a cover story about who you are and what you’re doing here. Having a gorgeous lady pilot turn up on the ranch might be a bit too suspicious. We don’t want any speculation going around. It wouldn’t take long for word to get out and your security would be compromised.”
His fatherly concern suddenly seemed more like the obsessive control she’d always hated coming from her father or from her sole, onetime romantic interest. She gritted her teeth and tried to choke down the urge to smash him and run for her life. How in God’s name would she manage to last even one day out here in no man’s land with this…this…cowboy?
Meredith took a breath and plopped into the easy chair. “I don’t suppose you have a good bookstore or a workout gym in this rinky-dink dust bowl?”
She eased back into a patch of sunlight that lit her hair with golden sparkles. Cinco’s breath caught at the sight of the dusty halo around her head. She looked like a glittering angel.
His mind was suddenly wiped clean, kinda like a PC that crashed with no warning. When he found his voice again, he forgot she was as prickly and skittery as a unbroken filly. He forgot it was his job to keep her safe and sound, and away from bad influences. He forgot that he’d promised himself to only think of her as a client or a pal.
He forgot everything except how absolutely beautiful she looked. And how, in this light, she suddenly resembled a fragile, china doll more than an icy Amazon queen.
He hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets and gave her a slow smile. “No bookstores or gyms, I’m afraid. But don’t you worry, sugar. We’ll work something out.”
Three
After forty-eight hours of solitude on the ranch, Meredith felt a little more like her old self. Composed, well-rested and…simply bored right out of her mind. She’d thought she might bump into Cinco, or that he might want to search her out and show her around. But she hadn’t seen much of him in almost two days.
Finally able to get the cadence right, she jogged in the crisp, early-morning light. The dusty country roads leading to and from the main house offered a less than perfect avenue for a run. But she had them conquered now and picked up her speed.
No one was around at this early hour to bother her. In fact, she was exceedingly grateful not to have to dodge cars or be faced with making small talk to other runners the way she did on an air base or in the city.
She inhaled a deep breath as she jogged and instantly regretted it. She’d caught the familiar scents of sage and clover earlier, but now something else overpowered them. Was that the smell of cow manure? Whew! She supposed it could have been worse. Maybe she’d smelled something more rank at some point, but she couldn’t exactly remember when.
Right this minute she couldn’t remember a time in her whole life when she could lounge around, doing nothing but breathe in fresh air and read books all day. The freedom should’ve been luxurious, but she’d been so close to grabbing the ultimate freedom—of being allowed to decide her own fate.
Meredith actually sighed. She’d come so close to a new life.
The thought of what she’d been forced to forgo caused a sharp pain in her lungs. She slowed to a stop and leaned over. Placing her hands on her knees, she breathed deeply.
She needed—no, she absolutely lived—to control her own world. To be in charge of every situation and be able to walk away whenever she wanted.
All her life she’d been in a prison of one kind or another, controlled by someone who’d claimed only to care about her best interests. And when the clear air of freedom had been almost within her grasp…she’d found herself forced back into the stale air of a prison, even though it was beautiful countryside. And once again guarded by someone else who claimed to care only about her protection.
Meredith wanted to assume total responsibility for her own life, and had for as long as she could remember. She had no doubt that she could protect herself, either. Her current impossible situation made that whole dream feel like a nightmare.
Logically she knew the ranch was the best, perhaps the only, place for her at this point. But her heart wasn’t buying logic right now.
Meredith glanced around at the acres of fenced land surrounding her. For miles—literally miles in every direction—nothing but sparse brown grasses and an occasional clump of stubby trees appeared on the landscape.
During the past couple of days when she’d been outdoors like this, she’d seen a few horses with riders on them in the distance. And once or twice a cow or two had wandered within yards of the road where she ran. She didn’t care for the way her skin crawled and stomach lurched at the nearness of them, but the animals never looked up at her. Anyway, this was no time to let that old weakness of hers out of the box in her mind where she’d relegated it.
The ranch had a feudal character. Sort of like a bygone era. It gave her the creeps. Nothing should be this laid-back and boring. Where was all the action?
The minute she’d thought the word laid-back, the one thing she didn’t find particularly boring around here came clearly into her mind. Cinco.
Despite not having enough time to figure him out, Meredith thought he must really be a kind person to take her in this way. That first day, after he’d shown her the family’s personal library and told her to help herself, he’d surprised her by also leading her to a makeshift weight room located in the far reaches of the ranch house. He’d explained that in the dead of winter even cowboys need some exercise.
She’d found herself starting to like him—a little. He was easy and funny, even if he was committed to controlling her actions and her life for the near future.
All things considered, for a jailer, he wasn’t half-bad.
She started to run again in earnest. Cinco had made himself scarce for the past two days. He’d left her breakfast and dinner on the kitchen counter with notes saying he’d be tied up for a while and for her to make herself at home. The ranch could never feel like a home, but it was nice of him to offer. Perhaps he’d be in the kitchen when she returned this time. They could talk.
As she rounded the last bend in the road, leading into the yard surrounding the house, she saw a man standing on the wide porch. Meredith couldn’t make out his features yet, but she knew it was Cinco by the way he filled out the denim shirt and jeans he was wearing.
The closer she came, the slower she ran. His black felt cowboy hat cast a threatening shadow across his eyes, as he sipped a cup of coffee. Silhouetted above her at the porch railing, he seemed big, tough and unfriendly.
Her forward progress slowed to a crawl. He looked mad. Whatever had possessed her to want to talk to him? And what right did he have to be angry?
She was the one who had every right to be mad at her situation. It wasn’t fair. She hadn’t asked for this mess. She hadn’t wanted to be brought out to some distant and uncivilized backcountry. She hadn’t needed his damn protection in the first place.
By the time she’d stopped moving, she was fairly shimmering with livid energy. While she tried to catch her breath, his gaze skimmed up her bare legs, over her thighs and heaving chest, and upward on a long, lazy journey to her eyes.
“’Bout time you finally decided to get back here,” he growled. “Where’ve you been, Meredith?”
“Running,”
