Fortune's Way (3 page)

Dean and Kyle both blinked. The curvy brunette with shoulder-length hair was not at all what they had prepared for. Kyle stood slack-jawed. Fortunately, his boss was quicker-thinking.

He stepped forward and extended a hand. “Miz McCabe, I’m Dean Fortune. Pleasure to meet you.”

She eyed him for a moment before shaking, then pulled her hand back quickly. “Mr Fortune.”

“Dean, please.” He motioned behind him. “This is my ranch foreman, Kyle Reese.”

He didn’t move to offer his hand and she didn’t seem to mind. She nodded at him without much interest and turned back to Dean. “Your father tells me the ranch is floundering. He’d like some options to make it more profitable.”

“Is that what he told you?” Dean folded his arms across his chest. “Options, plural? Or has he already decided the course of action?”

She appeared nonplussed. “Not that I’m aware of. I was told to come out here and get the lay of the land, so to speak. Get a feel for how things run. See what works and what doesn’t. He’ll join us here in one week to receive my report.”

“One week.” Dean nodded thoughtfully. “All right, then. Mrs Carson will show you to your room. Please get settled. If you’d like to change or anything, feel free.”

Kyle eyed her dark blue city-jeans and expensive boots. He wondered if she had anything less Versace to ‘change’ into. One trip through the stables, even though they were neat and well-tended, would have her rethinking her expensive clothing.

“I’m fine.” She glanced around the room briefly.

“Have you eaten breakfast? Rebecca can whip you up something, if you’re hungry. Hotcakes, bacon, sausage, whatever you prefer.”

“No thank you!” Her mortified expression was priceless.

“Grapefruit? Protein shake?” Kyle couldn’t resist offering.

She gazed at him like she would a speck of dirt on her three-hundred dollar boots. “No. Thank. You.”

Mrs Carson stepped behind her. “Your luggage has been taken to your room. If you please, I’ll show you there now.”

“I’d appreciate that.” She turned and followed the housekeeper out.

Kyle moved closer to Dean, whistling low. “What the in devil have we gotten into?”

Dean glanced at him, a wide grin spreading across his face. “This might just be easier than I thought.”

* * * *

Miranda McCabe breathed a sigh of relief when the housekeeper closed the door behind her. She sank to the edge of the queen-sized bed in the shades-of-blue decorated room and tried to calm her raging emotions.
This is not what I expected.

When she’d met the elder Mr Fortune in her office he’d seemed straightforward, a tough businessman, concerned that the son he’d allowed to manage the ranch wasn’t up to the task. He’d made Dean out to be quite a greenhorn, a wannabe race car driver turned rancher, who really didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. Her first impression of Dean Fortune belied that description completely. Of course the father hadn’t mentioned that his son was hot as hell, with smoky brown eyes and a smoldering, fit body to match.

And the ranch foreman?
Miranda rubbed her temples. She suspected he was the one to watch out for. Cocky, smarmy, another sexy-as-hell man, with disheveled blond hair and a physique that was undoubtedly earned by hours of hard work. Her panties dampened as she thought of anything
hard
concerning the hunky men. For a moment, she wondered how fast she could come up with an excuse to leave and get the hell out of Dodge.

No. I can do this.
It was only one week. She’d welcomed the assignment at first, a chance to get out of L.A. for a while. She’d recently broken things off with a boyfriend, who wanted more than she was prepared to give. He had a tough time taking ‘no’ for an answer. She’d blocked his phone number, thinking he’d get the message she meant business when she was nowhere to be found. Hopefully, she’d told him to ‘fuck off’ for the last time.

I will do this.
She stood and opened her two suitcases, unpacking before sticking them in the large closet. She checked her reflection in the mirror, dragging the hair on the left side of her face over the scar on her temple and cheek. A ponytail would be appropriate on the ranch, but she hadn’t pulled her hair back since the accident.

She left the bedroom and peeked in doorways as she wandered down the hall. Her bathroom was next door, then another apparently unused room—this one decorated in shades of yellow. The room at the end of the hall was larger, with a king-sized bed. The South-western motif was masculine and she could tell right away this was the son’s room. He was neat as a pin, or the housekeeper wanted her to think so.

She made her way back to the great room where the two men were leaning against the back of a long white sofa, talking quietly.

