Page 9 of Summer on the Ranch (Royally Wed #1)

‘‘Of course I’ll reimburse Mr. Colton for the additional expense,’’ she said stiffly as she thought of messengers who made their trips out here several times a day, of the fax and the computer set up in the second guest room, of the phone calls and the additional phone lines she’d had installed.

‘‘Don’t worry about that,’’ Betty told her. ‘‘Mitch can afford it. Besides, he’s eating the same food you are, and I haven’t heard a single complaint out of him. He’s just bellyaching. It doesn’t mean anything.’’

‘‘Thanks for telling me that,’’ Alex said. She made a show of checking her watch. ‘‘I’m expecting a fax, so I’ll just take my coffee back to the office.’’ She turned to leave.

‘‘Don’t you want breakfast?’’ Betty asked.

‘‘Not this morning. Thank you.’’

Alex knew she would choke if she tried to force anything down her throat.

She could feel the flush of embarrassment on her face as humiliation filled her.

Perhaps it would have meant her parents finding out what was going on, but she should have gone to a hotel.

Staying here at the Colton ranch had been a horrible mistake.

She saw that now. Why hadn’t she realized what an imposition she would be?

She made it back to her desk before the trembling began.

Now what? she asked herself. Should she leave?

Rowan would be furious at her and he would hate having to find another secure location, but she didn’t see any other choice.

She couldn’t stay here and continue to be a bother to Mitch. No wonder he’d been avoiding her.

She reached for a pad of paper to start a list, but the phone rang. As she picked up the receiver, she wondered how she could have been so incredibly insensitive.

‘‘I thought I’d save you the trouble of having to phone in yourself later,’’ a familiar voice said.

‘‘Mother,’’ she breathed in relief. ‘‘How are you?’’

‘‘Fine, as usual. In the midst of chaos, also as usual.’’ Her mother’s light laughter trilled across the thousands of miles. ‘‘It’s still raining, so the renovations are slowing and that’s making everyone irritable. Especially your father. You know how he gets.’’

Alex did know. She listened as her mother talked about what was going on at home, then took notes on a few governmental issues that concerned her. Finally, when they were about to say goodbye, Alex hesitated. ‘‘I have a question,’’ she said.

‘‘What is it, dear?’’

‘‘Am I…’’ Her voice trailed off as she thought back to what Betty had said. ‘‘Am I bossy and imperious?’’

Her mother laughed again. ‘‘Of course you are, but we love you anyway.’’

Alex was glad she was sitting down. She felt her mouth drop open. ‘‘You’re being serious? I’ve always thought of myself as responsible. Was I wrong?’’

‘‘No, Alexandra. You’re very responsible. You’re a warm and caring person.

Your father and I are very proud of you.

You take your duties seriously, and we can always depend on you to do the right thing.

Occasionally your methods are a little high-handed, but you’re the oldest daughter of a king. Isn’t that to be expected?’’

Her mother spoke for a few more minutes, then said her goodbyes.

Alex replaced the receiver, then leaned back in her chair.

Did everyone think the same about her? That she was dutiful and responsible, but in a high-handed way?

Did everyone hate her? Had she been deceiving herself about her personality?

The unexpected information caused her to think about dozens of incidents from her past. She replayed them in light of the new information and still wasn’t sure what to think. Finally, close to noon, she went for a walk.

While it might be raining in Wynborough, it was a beautiful, clear day in Arizona.

The air was chilly, but dry. There weren’t any clouds and the nearby mountains stood like silent sentinels.

She inhaled the scent of cattle and horses, of trees and brush, of the fresh air preparing for winter and the distant promise of snow.

She’d pulled a wool jacket over her blouse, and she tucked her hands into the front pockets.

Her boots crunched on the scattered leaves that littered the path to the main barn.

The door stood open, so she walked inside.

To the left were the tack room and feed bins, to the right, the horse stalls.

She turned right and walked down the center aisle.

Curious horses popped their heads over half doors to watch their visitor.

