Hidden Treasure (6 page)

Chapter Nine

T
he ride back
to her ranch was filled with tension so thick that Brielle wondered how it was the windows didn’t shatter. Colt was in a less than perfect mood, and she thought back to what had happened during their time in the store.

Yes, they’d kissed, and yes, she’d run away from him afterward, but he’d seemed fine while she was speaking with the three surprisingly friendly women. It wasn’t until after his friend had arrived that he’d grown so grumpy and distant. Maybe Hawk wasn’t really a good friend and Colt didn’t like being around him. But she and Colt were hardly the best of friends themselves, so she couldn’t ask him about it.

So instead, she just sat there in the passenger seat and hoped for the ride to end as soon as possible. The quicker it was over, the less smothered she’d feel by the claustrophobic air inside his truck. When they finally arrived at the ranch, she bolted.

“Be ready to leave in thirty minutes,” Colt yelled after her as she scampered up her front steps.

She didn’t bother with a response, because his truck was already pulling away. Not looking back, she went inside the house and looked around critically for the hundredth time as she walked up the staircase toward her bedroom.

No one could call the house luxurious. Its bare walls were begging for a fresh coat of paint. The sparse furnishings that had come with the house were okay for this neck of the woods, she supposed, and some of them were probably considered antiques, but none of it lined up with her typical taste.

She liked modern furniture with clean, crisp edges and bold colors. This ranch house still had red-and-white-checked curtains that looked as if they’d been around since the house was built. The only saving grace was her bedroom.

At least her father had paid to have her furniture shipped in. She’d told him there was no way she was sleeping on some dead person’s old mattress. He’d laughed but agreed that he wouldn’t do that either.

So, as she stepped into her room, she felt a little cheered up looking at her four-poster bed with teal coverings and whimsical cloth hanging from the corners. The lines of her cherry wood furniture were beautiful, and she loved to sit on the comfortable stool in front of her matching vanity and see her perfumes all in a neat row, each one calling out to be the fragrance du jour.

She turned her shopping bags upside down on the bed and looked at her new purchases. They certainly didn’t constitute clothing she ever thought she’d own, but she wanted to see her property on horseback, so she’d do what she had to.

After changing quickly into a pair of snug-fitting Wranglers and a green cotton button-up shirt, she sat down and pulled on the uncomfortable boots. Peggy had assured her that they would form to her feet and that soon she wouldn’t want to wear anything else. Yeah, right.

Brielle looked longingly at the heels she’d just taken off. From the time she turned thirteen she’d been wearing them. When a girl was blessed with a height of only five foot three, she needed all the advantages she could get — and they came by wearing the highest heels possible.

Though heels, especially high heels, could cause some major pain after a few hours, it was about the look, the feel of having on a pair of shoes that made you feel taller, prettier, and certainly sexier. She might be in the backwoods of a ranching state, but that didn’t mean she needed to throw fashion to the wind. She would never change so much that she didn’t care about her appearance. Yes, she could admit that maybe she spent a little too much time on it, but in the world she’d grown up in, looks really did matter.

How sad was that…

Wait. Why was it sad? A woman who could highlight her assets wasn’t a rich bimbo; she was just smart. This dang place was sure to ruin her!

Throwing her hair back into a ponytail — wasn’t that practical of her? — she decided she’d spent enough time upstairs. If she took too long, she had no doubt, Colt wouldn’t wait around for her down at the horse barn. Fighting to get used to the boots as she came down the stairs, Brielle held tight to the railing, keeping her eye on it to make sure no spiders were going to pop out. This would be a much longer drop than the tumble she’d taken off the front porch.

She didn’t bother locking her front door after she shut it behind her. It seemed no one here locked doors. As there was very little crime in Sterling, she actually felt safe. It was a weird feeling to go from a world in which the door stayed locked 24/7, to a place where an open door was expected, part of the mind-set.

When she entered the horse barn, she ran smack into Tony, and a little of her excitement vanished. Why did her foreman have to be so grouchy all the time? What was his problem with her? Sure, she didn’t want to be in charge of this place, but she did own it, and it would really help if the guy just gave her a chance.

