Her Billionaire Protector (Texas Ranch Romance Book 2) Page 5

  Colton followed her and got two Cokes out of the cooler, handing her one. “No, I just wondered how you grew up.”

  “Thanks for the soda.” Elsie took a bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. “Well, let’s see. I grew up with three older brothers, who all served their time in the military. I was junior ROTC in high school and Navy ROTC in college. My scores were so high they had me try for the SEAL training. I made it through and served six years.”

  “So that’s it?” Colton obviously wanted to know more.

  “My grandmother taught me how to bake bread if that is what you’re asking.” Elsie laughed. “Seriously, is that all men think about, their stomachs?”

  Colton blushed as if he was thoroughly enjoying this conversation. “That and a few other things.” He waggled his eyebrows.

  “Whatever!” Elsie laughed, but she was thinking the same thing. “Why don’t we take out a couple horses and ride around the lake? Henry is downstairs, monitoring the equipment. It would be great to just enjoy the ranch for a change.”

  Carson got the horses out for them. Elsie picked a lively filly.

  “Are you sure you want to take this filly?” Colton asked her. “After watching you dump the tractor, I’m not too impressed with your ranching skills.” He reached up to stroke the horse’s mane. “Tractor driving is Ranching 101 at Texas A&M. Riding a horse like this one is graduate work.”

  “Colton, I wasn’t raised on a ranch, but I do know how to ride a horse. I was on the equestrian team in college.” Elsie jumped on her horse and took off toward the bridge, laughing.

  Elsie looked back and saw Colton coming up behind her. She gave her horse its head, and with a little kick, they went flying over the bridge and galloping around the lake. Elsie was laughing so hard she could barely stay on. By the time Colton caught her, she was just about hysterical. She jumped off and tried to catch her breath. It felt good to laugh; she’d been more stressed out than she’d realized. She already felt lighter on her feet.

  “Would you like to share the joke with me?” Colton held her horse’s reins. He almost looked concerned.

  She bit her lip to keep from bursting into laughter again. “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s been so stressful this week that I just needed to vent all that anxiety. Laughing is a great way to do that.” She nudged him, playfully. “It’s about you really. After dumping the tractor in the lake, I pretty much proved I am not rancher-wife material.” And I’m falling in love. I can’t do this. I am only setting myself up to be hurt.

  “And how do you know what makes someone a rancher?” Colton challenged, smiling. “You obviously haven’t had much experience before this week, so you wouldn’t know.”

  “So tell me about your ranch then.” Elsie wanted to hear what he had to say. She wanted to learn more about him, and maybe gain some insight into his goals.

  Colton tied the horses to the tree and leaned back. “My ranch is prairie mostly, but it’s up close to the foothills. Part of my land goes up to a peak that I climb. There’s a little valley sitting at the base of that mountain that you can only get to if you are willing to climb up. It’s my favorite spot, and I would build up there if it wasn’t so difficult getting up and down. It’s where I like to go to just sit and look out over all the land and plan what I’m going to do.”

  “That sounds wonderful.” Elsie had to admit, his ranch sounded amazing, but not as beautiful as her grandfather’s cabin. “I can see you love it there. It must be hard being away from it so long.”

  He stretched his arms and sighed. “Yes, but in six weeks I’ll be back there for good.”

  “What are some of your plans?” Elsie asked.

  Colton smiled. “I’m going to dam up the creek so that the lake in that valley stays full of water all year long. Then I can stock it with fish.”

  “It sounds heavenly. You’re really lucky.”

  A part of her regretted the conversation because now she wanted to be a part of all that he described.

  Chapter 12

  They found a bench in a nice secluded area behind the trees that surrounded the lake. “So that was what had you laughing like a mad woman?” Colton always pushed women away; he had lots of excuses for not getting serious. His family wealth and his good looks made him a very eligible bachelor, but they also made it hard for him to know if women were really into him.

