Blackhill Ranch (4 page)

One other person I needed
to think of was Brian. He is the one that wanted this break, but I
didn't put up much of a fight. The truth is I almost felt relieved.
He is a great guy and we have so much fun together but he just
always felt like a best friend. We were intimate and even lived
together the last year, but I have never felt that connection with
Brian like I did when I first saw Rhet. Lusting doesn't break any
rules on a break, right? That's what I'm going to keep telling
myself.

**

After Rhet and I left the
lodge I told him I needed to head over and talk with Tina about the
new summer menu. Rhet tipped his cap and told me he would see me
later, and then he winked at me again. Damn him.

Tina is the sweetest woman
you'll ever meet. She is tiny and full of energy, and she is one of
the best cooks you will ever meet. She has been working here for
the past 12 years. My dad hired her after my mom's passing because
he finally admitted he needed the extra help. I always teased my
dad about having a relationship with Tina, but to tell you the
truth nothing would make me happier. He needs something in his life
that makes him smile; it's about time. Maybe that's something I
could work on this summer.

“Tina!” I yelled as I
entered the kitchen through the back door of the main dining hall.
Our ranch was known for Tina's great cooking. I really don't know
why she needs my help but sometimes two heads are better than
one.

“OH MY! It's my girl!
Lexi, I have missed you so much. Get over here and give me some
sugar, honey!” Tina bounced out of the kitchen wiping her hands on
her apron.

I gave Tina a tight hug
but she quickly pushed me away from her, “Let me see you! Oh my,
you are stunning, dear. I think you get prettier every time I see
you.” She smiled and pulled me back for another hug.

“You say that every time,
but that's why I love you.” I smiled as I went around to sit down
at a large table in the kitchen. “So I was talking to my dad
earlier, and he said you guys had a really crazy make out session
the other day?” I said as I wiggled my eyebrows up and
down.

“What! Why would he say
that?” She gasped and gave me a frantic look.

“Whoa, easy. I'm just
messing with you.”

“You little shit.” Tina
tried to swat me with her dish towel but I ducked out of the way.
“Let's talk about business, I have some new fun ideas for this
summer. I was thinking it would be a neat idea to change up our
menu and maybe have a different theme for everyday?” she asked as a
slight blush started to creep up her neck to her cheeks.

“I know many people come
here thinking we just serve meat and potatoes, but I think changing
it up a little sounds great.” Tina came over to sit by me with a
pen and paper in her hands. “I was just hoping we could worked on
this together. I have really missed you, and I could use another
girl around here. You know how your father and brother get. Anyway,
I was thinking we could do Mexican on Mondays and maybe Asian on
Tuesdays?”

Tina may be on to
something. This sounded like a great Idea. “Wednesdays we could do
Italian, and Thursdays could be Greek?” A thought occurred to me,
and I hoped we didn't make anyone upset with not having beef every
night. “Do you think people will go for this?”

“I know I was thinking the
same thing, but what if we had them fill out a little survey when
they are checking out? Maybe they could rate the food and leave any
comments. That way we could change it around and fix any issues.”
Tina sure had a great knack for this. I couldn't agree
more.

“Yes, this is such a great
idea. Now let's think what to do for Fridays. What if we do a big
outdoor bbq on Fridays and Saturdays? That way everyone will still
get their meat and potato fix. We could even do s'mores around the
campfire, like we usually do.”

“Great idea, hun. Let's
just get an idea for Sundays and we will get this plan in motion.
Also, we could give it a name like, ‘Come travel the world of food
at Blackhill Ranch,’” she said with so much enthusiasm that I
couldn't help but clap my hands and agree with a silly grin on my
face.

“Sundays hmm... Maybe we
could do American food, like waffles for breakfast, and chili
burgers for dinner? Lunch could be a weenie roast. We could do all
sorts of fun stuff! Tina, you are brilliant.” I wish Tina and my
dad would just get over this just friends things and finally give a
relationship a go. I know she has said she loves it here, and
doesn't want to mess anything up. She had a nasty relationship when
she first started working for dad and I think she dated some guy
for a while from town, but she seems much happier being single. I
get it, but she and my dad could be amazing together.

“Yes, this went faster
than I thought it was going to go. We have a great start, and I
will start working on the menu. Jot down some ideas for me as well,
and we can get a finalized plan by the end of the week. Thank you
so much, Lexi, for the help. I just know this will be a big hit.”
She smiled as she stood up and headed over to the counter. “Will
you stay and help me prepare dinner? We are having a beef stew, and
I already have it on the stove. Help me set the table and we should
be good to go.”

“I am at your service my
lady,” I curtsied and headed towards the cabinets for some bowls
when I felt a vibrate from my phone in my hand. I opened the text
and it was from Chloe.

GIRL! You better finish
what you were saying earlier. Who is this real man with a nice
chest? I can't wait to hear. Save me a piece of that!

Oh, Chloe. If she only
knew her celebrity crush was here. How do I break it to her that I
would break her legs if she went after Rhet? Or maybe that would
work out better. Then I wouldn't fall in love with my brother's
best friend.

You have no idea... Rhet
is real and Rhet is HOT! Back off blondie, because I call dibs
;)

I laughed as I started
bringing bowls and plates out to the dining hall.

Oh you dirty bitch, haha
ok fine. I am looking forward to meeting this infamous Rhet. Cole
told me a lot about him. I'm just glad he didn't turn out to be
imaginary!

I know I said the same
thing. Can't wait to see you... Xoxo

And with that I helped
Tina set up for dinner. The guests started piling in and everyone
was laughing and talking about their fun day. After dinner we
always started a huge bon fire, telling scary stories, and cooking
s'mores. The workers came in during that time and finished up the
food that hadn’t been taken by the guests. Cole and Rhet were the
last two to make it down so I joined them and asked about their
afternoon. I was so tired from traveling and my busy day that I
decided to call it an early night.

