Rough Stock, the Novel Read online

  Had that been his dick? Long and thick, snaking down his leg like an anaconda?

  I shook my head gently and convinced myself I’d been imagining it. “I will ask you some questions and you answer the best you can,” I told him and looked at the other three brothers who seemed to be waiting their turns. “You all can join in, or if you prefer, we can do this one at a time.”

  “I don’t mind sharing, darlin’,” Harley told me with a crooked grin that made my stomach flip flop. I was being ridiculous around these big, sturdy examples of country men.

  “I don’t mind at all,” I replied tersely and pulled out my notebook. The other guys sat down around the small table and I felt a couple pairs of knees brushing up against mine underneath. I fought the instant need to pull back as if I’d been burned.

  I was a professional, god dammit, and I was going to act like one, in spite of the smell of these pieces of man meat sitting so close to me that I was almost drowning in masculine musk and hormonal surges.

  I forced myself to focus on my notepad, introduced myself to each one of them, and began to ask questions.

  It was one of the most entertaining interviews I’d ever had. The friends were playful with each other, mocking and ribbing whoever was talking, but ultimately I could tell they cared for and respected one another.

  When we had covered everything I thought my readers would want to know, I asked one last question.

  “So why aren’t any of you married?”

  Each one of them went through a similar reaction, blushing, stuttering and coming up with all kinds of lame excuses.

  “I just never met the right girl,” Charlie told me and pushed his cowboy hat back off his forehead and looked me up and down suggestively. It was my turn to blush.

  “How about you?” I asked, focusing on Ty, the youngest and quietest of the bunch.

  “I reckon I just never thought about it,” he said softly with a slight blush on his cheeks. He was hot and adorable, what a combination. “I’ve been too busy competing and running the ranch.”

  “And you?” I asked Clive, seemingly Charlie’s second in command and brash like his friend.

  “I reckon I never met a girl who could make me settle down.” He winked and raised an eyebrow.

  I blushed again, turned to Harley and asked him the same thing.

  “I’ve been too busy too. We inherited the ranch and decided to devote our time to keeping it running, I guess,” he told me.

  I’d read about that, the Huntington Four had been left a thousand acre cattle ranch by Charlie’s grandfather. He’d wanted to keep the tradition going in his family, but Charlie wasn’t able to run that much land on his own. Each man had their own cabin on the property, but mostly stayed together in the massive main house.

  “It’s too bad there isn’t enough time for me to see the ranch,” I said and flipped my notebook shut. “It sure has been nice talking to you, but I should head back to the city before it’s too messy out there.”

  As if listening to my plans, the sky opened up and thunder exploded above us. The rain hammered the tin roof so hard it almost roared.

  “You sure you want to drive back in this?” Charlie asked, his eyes locking onto mine as if promising me a memorable night if I stayed.

  And man, I wanted to stay. I couldn’t tell which of the young cowboys I was most attracted to, but I wouldn’t mind having some fun figuring it out.

  But I hated country life and being this far out of the city was freaking me out a little.

  I declined and let them all walk me to the entrance. I told them to stay put — don’t get wet on my account — pulled my jacket over my head and made a mad dash for my car.

  It was really too bad I didn’t have more time to get to know them, though.

  Chapter 4

  I made it to my car just as another bolt of lightning lit up the dusky evening sky and made me jump in fear.

  I ducked in the driver’s seat and covered my ears against the inevitable thunderclap. When it happened, I shrieked and opened my eyes wide in fear.

  It passed and I made myself take some deep, calming breaths.

  I didn’t know where my fear of storms had come from, but it was deep and almost pathological. I had a vague recollection of watching The Wizard of Oz with my older brother when I was really young and being terrified of the tornado. That might have something to do with it, but whatever it was, it was embarrassing to be so frightened as a grown woman.

  I put my key in the ignition and looked around, the parking lot was almost empty and it was a sea of mud and puddles. “Shit,” I said under my breath and started my car.

  The engine purred to life and I patted the dashboard. “Good little car, you’ll get me home safe.”

  But my car was more known for being sporty and low to the ground to handle fast corners.

  Dry, paved corners.

  I shifted into drive and hit the gas. The car lurched ahead and stopped.

  I pushed harder on the gas but nothing happened. I could feel the wheels spinning madly underneath me.

  “Fuck,” I cursed. “Dammit!”

  I hit reverse and tried that way, the car lurched far enough for me to think I was free, but it stopped shortly after.

  I cranked the wheel, put it in drive again and slammed my foot on the gas. The car lurched forward at an awkward angle and I heard a crunch as it bashed into something, making me fall forward with the impact.

  I hit my forehead on the steering wheel and the horn started to blast. I realized my fist was on it, pulled it off and it stopped.

  But it was too late, I had run into something, the rain was still coming down in sheets, and I was stuck. I didn’t know what in the world I was going to do. I tried to breathe but it felt like there was a ton of bricks sitting on my chest, I couldn’t fill my lungs with air and I was drowning in my fear.

  Something hit the driver’s side window with a bang and I jumped and squeezed my eyes shut, terror flooding my body. I hated being so gripped with anxiety over a stupid storm, but I just couldn’t help it.

