Page 3 of Country Winds (King Creek Cowboys #9)

O n a Tuesday morning, Ellie guided her Lexus SUV down the highway to her appointment in Gold Canyon.

Now that she lived in Chandler, it was a much longer drive than when she lived in King Creek.

But she didn’t mind the drive—she was used to it with clients all over the valley.

She had listened to countless audiobooks over the years while she drove.

A memory of the cowboy she’d met at the Renaissance fair made her sigh with disappointment. She had probably lost the number he’d given her as she ran through the festival grounds. All she knew was that it wasn’t in her pocket when she got home.

Apparently, it wasn’t meant to be , she thought. Well, he’d been a cowboy, and she’d sworn off them. She’d just never met a man like Tucker.

Ellie’s GPS told her to exit the freeway, and she followed the instructions until she was on one of the dirt roads leading to the various ranches in the area.

Maddee Rawlings, who called her yesterday, said the ranch she represented needed a possible website redo and a social media overhaul. They had social media accounts but weren’t very savvy with them and needed help.

Ellie had reviewed all of it. The website was professional and reasonably decent, but it didn’t stand out and didn’t tell a story.

People would want to know more about the business.

An engaging narrative and photos would help.

As for social media, they seriously needed help, and she was the one for the job.

Due to her success with the voicework projects she had been involved with, she had to either take on fewer social media clients or hire someone to assist her. She loved working with people to better their businesses, but she enjoyed her budding career as a voice actor just as much.

She reached a barbed wire fence broken by a cattle guard. Rawlings Ranch and a picturesque horse were carved into a large sign to the right of the cattle guard. The wheels of her SUV thrummed over the metal rails as she continued on.

When she rounded a bend, a considerable ranch-style home sprawled out behind a circular driveway.

Ocotillo, prickly pear, and other varieties of cacti were artfully grouped at the center of the driveway.

Southwestern landscaping framed the portico over the pathway leading to the front door.

The rancher had hired a fantastic landscape architect.

The ranch buildings were surrounded by tall desert willows, palo verdes, mesquites, and many more trees native to this part of Arizona, which shaded the yard.

A pair of black and white Border collies with tuxedo markings bounded toward her vehicle and greeted her with loud barking to announce her arrival.

Ellie grew up with Border Collies and Australian shepherds, fantastic ranch dogs with great herding instincts. She parked in front of the house, just past the walkway, leaving room for another car to drive around hers.

Leather binder in hand, she made her way behind her Lexus, noticing the coating of dust on the SUV’s back window. The Border collies trotted to either side of her.

Before she reached the front door, it swung open, and a gorgeous redhead stepped out. “You’re right on time.” The woman gave a brilliant smile. “You must be Ellie. I’m Maddee Rawlings. Welcome to Rawling’s Ranch.”

“Great to meet you in person.” Ellie returned the redhead’s smile. “You have beautiful dogs.”

“Piper and Penny are the sweetest.” Maddee looked at the Border collies. “You’re both good girls. Thanks for meeting our guest.”

Maddee gestured for Ellie to come in, so Ellie accompanied the statuesque redhead through the massive front door.

The interior was even more spacious inside than it looked from the outside. Soaring vaulted ceilings and wide-open spaces gave it an almost palatial feel, western-style. A professional decorator must have designed the place with old-time and modern cowboy décor.

“I love your home.” Ellie turned to Maddee. “It’s stunning.”

“It’s not mine.” Maddee walked through an archway with Ellie at her side. “I live on a smaller property, in a much smaller house, a few miles away.”

Ellie drank in the beauty. Despite the home’s grandeur, it wasn’t over the top, and the house felt comfortable.

She peeked through another archway and saw an expansive kitchen with stainless-steel appliances.

Next, they passed a family room with the biggest TV she’d ever seen in a built-in entertainment center. Every electronic device one could need was in the entertainment center, and lots of overstuffed furniture that looked well-used and comfy filled the room.

They walked through a doorway into a study. Built-in bookshelves lined two of the walls. On the right was a large desk with a monitor and two comfortable armchairs in front of it.

Maddee gestured to Ellie to follow her, and she went behind the desk, slid into the chair, and entered the password.

