In Bed With The Wrangler

“His name’s Blanchard’s Run.”

“I said forget it.” He had time for maybe four hours of sleep before he had to get to the airport and preflight the jet.

“But-” Stephanie suddenly stopped, blinking in surprise as she glanced above his head.

“I sent it,” came a breathless voice that Royce already easily recognized.

He jerked his head around to confirm it was Amber.

“Sent what?” asked Stephanie.

Amber’s jewel-blue eyes were shining with a mixture of trepidation and excitement.

She hadn’t.

She wouldn’t.

“Where’s your father?” asked Royce. Was this another warped joke?

“He left. I told him to send the limo back for me later.”

Royce shook his head, refusing to believe any woman would do something that impulsive. “You did not send it.”

But Amber nodded, then she glanced furtively around the lounge. “I figure I have about ten minutes to get out of here.”

“What did you send?” Stephanie demanded. “To who?”

Amber slipped into the vacant third seat between them and leaned forward, lowering her voice. “I broke off my engagement.”

Stephanie looked both shocked and excited. She reached for Amber’s hand and squeezed it. “With who?”

“Hargrove Alston.”

“The guy who’s going to run for the Senate?”

Royce stared at his sister in astonishment.

“I read it in People,” she told him with a dismissive wave of her hand. Then she turned her attention back to Amber. “Is he mad? Is he after you now?”

“He’s in Switzerland.”

“Then you’re safe.”

“Not for long. As soon as Hargrove reads my text, he’ll call my dad, and my dad will turn the limo around.”

Stephanie’s lips pursed into an O of concern, and her breath whooshed out.

Amber nodded her agreement, and both women turned expectantly to Royce.

“What?”

“We have to go,” said Stephanie, her expression hinting that he was a little slow on the uptake.

“To Montana,” Amber elaborated.

“Now,” said Stephanie with a nod of urgency.

“They’ll never think to look for me in Montana,” Amber elaborated.

“I’m not taking you to-”

But Stephanie jumped up from her chair. “To the airport,” she declared in a ridiculously dramatic tone.

“Right.” Amber nodded, rising, as well, smoothing her sexy dress over her hips as she stood on her high heels.

“Stop,” Royce demanded, and even the laughing women at the table next to them stopped talking and glanced over.

“Shh,” Stephanie hissed.

Royce lowered his voice. “We are not rushing off to the airport like a bunch of criminals.”

Stephanie planted both hands on the tabletop. “And why not?”

“Six minutes,” Amber helpfully informed them.

He shot her a look of frustration. “Don’t be such a wimp. If he yells at you, he yells at you.”

Amber’s brows rose. “I’m not afraid he’ll yell at me.”

“Then, what’s the problem?”

“I’m afraid he’ll talk me out of it.”

“That’s ridiculous. You’re a grown woman. It’s your life.”

“It is,” Amber agreed. “And I want to come to Montana.”

The look she gave him was frank and very adult. Perhaps his first instinct had been right. Maybe there was something between them. Maybe he was the reason she’d made the decision to finally dump the loser fiance and move on.

He felt a rush of pride, a hit of testosterone and, quite frankly, the throb of arousal. Having Amber around would definitely make Montana more palatable. Only a fool would put barriers in her way.

He stood and tossed a couple of twenties on the table. “The airport, then.”

Since he’d had the martinis, it would be a few hours before he could fly. But there was plenty to do in preparation.

By the time they arrived at the Ryder Ranch, Amber had had second, third, even fourth thoughts. Both her father and Hargrove were powerful men. Neither of them took kindly to opposition, and she’d never done anything remotely rebellious in her life.

Hargrove was probably on a plane right now, heading back to Chicago, intending to find her and demand to know what she was thinking. And her father was likely out interrogating her friends this morning, determined to find out what had happened and where she’d gone.

Katie would be flabbergasted.

Amber had been questioning her feelings for Hargrove for a couple of months now, but she hadn’t shared those fears with Katie. Because, although Katie was a logical and grounded lawyer, she was saddled with an emotional case of hero worship when it came to Hargrove. She thought the sun rose and set on the man. She’d never understand.

Amber had sent her father a final text last night from the airport, assuring him that he didn’t need to worry, that she needed some time alone and that she’d be in contact soon. Then she’d turned off her cell phone. She’d seen enough crime dramas to know there were ways to trace the signal. And Hargrove had friends in both high and low places. Where the police couldn’t accommodate him, private investigators on the South Side would be happy to wade in.

The sun was emerging from behind the eastern mountains as Amber, Royce and Stephanie crossed the wide porch of the Ryder ranch house. She was dead tired but determined to keep anyone from seeing her mounting worry.

In the rising light of day, she admitted to herself that this had been a colossally stupid plan. Her father and Hargrove weren’t going to sit quietly and wait while she worked through her emotions. Plus, she had nothing with her but a pair of high heels, her cocktail dress and a ruby-and-diamond, drop necklace with a set of matching earrings.

And of all the nights to go with a tiny pair of high-cut, sheer panties-sure, they smoothed the line of her dress, but that was their only virtue.

“You heading home?” Royce asked his sister as he tossed a small duffel bag onto the polished hardwood floor, against the wall of a spacious foyer.

“Home,” Stephanie echoed, clicking the wide double doors shut behind her. “I can grab a couple hours’ sleep before class starts.”

Amber turned to glance quizzically at Stephanie. “Home?” She’d assumed they were already there. The sign on the gate two miles back had clearly stated Ryder Ranch.

“Up to my place.” Stephanie pointed. “I’ve got students arriving this afternoon.”

“You don’t live here?” Amber kept her voice even, but the thought was unsettling. Sure, Royce was the brother of her father’s business associate, but he was still a stranger, and there was safety in numbers.

Stephanie was shaking her head. “They kicked me out years ago.”

“When your horses took over the entire yard.” Royce loosened his tie and moved out of the foyer. He’d changed out of his tux at the airport in favor of a short-sleeved, white uniform shirt and a pair of navy slacks.