The Weston Front (10 page)

“You’d better get going or Rowdy’s going to think you went on a picnic with another hot cowboy who knows how to cook.”

“Well, okay, but we’ll talk more later?”

“Definitely,” I agreed, knowing that there was a lot more to say.  I waved and walked back around to the administration building, ready to argue with Penny Peterson until she rented me a car, but was stopped on the flagstone walkway by a tall, shaggy blonde haired man.

“Ms. Campbell?”

Oh great.  The surly river rafting guy.  I set my hands on my hips and raised a brow at him in annoyance. 

“I’m not even within half a mile of the river.  I’m not going to try and go rafting, okay?”

“Of course,” he nodded, acting way too polite.  “I’m here to take you into the city to the hospital.”

“Ugh!” I groaned, holding a hand in his face and rolling my eyes.  Of course.  West had called the person I hated the most on this ranch and made him promise to escort me into town. “So West has made you my driver for the day?”

“Not exactly,” he grinned, holding his arm out and indicating I should start walking.

In the next thirty minutes I was securely strapped into a two-seater helicopter, with huge headphones on and my knuckles white with fear.  I gripped the seat underneath my legs, closed my eyes, and I’m pretty sure I screamed the whole way there.  Luckily it was pretty loud so Blondie didn’t have to listen the whole way.  The hour and a half trip by car only took us about twenty minutes in the Death Trap.

“I know it’s scary, but it’s safe,” Blondie grinned, holding my hands and steadying me as I fell out of the helicopter and tried to stand on wobbling legs.  “I’ll wait here until you’re done, okay?”

“Where’s the hospital?” I asked, looking at the low rooftops of the small downtown area surrounding us.  We were on a rooftop, too, right in the middle of a big red H painted beneath us.

“You’re on it.  Try not to take longer than an hour, if you can.  The hospital begrudgingly let us land here because West basically built the place with all of his donations.”

“Of course he did,” I grumbled, tripping as I walked unsteadily to the metal doors.

Kelly greeted me shyly as she sat up in her bed and ate green Jell-O.  She said everyone had been nice and she was ready to go to Utah for rehab.  She wanted to get her life back.

“That’s good to hear,” I nodded, jumping as she squealed to the passing doctors and nurses in the hallway.

“This is
she!  This is she!”  Kelly pointed at me, smiling for the petite blonde doctor and her three nurses.  “She saved my life.”

“Oh,” I shook my head, half-smiling as they all shook my hand and patted my shoulder.  “I didn’t really…”

“You found her in just enough time to save her,” the doctor grinned, nodding her head. “You knew how and when to administer mouth to mouth…you’re a very smart, brave girl.”

“Um, th-thank you,” I whispered, forcing a smile at Kelly, who was holding my hand as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“No, thank you,” she nodded, smiling.  “I know this is my last chance, I’m not going to blow it.”

The doctor and nurses left and I squeezed Kelly’s hand.  “I know.”

She gripped my hand tighter as I turned to leave.  Stopping, I looked back at her now very determined face.

“And don’t you blow it, either.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, confused.

“The way he looks at you…I’ve known him for years and I’ve never seen him look at a girl like that, or smile so much.  You really have him wrapped around your finger.  Don’t let him go just because you’re scared,” she softly said, leaning back on her pillow.  She looked exhausted, but I was suddenly very interested in having this conversation.

“I’m not scared I’m just…wary.  He’s wealthy and good-looking and smart.  What…”

“And you and you alone have captured his interest.  Your boyfriend dumped you, now West wants you.  That’s how the world works.  Don’t let opportunity slip through your fingers because you’re afraid,” she yawned, looking bleary eyed.

“So…he’s not a playboy billionaire?” I whispered, looking over my shoulder like no one in the hospital had anything better to do than listen in on our gossip.

“He’s neither a playboy nor a billionaire,” she mumbled. “He’s a man who didn’t even know he was looking for you until he found you.  Now give him a shot, m’kay?  He’s such a good guy…he doesn’t want people to think that, but he is…He’s paying for all of my rehab.”

She was snoring by the time I’d thought it over and agreed to give it a shot.  I felt better, though.  Confused, but better.  Caroline had thought he was putting up this good guy façade to land me into bed.  Kelly thought he was hiding behind a cantankerous mask to push everyone away. 

My phone chimed so I paused in the hallway by the windows and dug it out of my back pocket.

Your hot little ass better be back on that helicopter and at the ranch within the hour.

Rolling my eyes, I quickly typed out a response with my thumb as I walked to the stairwell leading up to the roof and passed several signs indicating that this hospital was called The R.D. Hamilton Memorial hospital. 

