9781618857279MakeMineaCowboySullivanNC (5 page)

“I’m
worried about him. He’s been drinking a lot lately.”

“I
know. I’ve tried talking to him about it, but he just tells me to butt out. He
doesn’t think he has a problem.” The sadness on his mom’s face hurt his heart.
He knew she wanted the best for all of them. “It'll work itself out.”

“He
needs to get his ass kicked. Maybe that’ll straighten him out.”

“I
don’t know.
Only if it’s by a woman.
I better go. Mesa
is waiting by the car. We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

“No
problem. We’re doing the bonfire tonight.”

“I
know. I already told Mesa about it. She’s excited. She wants to see the foal being
born, too, but I’m not sure of the mother’s timeframe. I don’t know whether she’d
want me to wake her up in the middle of the night.”

“She
probably would want you to, but you need to get going. Don’t keep the lady
waiting.” Nina grinned like she had a secret. His mother was playing matchmaker
again, and this time he was the target.

Chapter Three

Mesa
stood near the car waiting for Joel to emerge from the house. The whole ranch
was beautiful. She couldn’t seem to look quick enough to take it all in. The
house, the barn, the cabins, the cowboys…Good Lord, the whole thing overloaded
her cowboy sucking brain.

She
frowned. That wasn’t a good comparison for this particular situation. Not like
she had an aversion to sucking anyone, especially if it included Joel. Her
whole chest expanded with a deep sigh. Getting involved with anyone right now
wouldn’t be good. Her life included her apartment in Los Angeles, her cat,
Tigger
, and no boyfriend in sight. Even if she only wanted
a quick fling, he wouldn’t be the right guy to do it with. His charming good
looks, cowboy manners, gentlemanly behavior, and nice ass in those jeans made
him hard to resist, though.

Joel
stepped out the door of the main house and headed in her direction. The wide
chest, bulging biceps, and trim hips made her panties wet. She could easily
fashion one of her characters to look like him. The dark hair curling slightly
by his ears and around his neck, the sparkling blue eyes, the trim, sensuous
lips she wanted to kiss with everything inside her. All of it made her body sit
up and take notice of the hot man coming closer.

“Ready?”

“Yep,”
she said, opening her door. “You know, you don’t have to go with me. I think I
can find my way back by myself.”

“I
doubt it with these roads at night. Besides, you can tell me more about your
writing while you drive.”

She
slid behind the wheel before she buckled her seatbelt. “You don’t want to hear
about my writing do you?” The car turned over with a twist of the key.

“Sure,”
he said, buckling his own seatbelt. “It sounds interesting.”

As
she backed out of the spot, she replied, “It’s not very interesting, really.”

“Why
don’t you let me be the judge of that? I’ve never met an author before.” He
pushed the seat back to accommodate his long legs. “So, explain to me what you
write.”

“I
told you. I write cowboys.”

“I
got that part, but you said they weren’t like westerns, really.”

Heat
crawled up her neck, splashing red across her cheeks.

“Are
you blushing, Mesa?”

“Yes.
You’re teasing me, Joel.” Her hands gripped the steering wheel tighter.

“No,
I’m not. I really want to know what you write.”

She
inhaled through her nose, blowing it out through her mouth in a rush. “All
right. I write erotic cowboy stories.”

“Erotic?”

“Romance.
The guy and the girl meet, they have some kind of conflict, they split up, and
then they resolve things to get back together. In between, there
is
lots and lots of hot sex.”

“Oh.
Sounds fun.”

“They
think so, I’m sure. They certainly don’t argue with me when I’m writing it.”

“These
people talk to you?”

“Of
course they do. They tell me their story. I just write it down.” She glanced at
Joel. “I’m not crazy.”

“Okay.”

“You
don’t understand. The characters are like voices in my head.”

“Okay.”

“Stop
it.”

“No,
really. It’s fine. Just let me out here. I’ll get a ride back to the house.” He
laughed at the sour look on her face as she scrunched up her nose. “I’m
kidding, Mesa. I think it’s good you write books.”

“You
don’t think I’m nuts?”

“No.
We all have our little quirks.”

Quirks?
“Authors are a bit over the top sometimes.”

“I
wouldn’t know. You’re the first one I’ve met, but if they are all pretty like
you, then I don’t mind.”

“I’m
not pretty.”

“Sure
you are. I like my women curvy, and you have just the right amount of curves.”

“I’m
not your woman.” With a flip of her hair over her shoulder, she concentrated on
the road in front of the car. Texas junipers sped by the windows in the fading
daylight. More longhorn cattle dotted the landscape. Blacktop stretched in
front of the car for miles. She knew she’d been driving away from the main road
for a while before she’d run out of gas.

“Don’t
get testy. It’s a compliment.”

He
shifted in the seat, bringing her awareness of him into sharp view.
Damn.

“Do
you not get complimented often? You should, you know.”

“Not
much, I guess.” She shrugged. The sunlight had begun to wane, creating long
shadows in the scenery. Rocks of all shapes and sizes sprouted from hard
ground. She’d have to ask Joel what kind they were so she could be accurate in
her description, should she use it in a book. Inspiration
flowed,
abound in her imagination since she met him. The surroundings of the ranch, his
brothers, him, all of them sparked something in her she’d been afraid had died
over the last year. Her writing had suffered—badly. Yes, she had a few best sellers,
but her last book flopped. The next one needed to be stellar to bring back her
fans.

The
breakup with her longtime boyfriend, Kurt, hadn’t helped matters, but she
couldn’t fault him. The decision to call off their relationship came from her.
He hadn’t liked it, but they parted on friendly terms. Their sex life fizzled
out some time ago with her need to explore. She wanted more and Kurt had been
satisfied with missionary position. No fun. No excitement. Nothing. What would
sex with Joel be like?

