Heart & Hope (Rosewood Ranch #2)

Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

RUBY

T he ground sways. I grip the pommel tight. Reed’s grin lights up his face. If it wasn’t for the man on the horse beside me, I would have slid out of the saddle and hiked my way back to the house.

“You wanna pick it up to a lope?” Reed asks.

I stare at the grassy field between Mira’s ears, sucking in a deep and steady breath. I’m not scared of horses, per se, more like of falling off them. After seeing everything Addy went through.

“Ah, okay?”

Reed shortens his reins, and I do the same, only half remembering how to do this horse-riding thing. He clucks his tongue, and Magnet bursts into a lope. His shirt billows at his back as he gets farther from Mira and me.

Shit.

I give her a squeeze with my legs, and she takes off after Magnet. I hold on to the pommel with one hand, the reins with the other. And soon her rocking gait has my tensed muscles melting into the saddle. Wind whips through my hair and the hat flies off my head and into the grass. Ah, I’ll grab it on the way back.

Reed slows Magnet a little and we catch up. “You’re doin’ amazin’, baby.”

I roll my eyes at him, and he tosses his head back with a laugh. The hat on his head teeters, and he shoves it back down with a hand. We lope toward the field we are hoping we will be a guest camping spot.

With two riding trails mapped out, we need one more private area, and we have our locations pinned down. All that’s left is the cabins, to convert the larger barn to a usable space for events, and to get the marketing up and running. A three-month pre-launch period for that should be enough.

Fingers crossed.

No, no hoping and praying.

All hard work and planning.

Rule number three.

We have been working our asses off to pull this off on time and under budget. But I must admit, this is the most fun I have ever had on a planning project.

“Rubes?” Reed lopes beside me, eyes studying my face.

“Sorry, was thinking about the to-do list.”

“Nope, no work stuff this afternoon. Only two friends, riding and feeling the wind in their hair.”

“We’re scouting out locations, Reed. This is work.” But I can’t help the grin that splits my face. And the adoration and happiness that fill his face as he watches me ride sends a hurricane of butterflies up from my stomach.

“Come on, baby. Let’s take this up a notch.” He leans forward, and Magnet flattens his ears, bolting forward.

Fuck.

I reaffirm my grip on the pommel and squeeze Mira into a gallop. Her hooves thunder under my seat. I can understand why this could be addictive. Why Addy missed it so much. The power underneath me, moving along as fast as the wind, tunnels through my body. I rasp out a laugh.

Reed disappears behind a group of trees before reappearing out the other side and up the flank of the mountain. I push Mira in that direction, and she forges ahead. When we slow and round the copse, her strides change, every muscle pulled tight as she puts her head down and lopes up the incline after the gelding. Like these two are playing the same game Reed and I are. Only she gets to stay.

Lucky girl.

Clearing the rise, we spill up and over an edge to a plateau where Magnet and Reed stand, looking out over the ranch. I ease the mare to a walk and close in on the boys. Chuckling at the thought of the horses in a long-term relationship, I dismount on legs of jelly and wobble my way to where Reed stands.

“Perfect spot,” I say, breathless, running my fingers through my wind-knotted hair.

He turns back and tucks a strand behind my ear. “Yeah, sure is.” The words are all gravel.

I drag my focus back to the view of the ranch. “What are you going to call it?”

“What?”

“You need a name for your holiday ranch. It will be a huge part of the brand.”

“Oh yeah, I thought about that.”

“You did?”

“R & R Ranch. Fits the purpose and the founders.”

Heat rises through my neck and face as he turns back to me. If he’s talking about me?—

“Rawlins & Rawlins,” he says with a smile that doesn’t meet his eyes.

My mouth opens, and I huff a breath before biting my lip. For a second, I thought R & R stood for Reed and Ruby. But that’s not it... and the pang of that stifling thought sends my gut into knots. Reminding me I’m a passerby. Transient help. No matter how much going back to the city feels like something that shouldn’t be an option anymore.

“I love it. It’s like you said, fits the purpose. Very on-brand.”