Alex paused to pet a beautiful bay mare. She stroked the animal’s smooth face and soft nose. Big brown eyes stared at her.

‘‘Hi, pretty lady,’’ she murmured. ‘‘You have a very lovely ranch here. Did you know that? I didn’t. Until just now I’d barely left the house.’’

The horse stomped in response. Alex felt some of her tension easing, although not her pain and confusion.

About an hour before, Laura had called her from Aspen with an update on her sisters.

Alex had forced herself to ask her social secretary the same question she’d asked her mother.

The several heartbeats of silence followed by Laura’s insincere, ‘‘No, of course not,’’ had told their own story. Didn’t anyone like her?

‘‘What’s wrong?’’

Alex jumped at the sound of the male voice. She turned suddenly and saw Mitch standing in the center of the aisle. ‘‘I didn’t hear you come in,’’ she said.

‘‘So I guessed.’’ His dark gaze regarded her steadily. ‘‘I was driving back from the range when I saw you walk in here. You don’t make it a habit to visit the horses, so I thought I’d come see what was going on.’’

‘‘I won’t hurt them,’’ she said quickly, feeling defensive. ‘‘I just wanted to get out of the office for a little bit. I’ve always ridden, English not Western, but I’m good around horses.’’

‘‘I’m not saying you’re not,’’ Mitch said, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. ‘‘I meant I thought there was something wrong. With you, not with them.’’

He took a step closer. She could see the powerful muscles in his thighs bunching and releasing with the movement. He was so tall and so strong. He was also a stranger who resented her presence in his home.

‘‘I…’’ She pressed her lips together and tried to figure out what she was supposed to say. She opened her mouth again, but this time the words that tumbled out were not what she expected. ‘‘Everyone thinks I’m bossy and imperious and I’m afraid they might be right.’’

‘‘This is news to you?’’

‘‘Well, yes.’’ To her horror, she felt her eyes begin to burn. She blinked to hold back the tears. She never cried. ‘‘I’m a good person. I work hard. I take my responsibilities seriously. I have a sense of humor. People like me.’’

‘‘So it’s a trade-off.’’

She glared at him. ‘‘I see you’re very happy to discuss my problems, but what about the fact that you’re exactly the same? Except, possibly, for having a sense of humor. I haven’t seen any evidence of that.’’

‘‘Hey, wait a minute.’’ Mitch took another step closer and glared down at her. ‘‘I’m not bossy, I’m the world’s nicest guy. Just ask anyone. Just because you don’t like what you see in the mirror is no reason to blame me.’’

‘‘I like what I see in the mirror just fine.’’

‘‘Then why are you upset?’’

‘‘I’m not upset.’’ She planted her hands on her hips. ‘‘You’re the one who won’t even consider the truth about himself. Is self-inspection so frightening? Is the macho facade all you have going for you?’’

‘‘Macho facade?’’ Mitch repeated. ‘‘Listen, princess, it’s not a facade. As for my sense of humor, it’s a hell of a lot more developed than yours.’’

‘‘How would you know?’’

‘‘Because you’re just some—’’ He broke off and stared at her.

‘‘Some what?’’

His stiff body posture relaxed a little. ‘‘I don’t know. I want to compare you to something, but I don’t know you well enough to do that. Maybe you could give me a hint so I could come up with an insult and we could continue arguing.’’

His outrageous request made her smile. Then he grinned and before she could figure out how it had happened, all her tension eased. Her arms relaxed and she found herself breathing easily for the first time in hours.

Mitch joined her at the mare’s stall. ‘‘You’ve got some backbone…for a princess,’’ he said condescendingly.

‘‘Thank you. You’re not so very annoying…for a man.’’

He growled low in his throat. ‘‘I’m going to ignore that.’’

‘‘It’s probably for the best. Otherwise you’d be forced to think about it and that might tax your brain.’’

‘‘You’re on a tear this morning, aren’t you?’’

‘‘I suppose I am.’’ She shoved her hands back into her jacket pocket. ‘‘I’m moving to a hotel.’’