  But Elsie was totally different. She had her own plans, and she had obviously marked him off her list of potential husbands. What’s worse, writing him off hadn’t seemed to bother her a bit. He felt a strange tug in his chest, and he had to admit his pride was hurt. But he admired her, and he was impressed with her goals, that she wanted a family. The thought of her married to someone else made him burn with jealousy around his neck and ears.

  He knew it was ridiculous. What did he expect? She wasn’t the type to just wait around hoping he would change his mind about marriage. She was much too beautiful and talented for that. Some enterprising man would do everything he could to convince her to marry him. She would not be single for long. Soon she’d be well on her way to raising that family she was planning on. It was irritating.

  “You seem cheery.” Elsie poked him in the ribs. “Perk up, this is the vacation portion of our week. I know the last couple days haven’t exactly been relaxing, but if we focus, we can still make some fun memories.”

  “Like what?” Colton turned toward her, and Elsie leaned in and eagerly kissed him.

  Colton smiled under her mouth, happily surprised at her spontaneity, but immediately he again felt himself being drawn into something that he would never get away from. And he was content to stay right where he was. He stopped and kissed her neck. “That was very forward of you, Miss Warner.”

  Elsie laughed and pulled away. “I know.” She winked. “I couldn’t help it. If I get too close, I am drawn right into your web. It’s beyond me to resist.”

  “Well then, I guess I’ll have to be the adult.” Colton pulled Elsie back into his arms and kissed her on the forehead.

  Elsie looked disappointed and sighed. “I suppose. I am just gathering memories.”

  “Memories of what—kissing?” Colton stood and pulled Elsie up with him.

  “No, memories of you,” she replied, her voice soft. She pulled away, not meeting his eyes, and ran toward her horse. “Last one to the barn cleans it out!”

  Colton ran and jumped into the saddle from behind. He pushed his horse to a gallop around the lake and slowly gained on Elsie. Some other guests who happened to be walking around the lake moved quickly to the side to let them pass. Elsie slowed down a little as she passed them, allowing Colton to pass her.

  He looked back and saw her turn her horse off the road and head straight across the pasture toward the white board fencing around the stables. Everyone, including Colton, stopped to watch. In one smooth move, her horse jumped the fence and kept galloping right up to the barn.

  Colton was furious she would take such a risk and was trying to control his temper as he rode up to the barn to join her. She had put herself as well as that beautiful filly in danger. “Elsie, what in the world were you thinking? What if that filly decided not to take the jump?”

  Elsie arched an eyebrow. “Colton, I am not an idiot. Mary told me they purchased the filly from a horse-riding academy. This horse could have jumped twice that height.” Elsie turned away, asking Carson for a brush.

  Carson leaned back on the wood fencing with one foot resting on the bottom railing. His cowboy hat was pushed back on his head, and he was chewing a piece of grass he had just pulled from the ground. “Now that was some fine jumping, miss. It has been a long time since this filly has been able to show her stuff. You wouldn’t consider coming by each week to help her brush up on her skills?”

  “Carson, I would love to do that if I lived closer.” She moved the brush down the animal’s back. “You’re lucky to live at such a great resort all year long. How did you come to be working at the ranch?” She lifted one
of the legs to scrape out the horse’s hooves.

  Colton found this interesting. Carson looked like he was an intelligent man, and it did seem strange that he would make this his life’s work.

  “Henry and I have been friends for years. I ran into some bad times, and he hired me on. I have been working here for twenty years now. I like this place. All the guests are here incognito, and I prefer to stay that way myself. No one asks your full name, and no one gets in here who isn’t invited. Folks can come here and get away from whatever they want to leave behind for a while. I guess I just found that after I left it all behind, I didn’t want it back.”

  Colton was having a hard time focusing on their conversation. He was worried. If the Anchorage men had been prepared to kill to get what they wanted, what else was in store? He was nervous the military wasn’t giving Henry or Elsie enough protection. He walked off a ways and called his commander.