“I hope your room is satisfactory,” the son spoke up.

“It’s lovely. The whole house is amazing.”

“Sure is.” The foreman gazed at her. “You can see why we’d like to keep it that way.”

What’s that supposed to mean?
She cleared her throat. “I’ll be tidy, I assure you.”

The son stepped forward. “That’s not what he meant. We want you to make yourself at home, of course. Kyle was just referring to the fact that we’re pretty comfortable with things the way they are. Neither of us is keen to change what we think is working rather well.”

“If it ain’t broke…” Kyle raised his brows.

She hardened her gaze at the blond hunk. “Apparently
something
is broken, or I wouldn’t be here, would I?” Turning her attention to the son, she started, “Mr Fortune, I—”

He raised a finger.

She paused.

His gaze seared her. “I told you, it’s Dean. Why don’t you let me give you a tour of the house, then we’ll meet up with Kyle outside for a trip through the stables?”

She liked the idea of losing the foreman. One of these guys alone was intimidating enough. Together, they were almost too much to bear. She nodded. “Good idea.”

Dean turned to Kyle. “We’ll catch up with you later. Okay?”

Kyle seemed to think about it before answering.

Miranda watched the looks that passed between them, wondering what they were all about.
Perhaps the ranch has some secrets they don’t want revealed?

“Okay?” Dean repeated, softer this time.

“Sure,” Kyle finally said. “See you later.” He cast a quick glance at Miranda before walking out.

She turned to Dean. “Who’s the boss here, Mr Fortune? Your foreman should do what you ask, when you ask it. He shouldn’t pout and sulk when he doesn’t get his way.”

Dean stepped so close she could feel his warm breath on her face. “If you think
that
was pouting and sulking, then you don’t know Kyle. He can be a bigger pain in the ass than that. He also understands this ranch better than anyone I know, so I give him quite a bit of leeway to speak his mind.” He licked his lips. “While we’re on the subject of being naughty, I’ve asked you repeatedly to call me Dean. Mr Fortune is my father, and if you haven’t noticed yet,
I’m not him
. I’m nothing like him, actually.” He smiled pleasantly. “Now, how about that tour?”

She was mortified to feel her nipples harden at his words. Something about the way he spoke had her imagining herself bound with scarves to his bedposts as he doled out punishment to a naughty girl. “I, uh…sure. Thank you.” She purposely hadn’t called him by his first name. She needed to keep this on a purely professional basis.

He eyed her with amusement. “Thank you, who?”

Miranda swallowed. “Dean.”

He smiled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your first name.”

She could barely speak. “Miranda.” The word came out like a frog’s throaty croak.

He smiled again. “That’s really pretty. Okay, Miranda, we’ll start right here. This part of the ranch was the original home built by my great-grandfather in the early nineteen-hundreds. Frank Fortune started the Double-F-Ranch as a cattle operation. Somewhere around nineteen-fifty my grandfather turned it into a horse ranch. My father was the one who honed in on the market for Appaloosas. Except for the occasional foundling or stray, we only have the one breed here now.”

“I’ve seen pictures of them. They’re beautiful animals.”

“Pictures?” Dean chuckled. “Have you ever seen a real horse?”

She started to tell him that she’d been a member of the California Junior Rodeo Association for ten years and had won Best All Around Champion for three of those years. In retrospect, she decided to hold that piece of information back. “Once or twice.”

“Oh, this’ll be fun.” He opened a door and motioned for her to go ahead.

He thinks I’m a total ditz.
She offered a giddy smile and went out, deciding she might as well act like what he was expecting.
He’s right.
This could be fun.

Dean was in a serious case of lust. He hadn’t felt this way since the first time Kyle walked on to the Double-F-Ranch. He knew that day he’d bed the man sooner or later. He had the same thoughts about Miranda, now.

She was gorgeous, with a heart-shaped face and emerald-green eyes. A small beauty mark graced her upper lip. Thick brown hair cascaded to her shoulders. Her breasts were perfectly rounded globes with tight nipples occasionally peeking through her crisp striped blouse. She sported a classic hourglass figure, trim waist over wider hips. Just looking at her had his cock firming nicely.
I want to lick that birthmark.
Licking was just the beginning of what he wanted to do to those breasts.

