Page 8 of Wyoming Bodyguard (Sunrise Security #1)

M adden followed Lily into the barn. The musty scent of hay and animal feed spiked his pulse. It’d been years since he’d done farm chores.

Years since his body worked the way he needed it to in order to do his part to keep McKay Ranch afloat.

“All right, McKay. Time to do some chores.” Lily handed him a pitchfork. “Throw down some fresh bedding while I clean out the stalls. The hay’s up in the loft. Toss it there,” she said, pointing to a spot on the ground. “Once I’m done, you can help me lay it out.”

He swallowed his apprehension. No way he wanted Lily to witness his weakness. He could chuck hay down from the loft. He just needed to take it slow and not overwork his shoulder. Hopefully she’d be too busy with her own assignment to notice his struggle.

Before he could think too much, he climbed the ladder and scooped a pitchfork full of fresh hay. A stabbing pain in his shoulder gritted his teeth. The tool twisted in his faltering grip, spilling the contents on the wooden planks of the loft.

Shame climbed the back of his neck, heating him more than the muggy air trapped at the top of the barn. He should just plop on the hay bale and admit defeat. Confess to Lily that he wasn’t capable of doing the damn chores, even something as simple as helping her lay new bedding for her horses.

A gentle humming caught his attention, and he peeked down the wide aisle. Lily chugged along with a soft smile on her face and sweat beading on her forehead. She wheeled the dirty straw to the far end of the aisle and dumped it in a giant barrel before heading to the next stall.

Admiration pressed against his lungs. He’d thought of her as a spoiled, entitled brat for years. Imagined her lounging around the big cabin while others ran her ranch. He’d never pictured her getting her hands dirty, hauling shit around a hot-ass barn.

She was hands-on, cared about the people who worked for her and the land she tended. It was in her blood, in her heart.

A familiar ache made it hard to breathe. He understood her. Understood the love of a place that held so many memories.

As if sensing him watching her, Lily glanced up, fisted a hand on her hip and smirked. “Come on, cowboy. You’re not going to make little ole me do all the work, are you?”

Her humor was infectious, and damn it, he’d never seen a more beautiful woman. “Just enjoying the view for a minute.”

She scrunched her nose. “Are you feeling all right? Not enough oxygen up there or something?”

He laughed. “Yeah, that’s it. Lack of oxygen.”

Lily rolled her eyes and disappeared down the aisle, the sweet melody of her hum reaching him once more.

Madden blew out a long breath and steeled his resolve. A simple chore might take him three times as long as it should, but he’d do it. He needed to do it.

With a firm grip on the handle, he scooped a smaller pile of hay and let it rain to the spot Lily had requested.

Little by little, the pile on the ground grew.

Sweat poured down his face. His muscles throbbed, and no doubt he’d need to ice his shoulder tonight, but pride puffed his chest in a way it hadn’t in years.

Unable to stand the suffocating heat, he stripped off his T-shirt and wiped the damp material across his brow. Good thing he’d brought a bag full of fresh clothing. He’d need a shower and an entire gallon of water once he finished.

“All right, cowboy. That’s plenty. I’ve got most of the bedding laid. You can head down, then we’ll see to the horses.”

He peered over the side of the loft, and his heart puttered like a stalling tractor.

Lily stood by the now dwindling pile and leaned on her pitchfork. Strands of wheat-colored hair had slipped out of her ponytail, and was plastered to the side of her face with sweat. Streaks of dirt slid over her cheek. And a look of peace softened her features in a way he’d never seen.

She sent him a tiny salute, filled her wheelbarrow and disappeared into a stall at the end of the aisle.

“I’ll be right there.” He grabbed his stuff and tossed it on the barn’s floor then descended the ladder.

He concentrated on each rung, not wanting to slip and give away that his shoulder was like jelly.

With his feet firmly on the floor, he stretched his aching muscles and turned to find Lily staring at him, mouth open and eyes wide.

He grinned. “Feeling all right?”

Clearing her throat, she snapped her mouth closed and glanced up from his exposed abdomen. “Fine. Just trying to finish so we can get on with our day. Lots to do.”

“I can put my shirt back on. Didn’t mean to fluster you. It was just hot as hell in the loft.” The skin of his shoulder tingled, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she noticed the ugly scar. But he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of covering himself.

