Текст книги "Roped In"

Автор книги: L. P. Dover

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

Hadley

“Hey, princess, you ready to go?” Blake called.

I finished tying my shoes and grabbed the new jacket I had bought. It was early May, but had snowed that morning. Never in my life had I seen snow in May. I rushed downstairs and Blake was in the kitchen, packing our hiking gear. Instead of his usual ripped and worn jeans, he had on a pair of black track pants and a long-sleeved blue shirt. Also, the cowboy hat he never went without, sat on the counter, replaced by an old baseball cap.

“Wow, you look different today,” I teased.

Grinning, he gazed over at me with those stormy gray eyes of his. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

I sat down at the bar and laughed. “It’s a good thing, but the dirty cowboy look agrees with you. It’s hard to imagine you as a city boy. Where in North Carolina are you from, anyway?”

He packed waters and snacks into his backpack and zipped it up. “Born and raised in Charlotte. My parents used to bring me out here to visit my grandfather every holiday and summer.”

“Was he your mother’s father or your dad’s?”

“My dad’s. He moved to North Carolina to attend Duke. That’s where he met my mother. After that, he never came back, except to visit.”

Glancing around the house, it had to be heaven growing up in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by snow-capped mountains. It was a dream come true. “I bet it would’ve been nice to grow up here. I’m from Lower Manhattan. My parents didn’t exactly take me to places like this. All of our vacations were to beaches and resorts.” Sighing, I gazed out the window. “Not that I’m complaining. I’m not. It’s just . . . it’s so peaceful out here.”

His thigh brushed mine when he sat down beside me. I tried to hide my smile, especially when he made no effort to move.

“I guess you don’t know what that’s like, do you?”

I shook my head. “And I probably never will.”

The room fell silent. I finally had some peace, but it wasn’t enjoyable. How could I when Scott was dead, Nick was fighting for his life, and my stalker was still out there hunting me? Blake bumped me with his shoulder. “You ready to go? We have a full day ahead of us.”

Taking a deep breath, I slid out of my chair. “And when we get back, I’m going to order you some glittery pink Mexican boots for our next trip into town.”

He shook his head. “Keep dreaming, princess. Remember, you lose when the first complaint comes out of your mouth.”

I stalked past him to the door. “Then it’s a good thing I don’t plan on complaining. Let’s go.”

The entrance to Grand Teton National Forest wasn’t far from Blake’s ranch. We stopped at one of the visitor centers and I grabbed a few pamphlets on the various trails. One went over specifics of what you should do if you came upon a bear. The thought scared the shit out of me, but I kept quiet. The bet was, I wouldn’t complain and I could keep up. I wasn’t about to fail.

“There are so many trails. How are we going to pick one?” I said, gazing at the map in awe.

“I think you’d like Taggart Lake. It’s surrounded by mountains and the water is as clear as glass. It was one of the first trails I did as a kid, except that was during the summer. We’re probably going to be trekking through four and five feet of snow today.”

I waved him off. “That’s easy for me. We get plenty of snow up north.”

“Okay, Ranger Rivers. Sounds like you got this under control. Let’s get our trail on!” He tapped me on the ass and led me out of the center.

When we reached the trailhead, there were only three cars in the parking lot. “I guess it’s a good thing it’s off season. I bet this place is packed in the summer.”

He snorted. “You have no idea. I stay away from all of these places during that time. Too many rude fucking tourists. It amazes me how some have absolutely no respect for nature.”

We got out of the car and he hauled the backpack over his shoulders. “How much did you pack?” I asked, gawking at the heavy bag.

“You have to be prepared out here. These trails aren’t exactly a walk in the park.” Grinning wide, he strapped the bag to his back, and a holstered gun around his hips. “Let’s see what you’re made of, Hollywood.”

I waved toward the trail. “After you, city.”

Chuckling, he started off on the path and I had no problem keeping up. So far so good.

“Do you have a camera?” Everything was so beautiful, I hated not being able to capture it. Once I left, I was probably never going to see it again.

Blake stopped and opened a side zipper on the bag. “As a matter of fact, I do. Have at it.”

He handed me the camera and I squealed. “Will you be able to email me the pictures? I want to remember this place. Plus, it’s the perfect inspiration for my new song.”