He’d always been a breast man. Kyle, who professed no interest in the opposite sex whatsoever, could never get his attraction.

Kyle.

His lover wouldn’t be happy about this new development. Perhaps he already sensed what Dean was feeling. They’d have to talk about it. He’d never do anything to hurt Kyle, but Miranda was intriguing and he owed it to himself to investigate her further.

He spent an hour showing her the house and outbuildings, inwardly surprised at how little she seemed to know. He’d understood her to be some type of ruthless businessperson. From what he could tell, she wasn’t like that at all.

They headed toward the stables where, if she was willing, they’d mount horses to examine the ranch grounds. If she couldn’t ride, he’d take her along on Domino. The thought of her straddling his horse, holding on tight, her breasts pressing into his back, had his cock hard again.

Kyle was knotting a piece of rope when they entered the stable.

“We’ve seen most of the buildings,” Dean told him. “I’d like to saddle up and take a ride.” He glanced at Miranda. “Are you game?”

She looked at the horses skeptically. “I guess.”

“You can ride behind me if you like. Domino won’t mind.” He patted his horse’s rump.

“I don’t know.” She seemed to think about it. “I bet I could ride on my own. If you don’t mind helping me.”

He glanced at Kyle. “Let’s put her on Daisy. She’s probably the most easy-going mare we have.”

“Yes sir, Boss.” Kyle strolled to where the black and white horse waited. “Let’s go,” he called over his shoulder to Miranda. “I’ll show you how to saddle her up.”

“Gee, thanks.” Miranda’s voice was breathy and excited.

Dean was excited, too, for a different reason, he was sure. He followed and watched as Kyle patiently explained the various pieces of tack and every step of the process.

She nodded and did as instructed, then it took both men to get her situated in the saddle. Dean found himself pushing on her ass to raise her up, and his cock grew pleasantly hard.

“Lead the way.” He climbed on Domino and instructed Kyle on his mount, Isis. “I’ll stick close to Miranda.”

“I’m sure you will.” Kyle gave him an amused glance, then headed out.

Miranda followed timidly.

“How’s it feel?” Dean rode alongside her.

“Pretty good.” She ran a hand through the horse’s mane.

“You might want to hold on with both hands,” Dean advised. “Daisy’s good-tempered, but I really don’t want to see her get spooked and you go flying.”

She smiled sideways at him. “Flying sounds fun. How would that look, do you think? Something like this?” She nudged Daisy’s ribs with her heels and the horse took off.

“Miranda!” His heart nearly stopped as Daisy and her rider sped off. When she passed Kyle and flashed a sarcastic grin, he knew he’d been had.

He rode Domino up even with Kyle, who was scratching his head.

“What the fuck?” The foreman stared at him.

Dean smiled. “We’ve been played, my friend. She obviously knows more than she let on.”

“Obviously.” Kyle glanced at him, a determined expression on his face.

He nodded, and they both raced off to join her.

Miranda didn’t slow down. She ran Daisy at a quick pace until they reached a brook, where she slowed the horse to a trot. She eventually stopped so Daisy could drink.

They came alongside her, allowing their horses to drink as well. “You’ve seen horses once or twice?” He glanced at her, amused.

She smiled pleasantly. “I might have underestimated. Or maybe I’m a really quick learner.”

Kyle frowned. “Or maybe you’re a really good liar.”

“Maybe.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Come on, now. You really didn’t expect Mr O’Connell to send me on a job I knew nothing about, did you? That wouldn’t make good business sense.”

Dean chuckled. This was the ruthless consultant he’d been expecting. “So you have experience with horses.”

“I was going to tell you, but you
assumed
I was ignorant, so I went with it, just to show you what assuming gets you.”

“Yeah, right,” Dean muttered jovially. “I’ve been called an ass on more than one occasion.”

She smiled. “Since we’re being honest now, I guess I can tell you. I was a member of the California Junior Rodeo Association for ten years.”

“Rodeo?” Dean and Kyle exclaimed at the same time, glancing at each other. Dean added, “What events did you do?”

“Barrel racing and pole bending, mostly. I won Best All-Around Champion for three years straight. But if it makes you feel any better, I was only Rodeo Queen for two years.”