She scowled and heaped hay into her wheelbarrow. “Don’t flatter yourself. If you’d rather stand around watching me while your head inflates, go for it. I can understand how this type of work doesn’t come naturally to you anymore.”

The comment raised his hackles, and he shoved his T-shirt over his head. Her sharp tongue was exactly what he needed. A punch in the gut to remind him Lily Tremont might be a beautiful woman, but his attraction to her was only skin-deep.

“You wouldn’t know a damn thing about what comes naturally to me because you’ve never bothered to ask.

You, your father and everyone else in this town think they know everything.

Think they’ve put together some mysterious puzzle to explain the McKay corruption and sinful decisions.

But no one knows what we’ve been through or why we did what we did.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I could use a glass of water. ”

He stormed out of the barn and lifted his face to the hot sun.

Closing his eyes, he focused on the warm rays on his skin and slowing his heart rate.

He had to shut down his emotions—to draw on every freaking experience that taught him patience.

He couldn’t let her quick jabs get to him, or he’d never survive the assignment that might be his company’s saving grace.

* * *

Lily stayed a step behind Madden as they walked through the guest cabin in search of anything out of place.

For the second time today, she wanted to smack herself upside the head.

The awkward silence lingering between her and Madden was 100 percent her fault.

When she’d spied him with his shirt off, his muscles hard and glistening with sweat, she’d almost swallowed her tongue.

And when he’d teased her, she fell back on a smart-ass comment instead of taking his remarks on the chin, or even admitting she liked what she saw.

“You notice anything amiss in here?” Madden peeked into the bathroom then stalked the perimeter of the studio-style cabin.

The layout was simple. An inviting king-size bed in one corner, a small kitchen with a table big enough for two and a living area anchored by a cozy fireplace.

Clearly a space meant for a couple. A place to unwind with a loved one, a glass of wine and a beautiful view of the mountains.

They had bigger cabins for families, but this one always reminded her of what she lacked in her life.

Pushing that aside, she forced a smile. “Everything looks the way it should. Just like all the others.”

He nodded and led the way outside where two horses waited. Slipping his foot in the stirrup, he swung himself onto the back of a young Thoroughbred.

Lily climbed on top of Queenie and patted the side of her strong neck.

Another apology sat at the tip of her tongue, but she held it back.

What was the point? Her words didn’t mean anything if she continued to use him as target practice for her insults.

She’d need to be better at keeping her mouth shut and showing Madden she could play nice.

“Let’s ride along the perimeter of the property,” Madden said, lightly squeezing the sides of Ace to guide him into a slow trot. “I have a few places in mind to put some cameras, but I don’t want to leave any stones unturned.”

They rode in silence a few minutes longer until Lily couldn’t stand it. “Do you remember when we rode like this as kids? Seems like another lifetime ago.”

Madden grunted. “Back then, Queenie was your mom’s ride.”

“This horse was like her second child.” A wave of nostalgia washed over her. She blew out a long breath as memories of her mom filled her mind. “She loved this ranch. I can’t help but feel like I’m failing her.”

“What do you mean?”

She shrugged and kept her eyes on the horizon.

The blistering sun was high in the sky. The gurgle of a nearby stream combined with the songs of birds nesting in the pine trees, creating the soundtrack of her life.

And the ever-present mountains in the distance promised that some things never changed.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t true of most things. Days flew by, bringing new challenges with no end in sight. No solution to the problems heaped at her feet.

“My mom loved this ranch with her entire being. Nothing brought her more joy than watching people experience all the things she thought was special about this town, this place. If she was here today and saw how badly we’re struggling to make ends meet, she’d be devastated.

” An ache blossomed in Lily’s chest. An ache of longing and sadness and desperation.

“You’re right. This land was in your mom’s bones, but she didn’t care about it as much as she cared about you.

She knows you’re trying your best to put things on the right track.

” He cleared his throat. “I have to believe both our moms are watching out for us. Making sure we’re doing the right thing. ”

She wanted to ask what he meant, but he wouldn’t welcome an inquisition. Not by her. “I wish mine would tell me what I’m supposed to do. I always hated her endless opinions and suggestions when I was a teenager. I’d give anything for her to whisper the answer to all my problems in my ear.”