“I can do that, sure. But if we run out of time, you can just take the camera with you. I’ll get it back somehow.”

And just like that, I realized I’d never see him again once I left. Lifting the camera, I snapped pictures of the mountains, and a few of him. Before going home, I’d have to sneak pictures of him working out in his barn, wearing his cowboy hat and no shirt. I wanted to remember him.

“What are you writing about?” he asked.

We came upon a bridge overlooking a rapidly flowing stream; it sounded almost like a waterfall. I snapped a few pictures and smiled. “I just started it. Basically, it’s about a guy and girl who fall in love. He’s a cowboy who changes his bad boy ways.”

His lips pulled back in a smirk. “You’re not writing it about me are you?”

“Please.” I snorted. “I don’t see you changing your ways. Besides, players don’t fall in love. It would ruin their game.”

He shrugged. “Maybe you’re right. I’m not the kind of guy who can be tamed.”

That was for damn sure.

The trail disappeared into the forest, hiding the sun with its blanket of treetops. I shivered as the temperature turned colder. “You never know, Blake. One day, you might find the right woman. She’s out there somewhere.”

“What about you?” he countered. “If Nick is just your friend, where does that leave you? You’re not planning on keeping up the charade with him forever are you?” He glanced over his shoulder.

“No, but he’s the only one who’s been able to put up with the press. Before him, I was dating a guy I went to high school with and once my career took off, he couldn’t handle it. My only solution was to date someone who knew the business. Then every guy I tried to date ended up being a douchebag. Thankfully, I met Nick and everything fell into place.”

“Will you go back to him when you go home?” He climbed over a fallen tree and reached for my hand to help me over. When he didn’t let go, I smiled and kept hold. The trail started to disappear under a blanket of snow and I figured that was why Blake held onto me. It didn’t matter, I liked being close to him.

“Not in the way you think,” I answered honestly. “When I go back home, I’m hoping that means the killer’s been found. I won’t need to pretend with Nick anymore after that.” The thought of hurting Nick’s feelings made me sick to my stomach, especially after everything he’d been through.

“Are you sure he’s going to be okay letting you go?” he asked.

“He knows how I feel. We had a discussion about it right before he was shot. He’s always tried to take things further, but I don’t want to ruin the friendship we have. Plus, he’s my agent’s brother. If things didn’t work out, it’d make things very awkward.”

The lake was up ahead and I gasped when it came into view. It was perfect, almost as if it was a fake background. Blake pulled me up on a huge rock and let my hand go. “Not something you see every day, is it?”

“It’s amazing,” I breathed out in awe. I looked down at the water and it was so clear, I could see the details of the rocks below. We sat in silence and I took a gazillion pictures. When I turned the camera to Blake, he looked at it and gave me that smirk of his I loved. He had stubble on his cheeks, making it even sexier. “Will you take one with me?” I asked him.

“Why? So you can burn it when you get home?” he teased.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh whatever, it’ll be something to remember you by.”

Grabbing me by the hips, he pulled me onto his lap and took the camera. “You better not tell anyone I took a fucking selfie.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” I laughed. He held up the camera and I snuggled against him. After the picture clicked, I stayed on his lap and turned to face him. “Thank you.”

We shared a brief moment, feeling something was changing between us. My heart pounded and I cleared my throat.

Blake handed me the camera. “No problem.” I slid off his lap and he stood. “You ready to hike some more?” He took my hand, helping me off the rock.

I could tell he was waiting for me to complain. Instead, I held my head high. “Lead the way.” Once we ventured away from the lake, the snow got really deep. I slipped a few times, but caught myself before falling face first into the snow.

Blake was a little ways ahead, but stopped and turned around. “You okay back there, princess?”

I waved him on. “Don’t worry about me!” I shouted. Picking up my pace, I reached down and grabbed a handful of snow. Each step he took, I did double to catch up to him. My fingers were numb from the snow, but I was almost there. Just a few more steps . . .

Blake sidestepped and tackled me out of nowhere, making me scream. His feet slipped and we both fell to the ground, laughing as we rolled around in the snow. He ended up pinning me to the ground, his legs straddling my waist and his body flush with mine. I shivered and it wasn’t because of the snow.

