The Cowboy’s Runaway Bride (BBW Romance - Billionaire Brothers 1) (6 page)

But if he wanted her to stay longer than three weeks, he didn’t want to spook her. He’d just have to exercise some more self-control, no matter how difficult it would be.

T
wo days later, Maddie brushed her hair as she thought about the events of the past week. She
still
hadn’t turned on her phone, although she no longer felt guilty about it. She just didn’t want to hear the recriminations her parents and Howard had no doubt left. There would be plenty of time for that when she returned to Portland.

Thankfully, she hadn’t been too stiff and sore after going horseback riding with Garrett. Just thinking about him made her stomach flutter. Maddie frowned at her reflection. After that almost-kiss, Garrett continued to be a total gentleman - not that he hadn’t been a gentleman when he’d been about to kiss her. In that moment, she didn't think she wanted anything more than to feel his lips caress hers.

Her shoulders slumped. Maybe he just didn’t think of her in that way. Even wearing one of her new T-shirts and the magic jeans that made her look deliciously curvy instead of depressingly curvy obviously wasn’t enough to attract a kiss from him. Well, maybe it was for the best. But in her heart of hearts, Maddie knew that wasn’t true. Not for her, anyway.

She laced up her shoes, turning her thoughts to the bull that had arrived yesterday instead of continuing to think about Garrett. Although, she mused, they were a lot alike in some ways. They were both good-looking specimens of their species, and although Garrett had explained Farley’s finer points to her, her first impression of the beast was that he was large and powerful.

Farley was going to be the start of Garrett’s breeding operation. Apparently, he’d been looking for the right bull for some time now, and had announced that once Farley was settled in, it would be time for him to meet his potential mates.

Maddie’s stomach growled as she headed to the kitchen. She’d grown accustomed to Garrett’s country breakfasts already. In Portland, she usually grabbed a couple of slices of toast or bought a muffin from the coffee shop opposite the library. It was a treat to have breakfast cooked for her, along with an excellent cup of coffee. She’d already made a note of the style of coffee machine sitting in the kitchen. She’d definitely have to buy one for herself when she returned home.

Home.
She frowned
.
Although Maddie had been content with her life in the city - apart from her lack of a love life before she’d met Howard (and look how that turned out) - and enjoyed her job working at the public library, would it still feel like home when she returned? Even when she dealt with the fallout from her canceled wedding and everything returned to normal, would she yearn to be back here, on Garrett’s ranch? And in his heart?

She told herself briskly she could wish as hard as she liked for that to happen, but she was hardly a femme fatale. Far from it.
He didn’t even kiss you.

Maddie decided to try and put that brief moment out of her mind. “Morning.” She hoped her voice was cheerful as she joined Garrett in the kitchen.

“Morning.” His answering smile was warm as he pressed the buttons on the machine and seconds later, a steaming cup of coffee spluttered into a waiting cup.

Try as she might, she could never beat Garrett to the coffee machine at breakfast.

“Thanks.” She walked across to the counter and added cream and sugar, glad she had beaten him to it in that respect today.

Garrett divided the bacon and eggs onto two plates and carried them to the table. As she sat down, she saw an envelope with her name in front of her.

“What’s this?” She turned it over, noting the flap was tucked inside the envelope, not sealed.

“Wages.” Garrett swallowed a mouthful of coffee.

Maddie opened the envelope, her stomach diving into free-fall as she stared at the bundle of notes.

The wad of cash consisted of fifties and twenties. Although she hadn’t counted it, she was sure it was more than she made at the library each week.

“Garrett.” She stared at him, her eyes wide. “This can’t be right.”

“Not enough?” He frowned.

“No!” She added hastily, “It’s too much.” Her fingers shook as she slowly counted the notes.

Carefully laying the money down on the table, she wrapped her hands around her coffee mug and took a fortifying sip.

“What’s wrong?” Concern creased his face.

“It’s fifteen-hundred dollars.” Shock laced her voice.

“I know.” He scrutinized her over his coffee mug.

“I don’t make this much at the library each week.”

“Well, you should.” He set down his mug. “Libraries can make a difference in people’s lives, especially kids.”