“You’re a lot like her,” Madden said, bringing Ace to a stop beside an old shed at the edge of the property. “At least from what I remember. You’re strong and brave. Smart as hell. There has to be a way to fix things you haven’t considered. Something you could try.”

She circled Queenie to the other side of Ace so she faced the wide meadow filled with plush green trees and gentle slopes covered in colorful wildflowers.

“How? We offer the same experience the new hotel does, but we have a heavier price tag. We’ve slashed our prices as much as we can, but it hasn’t helped. I’m not sure how to compete with that.”

“Then offer something different.”

The matter-of-fact response twisted her toward Madden. “What do you mean?”

He slid off Ace’s back and ran a large, strong hand along the animal’s shoulder. “You’re right, you can’t expect tourists to travel here and pay more for the same experience they can get right next door. But what if you didn’t cater to tourists at all?”

She frowned. “But this is a dude ranch. No one in Cloud Valley is going to pay money to do the same things they’re doing at their own ranches.”

He grinned. “Probably not, but what will they pay for?”

She squeezed her eyes shut for a beat and prayed for patience. “You’re talking in riddles, McKay.”

“Sorry,” he said, chuckling. “I’m no business expert.

Hell, I’m still figuring out how to keep my office doors open.

But what I have learned is you have to be willing to shift, to change, to look at things from a different perspective.

You have a lot to offer people, and not just tourists. How can you use it?”

She thought back to the cozy cabin they’d just left. The handful of other cabins sitting empty, waiting to be used. “I did have one idea, but my dad brushed it aside.”

“Tell me.”

She scrunched her lips, unsure about opening up to him. But no one else in her life had actually listened to her ideas or made her feel she was capable of anything more than tending horses.

“Come on,” he said. “You’ve told me worse things than an idea or two.”

She winced. “Good point. Okay, I think we should offer our ranch as a wedding venue. That would appeal to people in town, the surrounding area and maybe even from other states. We have the cabins for the wedding party or out-of-town guests. The scenery is beautiful.” She swept her hand to the side to indicate the magnificent views all around them.

A slow smile spread on Madden’s face, barely visible beneath the shadow of his cowboy hat. “Sounds brilliant.”

Two simple words hacked at all the self-doubt clogging her mind. “You really think so?”

“I do. Makes perfect sense to me.”

“I wish my dad felt the same way. He won’t hear my ideas.” Guilt washed away all positive sentiments. “I’m horrible. The last thing I should be doing is complaining about my dad. Not when he’s fighting for his life in the hospital.”

“You’re not complaining. You’re discussing options that could help your family while showing me the property I need to protect. Now, this appears to be the last structure to search, right?”

She nodded, grateful for his knack of putting things into perspective and shifting her focus on what was important.

“Yeah, we don’t really use this shed anymore.

We stored things guests might need if they were out on the trails.

Water, food, supplies for taking care of the horses. Now it’s probably full of dust.”

“Which will make it a quick search. Then I’ll see about setting up some cameras before we tackle the office.”

“Sounds good.” The shed was small, the siding worn from lack of maintenance and rough weather. She’d been inside a few times, but wasn’t in a rush to squeeze into the tight, probably dirty space with Madden. “I’ll wait out here. No reason for us both to go in there.”

The hinges to the rusty door squeaked as Madden stepped inside. “Holy hell, it’s hot in here. Will you keep the door open for me, so I don’t suffocate?”

She held the edge of the flimsy wood. “A couple days ago I would have jumped at the chance to nail this thing shut with you inside.”

His husky chuckle made her grin. Good. The tension from earlier had dissipated enough for him to find humor in her sarcasm again.

A few minutes ticked by. The old floorboards shifted under Madden’s footsteps until he marched to stand in front of her. “You need to see this.”

“What is it?” She followed him inside the stuffy space, the door slamming shut behind her. Beams of muted light filtered in through a dirty window.

Madden pointed to a shelf shoved against the far wall.

She leaned forward for a closer look and spied a clear bag with what looked like small, white crystals. “What is that?”

“You might not have been out here for a while, but someone’s using the shed. To store their drugs.”