  “Morgan, are you all right?” Charlie asked through my window. I opened my eyes and saw his concerned face. Rain pelted my window, but his kind eyes were all I saw. Water dripped off the brim of his hat as he smiled at me. He had been tapping on it, trying to get my attention while I’d been deep in the throes of full-on panic.

  “I…I don’t know,” I stammered and unlocked the door. He opened it and helped me stand on my shaky legs.

  “Well, damn, it looks like you hit the concrete barricade,” Charlie told me. “You’ve got yourself a flat tire, darlin’, you aren’t going anywhere tonight.”

  “I can call a tow truck,” I replied, shivering as my teeth chattered. The sun had slipped below the horizon, taking any warmth it had with it. The clouds scattered across the sky, low and dark.

  “Won’t get many guys coming out here,” Charlie said and slipped out of his long coat. He draped it over my shoulders and helped put his hat on my head. “You’re freezing and terrified. I tell you what, let’s leave your car here and we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do once you’ve warmed up and calmed down.”

  “Sounds okay,” I replied, defeated by the storm and my own fear.

  Charlie reached into my car and grabbed my purse. He took the keys from the ignition, closed the door and locked it up.

  It was then that I realized he was now soaking wet, his cowboy shirt was dripping wet and his thick dark hair was plastered to his head.

  “Come one, darlin’, there’s a place inside where we can get you a coffee and warm you up,” he told me. I let him take my hand and lead me back into the arena, and even in the midst of my fear, the darkness and the rain, I couldn’t help but notice that Charlie’s white shirt was now see through.

  And cowboy had muscles for days with dark outlines of tattoos encircling his arms and spreading to his back.

  Damn, he was getting finer by the minute.

  And come on, I
was scared, not dead; I could still check a hot guy out even in this mess.

  “You’re coming home with us,” Clive said after they’d gotten me coffee, a blanket, and piled four big jackets on top of me. I practically disappeared underneath all their clothing and generosity.

  “Everywhere is booked up,” Harley said. “We’ve been calling all around town. It’s the damned rodeo, we’ve got people from all over the continent here this weekend.”

  “Can’t we change the tire?” I asked and sipped the thick, black liquid and let it flow into my stomach and warm me from the inside. I was feeling a little more centered, the storm was calming down a little outside, and being surrounded by four concerned men was definitely helping out.

  “Not out in that,” Harley said, “I mean we might be able to, but all you’ve got is one of those little donut spare tires. That ain’t gonna get you back to town, ma’am.”

  I laughed. “Did you just call me ma’am?”

  Harley blushed, “I reckon I did.”

  “All of you call me Morgan, please. Ma’am is my mother, Mrs. Reid is my mother. I’m Morgan.”

  “All right,” Ty replied bashfully. “Morgan. It’s a lovely name for a lovely lady.”

  I smiled at the corny line, but secretly thrilled to have such a good-looking young cowboy saying it.

  “So we can agree you’re stuck here, Morgan,” Charlie said. “And we can all agree there’s nowhere for you to stay, so let’s agree that you’re coming home with us. We’ve got more than enough room and I can promise you’ll be quite safe.”

  I sighed heavily and looked at my phone. It was getting low on battery and I felt the same way: drained. “Let me text my friend your address just in case y’all turn out to be cowboy axe murders and I’ll spend the night.”

  “We couldn’t harm a fiery girl like you,” Clive replied with a grin. “Don’t gingers eat souls for breakfast?”

  “Ha, yes, remember that. Cross me and I’ll eat your soul sprinkled over my oatmeal with a nice cup of coffee,” I giggled. The rain and my fear was passing now and the evening was calming down. It could be worse; I could be stuck all alone, at least this way I got to see a little more about their lives and the ranch.

  And them. I mustn’t gloss over the real bonus here: spending time with the four hotties I’d been sent to interview.

  That was definitely the cherry on top.

  Chapter 5

  I sat in the front seat of Charlie’s pickup truck and watched as each man got in their own vehicles and followed us.

  “So much for the environment or car pooling out here in the country, hey?” I smirked.

  “We aren’t that ate up over things like that,” Charlie said. “I mean most of the week we don’t commute to our job, so there’s no need for bike to work events or anything like that out here.”

  “Good point, you live at your job. But what about the cows? Aren’t they bad for the environment?”

  “No, not unless you read bad press from the poultry industry,” he chuckled. “Agriculture is responsible for less than five percent of our nation’s carbon emissions.”

  “Wow, you know your stuff,” I replied, impressed. “Where did you find this out?”

  “I read,” he said, looking at me funny. “And from my Masters Degree in Biology.”

  “What? You went to college?” I exclaimed and immediately regretted it. I seemed like such a judgmental jerk assuming he wasn’t formally educated.

  “Yeah, does that surprise you?” he laughed. “A dumb hick like me with a Masters degree?”

  “Well, maybe,” I replied, my embarrassment creeping up my cheeks in red heat. “I’m sorry. I guess us city dwellers have our prejudices against people who live in the country. I just assume you’re banjo picking, gun toting rednecks.”