  “Sir, everything went well with the extraction of the Anchorage men. Tomorrow night I will bring their guns and gear to the helipad.”

  His commander replied, “I’ll meet you there and give you an update. We should know a great deal more then.”

  Colton walked back to get Elsie. “Hey, I have to do a walk around the perimeter. Would you like to come with me?”

  “Sure,” Elsie’s face brightened, and she turned back to Carson. “I will be back to ride tomorrow if I can.”

  Elsie and Carson headed toward the bridge. “This place is so pretty. I love the woods and the wild river bottom. Did you see all the wild pecan trees back there by the river? The only problem I see with this place is the snakes.” Elsie shivered.

  Colton nodded. “The only good snakes are the ones who eat rats.” He smiled and took her hand. “The back property line follows the river, and it’s dry now. Let’s take that route.”

  They hiked back along the dirt road through the trees until they reached the river. Colton helped Elsie climb down into the river bed. The river had cut a path through the land about twelve feet deep. He reached his hand up to help her down the incline. She struggled to find her footing on all the loose rock. The walls of the river bank towered above her. Roots were hanging down the dry, dusty embankment.

  The actual river bottom was sandy with large logs lying across what had been the path of the river. Swift flood waters had carried these giant trunks along as if they were matchsticks until the waters abated and they sunk to the bottom, waiting for another flood to carry them farther downstream. The birds were singing and squirrels were barking at their encroachment into their woods.

  There was a weird sound mixed in with the typical noise of the forest. It was a croak of some kind, but pinched somehow. Elsie nudged him. “What is that? It sounds like a sick frog.” She followed the sound and screamed. “A snake!”

  Colton came over, and sure enough, there was a snake in the process of eating a frog. “It’s okay, Elsie, he’s busy having his lunch.”

  “You’re not just going to leave that poor frog here are you?” Elsie asked.

  “Yes, that is exactly what I am going to do.” Colton turned to continue walking.

  Elsie stopped and walked carefully over toward the snake. “Well, I am not.” The snake’s mouth was wide-open and full of frog. She carefully put her left hand around the snake’s neck just below his mouth. While firmly holding the snake, she carefully started pulling the frog out of the snake’s mouth with her right hand. It was not easy—the snake had a pretty good suction going. But she eventually got him free. She kept a strong hold on the snake and threw him up over the top of the river bank. The frog somehow looked okay, and she put him in a puddle and encouraged him to be more careful in the future.

  Colton raised his eyebrows in amazement. This was the first time anyone he knew had pulled lunch from a snake’s mouth. This woman was amazing. “That is a very lucky frog. I hope he has learned his lesson. I am impressed. Considering your aversion to snakes, that took courage. You must love frogs.”

  “Well, I definitely like them more than snakes.”

  Elsie washed off her hands in the river, drying them on her jeans. Colton took her hand in his. They passed a wider area of the river bed that had a rope swing hanging just at the river’s edge. “You know, Colton, at my grandfather’s cabin, the only other people who had ever been out in those mountains were loggers. They had built a huge logger’s swing. It was up high on the side of a steep mountain, and if you pulled the swing with you as you hiked up the slope, you could swing way out over the tops of the trees.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s wonderful to grow up with opportunities to be out in nature. You had your ranch, and I had my grandfather’s cabin. We would walk the mountain roads and fill our faces with wild raspberries—the ones the bears hadn’t eaten. The river was wild and rushing in the spring, but in the summer you could wade out to a sandbar island if you kept your footing. One year my cousin lost her footing. I had to run to the end of the sandbar and wade out to grab her as she was being swept by. There’s a waterfall downriver from there, which scares me, thinking about it now. But as a child it didn’t bother me at all.”

  Colton was happy to let Elsie talk. He wanted to know everything he could about her. “Most of the rivers here in Texas are full of the silt they take with them on their journey to the gulf. But I did make a rope swing over this one swimming hole we had as boys. We just always had to check to make sure the gator wasn’t back.”

