Accidental Cowgirl (22 page)

Um, no. Despite every objection she’d come up with all day, the only thing Kyla wanted
to do was be with Decker, all of him. It was a scary, powerful feeling, and not at all comfortable. She knew better. She knew he could be playing games. But if Wes was a master, then this guy was sensei to the masters.

And now he was humming as he tuned his guitar. He could
sing
, for God’s sake. Could the package get any more perfect? Kyla sighed again. If this man could hold a tune half as well as he could, um, kiss, she’d track Marcy down herself, pay her to disappear, and carry Decker off into the sunset.

Cole finished stacking utensils in the food wagon and came to sit beside Decker. As he tossed a new log into the fire, he looked around the circle. “Anyone know any good campfire songs?”

Hayley turned to Kyla. “You know some good ditties. Why don’t you teach us one of them?”

Kyla felt her face redden and was thankful for the growing darkness. “The ditties I know are hardly appropriate for the family campfire, Hayls.”

“C’mon, sweetie,” Jess urged from her left. “Remember the schnapps ad? The one that aired in France?”

Kyla saw Decker turn to look at her quizzically. “I am not singing schnapps ads tonight. I’m on vacation, remember?”

Decker cocked his head, eyebrows stitched together. “Is
that
where I’ve heard your voice before? You do ads?”

Kyla nodded slowly. “Um, yes.”

Tom and Maureen chuckled as Theresa sent a snide look Kyla’s way. “I didn’t even know that
was
a career.”

Kyla put on her best fake smile, determined not to let Theresa get to her. “Well, it wasn’t meant to be. I was looking for a … unique way to put my MBA to use.” That sounded better than the truth, right? “I did ad work for a local radio station, and an agent heard my voice.”

Hayley leaned toward her. “Apparently she has a—quote—very salable late-night voice.”

Decker stifled a choke, then raised his eyebrows in challenge. “So let’s hear one.”

“Nope. No way. You’ve already insulted my singing.”

Decker smiled mischievously. “Come on. Dare you to quote one of your late-night ads.”

Kyla thought for a moment, searching for one that would be appropriate for the mixed
audience at the fire. Unfortunately, there was a much longer list of those that wouldn’t be, but they weren’t going to let her off the hook without giving them something here. “All righty. Here’s one. Remember the zoom-zoom-zoom ads?” Everyone around the fire nodded. “I was Sexy Woman Number Two. I said,
Baby, drive me home
.”

Cole laughed. “I remember that one. You
do
have a good late-night voice.” Kyla thought she saw Decker elbow him.

“Did you ever get to do one of those bathtub ads? Y’know, where the guy and girl are sitting in bathtubs staring at the sunset?” Theresa raised her eyebrows.

Kyla snorted. “None in the States, thank goodness.”

“Her voice is apparently quite famous in northwestern Australia, though.” Jess grinned.

Jimmy poked at the fire with a long stick. “Well, honey, if you ever need to practice lines in the bathtub …”

Decker cuffed him before he could finish. “That’ll be enough, Jimbo.” He strummed a couple of chords on his guitar. “Let’s teach ’em some campfire songs, Cole. Ladies? Could we try to keep it clean?”

* * *

“Do I need to find you some hay bales and a blanket so you can sleep?” Decker’s soft voice broke into Kyla’s thoughts as she stared into the campfire. The rest of the crew was spread out in sleeping bags some distance from the fire, and had been asleep for hours, but of course she hadn’t been able to even try to sleep. After the heat of the previous night, she felt completely unmoored.

He sat down on the log beside her so their thighs were touching from hip to knee. Ohh, boy. The warm tingles started as soon as he sat, and they threatened to muddle her brain pretty quickly. She shivered, and immediately he reached out his arm to pull her closer. “Cold?”

In all honesty, no, she wasn’t. Just his presence made her jittery, and thoughts of another night in his arms sent her practically to orbit. “Not really, no.”

He started to take his arm away as he smiled in the firelight. “I see. Was that a
please-put-your-arm-around-me
fake shiver?”

Kyla giggled. “No. Promise. It was a real shiver. I’m just not cold.”

“Do I make you nervous?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” Decker removed his arm and faced the fire with his elbows on his knees, hands clenched in front of him.