Thought I’d take advantage of the free ride and go sightseeing.

Back to the ranch.

Yes sir.  Anything else, sir?

Don’t talk to me like that.

Yes sir.

I mean it.

Sir yes sir.

My phone began playing music as I opened the door to the roof and walked into a blast of hot air and sunshine.  I nodded at Blondie and took my time answering the phone.

“I hope you know you’re in it up to your ears already, so stop trying to provoke me and get back to the ranch.”

“And a good morning, no, wait, good afternoon to you, too,” I greeted, knowing that he was probably squeezing the phone and gritting his teeth wherever he was. 

“Blake, I’m not kidding around,” he said, sounding worried.

I didn’t want him to worry about me, so I sighed and said, “Yeah, I’m going, okay?  Rough day at the office or something?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Then what’s the use in having a girlfriend?” I grinned, hoping that I could at least make him smile.

He laughed, finally saying, “You’re right, you know.  I’ll tell you all about boring legal documents and client meetings over a glass of wine when I get home.  Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect,” I replied.  It really did.

We made it back and I grabbed a sandwich from the Dining Cabin, catching the eye of a few other Adventurers as they walked down the road.

“Hey, we’re going on the Rocky Top Hike. 
Want to come?  I heard you telling your friend about your new camera.  The views are supposed to be phenomenal,” a woman in her forties said, standing with her girlfriends.  They were all in ridiculous pointy cowboy boots and rhinestone encrusted western shirts.

I smiled and nodded at them, raced back to my cabin, snatched my camera, and met up with the crowd of about thirty as they milled about by a couple of boulders and a trail leading up through the trees.  We chatted and waited as two hosts began handing out bottled waters and another couple of hosts began shouting out the do’s and don’ts of a hike in the Rockies.

“Thank you,” I smiled, holding the water bottle and trying to put it in my back pocket.  It didn’t budge.  I looked up at the host, who was staring at me, then said ‘thank you’ again and yanked the bottle away.  I was adjusting the strap on my camera and leaning against a tall pine tree when a tall, brunette woman approached me.

“Miss Campbell?”

“That’s me,” I smiled, looking up at her.

She shook her head and exhaled, looking around at every bit of scenery and not quite meeting my eyes.

“Um, Miss Campbell, we, uh…we’re at capacity.  We’re going to have to ask you to sit out on this hike.”

I dropped the smile.  What?  How can a hike through miles and miles of forest be overbooked?  I sucked in my breath as I suddenly realized what had happened.  Weston Hamilton.  He’d told them to not let me go on a hike?  No way.  This was too far.

“Sure, sorry,” I nodded, putting the cap back on my camera as my blood boiled.

“No, we’re sorry,” she said, looking upset as I turned and walked towards the back of the crowd.

“Got that fancy camera ready?” the lady who’d told me about the hike asked, tying a tan windbreaker around her waist.  “Maybe I should just leave this here on the bench.”

I quickly took my hat off and held my hand out for the jacket.

“You know, I’m actually kind of cool.  Would you mind very much if I wore it?” I asked, eyeing the crowd around us.  No one seemed to notice or care that I was there.  The hosts thought I was gone.  I could make this work.  I zipped it up to my chin and threw the hood on.

And I’m so glad I did.  The hike was invigorating.  The air was fresh, warm, the people were pleasant, and the scenery was breath taking.  After a couple of hours we reached the top.  People were taking pictures and videos, while the hosts broke out snacks and juice.  I was careful not to be seen and even got some great shots of the mountains in the distance, along with rivers snaking through valleys and lush green forests.

We were just packing up to head down the much faster fire trail when a helicopter suddenly swept through and hovered overhead for a few seconds.  I kept my head down, wondering if Blondie was out looking for me, then ventured a quick glance as it flew away and the wind and noise surrounding us died down.

On the side of the chopper in big white lettering were the word
s
Hamilton Holdings.

Fuck.

My stomach was in knots as we made our quick decent in the late afternoon.  When we reached the blacktop road there were ice chests full of water and beer…and a couple of hosts flanking the director, Dusty.  I ducked behind everyone in the back, pulled the hood lower over my eyes, and backed into the pine trees.

No one had seen me.  Thank God.  It really bugged me that I was so scared, though.  It was my vacation, wasn’t it?  Couldn’t I do harmless things and enjoy myself?  Shit.  I knew I was in trouble.  Why did it also feel a little exciting?  Gross.  I needed to seek therapy after this trip.