Okay, okay, how much of a chance had she really given him? None, honestly, and she wasn’t proud of that. She didn’t know anything about him or anything about this ranch. But she was trying to change that, wasn’t she? Didn’t she get credit for trying? It would sure as heck be nice.

“Colt’s over by the arena,” Tony grumbled before turning to walk away. Brielle stopped him with a hand on his arm. He looked at her with disapproval but didn’t say a word.

“Look, Tony, you know and I know that I don’t know
anything
about running a ranch, and I really need your help. Do you think we can come to a truce and maybe work together?”

Brielle was almost surprised by the words coming out of her mouth. It wasn’t like her to actually try to compromise. She’d been here only two weeks, and already she was speaking differently, acting differently — as if she’d received the gift of tongues in a foreign land. If this was the big change her father wanted to see, she was going to be ticked, because she didn’t want him to be right.

She didn’t want to admit that she
needed
to change. Still, she told herself, she needed her foreman if she were to do what she had to do so she could get out of Montana ASAP. That didn’t count as changing; it was doing whatever it took to get back to her real life.

Tony looked at her for several moments. Was he trying to see inside her head? His look made her squirm a little — she was surely coming up short in the man’s mind. It shouldn’t matter to her, but for some reason it really did.

He spit another stream of tobacco. “I will give you a chance when I think you honestly give a damn about this place.”

“I do care about it here,” she lied.

“That’s a joke. Don’t for one minute think you can fool an old man. This has been my home since I was in my early teens. I love the land, love the people, love the animals even more. Some little city girl doesn’t get to come in with all her daddy’s money and act like my home ain’t good enough for her. I don’t appreciate that none.” Surprisingly, his voice stayed level throughout.

“I am
not
some spoiled little brat,” she told him. “And if you care so much about this place, why is it failing?”

“Maybe that’s something you’ll have to find out. Anyway, from the talk I had with your daddy, he realizes he made some mistakes along the way. I don’t believe you can do this at all,
Miss
Storm.”

Her fists clenched at her sides. “That’s the rudest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I wasn’t trying to be rude, just stating the facts,” Tony said before turning away to leave.

“I wasn’t done speaking to you,” she said, frustration clear in her tone, making him pause before turning back toward her.

“When I feel you have something valuable to say, I’ll chat longer.” And with that, he walked away, leaving Brielle stunned, hurt, and extremely pissed off.

“I should fire him right now,” she muttered, but then clasped a hand over her mouth. She really didn’t want him to overhear that. She wasn’t so naïve as to think this place could run without him. And one way or another she’d get Tony to like her, although after those words of his, she shouldn’t give a damn what he thought about her.

No, wouldn’t happen. That man would always do what he wanted. Even if he
loved
her — sure, sure — he would still do things his own way. That was just the sort of man he was. Stubborn. Ornery. Set in his ways.

Brielle found her temper waning as she made her way to the arena. She was shocked when she realized that she sort of liked the gruff old guy. And she should have hated him on principle alone.

When she turned a corner and looked up, she found Colt putting a saddle on a majestic brown horse that she was sure she should know the breed of, but she knew less than nothing about horses. The horse, unfortunately, wasn’t the only majestic creature in the place. The way Colt’s muscles bulged made her slightly lightheaded. This man was much finer than the guys she normally hung out with, despite their expensively honed gym bodies. Yeah, working on a ranch seemed to do good things to a lot of the population of Sterling. At least from what she’d seen so far.

“You’ve ridden before, right?”

Brielle was startled to realize Colt was speaking to her. No, she hadn’t ridden, not even once.

“Of course I have.”

Sauntering over to the horse, she thought back to the cowboy movies she’d watched, put her foot into the stirrup and hefted herself onto his back. She was a little wobbly, but felt immense pride as she sat astride this massive animal. And she was facing the right way.

Man, it was a long way to the ground.

“I picked Bluegrass because she’s pretty mellow. I figured the only horses you’ve ridden have been at some hoity-toity country club.”

She?
Oops. She should have inspected the horse more closely. “Well, you can figure what you want. I don’t care,” she said, hating that everyone’s opinion of her was so poor.

