AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A few moments pass. When nothing happens, I drift over to the nearest window and glance through the glass.
A family of four passes by, all of them on horseback and sporting identical elated looks. In the background, I see a group of hikers emerge, heat rising around them.
Smiling, I fish my phone out of my pocket and hold it up to the glass. After snapping a few pictures of the scenery, I send them to Savannah.
Shortly after I shove my phone back into my pocket, I wander back over to the main desk and pick up a pamphlet.
I skim through it, taking in the idyllic pictures of the ranch, the slew of photos of guests river rafting, sitting around a campfire, and posing on top of hills.
A few of the pictures even having couples lovingly gazing in each other’s eyes against a scenic backdrop. I roll my eyes and pause at the paragraph underneath.
Did all of these couples really find love here?
A part of me figures it’s a publicity stunt, meant to lure insecure and lonely women to the ranch.
But another part of me can’t help but linger on that particular page, wondering what it would be like to form a real connection here.
With a shake of my head, I flip over to another page and skim over the paragraphs about the activities offered, wondering which of them would make a good fit.
I want to open myself up to everything the ranch has to offer.
When I leave here, I want to do so as a completely different person.
Clearing my throat, I flip to another page of the pamphlet and find myself reading about the ranch’s owner and founder, Adrian Steele.
He sure sounds too good to be true. And with his suits, brown hair, and light skin, he looks like he walked off the cover of a major men’s magazine.
Still, I study the pamphlet and tuck the information about him away in the back of my head.
The backdoor opens, and a large group comes. Everybody is covered in sweat, and a few have sunburned faces.
I grimace, but I’m unable to look away. Especially when a tall, broad-shouldered, tanned man in cargo shorts steps forward and says something to the receptionist.
He has on a cowboy hat and sun glasses. His sleeves are rolled up, showing off long and muscular forearms.
All of them laugh, and the women bat their eyes at him.
He flashes a smile at them, and I can almost hear their collective sighs.
With a shake of my head, I look away from him and focus on the teenage boy with too-large glasses and a few pimples scattered over his cheeks and nose.
He blushes when he notices me staring at him, so I avert my gaze and fix my eyes on an unmarked spot on the wall.
Why am I drawn to the man with the cowboy hat, of all people?
He strikes me as the kind of guy who is used to getting what he wants. I can tell by the way the rest of the staff reacts that he’s got pull and sway.
When he whispers something else, and a tray full of drinks and snacks is brought out, cheers rise from the group.
A few of the women exchange discreet looks.
The last thing I want is to get distracted by a man, especially someone like him. A man who is hungry for attention, obviously. Not my kind of man for sure.
It’s not what exactly I’m here for. But I’m determined to see this trip through with as little drama as possible.
Chapter Four: Danielle
“So, cell reception is controlled except during the one hour a day when we’re allowed to use our phones?”
