The Cowboy’s Runaway Bride (BBW Romance - Billionaire Brothers 1) (5 page)

When Garrett returned with their drinks, Maddie pounced. “I can pay for my shoes and slippers myself, Garrett.” She fished out a five-dollar bill from her wallet and smiled triumphantly. “And my hot chocolate.”

“Put your money away,” he growled. “I’m not going to let you pay for a mug of hot chocolate.”

A warm flush stole through her at his reaction. Howard had always preferred to go Dutch, even once they’d become engaged. But the footwear was another matter...

“Fine,” she said mildly, putting her wallet back into her handbag. “But I’m paying you back for my shoes and slippers.” She wrapped her hands around the warm mug, the chocolaty aroma teasing her senses. Taking a sip, she peeked up at him.

Garrett savored his coffee, contemplating the inky depths as he put the mug down on the table. “You need those shoes for ranch work,” he said eventually. “And I’ve hired you to do that work. So I’m paying for them.”

Although Maddie was used to being independent and paying her own way, his argument was quite reasonable.

“Okay.” She nodded, considering. “But my slippers are another matter.”

Garrett bit back a grin. “I didn’t know Donna stocked slippers like that. We can discuss the slippers when the account comes in.”

“When’s that?” She eyed him curiously.

“At the end of the month.”

Next week. But by Garrett’s tone, she suspected he didn’t have any intention of telling her when the account arrived. Well, tough. She fully intended to pay him back for her clothes and fluffy slippers.

As they drove back to the ranch, Maddie didn’t think she’d ever get tired of looking at the flat countryside dotted with the occasional boulder, cows and horses. It was a different world to her life in Portland, but one she was starting to embrace. She could definitely get used to this. And she could
definitely
get used to Garrett. Every time she got into the SUV with him, her heart fluttered. When she was this close to him, his clean, masculine scent tantalized her. What would it be like to be wrapped in his arms? To kiss him?

Once they entered the driveway, all thoughts of kissing Garrett vanished as she stared at the gleaming red car parked in the courtyard.

“Good,” Garrett murmured, as he parked the SUV.

She’d barely unsnapped her seatbelt before he opened the door for her. “Come and look.” He grinned, gesturing to the cute red vehicle.

Suspicion sneaked into her mind. He couldn’t have, could he?
Don’t be silly,
she scolded herself as Garrett urged her toward the new car. 

“It’s an automatic,” he informed her as she stared at the shiny four-door sedan. “Now you can go to town whenever you need to.”

“But—”

“It was the last one at the dealership.” He ran his hand over the gleaming paintwork. “What do you think?”

“You rented it for me?” She willed him to say yes. Although it seemed unnecessary for him to rent a car for his temporary employee and she didn’t know when she would actually need to use it, it was a far better alternative to what she was actually thinking.

“Not exactly.” He opened the driver’s door and peered in.

“Not exactly?” She tried to keep her tone casual, but didn’t think she succeeded.

He closed the door and faced her. “I bought it for you.”

“Garrett.” Her eyes widened.
She’d been right.
“You can’t do that.”

“Well, I just did.” He folded his arms across his muscular chest. “There are times when I mightn’t be able to take you to town when you need to go, so now you’ll be able to drive yourself.”

“But I’m your employee." Maddie frowned, noticing he looked too darned pleased with himself.

“Exactly.” He nodded. “I might need you to pick up some groceries or go to the feed store if I don’t have time to go myself.”

He'd bought a new car for her so she could drive to the store? It just didn't make sense! “I’m only going to be here for three weeks,” she protested.

Garrett’s lips tightened. “Then you’ll have a car to drive while you’re here.” His voice was deceptively mild.

Maddie bit her lip. Although it appeared that Garrett was doing well for himself, how could he afford to buy a brand new car for a temporary employee? It was ridiculous. Unless...he was doing
very
well for himself. Even so, that didn’t mean he should buy a car for her to use for the next three weeks. But as she glanced at the car once more, she couldn’t help noticing that it was the kind of car she used to long for when she was sixteen and learning to drive: smart, sassy and cherry-red. But somehow she’d gotten used to driving a sensible, box-like white sedan with good mileage and one previous owner. Just as she wasn’t a high-heel wearing person, she’d reluctantly come to the conclusion that she wasn’t the type of person who owned a gorgeous red car.