But even I can hear the disappointment in every syllable. Reed doesn’t meet my gaze. Instead, he walks the perimeter of the plateau, looking around and muttering to himself. He’s good at this. Taking care of people. Thinking of all the details. This life is going to suit him. Much better than the one Harry had pegged for him.

Mira nickers and nudges my shoulder with her muzzle. I turn back and rub her cheek, dropping my forehead to her long face. “You have no idea how lucky you are, sweet girl.”

As if on cue, Magnet sighs, shifting to rest one back foot, a hoof tipped up. Like an old married couple. I snort a laugh into Mira’s soft fur and close my eyes. Letting myself imagine, for a handful of seconds, staying here with Reed. Making these rides a regular thing. Building my life here.

“You two need a room?”

Shit.

I snap my head from Mira’s face and meet the green eyes lit up with cheek that are homed in on me. “I think Mira’s already taken.” I nod to Magnet.

“Oh, these two? Just good friends.” Reed winks.

“With benefits?”

“No, that’s you and me, Rubes.” Laughing, he gathers the reins and swings up into the saddle. Magnet is on right away. Ears forward and all four hooves back square on the ground. I am up in the saddle a heartbeat later. This will make an incredible camping spot.

And for the first time in my life, I am envious of people I’ve never met.

I stare at my phone in disbelief. I have no idea how this woman got my number. But the photo of Reed and her and her friend in Great Falls is anything but innocent. And she’s Mary-Sue’s fucking waitress. More importantly, this is evidence to my lies.

Fear snakes through my body and sinks like a stone in my gut.

“Rubes? Where you at?” Reed’s voice calls up the stairs. I can’t get my grip around the phone to loosen. The only thing I can do is force air into my lungs, one shallow, useless breath at a time.

“Baby?”

He’s standing in the doorway. Crossing the floor, he’s on his knees in front of me, his eyes level with mine. “Rubes? What’s wrong?”

What’s wrong?

Right now, I can’t decide if I’m upset about losing the inn’s account or about the two women sitting on Reed’s lap in this sordid, questionable photo. With nothing to say, I turn the phone around. His eyes drop to it straight away. His face falls.

“Beautiful, that was ages ago. Before I met you.”

I know that.

“That’s not the problem.” I point to Starr, Mary-Sue’s waitress. “ She is the problem.”

It takes him a moment, but his mouth gapes when he realizes who she is.

“Ah, fuck. I’m sorry, Rubes. I don’t even remember them taking a photo. Someone else must have.”

“I haven’t replied yet. I’m not accustomed to being blackmailed. And I’m guessing that if I don’t pay up, she is going to talk to Mary-Sue.”

“What the fuck?” He pushes to his feet, running a hand through his hair.

I drop the phone on the bed and walk from the room. Padding down the stairs, I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face. How could I be so stupid? Lying never works. I’m not good at it. This was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.

I wander to the porch and sink into the swing seat. The breeze is cool tonight, and I wrap the tartan blanket around my shoulders, tucking my feet under myself. I need to figure out a way to make this go away, or at least a reasonable explanation that doesn’t end with my fake marriage being blown.

Being taken off the inn’s account means no more trips to Montana. No more visits to R & R Ranch. No more Reed. And, worst-case scenario, I lose my job for unprofessional conduct. The job I have spent the last ten years working my tail off at to build up my career. My reputation.

This couldn’t be any worse.

The floor creaks by the door, and I turn toward the front door. Reed stands in the doorway, hands gripping the frame above his head. The t-shirt he’s wearing slides up a little. His green eyes are narrowed with worry. With a sigh, I close my eyes and dip my head. Everything is too much. I’m tired.

And for the first time in my life, the things I am supposed to want—the career, the status, and the money—are at war with the things I need. The seat sways and dips. I open my eyes, and Reed is sitting beside me. Arms open, inviting me into his space, he tilts his head with a sad smile. “Come here.”

I slide closer and lean into his embrace. His arms wrap around me, his warmth cocooning me with something so grounding and absolutely necessary, I almost forget the last ten minutes. He rests his chin on my head. His heartbeat drums into my cheek.

