Chapter Three
Calvin
I didn’t know what drew me to the Roanoke Ranch that day. I guess I had to meet the new neighbors—my curiosity got the best of me since I’d heard they’d bought the place, sight unseen. An elderly man and his single daughter—the hero in me thought that neither seemed able to run such a large ranch on their own. They were city folk, and city folk were delicate.
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to find when I knocked on their door, but it definitely wasn’t what I found. Lainey Campbell was absolutely one of the most stunning women I’d ever met. I thought my ex-wife was beautiful—once—but this woman was so well put together, from her perfectly windswept hair to the lavender toenail polish on her tanned feet. Every curve of her body was so sexy. It had been a long time since my wife and I divorced and while I’d had a few women from time to time, but none had gripped me so immediately.
I still felt the same way when she walked through my door, looking like a Bohemian goddess. She was wearing a steel gray sundress that came to her mid-thigh and a necklace with an elaborate stone pendant. I had to bat away thoughts of kissing those shapely legs from her perfect toes, across the landscape of her well-toned thighs, and upward to heaven.
“Welcome y’all,” I said as I ushered them in, still hazy with lust.
They’d brought expensive wine, and I stifled a good-hearted laugh. Wine wouldn’t go over well with this beer-drinking crowd, but I appreciated it.
“Howdy,” her father responded, and she rolled her eyes. I didn’t think she intended to do it, but she did. I couldn’t contain myself any longer and I laughed—kindly, I hoped.
“Thanks for inviting us,” she added, trying to smooth over the edges.
“Glad you could join us,” I replied.
God, I wanted to take her right then and there. I felt like I was possessed, which was insane because I didn’t even know the woman. As the evening progressed, I was happy to see her father connect with a few of the other ranch hands and a few other friends I’d invited. He would need their help on the ranch and all of them were good people, willing to pitch in and work together.
Since her father was otherwise engaged, I got a moment to be alone with Lainey. I saw she’d made idle chit chat for some time with a throng of men who’d cornered her, like bees around a honey pot. The women, I noticed, stood by coolly and just watched, sizing her up and judging her, no doubt. It was going to be hard for her to fit in around here, but my heart swelled for her. Seeing her glass was nearly empty, I popped the cork on a fresh bottle of wine, and seized my opportunity to interrupt the parade of suitors.
“Are you enjoying the BBQ?” I asked as I approached.
Her beautiful, wide smile was captivating.
“I am,” she said with strain.
I chuckled, realizing she clearly wasn’t, and raised the bottle of wine. It was an excellent Pinot Noir I’d saved for this moment. She recognized the winery it had come from and her face brightened some.
“May I fill your glass? I noticed you were getting low.” Finally, she gave me a genuine smile.
“Yes, please.” She seemed relieved and raised her glass toward me.
“To the rescue,” I said, tipping the bottle, and her eyes told me she understood my double meaning as I poured the wine.
“Thank you,” she sighed.
“You bet.” That small exchange of words was enough to know I wanted to be alone with her. Very alone.
Half the men who’d been ogling Lainey were married, and the other half had girls who thought they were in relationships with them. Only one truly single rival was any threat, and I was determined to knock him across the playing field and out of the park, but first, I had to get rid of the married men.
“Hey, Ralph, where’s Mary? I haven’t seen her for a while.” Of course, I knew exactly where Mary was. She and Tom’s wife, Abigail, had gone upstairs to put their toddlers to bed for the night.
Ralph’s face reddened, as did Tom’s, being caught red-handed flirting with the new girl.
“They went to put the kids down,” Ralph mumbled. “Guess we should go check in with them. Nice meeting you, Lainey,” he said as they sheepishly retreated.
Lainey’s eyes perked up. Boy, I liked her even more the way she flashed those baby blues at me.
“Thanks for your advice on the farm equipment,” she said as they slowly moved away. I knew she was trying to sound sincere, but the statement came off as absurd. “I’ll let you know what my dad and I decide.”
“Sure thing,” Ralph replied over his shoulder as he slunk away.
That was the call to scatter, and everyone—even my lone rival—returned to the BBQ to find their spouses or girlfriends, leaving Lainey and I together.
“Sorry about that, I hope they didn’t bore you too much, but they don’t see too many new faces around here,” I apologized.
“Oh, it wasn’t that bad, though I was beginning to feel like Scarlet O’Hara at Twelve Oaks.” She laughed, hoping I’d get the reference. “It’s okay, they meant well,” she said with a smile—and she had such an amazing smile, too.
“Do you want to take a walk, or would you like some more food?” I offered. What I really wanted to do was whisk her away from everything and everyone, but I was a gentleman and the choice was hers to make.
“A walk sounds nice.” Bingo, a lightning flash of nerves shivered my spine and rocketed straight to my cock. I slowly reeled her in as we walked together. I showed her my horses and the barn animals. It was obvious she was way outside of her comfort zone, but she was being gracious about everything, then she innocently asked me a question that had me in stitches.
“So, do you still call yourselves cowboys? Or are you cow people now? How does the cow… modifier work in these days of political correctness?”
She was being earnest, but came off sounding completely weird. I knew she must have had a vision of banjos, whoopin’ and hollerin’, and shit-kickin’ in her head, and I wanted to tell her that modern cowboys were honest men of the land and weren’t gun-toting land jockeys fighting Indians anymore. She’d understand our way of life soon enough, though—no need to start defending my existence just yet. I was sure when she met my best friend, Alan Redfeather, her ideas about Old West Cowboys and Indians would fade.
We stopped at the gazebo I’d built between my house and the alfalfa fields. It was a place I liked to go to when I wanted to get away from everything. I could see the cows and sheep from that spot and the alfalfa fields in the distance. At this vantage point, I could survey the entire expanse of my property. We sat there for a while, just talking, and got to know one another better.
“I bet New York never seemed so far away,” I started.
Her head dropped, and I wondered if I’d upset her.
“You have no idea,” she said softly, rubbing her fingers.
“Downtown El Paso is only about half an hour from here and we have some of the best Mexican restaurants in the world. It’s not New York, but if you ever want to run away to Mexico for the weekend, it’s just a hop over the border.” I was selling, I knew, but I didn’t want her starting her life here hating my hometown.
“Thanks. I’m sure it’s exciting. It’s just that I miss the noise, the bustle… and the people. We’ve only been here a few hours, but I feel like I’m living in another country.” She crinkled her nose in a way that made her look immature, yet so adorable.
“It’s not too exciting here compared to the city. I understand.” I smiled and patted her on the back. I wasn’t ready to let her know that I’d lived a life like hers in New York with endless meetings, an insane schedule, and people, lots of people… everywhere. I wanted her to fall in love with everything she saw first before I’d let her in on that part of my life.
“In fact,” I added, “You’re probably the most exciting thing to come around these parts in a long time,” I said, and smiled at her in what I hoped was a seductive way.
She laughed and shook her head.
“Is that the best you’ve got, cowboy?” she playfully reprimanded.
“Sadly, yes,” I laughed. “I’m a little out of practice,” I confessed, genuinely embarrassed.
Her piercing eyes met mine, and she shot me a hot, smoldering glare. I’d forgotten how much I loved modern women.