Page 53 of On the Wild Side
“Wait.” I tear my gaze from the mountains and stare at him. “You havegrizzlybears?”
“Sure, but they’re all asleep right now. Or, should be. Grizzlies never truly hibernate. They’ll come out and about a little in the winter, but it’s not often.”
“Grizzly bears. In Montana.”
He frowns over at me. “You’ve been here for a couple of years. Surely, someone has told you about the bears by now. Why do you think people carry bear spray when they hike?”
“In case ofblackbears.”
That makes him laugh. “Black bears don’t want to hurt you. Hell, grizzlies don’t either; they’re just more temperamental. Anyway, if it was a nicer day, we’d be sitting on the ground to take in this view. It’s our favorite on the ranch.”
“I can see why.” The mountains are justincredible.I can’t see all the way to the top because of the cloud cover, but they loom before us, so big and magical, and it makes me wonder how I managed to live all of my life without the mountains.
“What are you thinking?”
I turn to find Brady watching me, and I grin. “Just admiring this view. How about you?”
“Same. This is a spectacular view.”
“You’re a charming cowboy.”
That makes him laugh as he starts the car. “No ma’am, that’s not one of the ways people have described me. Now, what next? You’ve seen the lake with Chase’s house, and you’ve seen my cabin and my parents’ house. I can show you more of the actual ranch when there’s not so much snow.”
“Then, I guess we can just go back to your place and find…somethingto entertain us.”
“I’m sure we can come up with something.”
He turns the 4Runner around and heads back the way we came.
“Can I ask more rodeo questions?” I turn in my seat so I can look at him. Damn, his profile is something to write home about. That jaw is sochiseled, and his hands are sexy on the steering wheel. Now that I know how good they feel onme, I will never look at them the same way again.
“Abs?”
“Huh?”
He grins over at me. “You said you have more questions.”
“Oh, right. I do. So, after Dirks passed, how long did it take you to get back on a bull?”
He blows out a breath, thinking it over. “Geez, about a week, I guess.”
“That fast?”
He spares me a look. “A week is alongtime for a rider to be off of a bull. I was damn rusty by then, and it took a while to get back into shape.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I never kid about riding a bull.”
“So, what do you do in the winter? You’re not riding bulls out here on the ranch.”
“Do you want to see how I train in the offseason?”
“Of course, I do.”
With a nod, Brady parks in front of his cabin and then gestures for me to follow him around back to a rustic shed. He opens the door and motions for me to go inside, and he flips on a light before closing the door to keep out the cold.
“It’s chilly in here.”