I ran through the ranch and didn’t stop until I was safely in the cabin.  I tossed my stuff on a table by the door and immediately grabbed a beer from the fridge.  The touch panel screen flashed so I swiped my finger across it and was suddenly looking into the very angry face of Weston Hamilton.

“Blake Campbell?  West Hamilton, here.  I hope you’re out enjoying yourself on our little ranch.   I’d like to show you an interesting picture I saw today.”

An aerial picture of us on the hike flashed on the screen.  So, that was a spy helicopter?  Come on!  This was getting out of hand.  And I couldn’t even see myself in the photo.

Then he continued.  “Nice shot, huh?  I simply can’t wait to hear how your day’s been when I get back.  I hope you give me every detail because you know I don’t like being lied to.  And you know how much I love that ass of yours.  Well, you can put it together.  I’ll be over as soon as I land.”

I slammed my fist into the screen, cracking it, when suddenly I heard a low chuckling behind me.  Wheeling around, I was surprised that I felt a little disappointed that it was Rowdy and Caroline.  He was laughing; she was staring at me, mouth agape.

“Oh, hey,” I breathlessly said, taking a long swig of my beer as my cheeks felt very warm.

“Uh,” Caroline began, frowning.  “I can put it together…and to me it sounds like you did something when he told you not to and he’s going to spank you or something.”

“What?” I asked in an inhumanly high voice.  Jesus, she was astute.  I waved her off and shook my head.  “Yeah, right.  That’s not…it wasn’t…”

“Why is that so hot?” Rowdy asked, rubbing his jaw and drooling at Caroline.

“You aren’t laying a hand on me, cowboy,” she said, laughing anyway as he approached her.  “Rowdy!  I mean it!  Blake help me!”

She squealed with laughter as he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder.

“You’ve been doing some things that I think need to change.  This is for your own good,” he smiled, winking at me as Caroline banged her fists against his back and they disappeared into her room.

I wasn’t sure whether or not to call the police or laugh my ass off.  The muffled sound of skin striking skin filtered out into the kitchen, followed by the sounds of what apparently was someone getting her brains screwed out.  I exhaled and grabbed a few more beers, then headed for my bedroom.  A bath and a buzz were definitely in order.

“Sounds like someone is getting her brains screwed out.”

“God!” I gasped, jerking my body around as something warm and rock hard pressed up against me.  I pushed up to a sitting position and brushed loose wisps of hair out of my face.  It was dark out.  I was in a tank top and my pajama bottoms.  I’d been asleep and now woken up by a very sexy, very shirtless West. 

“When was the last time you ate?”  He frowned, assessing the empty bottles amassed on my bedside table as the moonlight filled my room with a silvery glow.

“What?” I asked, rubbing my sleepy eyes as I checked my Ironman watch.  Midnight.  He hadn’t even been gone twenty-four hours, like he promised.

“Do you usually drink your dinner?” he asked, standing with his hands low on his hips, his black Nike cloth pants hanging even lower.  Good Lord…

“How was your trip?” I asked, giving a big, fake smile.

“I think the question is, how was yours?”

Groaning, I fell back onto the mattress and threw a pillow over my face.  He wanted to do this now?  I felt the mattress dip down under his weight, then his arms around my waist.  He felt so good that I had to moan with pleasure as he hugged me to his chest.

“Let’s begin with how you decided to just leave the ranch,” he calmly said, his lips pressed against my head.

“West…”

“And then you were pretty sharp in your texts.”

“Come on…”

“And then I had to fire four hosts because they let you go on a very dangerous hike…”

“No!” I shouted, pushing out of his arms and sitting up.  Crap!  “Please, please hire them back!  That tall one, the brunette lady told me I couldn’t go but I went anyway with a jacket and a hood!  Don’t fire them, please!  They did their jobs!”

He was leaning back against the pillows, arms folded over his chest and a victorious smile across his stupid face.  I suddenly fell back onto my knees.

“You didn’t fire anybody…did you?”

“Of course not,” he smirked, raising a brow.  “But I’m smart enough to know that you’d be sweet enough to save the jobs of total strangers…to your detriment.”

“I really hate you.  You know that, right?”  I frowned, arms crossed over my chest.  God, I was an idiot.

“If you were anybody else I’d believe that,” he grinned, leaning forward and snagging my wrist.  He pulled me towards him and though I resisted, he had me on his lap with his arms securely around me in about two seconds.  He kissed my forehead, my cheek, my neck.  “But you’re my sweet girl.  My very naughty, very sweet girl.  Aren’t you?”