“But not in a bad way.”

He looked over at her, puzzled. “Do tell.”

“Can’t. It would break the girl-code. I have to maintain some mystery.”

“I see. I couldn’t begin to crack the girl-code.”

“It’s really the sub-codes that get you. You’d never understand.” Kyla picked up a stick and poked idly at the fire. All day long, when she hadn’t been thinking about last night in the barn, she’d been thinking about the conversation she’d overheard earlier in the evening. She knew it was none of her business, but she’d been unable to chase it out of her head all day. “Decker, is the ranch okay?”

Decker gently took her stick and tossed it into the fire. “Careful of the sparks.” He paused. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I’m sorry. I’m probably out of line asking. Never mind.” No way could she reveal what she’d heard last night. It was obviously highly personal, and she had no business asking about it or getting answers. His money problems were none of her damn business.

Decker ground out a spark that had jumped over the stone circle. It was a long moment before he replied. “It’s an honest question. And I guess I’d be wondering, too, if I were a guest. It’s pretty obvious this place wasn’t set up to be a vacation paradise.”

Kyla’s eyes widened. “Oh no! I didn’t mean
that
. It’s amazing here.”

“Well”—he sighed—“it is what it is. We spent two months retrofitting everything we could, and though people seem to find it charming, it only appeals to a select group who don’t require personal concierges, Wi-Fi access, and a twenty-four-hour masseuse on call. If we’re going to really make this venture work, we need to appeal to a bigger piece of the market.”

“The kind who want personal concierges and on-site babysitters so they don’t have to deal with their kids while they’re on a family vacation?”

“Exactly.”

“I think the ranch is adorable. I’d hate to see it any other way.”

“Unfortunately, if we don’t figure out a way to market it to a bigger segment of
vacationers, we won’t survive, let alone thrive.”

Kyla knew that was minor compared to what she’d overheard last night. “It was really nice of you to come home to help Ma and Cole.”

Decker poked his stick hard into the dirt. “Well, it’s her family’s land. I can’t let her lose the ranch.”

“So how long are you planning to stay here?” Kyla hated herself for caring what his answer would be. Hated herself for even asking.

The silence was deafening as he didn’t respond. Finally, in a quiet voice, he said, “About three more weeks, if all goes as planned.”

“Oh.”

“Next week starts our last session of the summer. Then Ma’s taking a few weeks off, trying to figure out a strategy to get guests here for the winter.”

Kyla nodded miserably. “So in three weeks, you’ll be back to your real life on the West Coast, designing houses for the rich and famous.”

Decker nodded slowly, and to Kyla it looked like he wasn’t exactly thrilled about the notion. Or maybe she was just hoping that’s how he felt.

She took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. “Then what was last night, Decker?”

He turned to pin her with his deep blue eyes, sighing. “I don’t know, Kyla. It never should have happened.”

“What are you drawing, sweetie?” Jess peered over Kyla’s shoulder as she sat down beside her on the picnic blanket and unwrapped her turkey sandwich. Kyla’s sat uneaten as she scribbled on a sketch pad she’d brought along. Their Tuesday morning ride had brought them over a couple of streams and by a rocky hillside strewn with rabbit dens, but now they were settled in a sunny meadow for lunch while the horses grazed quietly nearby.

Every time Kyla had thought the land couldn’t get prettier, Decker would lead them over another rise and a new expanse of meadow or forest would spread out below them, the majestic Rockies always in the distance. Despite her abject depression after her conversation with Decker, Kyla’d had ideas crowding her head all morning, and hadn’t been able to wait to dismount Kismet and pull out her pad. Her train of thought was completely illogical, but for some reason, she couldn’t shut down her brain.

“Sweetie, are you trying to figure out a way to save the ranch?”

“What?!” How did Jess even suspect the ranch needed saving? And how transparent
was
she, anyway?

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help but overhear you guys talking last night. It was so quiet. Voices carry.”

“How much did you hear?” Kyla felt her eyes prick as she remembered Decker saying their night together never should have happened.

“Just the part about the ranch. Nothing else.” Jess put her sandwich aside and bit delicately into an apple.

“Sure.”

“I think he’s just confused, Kyla. He didn’t mean it.”