This man was going to drive her nuts — he was presumptuous and ill-mannered. If she could go riding with anyone else, she’d be much better off, but so far there were no other volunteers.

“This ride will take a while, Ms. Storm, so hold on and follow my lead.” Colt walked over to an even bigger horse than hers, one who was pure black and seemed jittery as he — or she? — waited to be ridden. She really should ask what breed the horses were, but if she did, he’d probably look at her with that maddening gleam in his eyes that screamed “city girl.”

As she wobbled in her saddle, Brielle started thinking that maybe she’d made a mistake, but then as they started out from the barn, the only thing she could concentrate on was trying not to fall off. She didn’t have any more time to worry about what would happen if she couldn’t manage to hold on.

Chapter Ten

W
hen the open
grass on the hills did nothing for him, Colt knew he was in a seriously bad mood. It was foolish, really — no, it was completely ridiculous — but watching Hawk flirt with Brielle had thoroughly pissed him off.

Yes, Colt knew logically that it had been harmless, and yes, he knew Hawk was even more afraid of commitment than he was, but still, he couldn’t banish the jealousy. Hawk had been his friend since the first day of kindergarten, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t always enjoyed competing with each other.

Actually, an entire group of them really liked to push each other to the limits, to see how far they could take things. It was good for them and never before had jealousy been an issue.

Never before today.

Colt had practically seen red when he witnessed Brielle’s reaction to meeting Hawk. But at least he had his answer on whether to sleep with this woman.

If he didn’t, he had a feeling she wouldn’t leave his consciousness alone. And she was something that he couldn’t have haunting him for the rest of his days. He didn’t want to be in a “relationship” with her. She was a city girl, a spoiled little princess.

But there was just something about her, something that was calling to him. She was on his mind all the time, and he didn’t understand why or how.

Yes, he’d been seriously attracted to women before, but the second they left his sight, they also vanished from this thoughts. Women served a purpose, a very important purpose, but still just a purpose. A means to an end. And she had a cute little end…

Anyway, once his needs were met, Colt was fine with walking away, and then finding the next woman when his desires began to cloud his judgment again. If it looked as if a woman wasn’t interested, which happened just about never, he would move happily on to the next.

If he wasn’t sexually attracted to them, once in a blue moon they’d become a friend, but most of the time he just wouldn’t strike up a conversation. Whichever way it went, it didn’t affect him, didn’t leave him with longing, didn’t leave him in such a disagreeable mood.

After about ten minutes of riding out along the borders of Brielle’s property, he decided he’d better get the air cleared up. He was supposed to be showing her the land, and he certainly couldn’t point things out if he wasn’t speaking to the silly woman. He had to hand it to her, though — she knew when to be silent.

That was a quality he could appreciate in a woman. … Damn. If his mama had ever heard him say such a crude thing, of course, she’d have smacked him in the back of the head. He almost flinched just thinking about it.

Yeah, Colt knew he could be an ass, but weren’t all men at some point?
Yeah, they were
, he assured himself. Even if he knew he was full of bullshit, along with that whole
boys will be boys
mentality.

“It looked like you and Hawk were getting quite cozy back there at the store.”
Dammit.
Colt wanted to kick himself for his words and the tone in which he’d delivered them, but it was now out in the open and he couldn’t take the statement back, so he might as well hold his ground.

When Brielle whipped her head around, and her horse took a side step, most likely from the tension in the woman’s legs, Colt didn’t know what to think. Was she upset that she’d been caught drooling over his friend, or was she pissed at what he’d just said?

“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Well, it didn’t take you long to forget that we’d been making out in the changing room right before Hawk walked into the place.” Again, he wished he could take the words back, but his brain seemed to be sending him messages just a few seconds too late.

“You know what, Colt?”

He waited but she didn’t say anything. “What?” he finally asked.

“You’re a complete jerk! I don’t know why I thought it would be good to have you show me the grounds. If you think I’m such a slut, then why in the hell did you kiss me at all?” she snapped. “Oh, I get it! It was
because
you think I’m a slut that you were enjoying the make-out session. Do you think I should just climb off this horse right now and climb on top of you? After all, that’s what whores do, right? They can go to town with one guy and then climb aboard the next one as soon as they’re finished.”

