Falling for the Hometown Girl, Page 4

  Anger gnawed in Hunter’s belly at the callous words. It only increased when he saw Katie’s eyes blazing with irritation.

  “I don’t even want to imagine where your hands have been, Lance.” Hunter shot him a hard look. “So don’t be a jerk.”

  Lance’s laughter died a bit and he scowled, but clearly didn’t let it detract his appetite.

  Holding back a sigh, Hunter again looked to give Katie an apologetic look, but she was dishing up her food. Lips pressed tightly together.

  Some point this week, he was going to have to tell her the whole story. He’d should’ve told her everything last night on the porch swing, but he’d enjoyed the moment more than he should’ve, and hadn’t wanted to go into darker discussions.

  They hadn’t done anything besides have talk. But, going by the way she’d looked at him in the kitchen a few minutes ago, there was a pretty strong chance he could’ve tried for more. There was something so understated and beautiful about her.

  As she poured herself a cup of coffee, he allowed his gaze to trace over her. She wore jeans again, and a thin blue tank top with a plaid shirt unbuttoned over it. Her hair was in that functional braid that fell over her shoulder and stopped short above her breasts.

  He could think of literally no reason not to sleep with Katie Marshall if she expressed interest. Hell, it would make this week a little more exciting and tolerable.

  There was just one thing that made him hesitate. It would be nothing more than a week-long fling. Maybe he was a hometown boy, but he wasn’t here to stay. Wasn’t here to fall in love or anything crazy. And something told him Katie wasn’t the type to go looking for a fling.

  “So what’s the plan for after breakfast?” Lance asked between bites.

  “Horseback riding.” Katie glanced up at him. “If you men are going to help drive cattle in a couple of days, I’ll need to make sure you know how to ride.”

  “I’ve never actually ridden a horse.” Dan paused and then his eyes lit up. “Unless I can count pony rides at the fair. Did that a few times.”

  “It’s a start.” Katie gave him the same gentle smile that one would give a toddler.

  Hunter laughed and raised his coffee in a silent salute. “I suspect Katie here will have you riding like a pro before the week is out.”

  “And what if we’re interested in private lessons?” Lance asked, lifting a fork stabbed pancake toward his mouth.

  “I’m sorry, but we don’t offer them.” Katie’s smile faded, and her reply was cool and curt. A clear indication she wasn’t about to take that bait.

  Hunter delivered a swift kick to Lance’s shin and was rewarded with a small curse. He avoided meeting the man’s glare, and instead glanced down the table.

  Wyatt Marshall looked like he was just barely biting his tongue, and the ranch hands were doing their best to look preoccupied with their breakfast.

  “Anyway, eat up, everyone.” Katie’s words seemed more forced-cheerful now. “You’ll want to have a full belly before we head out in an hour.”

  It was when they were done with breakfast and heading outside, that Wyatt intercepted Hunter in the hallway.

  “Hold up a second, Hunter.”

  Hunter slowed, allowing Dan and Lance to head outside without him.

  “Wyatt.” He gave a weary nod. Suspecting where this was going before the other man said a word.

  “Your friend. Lance.”

  He sighed. “Yeah. I know.”

  “Do you?” Wyatt shifted, folding his arms across his chest.

  “He can get a little offensive,” Hunter said mildly.

  “A little? I’d hate to see a lot.”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  “I’d appreciate that. We let a lot slide with guests, seeing as their paying us and all. But you’re one of us—a Marietta man—I can say this shit to you.”

  Why that one of us jarred him, Hunter couldn’t say, but the comment resonated in him long after he’d left the house.

  Katie twisted in her saddle to glance over her shoulder at the two men riding several yards behind her.

  Lance and Dan had picked up riding just fine, and were mercifully quiet out on the trail. So much so she had to wonder if someone had something to Lance.

  She turned to face forward and caught Hunter’s glance on the way. He rode beside her, sitting on the horse as if he’d been born in a saddle. She had a little trouble believing he hadn’t ridden much. He was a natural.

