Page 8 of River Legacy (Powder River #5)

V ictoria woke with a start, surprised to see daylight streaming through the windows. She hurriedly looked next to her in the big bed. Empty. For a moment, she had no idea where she was or how she’d gotten there. A breeze stirred the curtains, billowing them in and back out again.

She felt as if she’d gone deaf. She heard nothing. No traffic, no honking or sirens, no music drifting through the open window. Instead, she heard birds singing and smelled... freshly mowed grass?

Frowning, she sat up. Through a crack in the curtains, she saw a giant stand of trees she didn’t recognize and caught a whiff of something pleasant even though she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

The day, from what she could see, was beautiful, all brilliant blue sky and sunshine, not a cloud in sight over the mountains.

Mountains? She smiled as she remembered where she was, even though she couldn’t remember getting here.

She vaguely remembered Ryder carrying her upstairs to bed.

But clearly he hadn’t shared the bed with her. Such a gentleman, she thought, smiling as she stretched before lying back on the pillow. So this was the Stafford Ranch?

She really wished she had grabbed her cell phone before leaving the hotel bar.

She would have loved to put this place up on her social media.

Her friends would get such a kick out of it.

After spending her life in huge city penthouses, she enjoyed the quiet—for a moment.

She told herself that it would get to her before very long, but she could handle it for a weekend, if she stayed that long.

Last night, she’d been half asleep so hadn’t noticed the room Ryder had given her. She did recall him saying something about it being his older sister Tilly’s before she married a cowboy from the next ranch.

Now she took in the room from the wonderfully large, comfortable bed and its intricate patchwork quilt to the pale shade of rose on the walls and the white trim.

It was definitely female decor including the chair by the window with the rose-colored cushions and the light green-and-white-leafed wallpaper in the bathroom.

It was lovely. Ryder’s sister Tilly had good taste.

After showering, she considered the clothing she’d been wearing before opening the closet.

Hadn’t Ryder mentioned that she could borrow some clothes from the closet?

She and Tilly seemed to be about the same size, she noted.

The jeans fit perfectly, the boots were a little large and the Western shirt was a little tight across the bust, but she doubted anyone would care.

She thought of Ryder, know ing that she would make a play for him before the weekend was over.

Her friends would expect details. She certainly couldn’t go home without something tantalizing to tell them about a real-life Montana cowboy.

She tried not to think about what would happen after this weekend as she went looking for him.

Her father would be upset and would probably cut her off financially.

He’d been threatening to for some time. She told herself that she’d cross that bridge when she came to it, since she really didn’t think he’d do it.

Whatever he did, she wouldn’t marry anyone she didn’t love. If push came to shove, she’d be forced to get a better-paying job. She loved teaching art to her young students at the nonprofit community arts center. It was why her father had never taken her career seriously.

With a sigh, she knew it was time to do what Ryder had suggested. She needed to be honest with her father and make him listen for once. Otherwise, he might abduct her and force her to the altar with someone like Claude. She shuddered at the thought.

But for now, she felt safe. She planned to enjoy herself, knowing that her father would be having a fit and Claude would be beside himself—if they were still in Billings.

They could have taken the jet and left. She wondered if she’d even hear from either of them or if her father’s attorney would be contacting her instead to give her Wendell Forester’s latest ultimatum.

As she left the room she realized that she had no idea where she was going. Tilly’s room was on the second floor so Ryder had carried her upstairs last night. But then where had he gone? Apparently to another part of the house.

“This room has a great view of the cottonwoods along the Powder River, a view I’ve always loved,” she recalled him saying.

Anything else he might have said she couldn’t remember.

She had curled up in the big bed and fallen back to sleep.

But she remembered the look on his face before she’d closed her eyes.

He wanted her to like the place—temporarily, of course.

Then she would be gone. She had the feeling that would be the last he’d ever want to hear from her—or her father. Not that she could blame him.

“L et me get this straight,” Brand said at the kitchen table.

“You told Wendell Forester off and then kidnapped his daughter?” Brand and his wife, Birdie, were still living in a private wing of the house until their home on the ranch was completed.