Her fury had the odd effect of calming him. Granted, he’d just made a fool of himself. But if she’d been attracted to Hawk, why would she be so outraged now? She wouldn’t. She’d blush, or turn her head, or giggle or something, wouldn’t she?

Hell, Colt didn’t know. It wasn’t as if he had a lot of experience with this sort of thing. Normally, if a girl liked one of his friends more than she liked him, he was fine to see her go off into the night with the guy.

This was the first time in his life that he wanted to fight for the girl, and that made zero sense to him. Brielle was just a city girl, a girl who wouldn’t be here very long, a girl who was forgettable. Wasn’t she?

Somehow, he knew that wasn’t the case. Though she was all wrong for him, he had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to wash this girl right out of his hair so easily. He had a feeling that if he didn’t move fast, he’d lose her before he ever had the chance to have her.

That thought filled him with dread, which meant that he should be running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Instead, he found himself trying to make up with her.

“I’m sorry. That was rude. It’s just that I felt…” He didn’t know how to end that sentence, and found himself falling silent.

“You felt like an ass? Like a tyrant? Like a slimeball?”

“Yeah, a little bit like all of those things,” he said, and then his lips turned up and soon he was hitting her with his best smile. The widening of her eyes told him that she wasn’t unaffected by him.

“Good,” she said, then jerked her head away and concentrated on her riding.

“How about we call a truce? You forget that I’ve been an ass, and I’ll…” She hadn’t done anything wrong, so how could he complete that sentence?

“And I’ll…?” she asked.

“Just sit there, beautiful, and let me tell you about the land.” When her cheeks filled with color, he figured he’d finally done something right. Though she must have been told she was beautiful all the time, maybe it was by people who wanted something from her, so it didn’t mean as much.

That thought sent a bolt to his stomach. He also wanted something from her — her land. She just didn’t realize that yet. He was such a freaking fool to think he could begin something with this woman. There was no possible way it could ever lead to anything but disaster, because when she found out that he didn’t really work for her — that, in fact, he was deceiving her with a rather crass ulterior motive — she’d never speak to him again.

Wasn’t that ideal, though? He could have fun with her now, give them both a lot of pleasure, and then walk away guilt free. Of course, how was he going to walk away without guilt when he already felt terrible about what he was doing?

Thrusting that thought away, he decided just to enjoy the moment.

“You know already that you have ten thousand acres. There are usually a couple of hundred head of cattle on the south side of the property, but not this year, because of finances. And the north side is where your fields are. You grow soft white wheat, which will be ready to harvest about the end of July or beginning of August. The ranches around here have seen some hard times lately and a lot of them are losing money, but your father is convinced this land is rich and you can turn it around.”

Colt paused. He was sure the land could be turned around, too, but did he really want to tell her that? If he was supposed to be trying to persuade her to leave, he didn’t want to tell her how valuable her land was, did he?

Of course, he wouldn’t be playing fair then, and he didn’t believe in lies, didn’t believe in beating an opponent without giving him — okay, her — all the facts. It made victory less satisfying.

“Do
you
think it can be saved?”

She was looking at him trustingly, and Colt knew he couldn’t lie to her. No way.

“Yes. I think this ranch can do a lot better than it has. Tony is an excellent foreman and he does the best job he can with the budget he’s been given, but the previous owners were swimming in debt, and they had too much pride to ask for help. By the time I knew what was going on, Donald had passed away and his wife was in mourning.”

“What could you have done?”

Colt winced when she asked that question. This was the reason lying was never good — you always had to be so careful with what you said. There had been plenty he could have done, and first and foremost was to buy the property. He’d never know why they hadn’t just sold it to him. He would have let them stay in the house until they were gone and he would have taken care of their land.
Foolish pride
was all he could think.

The couple hadn’t had children to pass the land down to, and it would have worked out so much better for all of them. But why waste time wondering? He would never have the answer. And he was dealing with Brielle now. That’s what he needed to remember.

“We all help each other out here,” he said, hoping that would be good enough for her.

