Wind River Wrangler (Wind River Valley #1)(10)
Laughing airily, Shiloh said, “I’m single, but I’m not desperate.” She thought she saw some jealousy in his eyes. No, that couldn’t be true. It was her inability to read a person accurately. The stress. The relief that she was free of her stalker made her giddy. Roan probably thought she wasn’t acting her age. She’d always been like this, but he didn’t know that. “And to answer your other question, I was looking at those incredibly gorgeous horses they were riding.”
Roan gave her a quirked mouth response as he put the truck in park and turned it off. “Ever ride? Maybe in Central Park?”
“No. The closest I got to a horse was when my parents took me to a fair. I was seven and I got to ride a pinto Shetland around in a circle. I was in heaven,” she sighed, giving him a smile. Shiloh could see he wasn’t used to spontaneity.
“Good to know,” Roan said gruffly. “Stay put. I’ll open the door for you.”
He was really old-fashioned! Shiloh sat impatiently, wanting to get out, smell the air, look around, and simply absorb everything about the ranch into her five senses. As Roan opened the door for her, she looked up at him. “Has anyone ever accused you of being a throwback to a bygone era?”
One eyebrow lifted. “As in a Neanderthal? Oh, wait . . . Cro-Magnon?”
She burst out laughing, loving his dry sense of humor. No smile; just a glint in his eyes that told her he was teasing her. “I was being nice.”
“I’m a realist.” Roan held out his hand to her.
This time, Shiloh took it without hesitating, finding his manners touching in a world that had lost some of its social veneer. Roan had it in spades. “Thank you,” she said a little breathlessly as he released her fingers. She could literally feel the heat of his body; they were inches apart. She inhaled deeply, his masculine scent mixed with dust and sweat. Heat tore down through her and she gazed up into those gray eyes that studied her in the building silence. He wanted her. The thought was shocking. What was more shocking and disconcerting to Shiloh was she wanted him! Flustered, she quickly moved away.
Roan shut the door and motioned to the wooden steps. “Thatta way.” He stood back, watching the way her hips moved and he could feel himself thickening. The woman should have a license for the way she moved in such a natural, graceful sway.
Swallowing hard, Roan scowled and headed up the stairs to open the screen door for Shiloh. What a helluva fix. Now he was going to be teased by her twenty-four hours a day. Not that he thought Shiloh was a tease. She wasn’t. Their bedrooms were separated by a hall. Dragging in a deep breath, Roan opened the screen door for her, gesturing for her to walk into the office.
Roan introduced her to Steve Whitcomb, the owner, who gave her a warm smile of welcome and a hearty handshake. He stood back when he saw Maud come rushing out of the second office, her arms open wide, a huge smile of welcome for Shiloh on her face. He glanced over at Steve, nodded good-bye, turned, and left. As he took the stairs down to the gravel driveway, he was damned glad he had to work the rest of the day. First, he’d take her bags of groceries over to the house and put the items in the cupboards. That way, he wouldn’t be tempted to stare at Shiloh like the slavering wolf that he really was. Mouth tightening, Roan climbed into the pickup and drove it over to the main barn. What the hell was he going to do with a beautiful, available woman under his roof?
Chapter Three
“Welcome to the ranch,” Maud said, her voice emotional as she threw her arms open to Shiloh and hugged her gently and then released her.
“Thanks so much for having me, Maud.”
“Oh, honey, I’ve been wanting you to come out for a visit for a long time. You look exhausted,” she said, patting her arm. “Let’s get you over to the employee house. I think you might want to rest for a while?”
“Sounds wonderful,” Shiloh murmured, squeezing Maud’s strong, darkly tanned hand. “It’s just the stress of travel.”
Maud led her out of the office, plopped her ever-present red baseball cap on her head as they walked down the stairs. “I think it’s six months of awful, accumulated stress on you, Shiloh, that has you so tired.”
“You’re right,” she admitted, giving her a smile. They walked across the asphalt road and down a red-tiled path that led to the three yellow employee houses sitting in a row. Gazing upward, Shiloh loved the fluffy white clouds over the valley, the magnificent Salt River Range still clothed in white snow off to her left. “I already feel better just being out here, Maud. Your ranch is incredibly beautiful. It’s so green, so alive.”
Maud smiled. “Did Roan find you at the airport in time?”
“He sure did. About scared the crap out of me.”
“Oh?”
“He came up behind me and called my name. I about jumped out of my skin.”
Maud smiled. “Did he tell you he was in black ops? U.S. Army? A Special Forces weapons sergeant?”
Rolling her eyes, Shiloh said, “No, but it sure explains why he came up behind me so silently. I never heard or felt him coming. He’s pretty close-mouthed.” And then she laughed a little. “Well, if he was black ops, why wouldn’t he be that way? Right?” She grinned over at Maud, who chuckled.
“He’s a good man. Smart. Loyal. And he’s a darned hard worker. Roan’s been with us for two years.” As they took the left fork where the path split into a Y, Maud glanced up at Shiloh. “You remember I told you that you’d be sharing the employee house with one of our wranglers?”