“I spent a lot of time here as a kid, but we lived on a ranch outside Omak. Dad grew up here, then bought the ranch, and he also ran a livestock auction, mostly horses and cattle.”
“We both grew up on ranches.”
“I’m guessing your ranch was bigger than ours. We had horses and cattle, but it was a pretty small operation.”
Molly noted that he didn’t offer details on his family ranch. She decided not to pry, but was picturing a large ranch in Montana nestled into mountains.
The platter was empty, the third beers drained, and the sun was almost to the Canadian Rockies. Molly thought about inviting him to stay for another beer, a steak, and see what happened. But the only sober part of her brain was arguing for a slower approach.
She asked, “Where are you staying?”
“I have a tent at the campsite.”
“Where do you live?”
He waved his hand toward the Pasayten Wilderness Area. “Out there.”
She chuckled. “Off the grid.”
“Pretty much.”
“When are you headed out?”
“Whenever I feel like it. It’ll take another day to provision, so probably Sunday.”
“If you came over for breakfast, it’d give the dogs another chance to spend time together.”
“I’d like that. What time?”
“How about 9:00?”
“Great. What can I bring?”
“Just Bear.”
Chapter 2
Molly cut up a potato and put the chunks on to boil as she salted and peppered a rib eye for the barbeque. She was hungry and had been looking forward to steak and mashed potatoes for dinner. Shadow was eating her nightly bowl.
Well, that was interesting. Looks like she saved a breeding fee. Nice. She’d get Kitty’s email in the morning just in case the match was successful. She didn’t have any doubt that Bear had good heritage. She knew dogs, and Bear was a stunning animal. Bart could have made that all up, but she didn’t think so. She believed every word of it. Bart, Brett, Kitty, and Cheyenne. You can’t make that stuff up. It made her laugh again. He was from a western family, raised on a Montana ranch, knew horses, and lived off the grid. She kicked herself for not learning more about his history, but that would be the priority in the morning.
Speaking of stunningly beautiful animals, what a hunk! She couldn’t stop thinking about the moment during the third beer when she’d commented on Bear’s recharge rate and he’d given her that look. She’d felt that in every part of her body. An authentic stud cowboy. She’d learn more about the mountain man tomorrow. Where’d he live? Why was he off the grid? What was the backstory? How did the western rugged cowboy stud getrefined? Or was he refined from the outset, then bailed out, and became a recluse later? And what would cause that?
She put the steak on the barbeque and went to check on the potatoes. So far, so good. Back to the barbeque, a fourth beer opened. She usually didn’t drink this much, but she was in the mood, and it was a beautiful night. Shadow had settled by the barbeque. She couldn’t imagine how intense sizzling meat smelled to a German Shepherd. She’d read that a male dog could pick up the scent of a female in heat up to three miles away. She’d been careless letting Shadow get away like that. She knew Shadow was in deep heat and that her biology would cause her to be on the prowl. How far away could she pick up Bear’s scent? They’d met in the woods and got it done. Bear’s father was an award winner and his mother was purebred. Kitty had the papers. Okay, then. That might work out just fine.
A promising day on more than one front.
Molly awoke early and showered, giving her body an extra scrub. She was having company for breakfast. Very sexy company. He’d been very subtle looking at her yesterday, but she’d caught him at least a half dozen times checking her out. Well, she’d be disappointed if he hadn’t. That’s what men had been doing to her since she was twelve. Tall, lean, slender, muscled, and with slightly larger than average breasts, men looked. There was nothing she could do about it. It didn’t matter what she wore. They looked. Everywhere she went. They looked. She was used to it, and didn’t really care anymore, as long as they stuck to window shopping.
When she’d first come out on the porch, she watched him survey her top to bottom then back to the top. Well, she wasdoing exactly the same thing with him. How could she criticize a man for doing exactly what she was doing? And sitting by the lake, she’d caught him several times checking out her breasts. Nothing special there, but something about decent breasts on a slender woman made men crazy.
After her shower, she studied herself in the mirror as she dried her back with the towel. At thirty-five, she still had muscle tone. No fat on this body, lean top to bottom. The breasts were a little fuller and a little lower but still had the right shape. Genetics mostly, but the morning workout helped. Twenty five pushups, one hundred sit ups, and ten chin ups. Every morning, even if she was hung over. She’d promised that to her father, and she was committed to it for as long as she was capable.
She didn’t fret much about what to wear. She pulled on a clean pair of tight, high-waist blue jeans. She liked the fit and knew they gave the best presentation from behind. She’d been thinking about the top since she’d invited him for breakfast and decided on a tight tee with western bling. No need for a push up bra. She liked soft and natural, and that looked good with this top. She stood in front of the mirror, turning side to side, before she gave it the final approval. She put on light eyeliner and an invisible lip gloss. Makeup was not her style. She was all about natural. Her reddish brown, auburn hair came from her Scottish ancestry. Well, nothing much she could do there. It was wild and wavy and all over the place. She’d always wanted to be prettier, but what girl didn’t? She had a long, strong face and never had problems finding boyfriends, but she also knew that was about the body. Men liked her body. They were okay with the face. But it was about the body.
She stepped back from the mirror. Okay, that’s the best she could do for a cabin breakfast with a hunky mountain man.
Shadow picked up Bear’s scent and took off like a shot. In a few minutes, they appeared from around the bend. Bart was taking long, easy strides, both dogs walking briskly behind. Molly came out to the front porch to watch.
