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“Ruby?”
More silence.
My eyes drift. On the table is her laptop, a small notepad beside it. But what catches and holds my attention is a journal on the coffee table, opened to a lined-page. From my vantage point, I can see it reads:
Ruby Bloom’s To-Do List (so do it!):
1. Get a tattoo.
2. Have sex. Good sex.
3. Stay up all night and see the sunrise.
4. See a California sunset.
5. Swim in the Pacific.
6. Go dancing.
7. Ride a horse.
Is that what she’s doing? Traveling across the country to finish a bucket list? I chuckle, something warm and hard hitting me in the chest. Only she would do that. This sweet, wild girl who has me thinking about her more than I should.
As I take a second look, I’m pleased good sex has been crossed off the list, but my mood sours when I stare at the rest of it. Ruby on a horse—hell no. And picturing Ruby dancing or watching a California sunset with anyone other than me pisses me the fuck off.
Then I swear, realizing I’m acting like a possessive bastard.
I exit her cottage, feeling like an asshole for invading her privacy, and rake a hand through my hair. I’m getting antsy. I don’t like not knowing where she is.
Truth is, no matter how much it scares me, I can’t stay away from her.
I don’t want to.
Playing with the ribbon wound around my wrist, I scan the ranch for blue eyes and a sundress. Then I start walking.
I know where to find her.
She’s in the barn.
It’s the fifth time this week I’ve caught her sneaking out of her cottage to make her way down the east trail path.
Ruby stands at the middle stall, speaking in soft gentle tones to a young Appaloosa foal. She’s on tiptoes, her long hair swishing across the middle of her back, looking so much like a down-home country girl that I bring a hand to my chest to rub at the ache in my heart. The dress she’s wearing could be made of glass. I can see every curve, every gorgeous piece of Ruby Bloom.
Damn.
Goddamn.
I cross my arms and clear my throat. “Another man stealing your heart?”
At my voice, she startles, then half-turns. Her face brightens the moment she sees me. “What’s it to you, Cowboy?”
Cowboy. I like it.
Fucking love it.
I eye the pony, nuzzling his way back to her outstretched hand, and lift a brow. Lucky it’s a horse and not a man.
I can’t even fight the grin on my face. “I went looking for you.” At her raised eyebrow, I go on. “Got a group of forty booked for next year. Ranch is filling up. Got some followers too.”
