Ride 'Em (A Giddyup Novel) Read Free

asphalt of the ranch driveway. Another five minutes of slow meandering across the property, following faded signs around one hill and up another, finally brought her to the main parking lot, where she saw only a handful of trucks.
    The place looked deserted, and when Mindy got out of her car she could hear nothing but birdsong and the distant sound of running water. She hoisted her suitcase and trekked along the gravel path that led from the parking area, following the arrows that pointed toward the main house. Along the way she caught glimpses of two of the guest cottages, but no people. No more vehicles. Nothing. She’d forgotten that about the country, how the silence could become so noticeable it was like a presence. It was almost eerie, even in the bright light of day. She welcomed the noisy crunch of her own footsteps on the walkway.
    The temperature was already past warm and edging into hot, and things were starting to look parched; as usual, Texas needed rain. But she was encouraged by the sight and sound of a busy creek, which indicated they weren’t quite at drought conditions yet. And when she rounded another bend in the path, veering away from the cheerful burbling, Mindy came across yet another vision of running water over rock-hard surfaces.
    This one stopped her in her tracks.
    I’d like one of those .
    Well, who wouldn’t? He was magnificent, a cowgirl’s dream of a man, with a sleekly muscled back and broad shoulders. Not an ounce of fat that she could see, but he was certainly rounding out the seat of his jeans in a delicious way that made her want to grab on. The water-spotted, well-worn Wranglers molded to his ass and thighs like they were happy to have the job.
    Water dripped down from the thick head of dark blond hair he’d slicked away from his face before putting his hat back on. She was just close enough to see how the rivulets outlined each defined muscle as they trickled down his back and sides, drawing the eye to those pleasing shapes, catching the afternoon sun and twinkling playfully along his gorgeous abs as he turned to face her.
    Oh shit! She’d been caught blatantly ogling him. She could only hope he was flattered, not offended.
    “Well, hey there,” said Adonis in denim.
    Mindy waved weakly with one hand, dropping her eyes from the man’s six-pack in an automatically submissive gesture more suited for the club than for a business setting. “Hey. I’m one of the guests. I guess I’m a little early.” She composed herself enough to drag her gaze back up to his face, where it belonged—and her jaw dropped.
    No. Fucking. Way.
    The man coming toward her, mopping off his phenomenal chest with a plaid shirt, was Logan Hill. He flashed a movie star-caliber grin at her as he approached, tipping his hat like a gentleman. No braces, no gawkiness. All grown up and then some. And then a little more on top of that. But recognizable, all the same.
    “My God. Mindy Valek. I saw the name on the reservation, but I never put Melinda Valek together with Mindy from back in school. That last name is so common around here. How the hell are you? Wow!” Then he said the thing she least expected and least wanted to hear. “You haven’t changed one bit.”
    * * *
    Logan knew he needed to charm everybody, to wow the “crowd” of eight visitors. He prided himself on good presentation skills. But even as he launched into the welcoming spiel he’d worked up, he couldn’t help sneaking glances at one guest in particular.
    Mindy Valek. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d said she hadn’t changed a bit since high school. Still the same thick strawberry-blond hair. It was a little darker, she wore it a bit shorter now, and he figured she probably had a more complicated and expensive haircut, but the general impression hadn’t changed. Same adorable freckles across the bridge of her nose, wide hazel eyes that that had always caught his attention because they always seemed to be smiling. Most