Page 3 of In Love with a Ranger

“Juliet, I would never put her or anyone else in danger – and you know that.”

“No, you just conveniently arrange…”

“Arrange for new opportunities, chances, and friends. It’s what people do with that that is completely out of my control. This is a chance for your cousin to get her thesis done, get some hands-on experience with farm life, and meet new people. She will be fine, I promise.”

“Will you check on her occasionally?”

“In Wyoming? Of course – and Houghton might say ‘no,’ or the cabins might be full.”

Juliet seemed to deflate at that and nodded.

“I could stay with someone if he doesn’t have room,” Christina volunteered quickly, not wanting to let this chance pass her by. She would rather go work or stay with someone that a family member knew than try to peddle herself off to strangers in the hopes of finding accommodations that would give her enough freedom to do what she needed to.

Yeah, she was already getting sick of the rejection letters. She received her third one yesterday claiming that they were not interested in someone ‘affecting the climate or delicate constitutions of the herd’.

‘Climate’?

‘Delicate constitutions’?

They were cows! She wanted to play music to the cows and charter the production of milk. How was that going to tamper with bovines that literally pooped as they walked, swatted flies off their rumps with their tails, and chewed their cud? Mooooood music, anyone?

“Do I make the call to Houghton or not?”

The question was posed to Christina, yet Dasher was still looking at Juliet – waiting. Why didn’t her cousin want her to go out there? What was she protecting her from? Everything sounded so good, so perfect, but there was something holding Juliet back.

“What’s wrong?”

“What if you went out there and met someone?” Juliet said bluntly, not holding back as she tore her gaze from Dasher and stared at Christina. “What if you actually met someone during this whole thing? What would you say or do? I do not want this to end up blowing up in my face. You are family.”

“You mean… like, ‘meet’ meet someone?” Christina hesitated and saw that neither Dasher nor Juliet had moved. “I guess I would consider myself fully warned, but the odds of that happening are slim to none. I plan on spending time with the cows, and once someone gets a load of my boring world, that’s usually enough to drive them off. Besides, I’m pretty difficult to please.”

“What do you mean?” Dasher said quietly, listening.

“Look, I’ve dated a few guys, and so far, I’ve been keenly disappointed. I don’t want someone I have to be less of a person around. Finding someone comfortable in who they are as a man, seems to be a challenge in my haystack. I’m still looking for my needle, and I’m assuming, at this point, someone else found it. I’m nearly thirty, I’m sure not naïve, and getting a doctorate in animal husbandry. I know about the birds and the bees, so I’m not going to swoon or make a scene if someone tries something.”

Dasher was smirking, and Juliet looked worried at her words.

“I want someone who doesn’t want to hold me back, someone who respects me, and someone who isn’t afraid to get dirty, be around cows, or do something out of the ordinary. If I said to some gorgeous guy, ‘Hey, let me go shove my elbows up a cow’s hoo-ha because the calf is turned the wrong way,’ – I need a man, not some pansy who is going to back away looking for smelling salts,” Christina said bluntly not mincing words as she looked at them both. “That type of guy just isn’t out there – or he’s just as lost as I am. So yeah, if I can knock out my thesis and that puts crosshairs on my back for Mr. Wonderful - I think I’ll live.”

“Make the call,” Juliet said quietly, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

“I’ll be back in ten minutes,” Dasher grinned, winking at Christina before stepping out.

* * *

Two minutes later, Dasher gave her a thumbs-up.

She was going to Wyoming!

2

* * *

GIDEON

Gideon was grinning as he stared out the back of the plane. This was probably part of his favorite thing about being a Ranger – the jumps. Sure, there was excitement when it came to missions, all the glamour that came with wearing your uniform into a building and the ladies. Oh man, the women loved the patch, the camo, and the body that went with it. He always had a girl on his arm, always had a date, and never once looked at any of them twice, because there was no reason to.

Life was good, but being a Ranger and single made it that much better. Forget the Olympics, billionaires, or being a doctor – if you lined any of them up with a healthy, Army-strong, sexy single man with enough swagger to fill a stadium, he and his buddies would be selected anytime, anyplace, hands down – and women knew it.

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