Blackhill Ranch (6 page)

I know I shouldn't keep
comparing him to Brian, but Brian is really all I've ever known. I
had guy friends in high school and dated a few of them, but nothing
was ever serious. Brian started out just as a really great friend,
like Chloe. He was also very easy to talk to, but I never had the
urge to rip off his shirt just so I could remember what his chest
looked like. Brian waited patiently for me to be ready to take
things to the next level for a year, or so. I also need to clear up
that he is NOT gay. I think Cole just likes to make fun of him, and
doesn't understand the meaning of “metro-sexual.” That's not
something that is seen very often here at the ranch, or in all of
Montana for that matter.

I also loved the little
signs Rhet was giving me that he was glad to be around me. Like
leaning into me when he really didn't need to, or touching my arm
when he was explaining something. Sometimes, I would be talking and
look over at him and he would just be staring at my face. Now,
normally this would be strange, but when the guy who’s staring at
you looks like Rhet, you just can't help but turn all mushy and
stare back.

I know I sound like a
young high schooler with her first crush, but in a sense I kind of
am. This is new to me. I liked Brian right away, as a friend, but
it took a while for the romance to come into play, even though he
was good looking as well.

“We are almost there,
Lexi. Just a few more tweaks and I think it is going to be ready to
launch,” Rhet said with an excited voice. I loved how much effort
he was putting into this, and I could tell he really cared about
this ranch and the people who would benefit from it.

“Thank you, Rhet, so much
for helping with this. You are very talented,” I said as I stood
up.

Right as I went to stand
Rhet was already in motion and our heads bounced together like two
bowling balls hitting in opposite directions. The hit made me a
little off balance and I slipped backwards off my chair. Rhet went
to grab my arm but missed and ended up falling right over me. Now,
if we would have been caught on tape, I'm sure we would have looked
ridiculous and we both must have sensed that because we cracked up
laughing.

After a few seconds of us
laughing on the floor, Rhet stood up and grabbed my hand to help me
up. I wasn't smiling anymore because if looks could set you on
fire, this was one of them. I took in a deep breath and Rhet's lips
crashed into mine before I could even let it out. I opened my mouth
for him and our tongues started doing a soft synchronized dance. I
lost myself and my hands instantly went up under his shirt. Oh my,
if I couldn’t' see this glorious chest then I might as well feel
it. And it felt divine. Rhet let out a low growl and grabbed my
hair softly in his hands, and pulled back.

“Shit, Lexi. You drive me
crazy,” he whispered in my ear as my body was in protest that he
even left it.

“Good because it wouldn't
be fair if only one of us was affected by the other,” I sheepishly
said and gave him my version of a soft kiss on his jaw line. He
kissed me back on the top of my head and grabbed his computer off
of the desk behind me.

“I have some chores I need
to help with over at the barn, but I'll meet up with you later
today. Save me a seat for dinner, okay?” he said as he walked me
out the door quickly.

I stood there like an
idiot and just gave him a goofy smile, even though he couldn't see
me.

Oh sexy men, why do they
turn our brains to mush? After I stood there for a good solid
minute and got myself together, I started laughing uncontrollably.
I had been here for less than twenty-four hours and I already made
out with a hot guy-my brother's best friend to be exact-but who's
judging? That just struck me as hilarious and I chuckled all the
way to the dining hall.

***

When I reached the back
door, my Dad came flying out and about gave me a heart attack. I
stopped to say hi, but all he did was give me a small smile,
squeezed my arm, and then kept walking by. He looked very strange
and it made me tilt my head in confusion. Tina poked her head out
and smiled at me with a blush. I may be in a little lust bubble
myself, but I could still see clear. I felt like I may have just
interrupted a ‘moment’ and it had me intrigued.

“What was that?” I
playfully asked as I stepped around Tina into the back of the
kitchen.

“What was what? What do
you mean?” she asked in a higher than usual pitch. Something was
up, but I didn't want to make her uncomfortable. I was just going
to mentally note this moment and put it in my back
pocket.

“Nothing, my dad just
didn't even say hello. Jerk,” I playfully rolled my eyes at
her.

“He was in a hurry, dear.
You know him, work work work.” She blushed and shut the door behind
her.

“Did he tell you he
finally hired an accountant? I'm so excited, and I'm really hoping
it will calm him down a bit,” I said as I gave her a small
hug.

“Yes, he did. I don't know
what I think about it. I went to school with Carol and she was
quite the hussy,” she said with a little sass that made me choke
out a laugh. “And it's very convenient that the minute her divorce
is finalized, she gets your dad to hire her as his accountant.
Isn't that some coincidence?” she lifted her eyebrows and put her
hands on her hips.

I lifted my eyebrows
towards Tina and asked, “Is someone jealous?”

“Shush your mouth. I am
not a jealous woman. I just don't like this one bit,” she said as
she walked over to the cabinets and started banging this and that
around.

This was new information
about Carol. I hadn't really even asked many questions about her,
and if Tina was in a tizzy than I better keep my guard up. Tina was
one of those people that never spoke badly about someone else,
unless it was absolutely true or necessary. I will make sure to be
back at the lodge and meet this woman. I don't like to brag, but
I'm usually a good judge of character.

“She is coming by today to
talk to dad. I may sneak over and meet her myself. I feel like I'm
a good judge of character.” I grinned over at her and watched as
she rolled her eyes and started prepping for lunch.

“Yeah, yeah. I'm just am
not thrilled about this, but I know he needs the help. Since you're
here, darling, help me whip up some potato salad. The potatoes are
already in the pot, and all the other ingredients are in the
fridge. Remember how to make it?” she teased and tossed me an
apron.

