Page 45 of Long Hard Road
“Nate has been very clear that there will be no riding,” I said with a laugh. Harper was quickly becoming my favorite Sullivan.
She shrugged. “I have plenty of other single brothers. Personally, I don’t care which one you date. My little brother is a professional baseball player if you are looking for someone famous.”
“I can assure you that I’m not.” After those few days with Nate, I had my heart set on a normal life with a man who didn’t care at all about my money and fame. I had my heart set on Nate.
I left the store with a big bag of books and Harper’s promise to pick me up at 5:00. Since I would have a bodyguard tailing me, I arranged for him to drive separately and he would park his car just inside the entrance to the ranch property while I had dinner. I didn’t want all of Nate’s family to find out my identity if I showed up with a serious-looking, beefy man following my every step.
It wasn’t likely I would need security while I was surrounded by all of the Sullivan men anyway, but the bodyguards were under strict orders from Ellison not to let me go anywhere without one of them nearby. That approach seemed to be working because I hadn’t received a single threat since they had arrived.
We were the last ones to arrive for dinner. Harper explained that Evan, Lily, Chase, and Ronan all lived on the ranch property. Nate would be living there soon once his house was complete. Harper was the only local Sullivan child who was refusing to settle down on the ranch.
“It just feels very final, ya know? If I build a house out here, it’s going to be my forever home. I’m not ready for that yet. I want to focus on my business for a while. Travel. Check off things from my bucket list before I get married and start a family.” She smiled as she drove under the wooden archway. “But I do love this ranch.”
“It’s beautiful.” I was excited to finally see the other side of the ranch. “Do all of your brothers work out here?”
“Mostly Evan and Nate work on this ranch. The others will help out as needed, but Chase’s focus is the guest ranch. Ronan is actually the head of Search and Rescue for the county, so that keeps him busy. He helps out on evenings and weekends with whatever the guys need. Or he’ll help with projects around the bookstore.” Harper’s expression had become more tender when she talked about Ronan. “He has felt like part of our family since the day he came to live with us, but I think he still tries to prove that he belongs.”
All that Nate had told me about Ronan was that his family had suffered a tragedy and he had been taken in by the Sullivans. It sounded like there was an important story there, but I didn’t feel like I had the right to ask for the details.
“I like Ronan. He seems like a great guy. He’s hot, too.” I smiled when Harper’s cheeks flushed. “You’ve never thought about dating him?”
“He’s like a brother,” she protested quickly. Too quickly. “I had a crush on him years ago, but it was always one-sided. I’m just an annoying little sister to him.”
“I doubt that.” In fact, Ronan would have to be the dumbest man alive to not be charmed by Harper’s beauty and charisma. She had won me over instantly and I wasn’t even attracted to women.
“Do you mind if I drive down to the stables first? I want to check on my horse.” Harper steered the car through a large dirt lot that fronted a gorgeous mountain home. “That’s Dad’s place. We call it the main house. That’s where we all grew up and now it’s kind of the homestead.” She headed left down a dirt road. “Evan and Lily live straight ahead, but we’ll be turning off this road before we reach their house.”
The ranch was beautiful. Rolling hills seemed to stretch on forever all around us, broken up by meadows and pastures. I saw cattle in the distance and mountains well beyond them. Their white tops glistened under the fading sunlight.
“This land is incredible,” I breathed.
“If you think this is nice, you need to see it in the summer and fall. Everything becomes so lush and colorful. It’s like a Bob Ross painting come to life.” Harper had the same gleam in her eyes that Nate did whenever we discussed the ranch.
“We’re expecting a handful of foals any day now. One was born a few days ago.” She hopped out of the truck and I was joining her when the sound of hoofbeats and loud male laughter washed over us.
“Oh. Looks like the guys decided to go for a ride before dinner.” She waved happily over my shoulder.
Within a second of turning to see four beautiful men perched atop their horses, I nearly had my first orgasm. “Damn,” I breathed, deciding that cowboys were the cure for any affliction. Especially the one on the far right who was wearing a black baseball hat rather than the standard cowboy hat.
“Ladies!” Chase pulled ahead of the other men and brought his horse to a stop just a few feet away from us. “Will you please tell these assholes that my new boots are both stylish and masculine?” He slid one from its stirrup and held it out for us to see.
The leather was a flawless blend of cognac around the foot and a deep brown up the ankle. It had a round toe and sturdy heel. But where the other men’s boots were all plain with minimal decorative stitching, these boots were a whirl of intricate designs.
“Those are sexy boots,” I determined with a nod of my head.
“I can’t use that word in relation to my brother,” Harper said. “But… they look good.”
Chase jumped out of his saddle and landed with a flourish. “Ha! I told you. Ladies appreciate a man with flair.”
Nate brought his horse closer to me before dismounting, landing with a hard thud just a couple of feet away. “Is that true, angel? You like a man with flair?”
No, I liked this man. In his faded jeans, worn boots, and suede coat without a hint of flair, he was the best-dressed man I’d ever seen. I managed a shrug without speaking and his eyes narrowed slightly.
“I need to put Cooper away. Wait for me and we’ll walk back to the house together?” he asked hopefully.
“Okay.” My reply was barely even a sound but it was enough for Nate to give me one of those smiles that I loved.
“Be right back.”