“Do
you write full time?”

His
question brought her mind back to their conversation. Thinking about sex with
Joel wasn’t where she needed to be. Well maybe it was, but she couldn’t act on
it even though it had been a while since she’d been between the sheets with
anyone. “Yes. It keeps me plenty busy.”

“I
imagine it kind of makes you a hermit, though. Sitting in front of your desk
all the time.”

“I
guess. I don’t go out much.”

“Where
do you live when you aren’t going to these conferences?”

“Los
Angeles.”

“In
L.A. itself, or one of the suburbs?”

There
he went, stretching out his long legs again.
Damn,
the man looks good in a
pair of jeans.
“A suburb. I have a small apartment with my cat.”

“Ah.
A catlady.”

Her
head whipped around as her gaze locked with his. Those intense blue eyes stared
back until she focused on the road again. “I only have one. I don’t consider
myself a catlady.”

“Boy,
you’re testy. I didn’t mean anything by it. I like cats.”

“Do
you have pets, other than your horse?”

“A
horse isn’t a pet. It’s a working animal. Something required for my job.”

She
raised a hand and said, “Sorry. I think of horses as pets. They can be big
babies.”

“Ours
aren’t pets.”

“But
you love him, don’t you?”

“Yeah.
He’s my buddy.”

“Then
he’s your pet.”

Joel
laughed. “All right. I’ll give you that. He’s my pet. I’ve had him since I was
young. My parents got him for me on my thirteenth birthday.”

“Did
your brothers get one, too?”

“Yeah.
We all three got our own. Before, we would ride one of the stable horses. Jet
is my horse.”

“Jet?
But he’s red.”

“I
know. He fit the name ’cause he’s quick. He’s a cutting horse.”

“You
don’t mind if I pick your brain while I stay with your family, do you? I’m
realizing even though I write about cowboys, horses,
bullriders
,
and all things western, I don’t know everything I should to make my books
authentic.”

“Sure.
I don’t mind.”

She
glanced his way and smiled. “Have you ever ridden a bull?”

“A
few times, yes.
In high school, mostly.
We all did
those crazy-ass things during our younger years.”

“You
make yourself out to be this old man. What are you? Twenty-five?”

“Twenty-eight,
but when you’re doing rodeo for a livin’, it makes you old fast. Ever realize
there aren’t a lot of old rodeo guys? It’s a hard life.”

“Any
of your brothers do professional rodeo?”

“Nah.
We have too much work to do around the ranch.”

“Oh.”

“Ranchin’
is a hard life too. Don’t get me wrong.” He wiped his palms on his pant legs.
“We get up before dawn most days and don’t get to bed until late.”

“I’m
sure you all have a normal party life though, right? I mean, all work and no
play
makes
Joel a dull boy.”

“We
get around,” he said with a crooked little grin on his lips.

She
wanted to kiss it right off his mouth.

The
lights of San Antonio came into view as more businesses sprouted up along the
sides of the road.

“What
hotel are you staying at?”

“The
Marriott near the airport. The conference is being held there in the business
suites and ballroom.”

“How’s
the conference been?”

“Pretty
boring, actually. I was hoping for more reader interaction, but it’s been
mostly panels and such. There is a book signing tomorrow, but I think I’ll skip
it for the research the ranch offers me.” She pulled down the road toward the
hotel. The Marriott stood five stories high and encompassed the whole block.
Concrete walls and steel framed windows, painted a bright yellow with white
trim,
outlined
the hotel. Native bushes lined the
walkways. She pulled into a space and shut off the car. “Do you want to wait
here? I don’t have much to repack.”

“I
can help you bring the stuff down if you like.”

Hmm…a sexy man in a hotel room with
a bed?
So not a good idea.
“Why don’t you wait in the car? It’ll only take me a minute.”

“Okay.
If you’re sure.
I came to help, you know.”

“Yeah,
but you don’t need to see all my underwear and stuff strung all over the room.”

He
laughed a deep, throaty laugh that made her toes curl. “Fine. I’ll stay in the
car.”

“Great.
Be right back.”

After
she slipped out of the car, she shut the door and hurried toward the side door
of the hotel. Luckily, her room was on the second floor, so it wouldn’t take
much to get her big suitcase and her computer bag down to the car. She really
didn’t want Joel seeing all her makeup, toiletries, and personal
unmentionables. It seemed weird to have a guy in her room, especially since
she’d only known him a few hours.

The
door lock beeped opened as she slid the keycard into the slot. When she pushed
the door, the darkness of the room surrounded her for a few moments until she
flicked the lights on with a press of the button on the wall. She grabbed her
suitcase from the closet and quickly folded her clothes to pack back in the
bag.
Shampoo,
conditioner, makeup bag.
I
think I got it all.

She
grabbed her computer and slid it into the case.
That didn’t take long.
She glanced around the room to make sure she
had everything as she pulled up the roller bar on the suitcase. The conference
had included her hotel room so she would be losing the money there, but the
chance for front row seats to a real ranch setting would be worth it in the
long run. Her book would be authentic and her hero would be to die for!

* * * *

Joel
checked the reflection in the side mirror of the car. He could clearly see the
door Mesa disappeared through in the glass.
What
to make of her?
When he’d found her stranded in her car, he wasn’t sure she
had a brain cell in her pretty head. Who would take a drive out into the middle
of nowhere without enough gas to get back? But while he chatted with her, he
realized she actually was a very intelligent woman with a big heart.
She sure is beautiful with all of her long,
dark hair and brown eyes.