I inhaled his now familiar scent as I closed my eyes and relaxed a little.  He was right.  I was his and there was no going back.  It was exciting and scary all at once.

“Tell me you’re mine,” he repeated.

“You’re mine,” I grinned, giggling as he squeezed my sides and ran his whiskers along my neck. “Okay!  I’m yours!”

“Now tell me what a bad little girl you were today,” he mumbled, lifting me up a little and licking the nape of my neck.

“West…”

“I want to hear it from you, Blake,” he said, his voice vibrating against my neck and sending shivers all over my body.

“Fine.  I decided that today I would participate in an activity that didn’t involve anything you’ve gotten mad about.  No horses, no vehicles small, large, or otherwise, no water to drown in, I wasn’t alone, and I didn’t have a gun!  It was a slow, walking trip with thirty other people!  I did what you wanted, damn it!”

He turned my face up so that I could see the adoration in his eyes.

“You’re right, Sweetheart.  But I didn’t want you to go on that hike because we’ve had some bear sightings on surrounding properties.  Didn’t you notice the hosts were all armed?” he said, a look of pain crossing his face as he peered down at me.

“West, if you get scared about something, just tell me like a normal person.  If you’d said
,
Hey, Blake, there’s bears on the hik
e
, I wouldn’t have gone!  See how easy that was?”

He sighed and held me close to him, making me crazy with anticipation. 

“You’re right,” he finally conceded.  I was shocked but didn’t indicate my surprise.  “I’ve told you before, Blake, I’m new at this.  I don’t really know what to do so I just try to control you like I control a business…”

“Okay, there’s your first mistake,” I smiled, running my fingers lightly across his chest.  “There’s no controlling me, West.  There’s no controlling any woman.”

“Then how do I get you to do what I want?”

“Seriously?” I asked, looking at him, appalled.  “Do you even hear yourself?”

“I’m just kidding, Blake,” he chuckled, grabbing the back of my head and bringing me down for a kiss.

“You’re not funny, West,” I replied against his lips.  I kissed him, though.  It got heated very quickly.

He suddenly had me on my knees on the bed, kneeling behind me with his hands firmly on my hips.  I gasped when he yanked down my pajama bottoms and whimpered when he stroked his finger up and down between my legs.  Man, I was such a slut. 

He leaned over and kissed my shoulder.

“Your hot little pussy is already so wet.  Is that because you’re excited about seeing me or is it because you’re about to get a spanking?” he whispered, sucking on my earlobe and sending shockwaves through my body.

“West!” I protested, unable to move out from under him as I clawed at the headboard.  Did I even want to get away?  Yes…maybe.  When his hand smacked down hard on my ass I knew it wa
s
yes
.
  When he drove his cock into me and groaned louder than I did, I knew it wa
s
no
.
  When he timed each thrust with a hard smack to my ass I became totally confused.

Then he reached around and pressed his fingers between my legs and I had a screaming orgasm.  So did he.  It was so good and so loud that Rowdy and Caroline were knocking on our door, expecting to find us in the middle of a fight.  They finally burst in and found us panting, me sprawled across West’s chest, the sheet pulled up around us, with sated grins on our faces.  They both looked shocked, then quickly apologized and backed out of the room.

“Well, you did it,” I sighed, running my finger across West’s chest as I lay on it.  “You made Caroline Rohm speechless.”

“Rowdy was too,” he grinned; kissing my head before letting his head fall back in exhaustion. “One way or another I think you’re going to kill me.”

“Will you die a happy man?” I lazily asked, snuggling up under his arm as he settled the covers around my shoulders and made sure I was comfortable.

“The happiest.”

We joined Caroline and Rowdy in the kitchen the next morning, sipping coffee and laughing about the night’s events…sort of.  It was nice to have everyone happy and content, though.  It felt good to feel happy and content.

I was pouring my second cup when West frowned at the wall.

“What’s with the touch screen?” he asked, all god-like in his low riding pants and no shirt and messy hair and flawless everything.

“I got your little video message,” I grumbled, contentment evaporating.

“We all did,” Rowdy chuckled, jerking back as Caroline smacked his shoulder.

West failed at hiding an amused grin as he looked down at me.  “So you smashed it, huh?”

I suddenly felt a little guilty.  I mean, those things had to have been expensive.  They were state of the art.  I sheepishly looked down at my slut-red toes peeking out from my baggy pajama pants.  “I’ll, uh, I was planning on paying for that,” I softly said.

He leaned down and caught my eyes, looking way too pleased with himself.  “You certainly will,” he replied in a deep voice, raising a knowing eyebrow at me.

