Her Cowboy's Caress (Taken by Cowboys: Part 1) A Billionaire Western Romance Read Free

hang up.
    But the ringing was interrupted by a man’s
voice. “Getaway Guest Ranch.”
    It took Jess a few seconds to find her
voice. “Hello?” the voice repeated.
    “Hi! Sorry,” she said, collecting herself.
“I guess I didn’t expect anyone to answer, it being so late.”
    “It looks like you’re calling from New York
City, from your area code,” the man said. His voice was pleasant
and warm, though it didn’t have any of the Western lilt Jess had
expected. “We’re two hours earlier here. And anyway, we try to pick
up the phone whenever we can.”
    “I see,” she said. “So you’re real,
then.”
    The man laughed and Jess felt herself blush.
She was glad he couldn’t see her over the phone. “Indeed, we are.
We’re a full-service guest ranch offering short- and long-term
Western escapes to anyone who needs to get away.” He paused. “Would
that describe you?”
    She was taken aback by the sudden question.
She’d expected to be the one doing the asking. “I think it might,”
was the answer that came out of her mouth—the honest one.
    “Well, we’d love to have you,” the voice
said. “A lot of city folks tell us that a month here does them a
world of good. You just can’t beat that fresh air and time off the
clock.”
    There was something entrancing about his
voice—something that seemed to be pulling her in through the phone.
She didn’t know why, but she wanted to be closer to that voice.
    “That does sound nice,” she managed, a
little breathlessly.
    There was another slight pause. “What’s your
name, if I may ask?”
    “It’s Jess,” she said.
    “Jess,” he repeated. His voice formed her
name in a way that seemed full of hidden meaning, sending a very
real shiver through her body. “Well, Jess, if you do decide to join
us, you can go online and book your stay. You buy the plane ticket,
and we’ll take the rest from there. Easiest vacation you’ve ever
booked.”
    “I’ll certainly think about it,” she said.
She fingered the brochure on the counter.
    “Feel free to call, any time of day or
night,” he said. “Good night.”
    There was a soft click as the line went
dead.
    “Good night,” she said into the silent
phone.
    For a moment she remained at the counter,
staring transfixed at the phone in her hand. Beyond her line of
focus was the bright-covered brochure, open to a picture of smiling
faces around a campfire.
    “Come on, Scampers,” she said, giving
herself a shake and picking up the cat. It had to be the vodka.
“Let’s go to bed.”
    As she wandered into her room, she tried
hard to leave the conversation behind. It had been a simple one, so
why was it echoing in her mind? Who was the voice on the other end
of the line, and why was it having this effect on her?

Chapter 2
    The day had arrived. As she waited in the
long, winding security line full of impatient passengers at JFK
Airport, she felt her heart palpitate. She squeezed the handle of
her suitcase to steady herself.
    The previous two weeks had been a whirlwind.
The day after she’d had the conversation with the mysterious man on
the other end of the phone line, Lauren had made yet another
comment about both Jess’s general incompetence and her weight.
    She had been plugging away at one of the
accounts Lauren had thrown at her at the last minute the day
before, when Lauren had come striding over to her desk. She was
wearing a short black sheath over black tights and four-inch spike
heels.
    “Still working on the Triptych account,
Jess?” she asked, scorn dripping from her voice.
    “I’m almost done,” Jess muttered, clacking
away at her keyboard as she sent out yet another confirmation
email. She had been on the phone all morning and her voice was
hoarse from all her negotiating and fast-talking with various
vendors.
    “If only you could get these things done as
fast as you could crush a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough,”
Lauren said.
    Jess felt her face heat up. Her fingers