The Rancher's Best Gift by Stella Bagwell

Author:Stella Bagwell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-09-11T15:23:35+00:00

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Camille and Matthew had dinner at a modest little Mexican café located on the edge of town, not far from the Trail’s End nightclub where Pate and the guys had gone to kick up their heels.

The food was delicious, but Matthew could’ve been eating bread and carrot sticks and washing it down with water and he wouldn’t have known the difference. He wasn’t sure what exactly Camille had done to herself tonight, but she looked like a piece of treasure all wrapped in a gold-and-brown-patterned dress that clung to her curves and pulled out the fiery glints in her hair. Her hair was different, too. The long strands were looped and pinned to the top of head, while a few of them had been left loose to trail down the middle of her back. Large gold hoops swung in her ears, and red lipstick made her whole face glow.

Hell, he wasn’t supposed to be with a woman like this, he thought. She was so far out of his league, it was laughable. But he wasn’t laughing. His heart wasn’t in the mood for it.

“They make great tres leches cake here,” Camille told him. “If you’re hankering for dessert.”

“I’m full to the brim,” he told her. “But you get a piece if you like.”

She shook her head. “Actually, there’s something else I’d like to do. If you’re agreeable, that is.”

He pushed his plate away. “What is it?”

She cast him an eager smile. “On the way back to Red Bluff, I thought we might swing by Dragoon. I’d love to show you the diner. It’s closed, obviously, but I have a key.”

He could see just how much it meant to her, and the fact that she wanted to share this part of her life with him made him feel just a bit special.

“I’d like that.”

He motioned to the waiter and after he’d taken care of the bill, they left the café. As Matthew drove his truck east toward Dragoon, Camille put the subject of the diner aside and instead questioned him about his day.

Then she said, “You’re probably going to laugh at this, but I’ve been thinking about getting one of the paints out and riding next Sunday after church. That’s about the only day I have for it.”

Surprised, he glanced at her. “How long has it been since you’ve ridden?”

“Oh, not that long ago. When Hannah and Nick come down, I usually try to ride once or twice with them. Of course, you have to be ready for a marathon ride with those two. They never want to get out of the saddle.”

Vivian’s daughter, Hannah, and Blake’s son, Nick, weren’t just cousins, they were the best of friends and both shared a love of horses. Occasionally Vivian would bring the two kids down so they could ride over the more gentle areas of Red Bluff.

“I can’t recall the last time I saw you on a horse,” he said.

She laughed. “It’s not always a pretty sight, but most of the time I don’t hit the dirt.

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