But was that how Garrett saw her? She couldn’t help smiling.

Maddie walked over to the trunk and popped the lid.  She supposed there
was
room for a few bags of feed in there, depending on the size of the bags.

“Maybe I should take it for a turn around the yard.” She opened the driver’s door and noticed the keys were in the ignition. “Just so I’m familiar with it.”

“Good idea.” His grin made her pulse jump. “Let’s see how she handles.”

###

T
hat night, Maddie stared at her phone. She wasn’t ready to listen to the no doubt outraged messages from Howard and her parents.

Instead, she read Lyndsey’s letter. Between advising her to be careful and to call her if she needed anything, her friend told her that although she'd told her parents and Howard that Maddie was okay, she hadn’t given them the ranch‘s address, and vowed that she wouldn’t.

Lyndsey was a good friend, she mused as she turned off her bedside lamp, but Howard and her father were lawyers. They could be very persuasive when they wanted to be.

T
wo days later as she and Garrett ate breakfast, he informed her they were going riding that morning.

“But what about the cabins?” Maddie frowned as she took a sip of coffee.

“You’ve almost finished one, haven’t you?” He arched an eyebrow.

“Yes, but I need to get started on the other one.”

“Plenty of time for that,” he said easily, forking up a bite of egg.

“But you won’t be able to rent them out until I’ve finished cleaning them.”

“A couple of hours off won’t hurt. Besides, I thought you liked horses.”

“I do.” She swallowed. “I’ve just never ridden one before.” So far, she’d only spied Garrett’s horses from a distance. The thought of riding one excited and scared her at the same time.

“Then it’s time you did.” A smile rumpled the corners of his mouth. “We’ll go slow and gentle.”

Slow and gentle. Would making love with Garrett be like that? She hastily squelched the image forming in her mind and hoped she wasn’t blushing. So far, he’d been a perfect gentleman, and lately she’d been telling herself that’s exactly what she wanted. Wasn’t it?

After breakfast, they walked over to the pasture where three horses grazed. “This is Prince.” Garrett whistled to the palomino and the horse ambled over to them, sticking his head over the fence railing. “You’ll be riding him.”

“Hi, Prince.” Maddie looked at the horse for a moment, and then turned to Garrett. “Can I pat him?”

“Sure. Like this.”  Garrett held out his hand to the palomino, allowing the horse to sniff it, then patted him gently on the nose.

Maddie copied Garrett, the horse’s breath tickling her hand as she held it out to him.

“Now, like this.” Garrett guided her hand to Prince’s nose, his tanned fingers on top of hers as she stroked the palomino.

Maddie caught her breath at the sensation of Garrett’s hand on hers. His touch was warm and reassuring, but also exciting. What would it be like to have his hands roaming over her body, teasing and tantalizing her? For a second her imagination ran wild, before she told herself not to go there.

It seemed that they patted Prince for quite a while, before Garrett released her hand. “Blaze,” he called, and a large black horse with a white stripe streaking down its forehead to the end of its nose ambled over to them. “I’ll be riding him.” He stroked the horse’s nose and the gelding whickered in response.

The gray horse in the middle of the pasture lifted his head curiously, then returned to munching the lush grass. “That’s Smokey.” Garrett gestured to the gray. “He’s twenty-three, and was here when I bought the place. The owners couldn’t take him when they left so I adopted him.”

Warmth spiraled through her. Although she didn’t have a pet of her own, she’d always liked animals. She smiled up at him.

Garrett opened the gate and fitted Prince and Blaze with halters and lead ropes he’d snagged from the barn on the way to the pasture, then led them out. Maddie walked beside him, finding the rhythmic clip-clop of the horse’s hooves on the hard-packed dirt soothing.

Tying the horses to a post outside the barn, Garrett expertly saddled and bridled them. Maddie eyed the western style saddle, a large horn sticking up at the front of it
.
She had no idea how tall Prince was, but he suddenly seemed enormous. How was she going to get up there?

“I’ll give you a boost,” Garrett murmured in her ear. She shivered, his warm breath tickling the delicate line of her neck.

