“Let me help.” I scoot off the blanket and fold it up. “Here.” I stand, handing him the picnic blanket, expecting him to stow it in the saddlebags as he did on the way here. But after he helps me onto the horse and slides in behind me, he surprises me by placing the folded blanket between our bodies, separating his groin from my backside.
We ride in silence back to the ranch, and I can’t help but wonder what went wrong. I went from having the best feeling of my life to feeling hollow because of his silence.
four
Wes
I’ve avoided Cheyenne fora full twenty-four hours since I let my body take over and forced myself on her—pinning her to the ground and grinding my jean-covered cock between her thighs, searching for relief. Luckily, I came to my senses when I did, or I’m not sure how far I would have taken it.
“How are things going with you and Cheyenne?” Ryland’s voice cuts through my thoughts, and I realize I’ve been caught daydreaming about Cheyenne, something I seem to do a lot.
“There’s nothing going on between us. I was a fool to think there ever could be.” I push off the fence and stride back to where Loki is reined, waiting for me.
“What do you mean you were a fool?” Ryland grabs my arm and spins me around to face him. “I’ve seen how the two of you look at each other—like a couple of love-sick fools. So yeah, I guess you are a couple of fools.”
“Don’t push it, Ryland. I’m not in the mood.” I jerk my arm free from his grip and stride toward the main gate, guiding Loki behind me, when a young woman, likely in her late twenties or early thirties, stumbles out of the saloon and collides with me.
“Oh, sorry.” A soft giggle escapes her lips as she sags against me. Instinctively, I wrap my arms around her to keep her from falling to the dirt. “Are you the Midnight Cowboy?” Her words are slurred as she blinks up at me, her hand reaching for my black cowboy hat before dropping limply to her side.
A flash of dark, curly hair at the corner of my eye makes me jerk my head in that direction, almost dropping the woman in my arms.
Cheyenne.
Shit, I hope she didn’t see me with this woman in my arms. It’s not that I want her there—it was an accident. The only woman I want in my arms is Cheyenne. I realize that now. I’ve been such a fool. I’ve already wasted too much precious time not telling Cheyenne how I feel about her.
“I got her.” Ryland steps forward, taking the clearly intoxicated woman into his arms and lifting her as if she weighs nothing. Her head rolls back against his chest as she snores softly.
“What are you going to do with her?” The drunk woman is obviously a guest. As an employee, my first priority is her safety, but my heart aches to go to Cheyenne and explain what she saw, if she saw the young woman in my arms.
“I’ll take her back to my bunk and let her sleep it off until I can figure out who she is and where she belongs.”
“Do you need my help?” I offer, knowing it’s the right thing to do.
“Nah.” He glances down at the pretty woman in his arms. “I got it. Besides, you have a horse to put back in his stall before you go claim your woman.”
He’s right. I’ve been a fool for avoiding Cheyenne. What happened between us yesterday was something we both wanted. I need to stop punishing myself for giving in so quickly instead of taking the time to properly court her, as I had planned.
Rushing to Loki’s stall, I wipe him down and give him an apple for a snack. “That will have to tide you over for now, buddy. I have to tell Cheyenne how I feel about her.” I lift my arm to run my hand over Loki’s back when I catch a whiff of the smell coming from under my arms. “Shit, I can’t claim Cheyenne smelling like sweat and horses.”
I rush to my cabin to take a shower and make sure my bedroom is clean, just in case. My cabin isn’t huge, but it’s private. As the ranch foreman, I don’t have to bunk with the rest of the guys—I have my own space. I’ve never cared about that before—but today I want to bring Cheyenne into my home, even if it’s only to talk.
Throwing on a pair of dark denim jeans and a white button-down shirt, then sliding into a pair of brown cowboy boots, I grab a brown cowboy hat and place it on my still-damp hair and rush out of my cabin to go claim the woman that I love.
five
Cheyenne
“Iwas wrong, theextra fairy lights are stunning.” Amber shakes her head. “Who would have thought?”
My only answer is a smile, still too stunned by seeing another woman in Wes’s arms, it’s all I can muster.
Replaying the last two days in my head, I can’t figure out how Wes can be so sweet and charming to me one minute and the next he’s ignoring me, only to be caught red-handed with another woman in his arms.
“Cheyenne, are you okay?” Amber pulls me aside, away from the wedding guests and down the hall to an empty room. Part of our job is to make sure everything runs smoothly during the parties. But the last thing I can focus on is whether the guests are enjoying the food.
“I’m fine. You didn’t have to pull us away from the reception.” I glance down at the flower sundress I wore tonight, hoping Wes would notice me in it. I’m even wearing a pair of cowgirl boots.
“You haven’t been fine since you went riding with Wes yesterday. I’ve been meaning to ask how it went. Are you two dating now?”