Page 49 of Ranch Rules

Chapter Eight

When Natalie’s eyesfluttered open, the first thing she noticed was that the sun streaming in the window was brighter than it had been earlier. The second was that she was in bed alone. At first, she was confused. Had she dreamt the whole thing?

But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, her pussy pulsed with remembered pleasure and she knew she hadn’t. Smiling, she turned on her side to stare at the spot Thomas had occupied earlier. She saw a note on his pillow and eagerly reached for it.

Had to go. Hated to leave you, you’re so beautiful when you sleep. When you wake up, go find Lora at the stables. See you soon.

—Daddy

Though she’d felt a ping of sadness at finding herself alone, the note he’d left made her smile. Humming to herself, Natalie got out of bed, stretching her arms over her head and unable to wipe the satisfied smile from her face. She took her time getting dressed. No one had come to get her, and judging by the sky outside, she’d fallen asleep for at least another hour.

Knowing that she would be going to enjoy more one-on-one time with the horses only magnified her good mood and there was a definite spring in her step as she left her room, taking the stairs two at a time. The first person she bumped into happened to be Nate.

“Morning,” she greeted him.

Nate did a double-take at her cheerful tone.

Natalie bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing aloud. She had read and reread the ranch contract carefully before she’d signed, and though there had been no rule against it she had a feeling that it was frowned upon to laugh at the man in charge.

“Good morning,” he replied. “Where are you off to?”

“The stables.”

“Ah.” He frowned as he considered her. “You and Lora stay out of trouble now.”

“Yes, my da—Thomas already told me.”

Nate nodded, either not noticing the heat that flooded her face, or choosing to ignore it. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around later then.”

“I imagine you will. Goodbye.” She was humming as she made her way out to the stables. Her excitement grew as they came into view. She sped up, eager to play with the horses. She couldn’t ignore the irony—not even a week ago she’d thought of nothing but how to win the next case, make more money for her firm, and how little sleep she could do those things on. Now, though she’d initially balked at being called a ‘little,’ she felt little again. Carefree. Happy. Free to do the things that made her smile. When was the last time she’d ever felt this way?

“Natalie.” Lora smiled shyly at her as she entered the stables. “There you are.”

“Yep. Here I am.” Noticing that the other woman had her blonde hair in a French braid, her hand went to her loose locks. She wished she’d thought to wear her hair up.

Lora noticed the gesture. “I could braid your hair, if you want.”

“Really?” She flushed at how eager her voice sounded to her own ears. Would she ever get used to the breathy, little-girl quality it seemed to have these days? “I don’t know how to braid,” she admitted. “I can do a neat bun, but that’s where my skills end.”

“Sure, it’s no problem.” There was no mistaking the eagerness in Lora’s voice as she moved toward her, producing both a brush and a ponytail holder out of the backpack purse she wore.

“Did you grow up with sisters?” Natalie asked as Lora went to work on her curly tresses.

“No. One brother. But I learned a lot from the hair artists on set. What about you?”

“Nope. I’m an only child. My parents’ pride and joy,” she laughed ruefully.

“I’d imagine you are, being an important lawyer and all.”

Suddenly, her mood dipped. “I don’t know about that.”

“About what?”

“Well, how important can I really be if they can afford to ship me off for a week?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. She didn’t mean to be disloyal to the firm that had given her so much, but she had to admit that her unceremonious sendoff still stung.

“What happened? I mean, if you want to talk about it, that is. If not—”

But suddenly, she really did. Natalie found herself recounting the details to Lora while she worked on her hair, explaining the mistake she’d made and what Mr. Dawson had said. When she was finished, she was surprised to find that she hadn’t realized how much anger she’d had about the situation until now. And even more surprising was the fact that after she’d vented, some of her feelings dissipated. After all, if she’d never gotten sent here, she never would have met Thomas.

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