Page 19 of Untamed Heart
I checked my phone, now adjusted toUStime. 7 a.m.
Seriously?
Falling back onto my pillow, I shut my eyes. A reprieve in the noise meant silence fell over the ranch again and I tried to quiet my mind.
Knock. Knock, Knock.
I shot up again, tiredness turning to irritation. Didn’t they know it was early? As well as me, weren’t there guests here, paying ones, that wouldn’t appreciate this?
Unable to stifle my curiosity, I pulled back the curtain and peered out, but the spruce beyond was the only thing in view. As I turned back to the room, the sound echoed again and this time, irritation now pulling on my temper, I marched out of the room and down the hall towards the back door. There was no sign of Lil anywhere, but the boots she’d been wearing yesterday were gone from the rack.
I yanked open the door, a blast of mountain air taking my breath away. Crossing my arms over my thin T-shirt, suddenly very aware of my short-shortsPJs, I stepped out, committed to my indignation.
Striding barefoot over the wide deck curving around the back corner of the house, heading straight for the source of the noise, as I emerged into the bright morning sun, I stopped in my tracks.
Ahead of me was the small red barn, logs stacked against the side in neat piles. But in front of that was a sight I didn’t quite have words for. Where the cold air had taken my breath, what stood before me just about stilled my heart itself.
Just a few metres away was a man with his back to me, a topless man, swinging a large axe round in an arc, his long, muscled arms bringing it down onto the log in front of him.
The wood cracked in two, falling either side of the tree stump it had been resting on. Before I could turn and run, mouth half open like a gawping fish, he turned to me.
He was covered in a sheen of sweat, and lean, hard muscle flexed as he leant on the axe. Standard-issue blue jeans, black boots and a chestnut brown hat failed to distract attention from his broad chest and shoulders, and arms that’d lift someone like me without any effort. To my horror, I felt a blush creeping across my face and as I tried to gather myself and refrain from outright ogling, he turned.
We locked eyes.
HOLY FUCK.
Cole.
The cowboy from the bar.
His eyes widened, mirroring my own as we just stared, neither of us able to make a sound.
‘But . . . I . . . you,’ was all he managed, but it was enough.
Goosebumps broke out across my arms and legs, but once again, I knew it wasn’t the cold air.
‘You always do that this early?’ I blurted, my initial irritation tempered by shock.
His face remained still, other than the ghost of a smile and a fraction of movement from one eyebrow as it rose.
‘Well now, only when I need to top up my tan in the morning sun.’ Any other words gathered in my mouth dried up. He lowered his gaze slowly, briefly resting on my chest, before inching slowly down my legs. ‘Seems we had the same idea.’
I glanced down, realizing that both my tee and shorts were fairly transparent in the bright sunlight, and more than that, despite my crossed arms, my chest was standing fully to attention in the chill air.
Fuuuck.
‘Oh, hey Lottie, you’re awake! And you’ve met Cole? He’s my ranch manager.’
Lil emerged from the direction of the barn, brushing straw from her jeans. As the silence stretched between us, she glanced more closely at me.
‘Oh, sweetie, you’re going to catch your death in that! Help yourself to anything in my room. It might be a bit big for you, but it’s better than freezing to death out here.’
Cole dipped his head and turned to Lil, seemingly recovering himself.
‘Friend of yours?’ he drawled, the picture of casual innocence, tucking a thumb into the waistband of his jeans. I tried and failed not to watch as it inched below his belt.
‘My cousin, from London,’ she replied, shaking her head. ‘Did he wake you? I’m sorry, darling, we start early most days. But you go on back to bed if you like, I know you must be dog-tired. I’m gonna start on breakfast, though, if you want some? Pancakes and such?’
