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The timeline of the last twenty-four hours feels like a surreal fever dream. Dodging fists and beer cans at a dive bar, now I’m stuck in a truck with a grumpy, albeit sexy cowboy, trading my wares for lodging and employment.
Just for the summer, though. I’ll help this angry technology-challenged cowboy, save a ranch, see some horses, then go to California.
I follow Charlie’s lead and stay silent. It seems like he exhausted his talking quota earlier in The Corner Store by telling me about the video making the rounds on social media. Still, my eyes flick to his handsome profile. What’s he thinking about? Regretting his offer to hire and board me? He even fed me. I was fast with my wallet after breakfast, but he tossed down a twenty, including a generous tip for Fallon.
I gasp as we pass over a small creek and steel gates rise from the earth. The name RUNAWAY RANCH is branded at the top and bookended by horseshoes. I lean forward, held back by my seatbelt. My eyes can’t take everything in fast enough. In the distance, is a spread of beauty. Vaulted mountain ridges frame the entire ranch. A gorgeous log home with wraparound windows sits smack in the field of emerald-green grass.
“That’s the lodge,” Charlie says as we pass through the gates. He lifts a hand to a guy leading a horse across the pasture. “We use it for check-in and a chow hall. My brother Davis lives on the third level.” He glances over at me. “So he can play Rambo if things get out of control. Wyatt’s in an Airstream because he isn’t here half the time, but really, it’s just because he can’t clean worth a damn. And Ford’s in an apartment above his garage.”
“Your brothers?” I ask to clarify.
“Yeah. We’re close, butthatclose, we’d kill each other.”
I settle back in my seat. “I have a brother.” Charlie looks over as my phone buzzes again. “Max.” I ignore the call. “He’s the one currently blowing up my phone.”
“Big brothers,” he says, seeming to unclench, and I smile.
“How many people can you host?” I ask, snapping into professional mode. I’m here to do a job, so I might as well work now.
“We keep it small. About forty.” Charlie follows the paved road, then veers left. Close to the lodge, maybe a hundred yards away, is a cluster of small cabins. They sit near a river, rocking chairs on each porch.
“Is that me?” I ask, pointing. They’re so cute and cozy, like something out of Daniel Boone.
“No.” He turns the wheel, his blue eyes falling on mine. “Those are the cowboy cabins. I’ll take you up to the cottages. They’re closer to the main house.”
“The main house?” I bite my lip, my heart beating fast. “Is that where—?”
“I live,” he says in a hard voice. “You need Wi-Fi. We have it up here. The cabins don’t.”
I sink my teeth into my lower lip. “Oh. Right.”
Charlie turns the wheel. “We also have chalets back in the mountains. For movie stars,” he says, sounding disgusted. “They come up to film a movie and want privacy. I think if you’re here you should—”
“Stick it out with the rest of you.”
“Yeah.” His eyes flick to mine. “That’s right.” A rare smile graces his rugged face as the truck rattles up the never-ending road. “That’s the main house where I live,” Charlie says as we pass by a large two-story cabin with a balcony and a wraparound front porch nestled back against a grove of trees. “And that’s your cottage.”
“Oh,” I breathe, pressing a hand to my heart. “Oh, wow.”
The small cottage looks like something out of a fairy tale. While it keeps its rustic Montana charm, it has latticed wood eaves, a front porch, and a small rock drive leading up to the door.
Charlie unbuckles his seatbelt and I meet him outside.
For a long second, I take in the secluded beauty of the ranch. A light breeze plays with the ends of my hair. The crisp air smells of pine and aspen, mixed with the lingering scent of hay. Summer sunshine floats through the umbrella of trees stretching toward the sky. Far off, the flowing waters of a creek bubble.
I tilt my head with a soft smile. “It’s so beautiful, Charlie.”
“It is,” he says stiffly. “I bought it sight unseen, but it was the best decision I ever made.” He moves to the bed of his truck and picks up my bags. “Let’s get you inside.”
What kind of person buys a ranch sight unseen? Probably the kind of person who takes off on a whim and travels across the country.
I desperately want his story, but I don’t want to push. Still, I’m intrigued. There’s worry in his deep blue eyes. A stoic mystery I want to figure out.
I follow Charlie’s broad-shouldered form and wait as he pulls out a ring of keys. He picks through, searching for the one he needs. “We have these cleaned every week, so it should be good to go. But if it isn’t, you can call Tina at the front desk and she’ll send down whatever you need.”
“I’m sure it’ll be—” I gasp as he swings the door open. “Perfect.” I clasp my hands to my heart and bounce inside.
The modern cottage has maintained all the charm of a historic mountain cottage. A rock-wall fireplace frames the front room. A colorful rug covers a square section of the wood floor. Wood-hewn furniture. Record player with a selection of country albums sits on a small table. On the back wall is a kitchenette with a burner.