A smile touched her lips at the intensity of his statement
,
although she was still having trouble processing the amount of money in front of her. She pushed the cash toward him. “I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”

He pushed the wad of notes back. “I said I’d pay you the going rate. This is it.”

She crinkled her brow. “For cleaning cabins?”

“And for doing laundry.”

Not wanting to run out of clean underwear and socks, on Wednesday she’d asked if she could use the washing machine. Garrett had explained that Carol did his washing when she came in on Mondays, but Maddie could use it whenever she liked. Since she saw his clothes lying in the laundry basket, she thought it made sense to do a full load, and wash both of their clothes.

“One load,” she murmured, trying not to flush at the memory of her panties next to his boxer-briefs in the machine.

“I know you’ve worked hard on the cabins.” He loaded his fork with bacon.

Maddie thought guiltily of the remaining cabin waiting to be cleaned. On Monday she’d thought she’d have both cabins clean and sparkling in a week or less and had wondered what else she could do to help around the ranch. She hadn’t factored in going to town for new clothes, the arrival of the snazzy new car and horse-riding with Garrett. And when she was down at the cabins, Garrett would often arrive, telling her it was time for lunch or that she should finish for the day when it was just past three o’clock.

“You have to take out room and board.” She thrust the notes back toward him and picked up her knife and fork.

“You cooked two nights.” He placed the money back in the envelope and firmly placed it next to her plate. “That takes care of room and board.”

On those two nights, Garrett had shut himself in the study, saying he had business matters to attend to and he’d fix himself a frozen dinner later. When Maddie had volunteered to make dinner, her offer had been gladly accepted.

She met his gaze, realizing that arguing about her wages was futile when he wore that implacable expression.

“How much do I owe you for my clothes?“ Her hand poised on the envelope, ready to take out the necessary amount.

“I haven’t got the account yet.”

Maddie chewed her bacon thoughtfully as she studied Garrett. “You will let me know when you receive it, won’t you?” Although her parents were well off, she’d always preferred to make her own way in the world and be independent.

“Sure.” Garrett sipped his coffee, the look on his face signaling that the subject was closed. She wondered if he
would
get around to telling her how much she owed him for her new wardrobe.

Even if he didn’t, she vowed to herself, she’d make sure she paid him back before she left. She could always ring Donna at the store and ask her to look up the account. And if Garrett paid her fifteen-hundred dollars for each of the next two weeks, she definitely wouldn’t accept it all. No matter what he said, she knew cleaners didn’t make that much money. Otherwise, she’d concentrated on the wrong career.

###

M
addie was just about to head down to the cabins after breakfast when Garrett surprised her. “Can you drive me to town this morning? I thought we could do some grocery shopping.”

“Of course.” She put down the bucket filled with cleaning rags. “Is there something wrong with the SUV?”

“No.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “I just want to make sure you’re confident driving the car. In case you need to go to town any time.”

She smiled. “Let me grab my purse.”

Maddie enjoyed driving to Elk View Corner. Unlike Howard, Garrett didn’t make any “helpful” comments about her driving, instead trusting that she was competent behind the wheel. The car, which Maddie had privately nicknamed Cherry, handled well; in fact it was a lot smoother to drive than her old sedan.

At the large supermarket, Garrett wheeled the trolley while Maddie, surprised he hadn’t made a list, tried to remember what they actually needed.

“I think that’s everything,” she announced a little while later, surveying the laden trolley.

“Not quite.” Garrett leaned over and snagged a box of hot chocolate capsules off the shelf. He grinned at her. “Can’t forget these.”

Maddie returned his smile, appreciating his thoughtfulness. Once again she wondered, who was Garrett Trask? He rescued runaway brides from the highway, rode horses like an expert, obviously enjoyed living on the ranch, but had mysterious conference calls, and money didn’t seem to be a problem for him.

At the checkout, Maddie winced at the total, but Garrett didn’t bat an eye. He paid in cash and loaded the bags into the trunk.

At the supermarket, it had been easy to imagine that they had been a couple doing their weekly grocery shopping together. But that’s all it was, she told herself wistfully, just a fantasy.