“You liar! You heard everything.”

Jess cringed. “I’m sorry! By the time I realized you two were headed into a private conversation, it was a little late to fess up that I could hear you. I swear I buried my head after the
It never should have happened
part.”

“Well, there wasn’t any more to hear after that. That’s pretty much where we left it.”

“I’m sorry, Kyla.”

“Yeah, me, too.”

“There’s still time, you know.”

“Right, Jess. We’re leaving at the end of the week, and he’ll be back in L.A. in three weeks. Doesn’t really bode well, even without Marcy in the picture.”

“You never know, honey. Maybe he just needs time to sort out his feelings.”

“He’s a man, Jess. How complex can his feelings get?”

“You have a point.” Jess pointed at the sketch in Kyla’s lap. “What’s this building here?”

“That, my dear, is the concierge building. High-end suites, personal masseuses, free babysitting, you name it.”

“You going to build it?”

“Nope.” Kyla closed the sketch book. “I have a better idea.”

* * *

“Hey, Kyla. Follow me.” Decker called forward to her, then roped his horse off the forest trail and into the brush. He’d sent Cole to the head of the line after lunch, and he and Kyla were bringing up the rear.

She paused, hands on Kismet’s reins. “That sounds dangerous. I’ve just barely learned to ride in a straight line, Decker.”
And I don’t really trust myself to be alone with you right now, despite the fact that you regret being with me
.

“Trust me.”

“Oh, right. That definitely eases my mind.” Against her better judgment, she signaled Kismet to follow Decker, and wonder of wonders, the horse complied. Maybe she was getting the hang of this riding thing?

They plodded uphill through a dense grove of pines, breaking out of the trees as the hillside leveled out. Decker pulled to a stop, motioning her to ride up beside him. He put his finger to his lips and pointed toward a grassy bank to their right, handing her a tiny pair of binoculars.

She scanned the bank, seeing nothing but grass and a big hole, but gasped when two baby foxes peeked their noses out of it. They tumbled out, head over furry paws, engaged in some sort
of cub-wrestling game. Kyla laughed silently as they chomped on each other’s ears and tripped over their bushy tails.

“Want to look?” she whispered to Decker, offering the binoculars.

He shook his head. “You go ahead. I check on them every day.”

Kyla peered back at the foxes, one of whom was now crouched behind a log, hoping to pounce on the other. So Decker cared enough about this land and its animals to check on a den of baby foxes every day, but he was still leaving for L.A. in a few weeks? She didn’t understand how he could bear to leave. She’d only been here a little over a week, and it wouldn’t be hard to convince
her
to stay.

After she’d watched them for about ten minutes, Decker’s gentle voice broke into her thoughts. “We should probably catch up with the others.”

“Right.” Kyla handed back the binoculars. “They might think we fell off a cliff or something.” She gathered Kismet’s reins, and then a thought hit her. “Decker, we’re ten minutes behind them now. How fast are we going to have to ride to catch up?”

“Afraid you’ll have to go faster than a trot?” He winked, then nudged Chance forward.

“I have mastered the trot, thank you very much. It’s the gallop that gives me nightmares.”

“No galloping necessary.” He grinned as he looked back at her. “Follow me. I know a shortcut.”

Eight hours later, Kyla was perched on a log at the fire, once again awake in a sea of sleeping guests. Even Decker had fallen asleep two hours ago. She thought longingly of the night she’d spent in his arms. It seemed like moments ago and weeks ago at the same time.

Then she rubbed her chest as his words of last night sliced through her.
It never should have happened
. Obviously he was right. And thankfully at least one of them could find some logical perspective on the whole thing before things got out of hand. She should be grateful that he’d backed away for the both of them.

But God, what she wouldn’t give for another night with him, in whatever form it might take. If she was a different kind of girl, she’d be busy convincing him they could just have a little trail fling for the rest of the week, no holds barred, no expectations. Unfortunately, she knew herself well enough to see that more nights with him would just suck her deeper into love and lust. It was a no-win situation … though it sure would be fun while it lasted.

But if he regretted their night together, why had he taken pains to draw her away from the
group today and show her the baby foxes? Why had he still been using that gentle voice and sweet smile? Was it all a game to keep her off balance? Or was he confused, too?