9781618857279MakeMineaCowboySullivanNC (17 page)

The
aroma of bacon and eggs drifted to her nose. Her stomach rumbled in protest.
She took the stairs begrudgingly as she prepared herself for the inevitable rush
she felt every time she saw Joel.

The
entire family sat at their usual table waiting for the guests to get their
plates. She glanced down the long expanse to notice one empty chair. Joel
wasn’t there.

Where
was he? Surely he didn’t feel guilty about the way they fought last night?

She
got into the line for her food and chatted with an older woman about the
weather.

“Too
bad it’s raining today. We wanted to go riding.”

“You
can still ride even in the wet weather, although it’s not as comfortable.”

“We
are city slickers. We don’t do wet leather or wet jeans,” the woman answered
with a smile. “We’re living out our fantasies of cowboys with all these hunky
men around, but I think today will just be a sit-around-and-drool day.”

“Anyone
special you are drooling over?”

“Well
the triplets are just awesome. Can you imagine having the attention of all
three at once?”

“I
don’t think I could handle all three at once.”

“I’d
sure give it a try,” the woman replied, giggling under her breath as she
glanced at the table.

The
door burst open with a gust of wind. Mesa gasped as she glanced at the door and
the silhouette of the man outlined.
The width of his
shoulders.
The breadth of his chest.
The ruffle of hair at his neck.
The black
Stetson shading his face.
Even though she couldn’t see his face, she
knew him. She knew his body like she knew her own…by the touch of her hands.

Joel.

He
pulled the door shut behind him, blocking the gust of wind whipping through and
blowing rain in from outside. His eyes never left hers as he walked up to her
and smiled before moving down to the table where the coffee sat.

“Interesting.”
The woman she’d been talking to moved away.

Mesa’s
gaze never left Joel.

Once
he had his coffee, he turned toward her, sipped the dark brew, and gave her a
sexy wink.

Well, apparently he thinks I’m not
pissed at him anymore.
She didn’t respond except for a
frown as she grabbed her plate.

Instead
of sitting in her normal spot next to him at the family table, she chose a
table with a bunch of women. “Mind if I sit with you ladies?”

“Of
course not. Please,” a large, older woman replied. “There’s always room for one
more.”

“Are
you ladies here for a few days?”

“Yes.
We love the ranch life and wanted to experience it for ourselves. You know
instead of always reading about it, we wanted to see it.”

“Oh?
You ladies read?”

“Of
course we do,” a petite blonde answered. “We are a book club.”

“Wonderful!
What do you ladies like to read?”

A
redhead to her left giggled. “Romance, of course. Hot cowboys.” She glanced at
the family table with wide eyes. “You know. Like they are.”

“I
know exactly what you mean.” She took several bites. “Who are your favorite
authors?”

The
ladies glanced at each other and said in unison, “Mesa West.”

“Really?”

The
lady to her right clapped and said, “We heard you were here visiting when you
posted on your Facebook status. We would love for you to sign some of our books
we brought.”

“Of
course!”

“Many
of us live in San Antonio and were disappointed you weren’t at the book signing
yesterday, so we drove out here to have some one on one time with you if you
don’t mind.”

“Of
course I don’t mind. You ladies have made my day. I would love to sit and chat
with you for a while about books.”

“Is
Troy going to get his own story?” a brunette asked from the end of the table as
she clapped excitedly. “I absolutely loved him in Trouble in Cowboy Boots.”

“I
did too, and yes, he’s definitely getting his own story.”

“When?”

“Soon,
I hope. I’m here trying to get some inspiration for a new series.”

“Wow!
Really?”

She
nodded as she glanced at Joel from the corner of her eye. One eyebrow went up
above his left eye.
Damn the man.

Excited
chatter enveloped her while the women shot her question after question about
her characters, stories, and inspiration. Where did she come up with her
stories? Were there real men who inspired her cowboys? The more questions, the
more she lost herself in the enthusiasm of her readers.

The
crowd came and went from the dining room while they continued to talk. Several
moments ago, Joel had walked by, brushing her shoulders with his fingers in a
gesture mistaken for innocence, but she knew different. He was ramping up her
need for him with the simple touch.

“Are
you seeing the cute one who just walked by?” the redhead asked as Joel walked
out the door, taking his scent with him.

“Seeing?
No. He’s just been helping me with research about ranch life and
cowboying
while I’m here. We’ve only known each other a
couple of days.”

“He
seems taken with you.”

“Me?”
She laughed ruefully knowing there wouldn’t ever be anything more than a quick
tumble between the sheets with Joel. “Yeah, no. His kind doesn’t get taken with
women like me.”

“You’re
a beautiful girl. I don’t know why you say such things. We love you.”

“Aw,
thank you, ladies.” The kitchen workers eyed them. “I think we should clean up
our dishes and maybe move into the main lodge to continue our discussions. They
want to get things ready for lunch in a few hours.”

The
group picked up their dishes and deposited them in the washbasin before they
retreated to the main lodge area where the fireplace and large bookcases where
located. There were several couches all arranged in a semi-circle in front of
the cold fireplace where everyone could chat without bothering anyone else.
Mesa took a chair at the center of the group, fielding the rapid-fire questions
the women threw at her. She loved chatting with readers and being the only
author in the room, she could let their enthusiasm surround her, lift her
spirits, and give her muse a quick kick in the butt.

The
women spent the next couple of hours pounding her with questions, laughing at
some of her responses, and just generally having a good time.