“You should know better than to sneak up on someone like me,” he said. His eyes strayed to my lips.

“I didn’t think you’d hear me,” I whispered breathlessly.

“You’d be surprised what I notice, princess.” He trailed a finger down my cheek to my rapidly beating heart. “Like how your heart is racing right now. I didn’t know I had that effect on you.” I blew out a nervous breath and he smiled, his lips getting closer to mine. “Tell me what you want,” he murmured.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because once I say the words, I can’t take them back.”

He brought his hands to my face, his thumbs tracing my cheeks. “Maybe this will help.” His lips closed over mine and I melted against him, willingly giving in. I’d never been kissed like that and I didn’t want it to stop. I wanted more. He pushed his tongue inside and I moaned as the heat rose between my legs. Holy hell, I wanted him. Rocking my hips up into him, I dug my nails in his back and he growled, pulling away.

“Fuck, Hadley.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, breathing hard.

He brushed the hair off my face and kissed me again. “You make me want things I can’t have.”

I nodded. He said exactly what I was thinking. “I know how you feel.”

Blake

What the fuck am I doing? I’d wanted to kiss Hadley since the first time she’d opened her smart mouth, but being with someone like her would only cause me problems. Once she went back to California, she’d move on with her life and I’d only be a distant memory.

What did I care anyway? I could have a different girl every night if I wanted. The problem was, I didn’t want just any girl. I wanted the one I could only have for a short while. That seemed to be a trend of mine, wanting the women who would never belong to me. Reach for the stars, my mother always told me. I literally was reaching for a star, a country star.

“Want some hot chocolate?” Hadley called out.

I threw on a shirt and joined her in the kitchen. She’d changed out of her wet clothes and into a pair of pink pajama pants and a tank top. She leaned over the counter, her tits bulging out of the top. Jesus help me, she was going to kill me and didn’t even realize it.

“Actually, I’ll just take a beer.” I grabbed one out of the refrigerator and guzzled it down.

“Slow down there, killer,” she teased. “You’re not sulking because I won the bet are you?”

I threw the bottle away and pulled her into my arms. She came willingly and I could see she wanted me. It made my dick so fucking hard, especially when she rubbed up against it. She bit her lip and smiled, teasing me with her half-lidded blue eyes. What the hell was I going to do? I was supposed to keep her safe, not put my dick in her.

“No, I’m hoping if I get a buzz, those pink Mexican boots you order tonight won’t look so bad.”

She burst out laughing. “Speaking of which, can I use your laptop? I want to get those ordered up before you try to change my mind.”

I nodded toward my computer. “Go. I don’t want to spoil your fun. You just better not take any pictures of me in them. If I find them in a tabloid, I’ll hunt you down.”

Giggling, she pushed me away and grabbed my laptop. “I think I might like that.”

So would I. While she snickered at the computer, I started dinner. I wasn’t about to trust a woman to use my grill. Stepping outside, I fired it up and watched the sun set behind the mountains. It made me wonder how many days I had to wait around while amateurs tried to find her stalker. She pounded on the window from inside. When I turned around, she pointed to my phone on the counter.

“You have a call,” she shouted.

I rushed inside and scooped it up. “Yeah?” I answered, hoping I made it in time. I didn’t have the number programmed in my phone, but I knew who it was.

“Mr. Evans, how are you?” he asked. It was George Rivers, Hadley’s father. She was still searching for those fucking boots, so I snuck back outside.

“I’m fine. Yourself?”

“Can’t complain. I’m calling to check on Hadley. Is she doing okay?”

I glanced back at her through the window. “She’s fine. Have you not talked to her?”

“She doesn’t exactly talk to me much these days. When she does, it usually ends in a fight. I just want to keep her safe.”

“As do I.”

“Maybe one day, she’ll understand why I’m so protective. If she only knew how many threats I got on her life every week.”

“What?” I growled.

He sighed. “Only a few people know about this, so I’m trusting you to keep it to yourself. The last thing I want is for Hadley to find out. That’s why I hired Scott to protect her. I had to know someone was with her at all times.”

“Have any of the threats ever been carried out?”

“No. Most of them were just given to scare me, I think. It still doesn’t change the fact they were threats. Does Hadley know I’m paying you?”

