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“There’s nowhere like Horseshoe Ranch,” I said softly. “If you’ve ever questioned anything in your life, you can find the answers on this ranch.”
“All the answers?”
“Nothing but the answers.” I suddenly had an idea. “You want to go outside with me? I want to show you something.”
“Now?” She shook her head. “I’m not even dressed.”
“Just put on some boots.” I was feeling excited suddenly. “Are you here for an adventure or what?”
“I’m here for my best friend’s wedding,” she pointed out. “But I suppose I can’t really say no to an adventure. Who are we, the Goonies?”
“I didn’t say we were looking for one-eyed Willie’s gold.” I laughed. “I loved that movie, by the way.” We watched a lot of movies as kids, and that was one of my favorites.
“Me too.” She smiled. “Goonies never say—”
“Die,” I finished her sentence, and we both laughed. There was a feeling of anticipation in the air between us.
“So if I go put on some shoes, will you put the hot cocoa in a flask or something? For us to take with us.”
“I can do that.” I nodded. “I suppose I should grab a shirt or something.”
“You don’t have to.” She grinned and then looked down as if she were embarrassed, but when she looked up again, her eyes were twinkling. “I mean, if you think you’ll get cold.”
“We’re in Montana; the nights are often cold.” It was official, we were flirting, and I wanted to invite her to my bedroom so that we could keep each other warm.
Only, when you lived in your parents’ house, that wasn’t really an option. I could only imagine how my mother would react if she walked into a naked Olivia in my room. I needed to build my own ranch on the property. I’d owned a house a few miles away, but I’d sold it when I became the head cattleman at the ranch. Dad hadn’t exactly retired, but he didn’t have the same energy he used to. Now I was in charge, and I needed to be on hand. Living at home had been enjoyable, but it kinda interfered with my personal life. Though, in this case, maybe that was a good thing.
“Fine. I’ll meet you back here in five minutes?” she said.
I could tell that she wasn’t sure if this was a smart idea. I wasn’t sure myself. I was asking for trouble going out with her in the middle of the night, but tonight, I didn’t care. Tonight, I would be carefree. I’d let tomorrow worry about itself.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Olivia
“This is a bad idea, Olivia,” I grumbled to myself as I pulled on my sweatpants. I grabbed a sweater and my Timberland boots and put them on quickly. Never in my life had I wished I had cowboy boots to put on—before now.
I hurried back to the kitchen and smiled nervously when I saw that Beau was standing there waiting for me. He was such a hunky, tall man, the epitome of a cowboy. It was funny because I’d never met any real cowboys before. It wasn’t like there were a lot of them in New York City. In fact, the only one I could think of was the Naked Cowboy who hung out in Times Square, and I didn’t even know if he was a real cowboy.
“You made it back.” Beau’s face lit up when I walked into the kitchen.
“I did.”
“And you put on some clothes.” He chuckled. “Darn it.”
“You did too.” I looked at him in his dark gray sweatshirt. It was too bad that he’d covered up, but it was most probably for the best. His chest looked like it had been chiseled by one of the finest sculptors in Italy. He was gorgeous and way too tempting.
“I guess we both decided it was safer to put on some more clothes,” he said.
“Safer?” I asked him, a little smile on my face. Was he teasing me? Was he flirting with me?
“You know what I mean.”
“Perhaps I do.” I wasn’t the sort of girl to play games, even though this was very dangerous territory we found ourselves in. “So, where are we going?” I asked him before he said something that would have us going back to one of our bedrooms as opposed to outside.
“Well, it’s a beautiful balmy night here in Montana. And I thought, why not show you some of my favorite night spots?”
“Some of your favorite nightspots, huh? I suppose there are many?”