“Okay.” She swallowed. What if she was too heavy? What if she couldn’t get on Prince, despite Garrett helping her? She would be so embarrassed.

She held the reins and stood on one leg. Lacing his hands together, Garrett placed them under her foot that was in the air, and tossed her into the saddle. Maddie scrambled to find her balance, gripping the saddle horn as she settled onto Prince’s back. It almost felt like a rocking chair, she mused, grasping the reins with one hand while her other hand remained firmly on the horn.

“I’ll put your foot in the stirrup.” Garrett suited action to words, his hand gently taking hold of her ankle and sliding her foot into the wooden stirrup. Even through her jeans and sock, Maddie was aware of his touch.

She wriggled her other foot into the stirrup, smiling in satisfaction as Garrett walked around to that side.

“Good.” He smiled in approval, untethered the horses, and then swung up easily onto Blaze.

“We’ll only have a short ride this morning,” he informed her. “And we’ll go slow. Just let me know if you’re feeling uncomfortable.”

Maddie wobbled in the saddle as Prince ambled after Blaze. Clutching the reins and the horn, it took her a couple of minutes until she stopped feeling like she was going to fall off. As her body eased into the horse’s rhythmic movement, she looked around with interest. Everything looked slightly different when you sat on a horse.

“How are you going?” Garrett stayed by her side, scrutinizing her as the horses walked toward the pasture.

“Fine,” she replied, a little breathless. Prince suddenly seemed to walk a little faster and to her dismay, she was sure she could feel her breasts jiggling inside her not-so-sturdy after all cotton bra. She hoped Garrett didn’t notice. Next time they went riding - if there was a next time - she would definitely wear her I-can-barely-breathe wedding day bra. Her breasts wouldn’t dare move in the lingerie that felt like solid iron.

Maddie glanced up at him from under her lashes and thought she could detect a look of appreciation on his face. She clenched the horn as she swayed forward, her breasts definitely bouncing.  He must have noticed. Darn. Not for the first time, she cursed her double D breasts.

They rode over to the pasture and then along the fence line, Garrett pointing out his cattle and the preparations he’d made for the new bull that was due to arrive tomorrow. She breathed in the fresh air and stroked the side of Prince’s neck. She could certainly get used to living here.

But you’ll be going home to Portland in two weeks.
She pushed the annoying thought away, determined to enjoy the morning in Garrett’s company.

Half an hour later, they rode back to the barn. “You don’t want to overdo it for your first time.” Garrett dismounted easily and tethered the horses to the post, then came to help her down. “Take your right foot out of the stirrup, swing your leg over, then place your right foot on the ground.”

She tried to obey his instructions, kicking her right foot out of the stirrup before swinging it backward. Clenching the horn with a death-grip, she hovered in the air, her left foot still in the stirrup and her right hand grasping the back of the saddle. She didn’t think she could do it. Wobbling slightly, she sighed in relief when Garrett’s strong arms wrapped around her waist.

“I’ve got you,” he murmured, his warm breath brushing her neck. A shiver raced down her spine. He helped her off Prince, untangling her left foot from the stirrup. She turned to him, a little dizzy.

“Thank you.” She looked into his dark brown eyes, wanting to melt into their depths. Despite her best intentions, she was definitely attracted to this man. But what did he feel about her?

“You’re welcome.” He gently smoothed her hair back from her face. “You might want to take a bath tonight, since you’re not used to horse riding.”

She gave the briefest of nods. Her eyes remained locked on his. She didn’t want to do anything to break the sensual spell.

Garrett’s hand touched the small of her back, his thumb caressing her spine, urging her to take a couple of steps closer to him. She obeyed willingly, her heart thudding with anticipation.

He gazed down at her, threading his fingers through her hair. She held her breath as his lips descended, until they were only a heartbeat away from hers. “Maddie,” he murmured.

She waited for the touch of his lips.

After a slight hesitation, Garrett lifted his head, moving away. She blinked, disappointment flooding through her, wondering what had happened.
She’d been so certain he had been about to kiss her.

###

I
t was a wrench to step away from her. Her slightly parted lips had invited, beckoned him to kiss her. And he had wanted to. He didn’t want to admit to himself just how much he’d wanted to touch her, taste her. Lately, it had been practically the only thing he could think about.