“Hey, you keep your fucking hands off of her!” Caroline suddenly interrupted, stepping in between us.

“Caroline,” Rowdy said, reaching around and grabbing her arm.  “He would never hurt her.  Did I hurt you last night?”

For the first time, like
,
ever
,
Caroline’s face colored and she sucked in a shocked breath.  Then she quickly scowled at West.  “She’s little, okay?  And you’re a big strong man, we all get that!”

“Caroline!” Rowdy said, pulling her behind him as he headed for her room.

She dug in her heels and defended me, which did feel kind of nice even though I knew it wouldn’t help.

“Don’t hurt her!” Caroline ordered again before the door slammed and they were in her room.  I had the feeling she was talking about more than physically.  I think West did, too.

He exhaled in annoyance and pulled his vibrating phone out of his pocket.  He spoke sharply and quickly, then hung up and smiled down at me.

“I have a million fires to put out since I was gone yesterday.  Want to meet up at lunch?”

I know I must have looked confused because the endearing look he gave me was borderline sympathy.  He ran his knuckles along the side of my face.

“I’ve got an idea how to settle everything.  You know, since you’re such a country girl.”

Uh-oh.  That sounded mildly condescending.  I would end up regretting making statements about how I was better suited for ranch life than all of the other guests by the end of the day, for sure.  I didn’t answer him as I turned and hurried into my room.  Now I was nervous.

“We’ll meet for lunch and then we’ll do everything you want to do this afternoon,” he grinned, pulling his t-shirt on and sitting on the bed to slip on his socks and tennis shoes.

“That,” I began, frowning as I stared at him, “That doesn’t sound like you’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at all,” he chuckled, standing and running a hand down my hair.  He leaned down and kissed my forehead.  “But those touch screens are about a hundred bucks a piece.  What if everyone smashed them when they lost their tempers?”

My mouth fell open as anger began to seep in.  He wasn’t being fair.

“I don’t think everyone here has an unreasonable billionaire boyfriend,” I spat, hands on my hips.

He grinned and leaned in the doorway.  “I’ll see you at lunch.  Now, tell me the rules you’re to follow until then.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I said, proud of myself for the evenness of my voice.  I wanted to scream and smash the flat screen sitting on the wall in my room.  God, I did have a temper problem.

“Tell me,” he warned, using a tone.  I pressed my thighs together as they tingled.
 
Damn it!

“Ugh, fine!  The totally arbitrary parameters you’ve set up for a grown woman are: no riding horses birthed in the last half century, no vehicles for on or off road, no water activities, no guns, no hikes, and I’m not to remove the tight leash tethering me to you!”

I grabbed the door and slammed it in his face.  That made me feel a little better as I heard him laughing all of the way to the front door.  He was totally infuriating.  No wonder he’d never had a girlfriend.

The shower calmed me down a little.  I tagged along with Caroline and Rowdy to breakfast.  Then I got a phone call from my dad about hurrying up with the employee reports.  I excused myself from a boring morning of watching Caroline and Rowdy have fun and went back to our cabin to get my laptop and finish up. 

My dad was a good guy.  He worked hard and he totally didn’t understand vacations.  I didn’t mind doing the work, though.  He’d given me the job when there were a number of other candidates.  Nepotism?  Sure, but it’s not like I was raking in millions.  I was making about as much as a teacher.

The hairs on my neck suddenly prickled and I knew that West was just standing there.  Staring at me.  Judging how to deal with me.  I had no idea how he was so quiet.  He was a big guy. 

Turning with a smirk, I found that I was totally, unequivocally wrong.

A huge, huge, fuckin
g
hug
e
brown bear was sitting on the edge of our deck.  Staring at me.  I paused for about a tenth of a second before letting out a shriek and running through the sliding glass door.  I slammed it shut and locked it.   Yeah, like that would keep a half-ton bear out of the cabin.  Oh shit, what about the other guests?

The touch screen!  I cursed myself as I tried swiping at it to get someone on the line and warn them.  Shit!  It was too far gone.  I grabbed my phone out of my back pocket and quickly dialed West.  No answer.  Then I dialed Rowdy.  Christ, answer your phones!

I had to get on the iPad to hunt down the number for the front desk.  Penny the incompetent answered, so I quickly shouted something totally intelligible about
a
bea
r
an
d
dange
r
and sen
d
everyone who had a gun.

I looked out of the window and found the bear heading towards the cabin next to us.  What would it do there?  Maybe everyone was at their activities?  My mind scrambled around and latched onto something from the first day.  An emergency phone?  Yes!  In the middle of the guest cabins was a land phone for emergencies!