Page 10 of Swift and Saddled

Apparently the whole ranch knew I was coming. “Yeah,” I said shakily.

“You’ve got about a quarter of a mile until you get to the Big House. I’ll meet you up there.” He tipped his cowboy hat at me, and a shiver went down my spine.

My attraction to him clearly wasn’t dulled by the daylight.

Before I could respond, he started shouting to the other cowboy and moving his horse around the car. I tried not to watch him—tried not to notice the way his gloved hands tugged on the reins or how his legs tightened around his horse’s middle.

After a few minutes, the cows had moved from the path and I was in the clear. The cowboy gave me a nod, and I took that as my cue to continue driving down the dirt road.

Leaving the cowboy in the dust…for now. I didn’t know whyhehad to meet me at the Big House. There was no way he was the owner—he couldn’t be more than thirty.

Did that matter?

I didn’t know anything about ranches. Why hadn’t I watched moreHeartland?

In my head, I tried to work out a plan. I would get to the Big House, talk to Weston, and then at some point I wouldfind the cowboy again and tell him it was a one-time thing.

All it was ever going to be was a one-time thing.

Last night, I wasn’t myself. I was tired, hungry, nervous, and faced with the world’s cutest pair of dimples. The entire thing was an out-of-body experience that would never happen again.

Ever.

I came here to get away from my problems—not give myself new ones.

If I wasn’t so keyed up over the cowboy, I probably would have been more awestruck by Rebel Blue Ranch. “Beautiful” didn’t adequately describe the landscape surrounding me.

Honestly, it was fucking majestic—like a painting come to life. I’d never seen anything like it.

But I had other things on my mind. Green-eyed things with dimples.

As I got closer to the Big House, the trees got denser, until I saw a large ranch-style log cabin in the distance—which I assumed was the Big House. There was a loop that created a sort of driveway, and I parked my car close to the front door. There weren’t any other cars in the loop, so I figured it was okay.

Now that I’d stopped the car, my heart picked up the pace. It was first-day jitters. It was I’m-not-good-enough jitters, and it was also dimpled-cowboy jitters.

When I ran out of the bar last night, I almost regretted it.

Now I needed to get as far away from that man as possible. I didn’t want him, his dimples, or his cute-ass dog anywhere near me.

Right then, as if summoned by my thoughts, the white ball of fluff appeared in my peripheral vision. I looked at him through my window. His tongue was hanging out and his tail was wagging so hard his entire body was wiggling with it.

Why did his dog have to be so cute? He shouldn’t get to have a cute doganddimples.

I got out of my car, and Waylon was ready. He continued to wiggle his entire body, and I reached down to scratch behind his ears. I should’ve kept my eyes on the dog, but I looked up just in time to watch Dimples ride up to the house.

When he brought his horse to a halt, I looked back down at Waylon and thought how strange it was that I knew this dog’s name—I even knew the bartender’s name—but I had no idea what the cowboy’s name was.

Maybe I could get away with never knowing it. I’d be okay with that.

I heard the no-name cowboy’s boots hit the dirt, but I kept my eyes on the dog—I didn’t want to make any more eye contact with this man than was necessary.

Prolonged eye contact is what got me into this mess.

“We can head in,” he said, then gave a short click of his tongue. Waylon left midpet and went to his owner, who was waiting for me by the front door. He had wrapped his horse’s reins around a post a few car lengths away, which I was happy about.

I loved animals, but horses scared the shit out of me—they were so big.

As I approached the front door, Cowboy John Doe opened it and Waylon ran inside. Both Waylon and his owner wereso at ease—they must be here a lot. I realized that he was holding the door open for me, so I scurried past him, being careful not to look him in the eye.

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