  “Well hell, I do love my banjo and my guns and my neck does get a little red after haying season,” he chuckled.

  I looked at him sharply.

  “You know, sitting on the tractor all day? Sunburn? That’s where the term comes from,” he explained.

  “Oh my god, I never put two and two together before,” I laughed. “I’m sure you have ideas about me too.”

  “I know you probably have sore feet from your brand new fake cowgirl boots, you probably like drinking things like frappes and lattes and you probably have a few cats.”

  “Well you’re right about one thing and wrong about two things,” I joked.

  “What’s the one thing I got right?” he smiled at me as he pulled off the main road onto a narrow, long driveway.

  “My feet are killing me!”

  “No cats? No frapps?”

  “Nope, not me. No pets and I drink coffee, black and strong.”

  “Just like I made it,” he grinned.

  “Yup, you hit it dead on.”

  We drove slowly up the driveway. It wound gently through lush, green fields dotted with cows on either side. I couldn’t see too far in the darkness, but I could tell they were expansive; I had the sense that we were in the middle of a wide valley bottom.

  I noticed drives branching off here and there and wondered if the guys would be going to their individual cabins tonight or if we would all be staying at the main house.

  I hadn’t known what to expect, but what I saw when we pulled up to the main house was like nothing I could have imagined.

  It was a massive farmhouse, but more the size of a mansion. It sprawled along the landscape, surrounded by lush weeping willows and well manicured lawns and flower gardens.

  “We have a gardener,” Charlie told me as if reading my mind. “Ranching doesn’t involve keeping my mother’s azalea bushes alive years after she died.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “It’s okay, she passed years ago. My dad died a couple years after her. They were older when they had me but my grandfather hung in there, he managed to outlive them both. He passed two years ago at the ripe old age of ninety seven and left the four of us the ranch. But why am I telling you, you already knew that, darlin’.”

  I loved how he called me darlin’, I didn’t know why but it made me feel delicate somehow.

  I nodded at his story and let him get out of the truck and come to my side to help me down. Three other trucks pulled in behind us, answering my earlier question.

  “Now have you had dinner?” Charlie asked as the other guys jumped out and walked up the stairs to the gorgeous house.

  “I haven’t,” I replied and my stomach growled loudly in agreement.

  “Let us grill you up some steaks,” Clive said. “You’re our guest, we’ll take care of you.”

  “Real good, darlin’,” Ty added and opened the front door for me, letting me enter before the four of them.

  “I hope you like being spoiled,” Harley chuckled, “that’s kinda what we’re known for.”

  “I’m sure I could survive that.” I smiled and finally sat down to pull my boots off. My feet practically yelled thank you when I did.

  The interior of the house was like something out of a home design magazine for country living. I tried not to bobblehead and stare at everything as we walked through to the huge chef’s kitchen. I thought about my little apartment in the city and wondered if I was missing out on something by being cramped into a concrete box with hundreds of other people.

  The four guys were busy all at once, preparing dinner, pouring me wine, opening themselves beers, and gently poking fun at each other until my face hurt from laughing.

  I couldn’t remember when I’d had this much fun, and there was a part of me that was thankful for the rainstorm.

  I was tipsy by the time dinner was served around a large, rustic dark wooden table. Charlie held my chair for me at the head of the table, the four men sat next to me and across from each other.

  We joked all through dinner, which was amazing by the way, and I couldn’t stop laughing. They made me feel so relaxed and so special, like I was the most beautiful woman they’d ever seen…even if
I knew that wasn’t true, it sure felt like it.

  As they were cleaning up the table, I stretched my arms and sighed contentedly. Charlie stood behind me and started to rub my shoulders gently but with a firm pressure.

  “Oh that feels nice,” I moaned and closed my eyes. The wine or the fact that I felt so beautiful letting me relax more than normal. I couldn’t imagine letting him rub me like this if I were in my usual focused professional mode.

  “It does,” he said in a low tone. “It feels real nice.”

  I kept my eyes closed and let my head fall forward as his hands traveled up my neck to massage my head through my thick mane of red hair.

  It felt as though his hands were everywhere all at once and my body melted against the hot touch.

  My eyes snapped open when I realized they were everywhere all at once. Charlie wasn’t alone massaging me; Clive was there too, rubbing my back as Charlie ran his fingers through my hair.

  “Oh,” I said, stiffening up. Ty and Harley were standing close as well, watching me as if gauging my reaction.

  “I can stop, darlin’,” Clive said, skimming his hands across my shoulder blades. “We can both stop, any time you want. Just say the word.”

  I thought about it for a moment, but my body relaxed and my mind sank back down into the pleasure they had been giving me.

  And I said the words, the words that let them know where I was at.

  “Go on,” I sighed and leaned back against both of them. “Please, don’t stop.”

  Chapter 6

  I gulped down the rest of my glass of wine, noting the bottle seemed a hell of a lot lighter now that I’d drained the whole thing, and relaxed back into the chair and Charlie and Clive’s waiting touch.

  “This feel all right, darlin’?” Clive’s voice came hot and deep in my ear. I dropped my head to the side, exposing my neck and shivering from the sensation of his touch.