When she didn’t question him further, he breathed out a sigh of relief. Brielle was apparently a lot more trusting than he was.

“You have really rich soils, superb pastureland, and a year-round supply of fresh water running through your land from a mountain spring.” Water from that same spring also ran through his land, but he left that part out.

When the two of them approached some low tree limbs over the trail, Colt ducked easily and didn’t think anything of it until he heard Brielle cry out. After turning in his saddle to look, he whipped his horse around, then jumped off.

Brielle was lying on the ground with a grimace of pain on her face.

“What happened?” Colt knelt down next to her and looked around for signs of a snake that might have startled her horse, or for any other reason she’d been thrown.

“I don’t know,” she said while trying to sit up and then wincing. That’s when he noticed the rip on her jeans, and some blood on her hip. She’d landed on a jagged rock. Bending down, he examined the cut.

“It doesn’t look too deep, but we need to get antiseptic on it to prevent infection. It will hurt for a few days, but other than that, it should heal fine. Let me grab some things to help clean and wrap it.” He got up, went to his saddlebag, and pulled out some first-aid supplies.

His horse was trained so well that he didn’t have to tie him to a tree. Shadow would stay until Colt told him to go and graze. They were so in tune with each other that the horse knew when Colt needed to ride fast and release energy or go slow and examine the land. Even the slightest of movements from Colt let his horse know what he wanted.

Returning to Brielle, Colt became suspicious when he glanced over at Bluegrass. The mare was calm and munching away on some nearby grass. The animal hadn’t been spooked, so it seemed as if Brielle had simply fallen off. Why?

“Were you telling me the truth earlier? Have you ridden before?”

When her cheeks flushed and she refused to meet his gaze, Colt was furious. “You don’t lie about something like that, Brielle. You could have been seriously injured, far worse than the few bumps you have right now. This land isn’t smooth and it’s not a trail for beginners.”

“I wanted to ride, to see the land, and you never would have brought me out here if you’d known I hadn’t been on a horse before,” she said, her shoulders tense, her eyes determined.

He had to respect her for wanting to learn more about the area, but he didn’t appreciate being lied to, especially about something so important.

“I still would have brought you out,” he said, though she was probably right — he most likely wouldn’t have, certainly not while she was astride her own horse.

“No, you wouldn’t have. Everyone here pretends I don’t even exist. I’m sick of it! I own this place and no one will let me do anything!”

Colt’s anger diminished as her voice rose. Did she actually want to learn how to run this place, or was she just frustrated because she didn’t know how? He was confused, and it was an emotion he wasn’t used to.

So instead of facing the issue, he focused on bandaging her up. He had to think. That’s the only thing that would help right now. They were about an hour away from the house now, or maybe a little more, depending on how slowly they went. And they’d gotten such a late start.

He was quiet as he finished up, and then he looked at her and took a deep breath. “You’re going to have to ride on my horse on the way back.”

He knew that was going to test every ounce of endurance and control he had in his body. Because now wasn’t the time to see how much chemistry the two of them had together.

She gaped at him, and took in a few of her own deep breaths. “I’ll be fine on my own horse.”

“Sorry, Princess. You ride with me, or we both walk, and I’m telling you, we’re a long way from the house if we go by foot.”

He was firm, and her eyes narrowed. He knew she hated it when he called her Princess, and she also hated to be told what to do, but it was something she was going to have to get used to. She deserved that name. Besides, he had to create distance between the two of them if he was expected to ride with her pressed against him for the next hour.

“Whatever, Colt,” she said at last, though her body was tense as he helped her to her feet. She was limping when he led her over to his horse, and he knew she was in more pain than she was letting on. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant ride for either of them.

The sun was getting low in the sky, and they’d be lucky to make it back to the house before it set. Gathering the reins to her horse, he tied a lead rope on, and then helped Brielle up on his horse before joining her and setting out toward her house with Brielle sitting in front of him — with her curvy ass pressed against him.

This was going to test him to the very limits. They were silent as they rode the miles back to her place, and Colt recited every church hymn he could remember. It was a good thing his mother had made him attend Sunday school for so many years. Maybe it was time to start going again.