“Guys, I'm pooped. I am
going to help Tina clean up, and then I'm heading to bed,” I yawned
as I stood up and started gathering bowls and cups.

“Lexi, stop. Everyone
pitches in and cleans up. It goes fast, so don't you worry. We’ve
got this.” Cole said as he shooed me away.

“If you're sure, I may
just take you up on that.” I smiled as I waved goodbye to Cole and
Rhet.

“I'll walk you back and
then come back and help,” Rhet said shyly as he stood and placed
his hand on the small of my back. Cole gave me a smile and a nod,
so we headed out the door. I swear my brother was pushing this on
me a little. Why?

“Thank you, Rhet, but I
really can walk myself. It's no big deal.” I smiled and instantly
thought, 'Shut your mouth Lexi! Let the man walk you
home.'

“I know, Lex, but I
wouldn't feel right. It will give us a chance to just talk,” he
smiled and opened the door for me. Good god, If I just didn't make
eye contact with him I would be just fine.

“You're such a gentleman,
your mother raised you right.”

“Yes, she did. She was an
amazing woman,” he said quietly as we stepped out into the cool
summer night.

“I'm sorry. I know you
lost her at a young age too. It's not fair to lose a mom so young.”
I nudged him with my shoulder, but jumped as he took my hand in
his.

“It really is,” he
whispered. “Is this okay?”

“Yes,” I barely
said.

“Lexi, I feel like I know
you. Like I've known you forever. Cole loves you so much. You're
all he talked about when we first met. I can't tell you how nice it
is to finally have you in front of me.”

“Well, Rhet, are you
blushing?” I teased as we headed towards my cabin. I just can't
help it anymore, and Rhet was right. I felt like I knew him, too.
There was a strong connection I had felt from the moment I laid
eyes on him. I'm not fighting it. I am just going to let it go and
see what happens. This could end so bad or so good, and I have only
been around him for a day.

“You have that affect on
me,” he smiled and kept walking. “Lexi, I have lost many people
that I love, but I can't help what happens when I see you. I have
only been around you a few hours, but you have this pull on
me.”

I blushed, too, and said,
“Maybe it's hearing about each other all these years, and never
meeting?”

“The way Cole talks about
you it wasn't hard to fall for you. I just thought of you as this
mythical unicorn that wasn't real.” He smiled as we headed up the
path to my cabin.

“A unicorn huh, well I
guess I'll take that compliment.” He let go of my hand and it
instantly felt cold. We stopped in front of my door and he lifted
up his hand and swept a piece of hair off my face that had fallen
out of my braid. Chills ran down my back and I looked up into his
eyes, which was a bad idea.

“You really are beautiful,
Lexi. Your pictures don't do you justice,” he said as he bent down
and whispered in my ear. “I don't know how I'm going to behave
around you but I'll try,” he finished as he sweetly kissed my jaw
by my ear. “and yes, we had a spark.” He smiled as he turned around
and headed back towards the dining hall.

What the? I knew it. A
spark. And what was this behaving nonsense? I know these things can
end badly but I don't like the idea of behaving. I'm all mushy and
now I have to go to bed, and he kissed me. Barely, but definitely a
kiss. This was going to be a long night.

Chapter 5

When I woke up the next
morning, I felt like a new person. Besides my wild dreams of being
ripped from my bed by a painted unicorn with Thor riding on it -
who looked a lot like Rhet -, I slept very well and was recharged
for the day. I had many things to do today, so I didn't waste any
time and got ready quickly. I threw on some jean shorts, a blue
button-up top, and my killer brown boots. I put my hair in ponytail
and grabbed a light jacket, because it can still be very cool in
the mornings here, even in May. I headed over to the horse stalls
to help saddle up the team for our two-day trip. I knew Cole would
already be there, but it was early enough I was hoping to catch him
alone so we could chat about Rhet.

As I walked down the path
to the barn, I stopped and looked around our ranch. It was
breathtaking, and I closed my eyes and said a little prayer up to
my mother. It was times like this that I felt her all around me. I
missed her everyday. It drove me nuts when people would tell me
that eventually I would get over losing her. I don't think you ever
get over it, you just learn to live with it.

After a few seconds of
deep breathing and sending loving thoughts, I marched down the
trail. I could hear the horses braying; it is one of my favorite
sounds. I walked through the huge barn doors and I was right on the
money. Cole was taking out Stormy and was brushing him down gently,
getting him ready. Jackpot, he was alone.

I sneaked up behind him
and pinched his waist, “Morning.”

“Whoa! Lexi, shit you
scared me.” Cole said as he whipped around. Stormy bucked back I,
and felt a little bad for scaring him.

“Sorry,” I smiled as I
walked around and started petting Stormy. “He really is something
else. Do people still try to buy him after they stay
here?”

“All the time. You don't
see many built like him, but I wouldn't sell him for all the gold
and silver in the world.” Cole beamed as he stroked his favorite
horse. “How did you sleep?”

“I slept like a rock. Thor
kept interrupting me, but other than that it was
heavenly.”

“I don't even want to know
what that means.” Cole rolled his eyes and led Stormy back to his
stall.

“Speaking of Thor, I want
to know the real reason you are so okay with Rhet and me being
'friends'?” I asked as I air quoted friends. “What is it? Are you
really wanting us to try something and why?” I narrowed my eyes at
him. I just needed a straight answer. I was going to go crazy with
this. Cole is usually so protective of whom I date. He made that
very clear when he met Brian.