“No. I’ll tell her when it’s all over. I don’t think that’s something she needs to know.”

He sighed. “Agreed. She’ll see it as interfering. Just watch over my baby girl. She’s all I have left.”

“I will, Mr. Rivers. Hopefully, the case will be solved soon and she can go home.” As much as I wanted them to catch the bastard, I also didn’t want her to leave.

“I can only hope so. I bet it kills her not to be singing.”

“I’m sure it does, but she’s had time to write in peace. And having the privacy, away from constant cameras shoved in her face, is doing her some good as well. She needed a break.”

“She has been pushing herself too hard.” He blew out a heavy sigh. “Oh, before I go, I just wanted you to know I sent the money to your account, paid in full. It’s a thank you for watching over my girl.”

I swallowed hard. There was ten million fucking dollars in my account. “You’re welcome, Mr. Rivers. We’ll keep in touch.” As I set the phone down, a feeling like I was deceiving Hadley hit my gut. But the things I could do to my ranch with that money would be phenomenal . . .

Would she understand? Probably not. She was a female with daddy issues.

“Everything okay?” Hadley asked.

“Yeah,” I said, fumbling with the grill. “It was just a business call.” I turned around and faced her.

She crossed her arms, rubbing her hands against her bare arms. With the sun gone, it was pretty cold. “I came out here to tell you I found the perfect boots. They’ll be here in a couple of weeks. I don’t know if I can take the anticipation.”

“Thanks for coming out here to explain how you’re ready for me to look like an ass.” I chuckled.

She beamed. “You’re welcome. Is the grill about ready? I’m starved.”

“Almost. Come on, let’s go inside.” I grabbed my phone and put my arm around her. Her skin was freezing. Before we could get to the door, my phone rang again. “What the fuck?” I growled.

Hadley laughed and reached for the door handle. “You’re Mr. Popular tonight.”

“No shit.” When I looked at the screen, my pulse spiked. “Robert,” I announced, answering the phone. Hadley froze.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“Better. What’s up?”

“We searched the grounds around Hadley’s house and found a cigarette lighter by the back door. That’s where the intruder entered the other day. Can you ask her if she has any friends who smoke?”

I put my phone on speaker. “Go ahead and ask her. She can hear you now.”

“Hadley?” he called.

“I’m here,” she said, moving closer.

“Do you have any friends who smoke? We found a cigarette lighter by your back door.”

She chewed her lip, then shook her head. “Not that I know of. At least none of them do at my house.”

“All right. We’re going to check it for prints and see where that leads us. It’ll take a few days but I’ll call you with the results.”

“Sounds good,” I said and then hung up the phone.

“I hate thinking about that guy going through my stuff,” Hadley said, shivering. “Do you think it’s almost over?”

I shrugged. “Could be. We’ll find out when they get the finger prints back. But that lighter could have just as likely fallen out of a friend’s pocket months ago.”

She nodded. “Hopefully this will be the break they need. I’m ready for the police to find this guy.”

So was I, but as soon as they found him, she’d be flying back to California. As much as I wanted the case to be solved, I didn’t want to let her go.

Hadley

The thought of going back home was both exciting and terrifying. I loved the solitude of being tucked away in cowboy paradise, but I wanted to get back to my life, to singing. My heart wanted both, but I knew it was out of my reach. And even more frustrating, Blake’s heart was out of reach. Ever since Robert’s call, he’d been acting distant. He kissed me before I went to bed, but that was it. I wanted more. Maybe I was too subtle? I don’t know, but I planned on making my desires known.

Once I was dressed, I marched downstairs to tell him how I felt. I didn’t exactly know what I was feeling, but it was something I couldn’t ignore. When I approached the barn, I stopped dead in my tracks. You have got to be kidding me. Standing there, smiling at him from across Snowflake, was a beautiful, curly blonde, dressed in a pair of ripped jeans, a tight tank top, and boots. What the fuck?

Keeping my expression neutral, I strolled into the barn. Both of them turned to me and the woman smiled wide. “Hi,” she greeted with a wave of her hand.

“Hey,” I replied, turning my attention to Blake who was shirtless, glistening in sweat. He cleared his throat and nodded toward the woman.

“Anna, this is Tyla. She’s the one I told you about. She works for me.”