  Inhaling the summer air, she was grateful for a morning that hadn’t been fogged in. Most of June had brought cooler foggy mornings, that eventually burned off into hot afternoons. But today had been different. They were fortunate to have a clear, warm morning.

  One that she was determined to enjoy, no matter how lame one of her guests was. She allowed herself to relax and enjoy the sunshine and the scent of dirt and trees.

  It never got old. And their end destination, at the river, was one of her favorite spots.

  “I need to apologize. Again.”

  His voice was quiet enough, it wouldn’t carry back to the other men.

  “Why would you need to apologize?” She snuck another glance at him from under her lashes.

  “Lance.”

  She harrumphed and kept her voice just as quiet. “You don’t need to apologize for your friend. He’s a grown man who can apologize for himself.” After a pause, she added, “Though he doesn’t strike me as the apology type.”

  “It’s a rare occasion,” Hunter agreed.

  The urge to ask how he could even be friends with such a guy hovered on her tongue. She wouldn’t ask it though. It was rude and, not to mention, none of her business. Things were different in Seattle. Hunter was nice enough here, but maybe he was just pulling out his manners back in his hometown.

  “It’s beautiful out here.”

  His remark, full of amazement and marvel, sent surprise through her.

  “All of Montana is. Though I’m particularly fond of Marietta.”

  “Yeah, but you get out here”—he gestured to the trees that surrounded them—“fully immersed in nature and it’s different than living on the wrong side of the railroad tracks. Your view is different than mine was.”

  Her heart clenched. There was so much she was learning about him. Hunter had lived in the bad side of town? She hadn’t wanted to profile him and put the rebellious loner kid in the poor side of town, because that was such a cliché. But in Hunter’s case, apparently true.

  “You definitely get the full immersion with nature if you step outside of town,” she agreed. “But, hey, it takes me longer to make a run to the grocery store.”

  “Well, I guess that’s a tradeoff. A candy bar run was never more than a couple minutes for me.”

  She glanced over just in time to catch his slow smile. Her stomach flipped and her breath caught.

  That smile. Wow. The white teeth and crinkling around his eyes. He was entirely too attractive for her liking. Swallowing against the butterflies in her belly, she forced her attention to the trail again.

  “What was your favorite?”

  “Peanut butter cups.”

  He’d clearly understand the random question.

  “Hmm. I took you more for a Butterfinger kind of guy.”

  “Nah. Those were the ones you traded after trick or treating.”

  Her brows drew together as she tried to remember if he’d had any siblings.

  “Don’t suppose you guys did much of that up here, though, with it being ranch territory. Houses are more spread out.”

  “We’d go into town on Halloween. Really, it was just Cal and I after a while. Wyatt stopped going once I hit seven. Guess he thought he was too old and cool for that kind of thing.”

  Her words had been teasing, but when Hunter didn’t reply, she figured he must’ve lost interest in the discussion. When she looked over, his smile was gone. His jaw had clenched and his brows drawn together.

  Something had irritated him. Maybe
their conversation—which would be weird because he’d somewhat started it. Maybe he’d started thinking about something else. Work. Home.

  Katie tried to shrug it off mentally and not take it personally, but as silence filled the rest of the ride, it was hard to deny the tension that had taken over the lighthearted banter.

  When they arrived at the river, she dismounted easily from her horse and walked to the water’s edge. With her hands on her hips, she glanced at the sparkling river, maybe eight feet wide, that wove through the trees on their land. If she looked north, where there the river curved and there was a gap in the trees, she could see the mountains and the snow that was slowly melting on it.

  Hearing the men talking, she glanced over to see Lance and Dan taking selfies with the mountain in the background. Hunter, however had no cell phone in sight as he knelt at the river’s edge and trailed his hand in the water.

