own set of issues with the opposite sex; namely, she was looking for the perfect man. Someone kind, strong, honest and funny, just like her daddy, and all others need not apply. It was a tall order, and so far, Serena hadn’t found the man of her dreams.
“Luck has everything to do with it,” Ruby said. “Bad luck. I thought I had it clear in my mind what I wanted. If the right guy comes along, fine. That would make me happy, I guess. But if he doesn’t, and I’m certainly not looking, then I’m good with my horses and family. I’m in no hurry to get hurt again.”
“Yeah, Trace did a number on you. I can see you not wanting to jump back into that arena.”
“But you should’ve heard him on the phone, Serena. He was really sweet, and he said everything I wanted to hear. How he missed me. How he’s been thinking about me night and day.”
“Are you buying it?”
“I shouldn’t. But he sounded sincere.”
“The rodeo season is over. What will you do if he comes knocking on your door?”
Ruby shrugged. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t asked herself that question a dozen times already. “I don’t know. Wait and see. I’m not rushing into anything.”
“That’s good, hon.”
She released a sigh that emptied her lungs. “And then there’s Brooks.”
“Yeah, tell me about him.”
“Smart, confident, handsome. We had that one night together. A crazy impetuous fling, and afterward we parted ways amicably, only the next day he shows up at Look Away as Beau’s long lost son. I never thought I’d see him again, and now he’s a fixture at the ranch and I’ve got to pretend nothing’s happened between us.”
“Is that hard?”
She sipped from her float, the icy soda sliding down her throat as she contemplated her answer. “Well, it’s not easy. Especially with the way he looks at me with those dreamy blue eyes. And he’s funny, too. We laugh a lot.”
“Uh-oh, that’s dangerous. A man who can make you laugh—that’s the kiss of death.” Serena began shaking her head. “Do you think of Trace at all when you’re with him?”
“Dios, no. I don’t think of any other man when I’m with Brooks. He may not know it yet, but he’s so much like his father.”
“Being like Beau Preston is a good, good thing.”
“So true. But Brooks has a sharper edge, I think. He’s pulled himself up from humble beginnings, and this whole situation with not knowing who his real father was has hurt him and maybe made him bitter.”
“Wow, that’s heavy. Did he tell you that?”
Ruby dipped her head sheepishly, hating to admit the truth. “No, I Googled him. I wanted to find out more about him. He’s entering the Preston family, and they’ve had enough heartache in their lives. Is that horrible? I feel like I’m spying on him.”
“It’s the way of the world, hon. Don’t beat yourself up. You were concerned about Beau, right?”
“Yes, that’s part of it. Anyway, now you know my dilemma. Brooks is off-limits to me. He’s part of Beau’s family now, which means he’s my family, too. And then there’s Trace. I have to admit, hearing from him last night really threw me off balance.”
“Ruby, we’ve been friends a long time. I know how strong you are. You can handle this. You’re Ruby Lopez. Anybody who messes with you lives to regret it.”
Ruby laughed. “That’s my persona, anyway.”
“Hey, you’re forgetting I’ve seen you in action. You’ve got self-defense skills any woman would love to have.”
“Yeah, I can toss a man over my shoulder, no problem. But can I evict him from my heart? That’s a totally different matter.”
* * *
Texas breezes ruffled Brooks’s shirt on this warmer than usual December day and brought freshness to the morning as he strode down the path toward the lake. He didn’t mind the walk; it helped clear his head. Beau, so proud of his operation here, had recommended that Brooks check out Ruby in action. Hell, he’d already seen her in action. She’d downed a big oaf of a man in that saloon. And then he’d been private witness to her other skills in the bedroom. But of course, Beau had meant something entirely different.
“You want to get a better sense of what we do on Look Away, then go see Ruby down at the lake this morning,” his father had said. “She’s working with a one-year-old named Cider. Beautiful filly.”
The truth was, Brooks hadn’t laid eyes on Ruby yesterday, and he’d missed her like crazy. It baffled him just how much. Now, with his boots pounding the earth as he headed her way, his hands locked in his pockets Texas-style, a happy tune was playing in his head. He liked it here. He liked the sun and sky and vastness. He liked the howl of a coyote, the smell of hay and earth and, yes, horse dung. It all seemed so natural and beautiful. But mostly, it was Ruby in this setting that he liked the most.
And there she was, about twenty yards up ahead, near a nameless body of water his father simply called the lake, holding a lead rope in one hand and a long leather stick in the other. She wore a tan hat, her long raven locks gathered in a ponytail that spilled down the back of her red blouse. Skin-tight jeans curved around her ass in a way that made him gulp air.
He lodged himself up against a tree, his arms folded, to take in the scene for a few seconds before he made his presence known. How long had it been since he could simply enjoy watching a woman do her job? Probably never.
Ruby was sweet to the horse, though she wasn’t a pushover. She spoke in a friendly voice, using the rope and the stick as tools to train the filly. She was patient, a trait he hadn’t associated with Ruby, but then, he really didn’t know her all that well. The time she took with the horse notched up his respect for her even more.
“Why don’t you come away from the tree, Brooks,” she called, catching him off guard. He hadn’t seen her look his way; he thought her focus was mainly on the horse she was training. “Cider knows you’re here, too.”
Brooks marched over to her. “I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Too late for that,” she said quickly, with a blink of her eyes, maybe surprising herself. He got the feeling she wasn’t speaking about the training session. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here. Beau wants you to see how we train the horses. And I’m just beginning with Cider.”
With gloved hands, she gathered the rope into a circle, her tone businesslike and stiff. It had to be this way, but Brooks didn’t like it one bit. He knew she was untouchable, but of course the notion made him want her all the more.
“For the record, you disturb me too, Ruby.” He didn’t give her a wink or a smile. He wasn’t flirting or teasing. He meant it.
“Brooks.” She sighed, giving him an eyeful of her innermost thoughts by the sag of her shoulders and the look of hopelessness on her face. Then she turned her full attention to the horse, patting Cider’s nose and stroking her long golden mane. “We
