I kept looking out the window. I knew it was silly, but I wasn’t sure what to expect once the sun was up. The woman I had been with Nash and Caleb last night, wasn’t the real me. Or was it? I had no idea what they thought. I heard the words they whispered in my ear, but did they mean them or were they just as caught up in the heat as I was?

I had paced in the small cabin when I woke up alone, debating whether I had lost my mind or found it. My body hummed with electricity. I loved it. But I couldn’t ignore the confusion. I couldn’t pretend I didn’t doubt my decision.

I couldn’t deny the relief I felt when I spotted Caleb strolling toward the cabin. I bit my bottom lip. He was here after all. I hadn’t scared him away with my brazen sexuality.

I ran my fingers through my hair and smoothed out my shirt.

He knocked on the door and I pulled it open.

“Hi.”

“Good morning” he said, placing his hands in his pants pockets.

I twisted my lips together. God, he was gorgeous. It was hard not to blush, remembering how he looked in my bed naked. I’d never shared anything so intimate as I had with this man. And he was now completely dressed on the porch, like a practical stranger.

“Do you want to come in?”

He leaned his palm against the doorframe. “We don’t have a lot of time to see the ranch. I have to hand you off to Nash in a couple hours.”

“Hand me off?” I balked.

He rubbed the side of his strong jaw. “Maybe not the best choice of words.”

My chest was hot from the thought. “I—I don’t know what’s normal about any of this.”

“Maybe I should come in. Let’s clear the air, darlin’.”

I stepped aside so he could enter the cabin. Was it strange that he was here without Nash? Should we wait to have a conversation with the three of us? My head was spinning with all the scenarios.

“I don’t know where to start.” He cleared his throat.

“I don’t either.”

“I think you know last night was something different. For all of us.”

I nodded. “It was for me. I meant everything I said. I-I’m not the kind of girl who does these things.”

“Just hold on.”

I blinked at the intensity in his voice.

“I’m not that kind of man either.” He took a step toward me. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about the ranch. It’s not that kind of place. We don’t …”

“Don’t what?”

He shook his head. “This is too damn hard.”

I reached for his hand and threaded my fingers against his. “We were close this morning. Very close.” I looked in his eyes. “You can tell me. You can tell me anything, Caleb.”

Maybe it was the contact of our skin, but he seemed to suddenly relax. He exhaled and pulled me to him. He smiled.

“You’re something special, city girl. Very special.”

I felt a tingle run along my breasts. “Thanks.”

His fingers curled against my waist. “What happened after the bonfire…that was a first. I just want you to know that. It’s important to me that you know that we don’t do that. We don’t hook up with guests, or reporters.”

“Ever?”

“Never.”

He ran his thumb over my lips. They were swollen from so many kisses. I leaned into his hand.

“I don’t know where it goes from here.”

“I don’t either,” I whispered.

He pressed his mouth against mine and I drank in his kiss. He was such a strong and earthy man. As if he had been molded straight from the mountains surrounding the ranch.

He broke away. “I don’t know if that changed a damn thing, but I wanted to say something.”

I giggled. “It helped.” I looked up at him.

“Ready to see the rest of the ranch?” He led me toward the door.

“Yes. Show me around, cowboy.”

Caleb insisted I get the full tour. He wanted to show me all the buildings that composed the main core of running the ranch. I didn’t have the heart to tell him the magazine readers didn’t care about the business offices. Instead, I focused on the time we spent together and absorbed every word he spoke.

He was quiet and more reserved than Nash. I knew getting him to open up was definitely more challenging.

We walked through the back of the main lodge into the interior of the ranch’s kitchen.

There was a woman working at the massive stove.

“Who do we have here, Caleb?” she asked brightly.

“Rosa, this is Claire, the reporter I was telling you about. Claire, this is Rosa. She’s the chef here at the ranch.”

Rosa reached out to take my hand. “Nice to meet you, sweetheart. I hope you enjoy your stay here.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “It’s certainly different from Chicago. But the travel readers are going to love this piece. I’m going to make sure they know the food is delicious.”

Rosa held both my hands. “Did you hear that, Caleb? She’s going to write about my food?”

He smiled warmly. “You deserve it, Rosa. You’re the real heart behind the ranch. Food makes the world run.”

She let my hands go. I thought I saw her wipe a tear from the corner of her eye. I needed to circle back to the kitchen after my tour with Caleb and interview her separately. I had a feeling there was more to the story. I had questions I couldn’t ask in front of Caleb.

“Come on, let’s head over to the offices.” He slid his hand to my lower back.

“It was nice to meet you, Claire.” She stirred something on the stove. “Come by anytime.”

“I’ll do that.”

I followed Caleb out of the kitchen.

“She’s sweet,” I paused. “Is she family? Are you related somehow?”

Caleb nodded. “She’s as good as family. I wouldn’t know what I’d do without Rosa.”

“So like an aunt or something?” I pressed.

“Something like that.”

I pouted, wishing he would tell me more, but I knew I had to earn the information from him. He kept things close to his chest.

We wandered into the lodge where I had first laid eyes on my handsome cowboy. There were a few families near the fireplace discussing their plans for the day. I heard the parents arguing about riding horses versus taking a hike on foot.

“So—how are you liking things here so far, Claire?” Wesley appeared out of nowhere.

“Oh hi again.” I smiled. “Better than I expected, actually.”

“How so?” he urged.

I froze. Did he know what happened last night? Would Nash have told him? I knew I could count on Caleb not to say a word. But his step-brother was a different story. I knew Nash had a wild streak.

I tried to think of something to say that wouldn’t make my panties melt. “I had a great time at the bonfire last night.” There. That seemed innocent enough.

“Oh yeah. We all saw you with Caleb and Nash.”

My eyes bulged. My stomach flipped. Holy shit.

Caleb cut in. “Yeah, everyone was dancing last night.” He pointed to the two families. “Don’t you have work to do?”

Wesley gave an exaggerated nod. “Yep. I’m on it, boss. Glad you’re having fun, Claire.” He tipped his hat toward me. “See you two around.”

I blushed. Holy hell, this was awkward. Did he see me leave the party with both men?

“Does he know?” I whispered to Caleb, feeling the panic swirl in my belly. “Oh God, he saw something, didn’t he?”

Caleb grabbed me by the elbow. “This is my office,” he bellowed before closing his office door.

He released my arm and stared at me. “Darlin’, no one knows anything about what happened, especially not Wesley.”

“But he-he was asking questions.”

“He’s a nosey one. And you’re gorgeous. Every man on this ranch wants to talk to you. You need to get used to that. We don’t have many single women stay over.”

“You don’t?” I found my voice.

“No. We have moms with their kids, and newlyweds on honeymoon. This isn’t the single woman’s destination. Add that you’re sexier than sin and you become the hottest topic on the ranch.” He gripped my shoulders with his heavy hands. “I swear, no one knows.”

I sighed. “Ok. I trust you.”

“Good. You should. I’m here to take care of you.”

My eyes flashed to his. It was something so reassuring and simple.

“You are?”

He nodded. “I’ll do everything I can to make you feel safe at the ranch. Trust me. Ok?”

It wasn’t hard to do. He was a mountain of a man. Strong. Strapping. Dripping with pent-up sexual power. I tipped into his arms just as his lips came crashing down on mine.