Chapter Three
Drew pulled into the ranch’s circular gravel drive exactly at seven. The sun had dipped behind the Bighorn Mountains, but there was still plenty of light to see Austin sitting on the porch in one of the Adirondack chairs. The picture he made in his gray Stetson, yoked Western shirt, boots and faded jeans was exactly why so many women fantasized about cowboys.
That outfit, especially on a man built like Austin, made her feel safe. Like the knights of old, he would leap on his horse and ride to her rescue. Even though she didn’t need rescuing, she still loved the idea of a cowboy hero who’d protect her from the bad guys and look great doing it.
He left his chair as she shut off the motor. Anticipation thrummed through her veins as he came down the steps with the slightly bowlegged stride common to men who’d spent most of their lives on horseback. Oddly enough, she hadn’t dated cowboys while living in Montana.
In high school and college she’d hung out with the art students and at home her life had revolved around the family restaurant. She’d dated some artist types and a couple of chefs but no cowboys. Thunder Mountain, however, was chockablock with them.
She moved her purse to the floor of the passenger side out of habit. Nobody would break into her truck to steal it while she was parked here. She tossed the keys down there, too, and opened her door. She’d started to climb out when he rounded the front of the vehicle.
“Let me help you down.”
Amused, she waited. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had made that offer. He knew perfectly well she was capable of getting down by herself. But when he held out his hand, she was charmed.
“I like your hair like that.”
“Thanks.” Most of the summer she’d worn it in a braid or a ponytail but she’d decided to leave it down tonight. She was on a date, after all.
“I’m glad you could make it.”
“Me, too.” She put her hand in his and the controlled strength in his grip sent a shiver of pleasure up her arm. “Fortunately the editing went well and I had time to finish the video.” Then she glanced around, not sure who might be within hearing distance. “Did you have to dream up a story to explain to your folks how we ended up going out tonight?”
“I have Lexi to thank for that. She told them you came out today to check on some details for the wedding video.” He let go of her hand once she had both feet on the ground.
“That will give them another hint, though.” She breathed in the scent of his aftershave. “They know something’s going on.”
He sighed. “You’re right. Now they might think it involves a video. My mistake. If we’d met in town I could’ve snuck away without explaining I was meeting someone.”
“I didn’t think of that, either, so I’m as much at fault as you.” Something else occurred to her but when she gazed into his blue eyes she lost her train of thought.
He smiled. “Not letting you shoulder any of the blame, ma’am. I complicated things, case closed.”
Ah, that smile. And speaking of shoulders...
She remembered what she’d been about to say. “Actually, Lexi took a risk when she invited me in for a beer. When I pointed out that Rosie and Herb might come back and find me there, she came up with that cover story she used to help you out.”
“Yeah?” He brightened. “I didn’t know that.”
“And if she hadn’t invited me in for a beer, you and I wouldn’t have met.”
“So it’s all Lexi’s fault?”
She laughed. “Pretty much.”
“Now I don’t feel so guilty. I just thought a cookout would be more fun than a boring restaurant meal.”
“You’ve got that right. I was thrilled with the suggestion. I’ve spent so much time in Martinelli’s that I don’t care if I never eat in another restaurant again.”
“Then I’m glad I thought of it.”
“So where are we headed? Backyard barbecue? Fire pit?”
He gestured toward the edge of the porch. “We’ll take the ATV out to the back twenty.”
She looked and sure enough, a green-and-brown ATV was sitting there. She’d been so focused on his handsome self she hadn’t noticed it. “The back twenty? I’ve only heard people refer to the back forty.”
“They do.” He started walking toward the ATV. “But this ranch isn’t that big so we have the back twenty. We joke about it, but I have great memories of the place. It’s where we used to camp out when we were kids. Or I should say, when I was a kid and was allowed to tag along with the big guys. I came here when I was nine. Everybody else was a teenager.”
“And so they called you Junior.”
“Mostly Cade.” He stopped next to the ATV and turned to her with another one of his endearing smiles. “I don’t mind it as much as he thinks I do. I did back then, but now...now I think he says it because he likes me.”
“I’m pretty sure he likes you.” She wondered if Austin had any idea how appealing he was. “Cade strikes me as the kind of guy who only teases people he likes.”
He nodded. “These days, probably so. But you should have heard the way he said Junior years ago when I used to bug him to death. I followed him everywhere. Looking back on it, I wonder why he didn’t deck me. I’ll bet he wanted to but I was a lot smaller and he’d never have beat up on someone smaller.”
“Then he must like you, because you’ve grown enough for him to beat up on if he wanted to.”
“Guess so.” He laughed. “Come to think of it, yesterday he said now I was too big to mess with, especially since he’s hit thirty and is losing muscle mass.”
“So if he’s thirty, how old are you?”
“Twenty-six.”
“Huh.” She decided to go for full disclosure and get it over with. “How do you feel about having a cookout with an older woman?”
“I don’t care how old you are.”
“For the record, I’m twenty-eight.”
He shrugged. “Two years is nothing.” He turned toward the ATV, but then swung back to her. “Unless you’re not happy about going out with a younger guy. Some ladies would rather date someone older than they are. I’ve run into a few of those.”
Silly women. “I’m not one of them.”
“Good to know.” He swung one long leg over the ATV. “Climb on behind me and we’ll get this show started. Oh, and hold on tight. I won’t be going fast but we’ll hit some bumps along the way. Can’t help it. The rain’s done a number on the road.”
She needed no encouragement