“Do I remember how to make
your potato salad? Pa-leeze. I could do this in my sleep.” I
scoffed and headed towards the refrigerator. “How many guests for
dinner?”

“Around twelve. The other
five are out with Cole so it's a smaller crowd. We have a new group
coming in late this Sunday. I will need to run to town and make
sure I have everything ready. I am hoping to try our new menu with
them. It's a group of guys out here on a bachelor trip, and they
are staying the whole week.” Tina said with a little sigh. “Don't
get me wrong, I love this more then anything but ten guys can eat a
lot!”

“Ten guys? That is a lot
of man stomach to feed, but it will be neat to try out our menu on
them.” I stayed until after lunch and helped Tina clean up. She
made some ridiculously good beef brisket, and of course it came out
just right. Her potato salad was also to die for. I told her I was
going to head to the lodge and start working on some fun activities
for the ranch. She kissed my cheek and told me how nice it was to
have help in the kitchen. I love that woman, and I was hoping my
dad did, too. I already had two tally marks under 'Dad and Tina
falling for each other' and I was hoping there would be many
more.

Chapter 6

I spent most of the
afternoon working on ideas for the guests after hours. We had most
of our days planned out for them with the packages they chose from,
but some nights eating S'mores by the campfire got old and boring.
I thought it would be fun to have a dance every Friday night. There
was a local band that I thought would be perfect. They were still
pretty new, so they might be interested. Most of our guests only
stay for five to seven days, so Fridays would be
perfect.

I also thought we could do
campouts under the stars, and maybe invest in a ‘game’ room. We had
an amazing outdoor pool and jacuzzi area, but we really didn't have
a place for guys or teens to hang out. I will have to run that by
my dad and see what he thinks.

At 4:00 p.m. my dad came
in and told me Carol was on her way. We were right off I-90 and she
lived in the closest town, which was about twenty minutes away. I
grew up out here, so I was used to the drive into town, but to
people that have always lived in town it seemed like a foreign
country. Eventually, they would fall in love with this place and
never go back.

I walked out of the office
with my dad and headed to the lodge entrance. I was a little
nervous now about this Carol lady. I tried to picture what she
looked like in my head. Maybe a medium sized lady with dark hair.
No, blonde. She was probably blonde.

We went over to the
counter and said hi to Kim. I'm guessing Molly had the whole day
off. “My goodness when is she due? She looks like she's going to
pop,” I whispered over to my dad so she couldn't hear
me.

“Due in August.” He
laughed and bumped my shoulder. Right then a woman walked through
the door and headed right over to my dad with a huge smile on her
face. She wasn't at all what I had pictured. She had shoulder
length strawberry blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and was very
attractive.

“Byron, my goodness it's
good to see you,” she took off her glasses and gave him a million
dollar smile. I swear I heard my dad swoon.

“Carol, it's nice to see
you, too. It has been a while. What four years since your family
came here and stayed for a week?” he smiled and gave her a side
hug.

“Yes, it has. I believe I
even tried to get you to hire me back then,” she said sheepishly
and looked over at me. “You must be Lexi. It's so nice to meet
you.” She smiled and stuck out her hand towards me.

I had one rule of shaking
hands and she was about to be tested. A firm handshake meant you
were solid, tough, good at what you do, but a soft limp handshake
meant just that. Weak. No confidence. So here we go...

“Hi Carol, it is nice to
meet you, too.” I smiled at her and shook her hand. Well, it wasn't
soft but it wasn't firm. A good medium. I'll give her about a seven
out of ten on her handshake. Not too bad.

“I believe you had just
left for college when we came here. It's nice to put a face to your
name. Your dad was so proud, and told us all about you going to
UCLA. How was it?”

“It was really great, I
loved LA but I am so glad to be back home. California was amazing,
but I knew from the get go I didn't want to end up out there
forever,” I said and surveyed her face while I talked. She was
listening and smiled when I was finished talking. So far she didn't
seem like a villain, but I would have to keep my guard
up.

“What a great experience,
Lexi. My oldest son Mark is at Penn State and is just loving the
east coast,” she said and looked over at my dad.

“That's a mighty big
change. I believe it's good for the kids to go off and experience
life a little. It makes them grateful for what they have,” He said
and motioned her to come back to his office. “Let's go back here,
and we can talk starting date and pay.”

“Sounds great. Thank you,
Byron,” she said and followed him back to his office. I couldn't
help but be a little nosey, so I decided to stick around for a few
minutes to see what she was all about. So far I had to say, I
didn't dislike her.

“Have a seat here and
let's just go over a few things? First, I just need someone to help
out with our books, payroll, and expenses. I have some friends
helping with is a little now, but it would be nice to have one
person doing all of these things. I would really like a long term
commitment if at all possible, and I know you are just getting out
of a marriage so you are welcome to stay at the ranch. I have a
cabin close to Lexi's that will be ready for you in a few days, if
you choose,” he said and handed Carol a folder. I assumed it had a
list of duties and a salary attached.

Carol peeked in the folder
and smiled softly. She looked up at my dad and nodded, “This looks
amazing. I am so ready to move on and do something different. It
was hard to say goodbye to my marriage, but you can only put up
with some things for so long.” She blushed and looked over at me.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn't have said anything about that.”

“No, it's okay. I'm just
sad you are going through a divorce. I know they can be rough,” I
smiled reassuringly at her.

“Byron, I really am
excited. Let me think about living out here. I'm only working
mornings, so I don't know what I would do for the rest of the day.
I may just commute back and forth,” she touched his arm and looked
up at him.