“I could say we met in the city, and it was love at first sight and we went to the chapel the next day?” he offers, his voice raspy.

I huff a laugh. “Who falls in love with someone the first time they see them?”

“I have.”

I push out of his hold and study his face. “Really?”

I don’t know if I’m surprised that he has been in love before or gutted that it wasn’t me.

“Yeah, really.” His eyes are fixed on mine, his breaths leaving with every plummeting wave of his chest. She must have broken his heart by the way he is reacting while talking about this.

I hate her already.

I run my thumb over his jaw, and it flexes at my touch. “Her loss, baby.”

A small, crooked smile hangs on the corner of his mouth. “Maybe.”

“Reed, promise me something. When I go back?—”

“Anything you want, Rubes.”

“If—I mean, when you find someone again. Make sure they know who you really are. That they love you for you. Promise me that.”

I think he’s stopped breathing.

“Reed?”

He swallows and gives me a shallow nod.

“Good,” I whisper, resting my palm over his heart. “You deserve the woman who makes you feel it’s okay to be yourself. Don’t hide this.”

His mouth opens, his eyes crinkled with emotion, and he slams it shut again.

I dot a kiss to his cheek and rise from the seat. “I’ll fix the Starr problem. You concentrate on building your ranch.”

After all, the Robbins family has had their fair share of gold diggers before this. I know how to handle it. We have a lawyer on speed dial from the last time some ingrate tried to screw us over. Starr is about to take a plummet from the heavens and into the earth’s scorching fucking atmosphere.

After sending through a rough explanation to the lawyer along with forwarding the text and photo to him, I step into the bathroom and peel off the day’s clothes as if peeling away the scandal of the last hour. When steam fills the room, I slip into the hot water, letting it scald the stress and annoyance over this whole fake marriage debacle from my bones.

It would be a lot easier if I was married to Reed. Less chance of being sacked and losing my career. But I wouldn’t do that to him. It’s not fair. Plus, who knows, one day I might meet some Wall Street banker who sweeps me off my feet.

I still as horror creeps through my veins at the thought of someone other than Reed “sweeping me off my feet.” And when the realization hits, I slide down the tiles and slump onto the shower floor.

Fuck.

I try it on for size again, to be sure.

I imagine getting home from a long day in the city office to find my corporate king husband chopping up veggies on the wooden board. His back is to me as I say hello, his hair disheveled as he runs a hand through it, the veins in his forearm popping.

I swallow.

Heat pools in my belly as the water swirls around my ass on the shower floor, sending my toes tingling with its delicious heat... Wait, maybe that’s my husband having that effect on me? Maybe I can do this? Fall in love and be happy with some city guy.

I slap a hand over my mouth with a gasp.

Rule number one.

Obliterated.

I close my eyes, homing in on my fictional husband in our imaginary east side apartment. I dump my bag on the sofa table and pad to where he stands. And when I slide my arms around his waist and bury my face in his back, he smells so familiar. His body so well traced. I know every inch of this man who is mine.

He spins in my hold, dropping the knife to the counter. And when his rough hands cup my face and his mouth dips to my own, his green eyes and dark blond hair steal my breath.

Oh god.

I can’t even come up with an imaginary future guy who isn’t my current fake husband.

Ruby Robbins, you are so fucked.

And . . . so worked up.

I slide a hand over my breast, rolling the nipple. The other drops to my center, slick with need for the man who inserted himself into my made-up scenario. The same man who is downstairs, that my heart has latched on to like he’s the fucking air I breathe. I run a circle over my clit and let my head fall back to the tile with a thud. I don’t even care.

I moan, imagining Reed’s hands on me, his mouth on every place I want him right now. Arching my back, I slide two fingers inside, and I can’t help the cry that slips through my lips.

Oh, fuck.

“Rubes? Baby? You alright? I heard a thump.” Reed’s muffled voice calls from somewhere on the stairs.

Oh shit!

“Ah—I’m, I?—”

The bathroom door opens, and a heartbeat later, his eyes dip to where I sit on the floor. Then drop lower again.

Heart thundering, my breath stops.