took care of that for you.” He nodded at the suitcase across the room.
“Yes, but Claire tends to be forgetful.”
“She told me you might try to repack, and I have strict orders to make sure you just take that bag and come with me. I’m supposed to remind you about ‘your possible future with cats.”’
Lucy opened her mouth to argue but then thought better of it. What about this daring new woman she wanted to become? She couldn’t very well become her wearing khaki trousers and penny loafers.
“Everything you need is in the bag.”
“Well, I just need to grab my vitamins out of the kitchen, and then I’ll be ready to go.”
“Vitamins?”
“I know Claire wouldn’t have thought to pack them,” she said, heading into the hallway. She stopped in her tracks. She had to learn to think like a wild and crazy party girl. This new and improved Lucy probably wouldn’t worry about Vitamin C deficiency or osteoporosis. She resisted the urge to grab her dietary supplements, reassuring herself that after the week was up, she could always start taking them again if she didn’t like her new reckless self.
“Did you get them?”
Buck appeared beside her in the hallway, the black suitcase in his left hand.
“I decided I won’t need them. But let me just check to make sure Romeo and Juliet have enough food and water to last until my neighbor stops by.”
After she’d given the cats several extra bowls of food and water, she joined Buck in the living room where he was inspecting the photos on her mantel with a keen interest.
“I’m ready,” she announced, realizing too late that the Lucy in those photos looked a lot more conservative than she did standing there in her groupie getup.
“Is this you?” he asked, pointing to the photo in which she stood next to a Christmas tree with Claire. In the picture, Lucy was wearing a long burgundy-and-green-plaid wool skirt and a baggy turtleneck sweater. She’d been having a particularly bad hair day and little sprigs of curly hair had escaped from her bun to poke out all around her face. She looked horribly dull, she realized as she saw the picture through Buck’s eyes, but it was one of her best photos. She’d never been very photogenic.
He was still waiting for a response.
“Um, yes, that’s me. Bad hair day.”
“It’s a nice picture.”
Lucy watched for him to make a face or to otherwise indicate his sarcasm, but no, he seemed serious about the compliment. Perhaps he was a bimbo stud with exceedingly good manners.
Romeo marched into the living room and gave Lucy a belligerent look. He knew what a packed suitcase and three bowls of food meant—that his Slave Human was leaving him—and he didn’t like it one bit. He let out a mournful meow, prompting her to bend to rub his back one last time before leaving.
“Sorry, but you have Juliet to keep you company. I’ll be back real soon.”
Buck made a move toward the cat and Romeo slipped underneath the nearest chair, eyeing the stranger with derision.
“Oh, you cowardly cat. Be a nice boy and say goodbye to Buck.”
“Buck? Who’s Buck?”
Lucy looked up at him, her head beginning to spin. “Aren’t you Buck?”
He frowned and shook his head. “My name is Judd. Judd Walker.”
2
IT TOOK JUDD A MINUTE to figure out who Lucy was talking about. And then he remembered—Buck Samson. He was the ranch’s most popular employee with the female guests. Claire Elliot had apparently heard about him through word of mouth and called to request that Buck himself pick up Lucy and escort her to the ranch.
Judd’s older brother Mason was the owner of the Fantasy Ranch, and in the past three months he’d been experiencing what he believed were elements of a plot to ruin his business. With the busy last weekend of summer coming up, when much of the ranch’s return business was decided, Mason was anxious to ensure no disasters occurred like the ones the ranch had already experienced—tainted food at the restaurant, theft, unpleasant deliveries made to guests’ rooms—and that was where Judd came in.
Mason had reason to believe that Sunny Horizons Travel Agency might be involved in the sabotage, through its connection with his vengeful ex-girlfriend. Right now he was at the height of paranoia and trusted no one, including his star employee Buck, so he’d hired Judd as his private investigator and sent him on his way to find out what he could about Lucy Connors.
So here he was in the most ridiculous undercover operation he’d ever conducted, dressed like an idiot in this sleazy cowboy getup.
“I’m Buck’s replacement,” he explained. “He couldn’t make it to be your escort, so the owner sent me instead. Is that okay?”
She still looked confused. “It’s just that Claire said your name would be Buck.”
“I forgot to tell her I was replacing him. The subject of my name never came up when she let me into the apartment.”
“Oh.” She took a step back, obviously not thrilled to find a total stranger whose name was not Buck in her apartment.
He could understand her reluctance. “Why don’t you call the ranch and speak to the owner, Mason Walker. He can confirm for you that I am indeed your escort and that I don’t bite—” he forced himself to add in typical Fantasy Ranch style “—unless you want me to.” He realized too late that his little act didn’t help the situation, so he set down the suitcase and reached for his wallet to retrieve his brother’s business card.
Lucy stared at it for a moment and then looked up at him. “Walker? Isn’t that your last name, too?”
“Mason’s my brother.”
“Oh. Well, if you don’t mind holding on a minute, I think I will call, just to be safe.” She eyed him warily, and he began to feel as if he had fangs.
“Why don’t I wait outside?” he offered, hoping that might help her relax.
“No, that’s not necessary. It’s not like I haven’t already been alone with you all this time.”
She sat on the sofa and dialed the number to the ranch.
Judd occupied himself looking at her photos again. Why couldn’t this in-person Lucy be more like the conservative Lucy in the picture? That was the kind of woman he needed to spend a week with, not an obvious seductress. It was almost impossible to tell if the real-life woman and the woman in the photo were one and the same.
If he had to spend an entire week keeping an eye on Lucy, he was in big trouble. The promise he’d made to himself only a month ago would be out the window in no time flat if she kept looking at him the way she did, with those satin brown eyes of hers. He had a thing for brown eyes. A bad, bad thing. But why couldn’t