  Tilting her head, she narrowed her eyes and watched him. The selfie and cell phone pictures were a pretty typical reaction from the guests who rode to the river. Hunter apparently couldn’t care less about visually documenting the ride.

  There was a peace and calm on his face now. The muscles in his body seemed laxer. He seemed to be in his element. As if this were something he did often and enjoyed.

  “Would you like me to take a group photo?” she offered Lance.

  It was a pretty customary question, because generally the answer was a resounding yes. And this time was no different, though Hunter looked a little stiff and uncomfortable as she took several shots with Lance’s fancy phone.

  “Those should work. Feel free to explore for fifteen minutes or so, and then we’ll head back.”

  Dan and Lance moved down the river to seek out more excitement, while Hunter stayed behind.

  “I didn’t figure you for the outdoors type.” She moved to stand beside Hunter, who was staring off at the mountain.

  “Why, because I’m a computer geek?”

  “Maybe,” she admitted.

  In her short time in Seattle, she’d discovered there was an abundance of hiking and nature type activities if one wanted to go outside the city and find them.

  “It’s the biggest thing I miss about Montana.” He gestured around them. “This.”

  The biggest thing? Startled by that statement, she gave him a sharp look. But he had family here. Did that mean he never saw them? Didn’t he even want to? It made sense now that he hadn’t been in any hurry to visit them.

  “When I’m not burying my head in work, I’m out in this. Or the equivalent of this in Washington.”

  “So you hike?”

  “Hike. Camp. Sit on the beach of Puget Sound and veg out. I need this. To be outside and close to nature. It refuels me. Especially now that I’m living in Seattle.”

  “Understandable. I’m the same way.”

  During the ride back to the ranch, Katie pondered his words. Hunter might have moved to Seattle to escape a small town but, whether he liked it or not, there was still part of a Montana clinging inside him.

  Hunter paced the cabin, trying one more time to make a call to Seattle.

  Reyansh, one of his best programmers at Vendetta Interactive answered, uttered a garbled greeting, before the call dropped again.

  “Damn.” Hunter tossed the phone on his bed and stroked his beard.

  There was no way he could make it a week without talking to someone at the company. He was going to lose his mind.

  While Lance and Dan, worn out from the early rise and horseback riding, had headed to their cabins after lunch to nap, sleeping during the day was impossible for Hunter. Once he was awake, he was awake. Naps were for toddlers.

  No, right now he just wanted ten minutes on the phone with Reyansh to get the stats on their latest game release. He could probably drive down into town and get reception, but wasn’t completely sold on that idea.

  After hesitating for just a few seconds, he grabbed his phone and left the cabin. Instead of heading to his SUV, he made his way to the main house. The wood steps creaked under his feet as he bounded up them.

  Uncertain on whether to knock on the front door, he paused, before opening it. Katie had told them the main house was open to them all anytime they wanted.

  The main house was like an overgrown log cabin. High ceilings, lots of leather furniture and a big fireplace in the living room.

  It was quiet in here. Just the steady hum of the dishwasher in the kitchen.

  He moved throughout the lower floor of the house, looking for Wyatt, Claire, or Katie. Anyone who could help him. After making the rounds on the entire lower level, he sighed and glanced at the staircase that went to the second floor.

  No way. He had his limits at going upstairs to the bedrooms. No one was probably up there anyway. It seemed everyone was out working on the ranch.

  He grabbed his phone again and went to the Wi-Fi settings. Marshall Ranch popped up as a network again. It was locked. Right now he’d consider giving one of his kidneys for the password.

  Guess he was just going to have to crack it. How hard could it be?

  A creak on the stairs had him jerking his head up.

  Katie paused halfway down the stairs, her gaze on him. So maybe everyone wasn’t outside.

  “Something I can help you with, Hunter?”

  Taken off guard, he cleared his throat.

  “I didn’t realize you were in here.”

  “I was upstairs grabbing something.”

