“I saw them when I drove through.”
“What’s the town look like?”
Ryan laughed. “So quaint. I really can’t wait to explore it.”
“Me too. How about we meet up at six at your cabin?”
“I’d love it. For now, I am going to change into jeans and a sweater, then head to town. Once you get here this evening, we’ll look at the menus and decide on something. I’d ask you to go but I just want to get there, get what I need and back to the cabin.”
“That’s fine. I’m too tired to go anyway. Have a nice day, Ryan. I’ll see you later.” Alyssa returned to inside of her cabin.
Ryan took a moment to look around, a soft smile playing on her lips as she soaked in the beauty of the surroundings. The landscape was enchanting, a delicate interplay of sunlight bouncing through the huge trees surrounding the cabins. Though she longed to linger on the porch, Ryan valued the solitude afforded by her rustic cabin.
After Ryan entered her own cabin, she closed the door, locked it, and kicked off her shoes, feeling the cool floor beneath her feet. She removed her blouse from her skirt, unbuttoning it asif shedding the day’s constraints. Grabbing her shoes, she made her way to the bedroom. Once she changed into comfortable clothes, she sighed as she headed back outside to her vehicle. When she got back, she would get in that tub and hope it eased some of the tension in her shoulders.
The trip to town had been quick once she found The Western Wear store where she was able to buy everything she needed and some she didn’t, then headed back to her cabin to soak. When she got back and unpacked her new clothes, she realized she forgot to buy cowboy boots.
“Well, you’re not going back out today. It will have to wait. I’m not going out tomorrow either. I am just too tired. Mr. Harrison will have to get over it.”
Inside the spacious bathroom, she turned on the water and waited as steam began to fill the air. Ryan unpinned her hair from its bun, pinned it up on top of her head, then stepped into the large, inviting clawfoot jacuzzi tub and pressed the button for the jets. A low groan of relief escaped her lips as the warm, bubbling water enveloped her.
“Oh, that feels so good,” she murmured, the soothing rush of hot water washing away the fatigue of the flight and long drive.
Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes. A smile lifted her lips when Seth Harrison appeared in her mind. That was one good-looking man. He was very tall. Even in her four-inch heels, making her five foot nine, he was taller. Probably a foot taller than her five foot five and his body looked like he was in terrific shape. His jeans fit him well,verywell. His dark hair touched the collar of his T-shirt, but she noticed some gray in his scruff and at his temples. His eyes were beautiful, a deep moss green, and he had great lips. The thing she always noticed on a man first, was his lips. Sexy lips. A bowed upper lip and full bottom lip. His lips looked so good that she wanted to kiss him. That shocked her because she preferred a man in a suit and tie.
“I bet that cowboy could change your mind.” She sighed.
She had to spend the day following him around. How in the hell was she going to do that and not drool? Of course, he could be married or engaged or involved. That was one step she’d never take. She wouldn’t want another woman coming on to her man, so she wouldn’t make a move on another woman’s man.
“You’re getting ahead of yourself, Ryan. He could be nothing more than a fling,ifhe wasn’t with anyone. He lives in Montana; you live in California.”
She sat up quickly. She shouldn’t be even thinking like this. She just met the man, and she was already thinking about him. She hadn’t had sex in so long that she couldn’t remember the last time. Ryan shook her head. It had to have been with Shawn. God, what a mistake he was. They met at the magazine where they both worked. He was a journalist, and they worked together on an article and ended up in bed. She wasn’t proud of that, but she swore she was in love but that ended quickly when she caught him in bed with another photographer. When she broke up with him, she made sure to avoid him as much as possible. Even though they rarely worked together, it was a possibility they could. She got so mad with him one time that she told him he was terrible in bed. He sure didn’t float her boat, as her mother loved to say.
At six o’clock, a knock sounded on her door, and she opened it to see Alyssa standing there.
“Hey, come in.” Ryan opened the door wider for her and she stepped inside.
“Oh, this cabin is cute. I thought they’d all look alike.”
“This is a two bedroom. It was the only one they had left, so I had to take it.”
“I have just the one bedroom. Of course, that’s all I need.” Alyssa smiled.
Ryan closed the door behind her, then walked to the sofa. “Please sit, and we’ll go over the menus.”
“Thanks. It’s damn chilly.”
“Oh, that sounds good too. So, tell me about this man you met today.”
“His name is Seth Harrison. He grows livestock feed for Beckett Feed. I had to look it up. He didn’t seem terribly pleased with me being a woman.”
“That could be because of the men on the ranch.”
“Yeah, that’s true. I’ll see how it goes.”
“How long will you be here, Ryan?”
“Probably until the end of the month unless something would set me back, like rain, then I’ll head home. Someone will come back at harvest time to get photos of that. It could be me or another photographer.” She shrugged. “You?”