###

T
he following day, Maddie found herself on horseback again, riding with Garrett. He’d insisted that she take the weekend off, and yesterday she‘d spent a relaxing afternoon baking a chocolate cake from scratch. She’d noticed he’d looked at her with admiration when he’d taken his first bite.

Although she enjoyed baking, a whole cake for herself was often too tempting to have lying around. And when she’d been with Howard, he insisted on eating just a very small piece, frequently telling her that too many treats would eventually clog up her arteries.

But looking at Garrett’s muscular frame, she found it hard to believe that occasional home baking could hurt his body. In the week she’d been here, she’d noticed just how hard Garrett worked around the ranch. And when he wasn’t outside doing chores, he was often closeted in his study, with “business matters.”

Now, she and Garrett rode to visit Farley in the north pasture. Her hip still tingled where Garrett had placed his hand, helping her get settled in the saddle after giving her a boost. Although she didn’t think his touch had been
strictly
necessary, she certainly wasn’t going to complain about it.  She just wished there’d been more encounters like that over the past week.

Prince sped up a little, and Maddie was gratified to see that her breasts weren’t bouncing today. When Garrett had asked her if she’d like to go riding with him, she’d hurriedly changed into her restrictive, form-fitting bra. She didn’t want her breasts to jiggle all over the place, as they had last time.

“Almost there.” Garrett’s face creased with satisfaction as he gestured to Farley.

Maddie smiled in response. The bull really was magnificent.

“Hey, fella.” Garrett swung off his horse and spoke softly to the black bull, who ambled over, curious to see who was visiting him.

Farley snorted, then turned his back to them, searching for the most succulent mouthful of grass he could find.

Maddie decided to stay on her horse. She didn’t want to embarrass herself by trying to dismount on her own, and then there was the whole getting back onto Prince to consider. Although she wouldn’t mind Garrett planting his hands on her hips again to help her into the saddle, she didn’t want him to think of her as a total greenhorn.

“Looks like he’s busy,” Garrett said ruefully, gracefully mounting Blaze. “I’ll introduce him to his first heifer tomorrow.”

Maddie nodded, hoping the warmth on her cheeks hadn’t pinkened them. It was silly to blush when he was talking about mating his bull. They were on a ranch, after all.

She enjoyed the slow trek back to the barn. Already, she felt more confident riding Prince today then she had on Thursday. Although she’d been a little stiff and sore Friday morning, the warm bath she’d had the night before must have worked. She’d definitely have another bath tonight.

Garrett helped her dismount, one hand on her waist as she hung there for a moment, suspended sideways on the saddle. “There you go.” He helped get her free foot on the ground, the touch of his hand warm on her body, even through her layer of clothing.

“Thanks,” she murmured, looking up at him once both feet were firmly on the hard-packed earth.

He smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Maddie stilled, wondering if he was going to kiss her, but the moment passed almost immediately. Garrett stepped back, busying himself with unsaddling the horses, making her wonder if she’d just imagined that second between them.

On the walk back to the house, Garrett discussed his plans for the following week. It appeared that he was going to be busy with more mysterious conference calls, as well as selecting a suitable mate for Farley.

“I can get started on the second cabin tomorrow,” Maddie volunteered, determined to clean it from top to bottom as quickly and efficiently as she could, still feeling a little guilty that it had taken her a week to completely clean its neighbor.

“Good idea.” He smiled warmly at her. Sometimes she thought she could forget her own name when Garrett looked at her like that.

Still enjoying his smile, Maddie stumbled on a loose piece of gravel in the courtyard, her arms flailing for balance.

“I’ve got you,” Garrett murmured in her ear, his arms wrapped around her body, drawing her upright.

Her breath skipped as she regained her balance, secure in his embrace. “Thanks,” she said breathlessly, awareness rippling through her from the masculine warmth of his body.

Her pulse beat erratically as she saw the banked heat in his eyes. His head lowered, and she parted her lips in unconscious invitation. Garrett’s mouth brushed against hers. His tongue glided into her mouth in the same instant her arms stole around his muscular back.