“I
totally appreciate you ladies making the trip out here just to see me. I’m
thrilled you came. You’ve all made my day.”

“Thank
you for spending a few hours out of your busy schedule to chat with us, Mesa.
It’s been fantastic and I’m sure we’ll all be buying your next book the moment
it hits the shelves.”

“I
hope you get some great inspiration from your cowboy friend.”

“Yeah,
me too. He’s been fabulous so far, but now I need to track him down and ask him
a few questions so if you ladies will excuse me.”

“Of
course. Thank you again and we’ll see you at the next conference. You’ll be at
the one in Dallas, right?”

“Yes,
ma’am.
The one in a couple of months is my next stop.”

“Awesome.”
The ladies waved goodbye as they made their way back toward the main lodge
door, leaving her in silence.

Nina
came out of her office with a big smile on her face. “You made their day.”

“Thanks
but it was more like the other way around. They made mine. I really needed the
boost to my morale.”

“Oh?”
she asked, taking one of the empty seats.

“I’ve
just been really down in the dumps lately, questioning my writing.”

“You’re
a fabulous writer, Mesa. I don’t see why you’re questioning yourself. I got two
of your books yesterday after you were here and I haven’t been able to put them
down since I started reading them. My husband finally forced me to turn off the
lights last night at four in the morning.”

Mesa
laughed. “Thank you. That’s the best compliment a writer can get.”

“You’re
welcome.”

She
looked at Nina with a frown. “Can I ask you a couple of questions about the
ranch? You know, from a woman’s perceptive?”

“Certainly.”

For
the next hour, Mesa picked Nina’s brain for information on the ranch life,
raising nine boys and life in general with a bunch of men.

“I
need to ask you a couple more questions about the ranch.”

“All
right.”

“First
of all, do you believe in ghosts?”

“Yes,
I do. We have a few on the ranch.”

“Really?”

“Yes.
The main lodge used to be a bordello. That’s the reason for its size. It’s been
added onto over the years, but it used to be a bar and whore house. The
upstairs bedrooms were where the women took their men.” She laughed. “Of course,
we’ve cleaned them up since then.”

“Wow.”

“It
has a very interesting history.”

“What
kinds of ghosts are here?”

“A
cowboy.
A couple who visit upstairs.
A saloon girl and a few kids who run the ranch.
You
can hear them giggling outside sometimes.”

“You
have so many!”

“It’s
been a lively place for a long time.” She tilted her head to the side. “Why so
many questions? Have you seen them?”

“I
think so.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “A cowboy at least. Someone
has knocked on my door twice now in the middle of the night. I’ve also heard
arguing in the next room.”

“The
cowboy you’ve seen is a regular around here. The best we can figure is he used
to work the ranch many years ago as a wrangler and never left. We haven’t been
able to pinpoint his identity exactly.”

“And
the fighting couple?”

“Probably
one of the cowboys and his girl fighting in the room up there.”

“It
sounds like he slaps her.”

“Yep.
That’s them. They get kind of noisy sometimes. If you bang on the wall and tell
them to knock it off, it goes away. Don’t worry about the knocking. If there were
an emergency, we would shout through the door. We haven’t been able to figure
it out yet, but it happens frequently.”

“Kind
of creepy, don’t you think?”

“If
it bothers you, I can move you to one of the outside cabins. They aren’t
haunted.”

“I’m
okay, but don’t be surprised if your ghosts end up in one of my books.”

Nina
laughed. “I would love it. They are characters for sure. Have you seen the
saloon girl?”

“No.
Just the cowboy.
Last night when I came back from
Joel’s, he…”
Oh shit.

Nina
patted her hand and said, “Don’t worry about it, Mesa. I heard you come in last
night and the roar of Joel’s truck out in the yard. I looked out the window as
he tore out of here. His truck has a distinctive sound.”

Mesa
felt the heat of a blush rushing into her cheeks. Her heart pounded in her ears
as she sought to apologize for breaking the rules. “I’m sorry, Nina. I know you
have a strict rule about the guys and guests, but…”

“It’s
fine, honey. If you and Joel are attracted to each other, it’s okay. I just
don’t want the boy’s going through guests on a regular basis, like water down
the stream. You know how men are.”

“Yes,
I do.”

“Did
y’all have a fight last night? I thought I heard the truck door slam.”

“A
little bit.”

“Would
you like to talk about it?”

She
blew out a breath. Talking to his mother about problems with Joel didn’t seem
like a good idea, but she really needed someone to talk to. She wasn’t really
close to her siblings or her mother, but Nina seemed to understand these kinds
of things. It didn’t take long at all for the entire story to spill from her
lips. Nina murmured between her sentences in a soothing voice meant to calm
her. “It’ll be all right, honey. He’s a man. Men tend to get pigheaded sometimes
and trust
me,
I’ve seen it more than I care to with my
boys. They take after their father that way.”

Mesa
laughed. She could totally see the stubbornness in Nina too, but she didn’t
want to insult her hostess. “Thank you for talking with me.”

“Let
me give you a little piece of advice. Avoid Joel for the day. You’re going to
be here for a few more days. You’ll have plenty of time to talk to him. Go for
a walk. Write. Read for your own pleasure for a change. I bet you don’t read
very often without worrying about your own books.”

“True.”

“I
saw the way he touched you on his way out the door. He’s a very possessive guy
when it comes to women. It was his way of marking you, to let his brothers know
you’re taken.”