Birdie had gone shopping in Billings for the weekend, but Ryder was sure Brand would fill her in when she returned.

He could see that his brother was enjoying this way too much.

“I didn’t kidnap her,” Ryder said. “I just brought her here for the weekend. I didn’t know what else to do, under the circumstances.”

His brother stared at him. “Something tells me it wasn’t with Wendell Forester’s blessing.”

Ryder shook his head, picked up his coffee mug and took a sip before answering. “Things got out of hand.” Brand lifted a brow. “Not like that . She just needed a place to hide out for the weekend.”

“Hide out?”

“Her father’s intent on marrying her off to a man of his choosing. This weekend’s lucky winner was a real loser. I was her escape hatch.”

Brand chuckled. “Sounds like the two of you got pretty close for her to agree to come with you.”

“Believe me, she would have taken off with anyone to get away from the obnoxious Claude Duvall.”

“Okay, but what happens after the weekend?”

Ryder shrugged. “We didn’t get that far.”

“Aren’t you worried what Forester will do?”

“I’m not worried about Forester. I made it clear to him that if he sent anymore of his associates to try to strong-arm me into selling the ranch, I would shoot them.”

“Uh-huh,” Brand said. “And then he invited you to dinner. Doesn’t sound like he was shaking in his boots. After that, why not invite his daughter to the ranch?”

“It was Victoria’s idea to come to the ranch for the weekend.” Ryder raked his fingers through his hair. He knew how it must sound. Like his trip to Billings to confront Forester had been a waste of time. It certainly hadn’t turned out like he’d planned it, that was for sure.

His brother lifted a brow. “And this is going to solve the problem with her father trying to buy our ranch how exactly?”

With a sigh, Ryder said, “Look, I told Forester to leave us alone. Short of shooting the man, that was the best I could do. I think I made my point.”

His brother looked skeptical. “Yet you ended up with his daughter.”

“Do I smell bacon?”

They both turned to see Victoria and quickly got to their feet.

She’d borrowed some of the clothing Tilly had left behind in her room, Ryder saw.

She now wore a pair of worn jeans, a Western shirt and a pair of Tilly’s scuffed up cowboy boots.

The jeans seemed to fit quite well, the shirt stretched a little tight over her breasts, and the boots might have been a little big.

He realized that he hadn’t paid much attention to her body, or he would have realized she was taller that Tilly and more.

.. endowed. Now he couldn’t help but notice.

“Come join us,” he said, his voice sounding strange even to him. “This is my brother Brand. Brand, this is Victoria Forester.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Brand,” she said as she flipped a strand of her curly copper hair back from her face. “Just call me Vicky.” She smiled at Ryder. “Ryder does.”

“Nice to meet you, Vicky.”

Ryder groaned inwardly as he pulled out a chair for her. All the while, he tried to ignore his brother, who was grinning from ear to ear—no doubt seeing how flustered he was and enjoying every moment of it.

As he sat back down, he kicked his brother under the table. “Coffee?” he asked Victoria. At her nod, he said, “How about bacon, eggs, hash browns with a side of flapjacks?”

Her green eyes widened, her lips turning up. She looked from Ryder to Brand and back. “Seriously? You don’t really have that for breakfast.”

“We have a long day of work ahead of us. Gotta eat,” Brand said.

She smiled. “All right, but only if you let me help with your work today.”

“Why not?” Brand said and excused himself to go turn her order in with the cook. “You were planning to put her to work, weren’t you, bro?” he said over his shoulder.

Clearly, Victoria Forester knew nothing about ranching.

Ryder doubted she’d ever had a job of any kind.

More than likely she’d been waited on her whole life.

So what was it he found so appealing about her this morning?

Then it dawned on him like a bolt of lightning.

She looked as if she could fit in here, he thought and mentally shook himself.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked her as his grinning brother disappeared down the hallway. Bringing her here had been a huge mistake—even if she hadn’t been Wendell Forester’s daughter. Only daughter. He obviously hadn’t thought it through, which wasn’t like him.

“That is the best I’ve slept in I can’t remember when,” she was saying, sounding surprised. “It’s so... quiet here.”