toward the corner of the bar. “Rayleen’s having trouble getting a clear view of your ass and she’s giving me the evil eye.”

Sure enough, when he turned around, Rayleen gave him an irritated wave, urging him closer.

“Hey, Rayleen,” he said when he got within earshot. And eyeshot.

“Hey, nothing. Ain’t that your dirty little piece over there?”

“What?” He looked down for a moment, then over at Charlie, but she shrugged.

“No, there,” Rayleen said, pointing toward the pool table area.

When Walker’s eyes focused on the far side of the saloon, he was hit with a rush of alarm. Several waves of panic fell on him at once, flooding his body with adrenaline.

First, that Nicole was here. Second, that she was glaring at him. And third, that someone who shouldn’t know anything about her knew more than enough.

He spun back to stare wide-eyed at Rayleen, but the old woman just shrugged. “A dog shouldn’t shit where it sleeps,” she offered. Nice imagery, but not exactly helpful.

Charlie’s head turned from Rayleen to him and he winced.

“Romantic troubles?” she asked.

No. Not romantic. “Fuck,” he cursed, inadvertently correcting Charlie’s words as he scrubbed a hand over his beard.

Charlie rolled her eyes. “Oh, is that all?”

When she laughed, he shot her a pained smile. She wasn’t offended. But she would be if she found out the details. “Pardon me,” he said, hesitating for only one second before he turned away.

For a moment, he was disoriented, looking for Nicole and not finding her. Maybe she’d gone. His gaze dropped. Or maybe she was standing right in front of him, her arms crossed over her admittedly nice chest.

He cleared his throat and slid his eyes toward the door. “What are you doing here?”

“Having a drink,” she snapped, tossing her straight blond hair with a twitch of her head.

“Right.” He stepped forward, edging her away from Charlie and the rest of his friends. “But there’s plenty to drink at the ranch.”

“But no good company these days.”

“Slow season,” he said.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Her eyes shifted. “Who’s that?” she bit out, tipping her chin toward the bar. He didn’t have to ask who she meant. “Your new bed warmer?”

“Nicole.” He sighed. “I don’t want to argue about that. You’re married.”

“Right. That didn’t stop you from kissing or touching but now it’s your excuse for ignoring me?”

Shit. He tried to sneak a look over his shoulder toward Charlie. She caught his eye and offered a sympathetic wince. “I’m sorry. Really. I’ve been busy. I’m scrambling for work.”

“Maybe I could help get you hired on somewhere. If—”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he interrupted. “It’s already complicated enough.” He glanced around the room and saw enough eyes on them to make him squirm. “As a matter of fact, why don’t we talk outside?”

“Don’t want to be seen with me?”

“Jesus, Nicole. You have a husband!”

She shrugged. “As if he cares.”

“He cared enough to fire me, apparently.”

Mouth tight with anger, she finally said, “Fine,” and headed toward the door. Walker followed, wondering if the back of his neck was as red as it felt. Thankfully he still hadn’t gotten that haircut.

Why the hell had she come here and drawn attention to both of them? At least he didn’t have to wonder what the town knew anymore. Everybody suspected. If they hadn’t before, they certainly would now.

He almost started down the sidewalk to take her to his apartment, but the idiocy of that struck him before he hit the first step. The porch of the Crooked R wasn’t exactly private, but twilight had settled in and it was cold enough that no one else had taken a seat on any of the ancient bar stools.

She bumped into him when he changed directions and headed for one end of the porch. “Don’t you live right there?”

“I do,” he said, and left it at that.

For a moment, he thought she was going to explode. Her jaw clenched, her eyes narrowed and she drew in a deep breath. Walker braced himself for some of the cursing he’d heard her aim at her husband during fights. But in the end, she let the breath out slowly and paced to the railing to look out at the street.

“You’re treating me like shit, you know. I know I’m not your girlfriend, and I know I’m married, but how can you just walk away from me like I’m nothing?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and meant it. “I don’t want to make you feel bad. I just...”

“I’m lonely, Walker. My husband and I aren’t talking, and you’re the only one who ever treated me as more than the owner’s wife. It’s a hundred times worse now. People don’t know if they should even be nice to me.”

“We shouldn’t have done what we did. What we were thinking about doing. If he thinks we—”

“Oh, please. Like he doesn’t cheat? Everyone knows that black-haired bimbo who stays in the Settler’s Cabin every July isn’t there to get in touch with nature. Jesus Christ, last summer she didn’t even bother with one trail ride. Do you all think I’m an idiot?”

“Ah.” Walker swallowed hard, glad she was facing away from him. Yeah, they’d all known. It was part of the justification he’d given himself for messing with her in the first place. “So why don’t you just get divorced?”

Her back stiffened. “Why don’t I get divorced? Really? I like how you say that as if it never would’ve occurred to me.”

He shrugged. “Well?”

“You want the truth? My husband wants me around to raise his kids and I stay because of the prenup. Lovely, isn’t it?”

He didn’t understand rich folks. Wouldn’t she rather be free and a little poorer? “You can leave, Nicole. Just move on. I’m sure you love your stepkids, but they have a mom. You could start over.”

She turned to face him. “I don’t want to start over. I just want what I had. A nice house. A pretty life. And you, Walker. You were always around when I needed you.” She smiled. That sweet little smile she used when she wanted something. “It would be good between us. You know it would.”

Well, hell. Yes, it’d be good, but he couldn’t say he’d ever had bad sex, per se. You got what you put in, as far as he could tell, like most things in life. “Yes, it’d be good, but... It’s not right. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to treat you badly. I thought it was just about convenience for you. You were bored. I was there. But if your husband suspects...” If everyone suspects... “It’s silly, I guess, but a man has to have some standards.”