Tyla held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Anna. Blake told me you’re from his old stomping grounds.”

I shook her hand. “I am, but I have to say, he made the right choice moving out here. It’s amazing.”

“That it is. How long are you here for?”

My eyes met Blake’s and he responded. “Probably not much longer. She has to get back to work. I can’t keep her from it forever.”

By the look on Tyla’s face, she could sense the tension. “I see. Do you two want to meet up at the bar tonight? The whole crew is going.”

Blake lifted a brow at me and I nodded. It could be fun. Maybe if he had a few drinks, it would loosen him up. “Sure. We’ll meet you guys there,” he said.

She turned and went back to Snowflake. “Good deal. I’m going to take this wild one for a ride now. Do you want to join me?” she asked, smiling straight at me.

“Who me? On a horse?”

Tyla laughed. “Yeah, you. Have you never ridden before?”

I shook my head. The thought kind of scared me. They were so big and powerful.

Blake walked over to a stall and guided his black stallion out. “You can ride Nightshade. He’ll be good to you.” Nightshade blew out a puff of air through his nostrils and bumped me with his muzzle. Blake chuckled and patted him on the back. “He likes you.”

Tyla hopped into Snowflake’s saddle. “I’ll be in the field when you’re ready.”

I glanced up at her and smiled. “Thanks.” As soon as she left, I turned to Blake, eyes wide. “Oh my God, what if I fall off?”

Chuckling, he brushed the hair off my face. “Nightshade won’t let you.”

“Sure he won’t. Famous last words.” I shook my head.

He kissed my forehead. “You’ll be fine. I promise.”

“Hey, are we okay?” I needed to clear the air.

His brows furrowed. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. After Robert’s phone call last night, it was like everything changed. You seem a little distant.”

“I know, I’m sorry about that. There’s just a lot on my mind.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

He shook his head. “It’s not important. Now come on, I’ll help you up.” Gripping my waist, he waited for me to put my foot in the stirrup before lifting me in the air.

Once I was secured in the saddle, and he’d placed the reins in my hands, my heart raced. It felt like I was a mile high off the ground. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

“You’ll be fine. Tyla’s an expert rider. I’ll be back here watching you. Just click your tongue when you want him to go, and use the reins to guide him in the direction you want to head. Pull back like this,” he showed me the motion, “when you want to stop.”

Taking a deep breath, I sat up straight and tightened my legs around the horse. I’d watched enough movies to hopefully have an idea of what I was doing. With a click of my tongue, Nightshade trotted out of the barn at a slow pace and headed straight for Tyla.

“Looking good,” she said as we approached.

Gritting my teeth, I tightened my hands on the reins. “Thanks. Just as long as I don’t fall off, I’ll be fine.”

“The only way you’ll do that is if you let go.” She glanced back at the barn before continuing. “So what’s the story with you and Blake?”

“What do you mean?”

She laughed. “I mean, there’s some serious tension between you two. I’ve known Blake for a while now and never have I seen him flustered over a girl.”

“Really? Not even Rayna?”

Her eyes went wide. “Please don’t tell me you met her?”

“I did. And I kind of told her we were dating. It was the first thing that came out of my mouth.”

She giggled. “That girl is pathetic. Just a heads up though, she’ll probably be at the bar tonight.”

I shrugged. “No worries. I can handle her.” Tyla started off toward the pasture and I kept up with her. “So you’ve never seen Blake serious about a girl?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Not since you showed up. I kept wondering when he was going to get his act together.”

“What about you? From what I gather, he seems to be a ladies’ man. How come you aren’t interested?”

A smile spread across her face. “He might be easy on the eyes, but he’s not my type. I prefer older men.”

“Ah, I see. I guess that’s my preference too,” I laughed.

“Then why the tension? I was drowning in it back there. Have you two not . . .”

I huffed. “No, never. I thought I made it clear I wanted to, but he hasn’t followed through.”

Tyla bit her lip, grinning mischievously. “What he needs is a little nudge. I’ll make sure he gets that tonight.”

“What are you going to do?”

“You’ll see. By the end of the night, he’ll be all yours. I know how the men around here work. The last thing they want is for another man to encroach on their territory. And believe me, by the way Blake was looking at you, you are his territory.”