  As she descended the stairs he couldn’t help but let his gaze slide over her. The plaid shirt from earlier was gone, leaving her in the thin blue tank top that showed her toned arms, that had a hint of tan.

  An image flitted through his head. Katie down by the big river in town wearing shorts and a tank top, smiling and laughing as she tossed her thick braid over her shoulder.

  It was a memory he hadn’t even realized he’d retained. But there it was, fresh and crisp, even if it was almost a decade old.

  It was the summer before his senior year when he’d seen her out with a group of friends in town. He’d just been passing by after running to grab a pack of cigarettes for his dad.

  Katie had been so carefree. So damn pretty. And clearly in love with life. He’d found himself pausing on his bike to watch for a moment. To marvel how different that kind of existence must be. How innocent she seemed.

  Then someone in her group of friends had spotted him and had started heckling. She’d started to rise and approach him, but Hunter had quickly started peddling again. Though not before their gazes had locked and something unspoken had passed between them.

  “So what was it you needed?” She arrived at the bottom of the stairs, standing just a foot away from him now.

  Her mouth was curved into that same pretty smile as she waited for him to answer.

  The blood in his veins pounded faster and his tongue grew thick in his mouth. He could barely remember why he’d come over here.

  What the hell was wrong with him? Being attracted to a woman wasn’t new. But this reaction? Definitely was.

  “I was hoping for your Wi-Fi password.” The gruff admission finally escaped stiffly.

  Her smile widened. “But you know this week is touted as being off the grid.”

  Heat stole up the back of his neck and he gave a slight nod. “Yeah, I know. I just have to check on—”

  “Some business type stuff?” She arched a brow.

  He paused. “Exactly.”

  “So you need to use your cell phone to make a call?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Come with me.” She moved past him, her stride confident as she led him into the kitchen.

  Hunter moved after her, unable to stop himself from sliding a gaze over her form. The curve of her bottom in those jeans was going to drive him crazy.

  “Here you go.” She held something out to him. Black and rectangular.

  He stared at it, his brows snapping together into a frown.

  “You know what thi
s is, right?” she asked gently.

  “It’s a land line.”

  “A telephone. Some people still have them, you realize.” Her words were light with amusement now.

  His parents still owned a land line, but he didn’t know many others who used one.

  “Go on. Make your call.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know the number.”

  “I’ll bet it’s safe to say it’s right there on your cell phone. All you need to do is look it up on that one, and dial on this one.” She pushed the cordless phone into his hand. “I’ll even give you some privacy.”

  She grabbed a glass of water that had been sitting on the counter and disappeared into the other room.

  Hunter stared at the phone in his hand for a moment, then went to sit down at the small kitchen table near the window. He looked up Reyansh’s number on his cell, and then punched it into cordless. It started ringing before he realized he didn’t have to hit send.

  “How did you get this number,” Reyansh’s demanded a moment later.

  “It’s Hunter.”

  “Ah, I didn’t recognize your number and almost didn’t answer.”

  “I’m on a landline.”

  “Wow. I don’t even know what to say to that. Except you must be in the middle of nowhere.”

  “Pretty much. Now do me a favor and fill me in on the stats for Striking Distance.”

  Katie had just hit send on an email when the sound of footsteps had her glancing up.

  Hunter had his hands shoved in his jeans pockets and a sheepish look on his face.

  “Everything okay?” She tried not to tease, but it was hard to keep the amusement out of her voice.

  “Yeah. We’re good. And I feel better now that I checked in.”

  “You don’t get away much, huh? From your company?”

  He frowned, clearly thinking about it. “I’ve had some sick days in the past couple of years.”

  “I mean like vacations.”

  “Ah.” He furled his body onto the leather couch. “Haven’t actually taken one of those. Unless we’re closed for a holiday or something. Even then, we have someone in customer service working.”

  The words he spoke sounded a bit distant, as again she found herself distracted and checking him out. Her heart quickened and she drew a slow breath in.