  “Good grief, Colton, no one should swim where there could be gators.”

  “Elsie, there is a gator refuge just down the highway from here. They don’t just live in Florida. Your mountain cabin had bears and cougars, I’m sure. You have to remember when you live in the country, you are not the only species living there. That goes for gators too.” He nudged her. “And snakes.”

  “Oh, you had to mention snakes! I do love the country—there is something about being in nature that is comforting and secure.”

  Colton could see Elsie at his ranch. He wanted to share his favorite meadow and mountain lake with her. He could see her climbing the peak and loving the beauty. She loved nature and didn’t mind hard work. She was strong and positive and seemed happy to have projects to do. She would be an amazing mother. He could see her hauling kids up there just to share the beauty with them.

  “I know what you mean, but when you take on the job of taming the land, nature doesn’t always seem so secure or serene. Some of the storms we have in Texas are life threatening. Ranching is hard work. I hire ranch hands, but I like to get out on the land and work it myself too.” He thought again of his new job waiting for him in the family business. He hoped it wasn’t going to take him away from his ranch too often.

  He had reservoir plans. Water was like gold in Texas, and he had some money behind the county’s efforts to create a large reservoir ten miles from his land. He tried to make his part of Texas a better place to live.

  He asked Elsie what she was thinking.

  “I was thinking how great my childhood was. I was completely oblivious to the danger my grandfather faced all these years. I appreciate my family more and more for providing those special years and happy memories.”

  They walked hand in hand, comfortable in the silence between them, as they let their thoughts wander. They arrived back to the ranch house in time for supper.

  Mary greeted them with a huge smile on her face. “We have good news!”

  “What is it?” Elsie sat at the dinner table with Colton.

  “We are going to get some rain! Probably a heavy storm, and maybe some flooding here at the ranch.” Mary set some dishes on the table.

  Colton laughed. “Since when is a flood good news? Will the house be fine?”

  Mary smiled and literally bounced around the dining room. “My favorite thing is canoeing back in the river bottom. It’s quite a different experience to be in the woods on the water. The ranch house will be fine. It’s up high enough that even the hundred-year floods woul
dn’t touch it.”

  “Ooh, I hope we get a chance to do that tomorrow.” Elsie turned to tell some of the other guests about their walk in the river bottom and the frog she saved. Everyone seemed enthralled. But Colton was preoccupied. He was looking forward to completing his mission and knowing that Elsie and Henry and Chip would all be safe and back to their normal lives.

  After dinner, Colton cornered Henry. “Can I ask you something personal?”

  Henry walked to the front porch and waved for Colton to come with him. They sat in the rocking chairs, listening to the katydids. “You obviously have a great marriage with Mary. How did that happen? What is your secret?”

  Henry leaned back in his chair. “It’s pretty simple if you focus on one principle: Choose your responses to life.”

  Colton looked unconvinced. “If it’s so easy, why are there so many unhappy couples?”

  “I didn’t say it was easy. I said it was simple. Look, if I come home after a hard day’s work and I see my wife has been weeding the yard, and there are piles of weeds everywhere waiting for me to clean up, I have a choice. I can be angry that she expects me to clean it up after a hard day’s work, or I can be grateful that I didn’t have to do all that weeding myself.” Henry gave him a meaningful look. “You have to love your spouse more than you love yourself. And if you see things from her point of view, that also helps you make the right choice. It gets harder, though, when you have two very strong individuals with conflicting agendas they are determined to accomplish.”

  Colton nodded. “Yes, that is my parents. They are both highly competitive and have their own way of doing things. I think at one time they were in love. But somewhere it got lost. And because of their relationship, I grew up thinking marriage was terrible.”

  Henry smiled, shaking his head. “So now you don’t think you can be happy, even with a woman you obviously love.”

  Colton stood up to leave. “I never said anything about love, Henry.”

  Henry snorted. “Well, Colton, for someone as intelligent as you seem to be, this is a no-brainer.”