He stared at her. ‘‘Why?’’

‘‘It’s for the best. I didn’t realize what an intrusion I would be.

It was the tiniest bit imperious of me to insist on staying here.

You don’t know me, we aren’t related. You didn’t ask for any of this.

’’ She thought about all the arrangements that had to be made.

‘‘It will probably take a couple of days to get everything put together, but I’ll be gone as quickly as I can.’’

‘‘What about your parents? I thought you didn’t want to have to explain extra security.’’

‘‘I’ll think of something. I always do.’’ She glanced around at the clean, well-lit barn and wished she’d taken the time to explore the area. ‘‘I appreciate your hospitality. You’ve been very kind.’’

Mitch mumbled something she didn’t quite catch. He turned his attention back to the mare. ‘‘You’ve got everything in place, the phone lines, the messengers. If it’s not going to get any worse, you might as well stay.’’

As gracious invitations went, she’d had much better. Even so, his words lightened her spirits and made her insides tingle in the most unusual way. ‘‘But—’’

He glared at her. ‘‘Don’t make me beg, okay? Because I won’t do it. You can stay here.’’

He was a grumpy old bear, she thought. But handsome. His mouth still intrigued her, as did his strength. ‘‘Thank you,’’ she murmured.

‘‘You’re welcome.’’

His gaze lingered on her face. It warmed her like a touch…or a caress. The tingling inside of her spread to her arms and legs. She told herself to stop staring, but she couldn’t seem to look away from him. The rest of the world faded into a blurry background. How odd.

‘‘Mitch?’’

He took a step toward her. She had to look up to still meet his gaze, but instead of intimidating her, his size made her feel safe. She noticed her breathing had quickened, as had his. What was wrong with them?

Mitch swore under his breath. ‘‘I’ve got to get back to work,’’ he growled.

‘‘Can I help?’’ Alex asked, surprising both him and herself.

She glanced around the barn. ‘‘As I said, I’m good with horses. Maybe I could exercise them for you.’’ She bit her lower lip.

‘‘I can’t seem to fill my days enough with the work I have,’’ she admitted.

That was as much as she could say. She refused to tell him that she was lonely.

He pointed to her tailored wool skirt. ‘‘Are all your clothes that impractical?’’

‘‘No. I have a brand-new pair of jeans with me.’’

‘‘Figures. All right, you can exercise a couple of the mares, but only on a lead. No fancy riding until I see what you can do.’’

She smiled at him. ‘‘Thank you, Mitch. You won’t regret it.’’

She turned and headed for the house, ignoring his grumbled complaint that he already did.

* * *

Five hours later Mitch knew he’d been stupid in allowing Alex to exercise the horses.

Not that she didn’t know what she was doing, he thought as he stared out his office window and looked at the west paddock.

She stood in the center of the ring and exercised a brood mare.

Despite their difference in size, there was no doubt who was in charge of the session.

Alex held the lead with a skill that only came from hours of practice.

She hadn’t lied about knowing her way around horses.

She also hadn’t lied about the jeans, although they were painfully new.

He found himself catching his breath as she turned in the ring, exposing her back to him.

The stiff denim outlined rounded hips and thighs that just about sent him to his knees.

He had a difficult enough time dealing with his wayward desire when he couldn’t see her, but now that she was in plain sight he thought he would go mad.

To make matters worse, he was starting to like her.

Lust was safe, but liking—well, that was a different story.

Liking led to caring which was a slick downhill road to heartache and trouble.

Her earlier confession about being bossy had touched him, although he couldn’t quite figure out why.

Maybe it was her vulnerability, or the strength it took to see a bad truth about one’s self.

He should have let her go. She’d offered to leave, but he’d had to tell her to stay because—he didn’t even know why he’d done it.

So now he was stuck with her and her perfect little fanny.

The worst part was, there wasn’t one thing he could do about her, except continue to stay out of her way.

Anything else was impossible. So that was what he was going to do. Ignore her.