Page 21 of Wyoming Bodyguard
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?”