A moment later, she looked up at Ellie. “I logged into our website, so you can take a look around the backend and see if it’s something you can work with or if you think he needs a new site. ”

The redhead stood and motioned for Ellie to slip into the chair. Maddee grabbed one of the armchairs and pulled it around so that she could sit by Ellie.

Ellie faced Maddee. “Before I left home, I spent some time reviewing the site and the social media accounts. You’re right, they need work.”

The sound of a phone ringing automatically made Ellie want to check to see if it was her own, but Maddee slid one out of her pocket and put it to her ear. “Hi, Liz. Just a moment.” She turned to Ellie. “I need to take this.” She pointed to the computer. “Have at it.”

“Will do.” Ellie studied the site design. It was good, but it needed to be more engaging and user-friendly. She could refer a good friend to do the website aspect while Ellie took on the ranch’s social media presence.

The wheels in her head turned faster as ideas came one after another.

She opened her leather binder and jotted down notes on a yellow, legal-sized pad.

When she needed to record the stream of ideas flooding through her mind, she preferred to write them down by hand.

When she entered them into a document later, more ideas would germinate.

What she needed was a tour of the property. When Maddee returned, Ellie planned to ask her more about the ranch, what they did, and what they had to offer their clients.

Piper and Penny took off for the barn while Tucker knocked the dirt off his boots on the mat at the back door before he entered his kitchen. Where was Maddee, and whose car was in the driveway?

As he made his way through the kitchen, he took his western hat off long enough to rake his fingers through his hair, then tugged it down again. He reached his study and came to a hard stop in the doorway.

A woman sat at his computer, staring at the screen. Not just any woman, but Ellie, the gorgeous blonde he’d met at the Renaissance fair a week and a half ago. How did this beautiful vision come to be sitting in his chair?

Tucker hitched his shoulder against the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest as he watched her move the mouse and squint at the screen. He looked forward to seeing her sea-blue eyes when she caught him staring at her.

He’d enjoyed her company at the Renaissance fair and had hoped she’d call or at least send him a text message, but he’d never heard from her. She might have been too busy, or maybe she hadn’t enjoyed their time together as much as he had.

Why was she here and behind his desk? Not that he was complaining.

Ellie frowned at the screen and tapped a pen on the yellow pad on the desk, which held nearly a page full of notes. She eased back in the chair, still tapping the pen.

God, she took his breath away.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he drawled.

Ellie startled, then looked up and met his gaze. She seemed to catch her breath as her lips parted and her cheeks reddened.

She smiled as she composed herself. “Well, if it isn’t my knight in shining Wranglers.”

The corner of his mouth quirked. “At your service, ma’am.”

“Don’t ma’am me.” She pushed the chair back and stood. “I’m not old enough to be a ma’am.”

He couldn’t help but feel amused around Ellie. Something about her made him want to smile. “I stand corrected.”

Ellie moved around the desk, wearing snug jeans, a purple blouse, and well-worn cowboy boots.

When she reached him, she tipped her head back and met his gaze. He could drown in those sea-blue eyes. She didn’t seem displeased to see him. He was more than glad she was here.

He wanted to stroke her hair so badly he ached with it. “You decided to drop by instead of call?”

She smiled, and he nearly took her into his arms. “I’m sorry. I lost your number somewhere between leaving you and my parents’ place. I did plan to call.”

Tucker wished he could sweep her into his arms like he had on that stage. “Not that I mind, but how did you find me?”

“ I found Ellie, and you’re hiring her.” Maddee stood at his elbow, a brow raised. “You two know each other?”

“We met at the Renaissance fair.” Tucker looked from his sister back to Ellie. “The way I remember it, we had a pretty good time.”

“You remember correctly.” Ellie flashed a grin. “Is this your horse ranch?”

“Yep.” Tucker gave a slow nod.

Maddee eased between them and plopped into the remaining chair. “Don’t mind me. I’m enjoying the show.”

“Sorry, Maddee.” Ellie laughed. “We’re just surprised to see each other.”

“I gathered.” Maddee smirked. “What did you think when you checked out the website?”

“It has a professional look but doesn’t have heart and soul.” She looked from Maddee to Tucker. “When you’re passionate about something, you need to let it show.”

His gut tightened. It was like she was talking about something other than his website.

He strode around the desk and placed the armchair in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”