Cowboys & Nightmares

Chapter One

"You must be Rylie."

I turned toward the voice, thankful that Christie and I were no longer the only ones in the large, unfamiliar room. It had only been about ten minutes since the maid had went after the boss, but it seemed like a lot longer in the silence. During our wait, I'd examined the massive room. Facing us was a large fireplace, the river rock surrounding it spreading out to cover the entire back wall. The furniture was arranged in front of it, three large couches surrounding a coffee table with two end tables filling the joints between the set. Each side wall had an open doorway, with the left one leading to a dining room, while the right one led to what looked like a trophy room. Along these walls were also two staircases, joined by an open second story that started from halfway across the room, and traveled to the back wall. There was again one door on each side wall, and three more on the back wall. The entire space was homey, yet intimidating for my first exposure. So I was grateful for the company.

My companion beamed at the figure leaning against the doorway to the trophy room. "Yes she is," she squeaked, looking up and down at the newcomer. "And I'm Christie Hawk." She stepped toward him, extending her hand, and he grasped it strongly. When he looked to me, I returned to gesture, making him blink in surprise.

"Well I'm Ronnie Dunn," foreman of the ranch." His dark brown eyes glittered as he stared me down. He was handsome, his big doe eyes looking well with his nut-brown hair. His tight shirt defined his chiseled pecs and abs, the torso narrowing down to small hips. A huge belt buckle defied gravity while holding up his tight jeans, the straight legs reaching down to scuffed up boots. "It's very nice to meet you."

He was leaning in too close, his large hand still clenching mine. A few months ago, I would have been acting like my chauffeur, who was practically drooling as her eyes raked over him. But now, he was simply another predator. I leaned away from him without stepping back. "Pleasure," I muttered, my teeth clenched.

Like a spoiled child, he didn't take my hint, opting to lean closer still while his free hand grazed my upper arm. "Maybe," he purred, "you would like for me to help you get settled in?"

Before I could respond, a booming voice resonated through the room. "I must be meeting Ms. Klintson!" A tall, stout man with a shock of thick hair stepped out of an upstairs room, thumping down the left stairway in front of the maid. While he was wearing a three piece suit, a pair of shined cowboy boots brought together the elements of city and country life. He had a thick, bushy mustache, and his smile was horribly contagious as he shook my hand vigorously. "I'm your employer, Mr. McGrange, but you can call me Boss." He pumped Christie's arm, too, his toothy grin as wide with her as with me. "I see you've met my foreman, Mr. Dunn." He waved toward the creep, who had stepped back just a bit. He winked at me subtly, but I scowled at him before returning my gaze to the host.

"I can't tell you how excited I am to have you here!" He continued. "I must say, my wife and I were more than a little hesitant to hire on a woman as a ranch hand at first. You know how it is, old habits and all that." He chuckled, his great belly quivering like jello. "But the more I've thought about it, I see no reason why a strong, healthy young woman shouldn't do the same job as a man." He smiled widely. "Now, I've got to be honest, I didn't have an empty bunk house for you, so you'll be sharing with one of the workers." He must have noticed me tensing, because his beam turned into a comforting grin. "Don't worry; my wife chose the worker to be paired with you. He's pretty quiet, keeps to himself a lot. He's also very polite, so I think you two will get along just fine."

As he spoke, he'd began bustling us all toward the entryway, as we stepped out on the large front porch, Ronnie snaked his hand over onto my shoulder. Disgusted, I snarled at him before stepping away quickly, determined to keep my distance from him.