Not That Kind of Girl (21 page)

“We’re here.”

“Where?”

“We’re home,” he said, pulling off onto the county access road that would lead to Dog-Eared Ranch. Roxie sat up again, her eyes big with trepidation. He stopped the truck.

“Come here, Ms. Bloom,” Eli said, gathering her against him once more. “How are you feeling?” he whispered, leaning close to her. “You doing okay?”

“Sure. I’m just a little …”

“Terrified?”

Roxie laughed, her lovely dark eyes looking right into his. Interestingly enough, his raven-haired angel was awake, but the usual lines of tension hadn’t returned. She smiled at him cautiously. “I think I might need a kiss for encouragement,” she said. “Can you still kiss with a broken face?”

Eli chuckled. “Never tried before.” Gently—so gently—he cupped Roxie’s face and brought it to him, then lowered his mouth to hers. Eli closed his eyes as the wave of bliss moved through his being.

This
was what he’d searched in vain for with Tamara.
This
was the unidentifiable thing he had wanted to experience in her company, but never could. With Roxie, it was always there, even in the sweetest, simplest of kisses.

“Let me get the gate,” Eli whispered against her lips.

*   *   *

Sure,
Roxie thought.
You go ahead and do that. I’ll be in here picking my bottom lip up off the floor
.

This was Eli’s ranch? It looked more like a national park, or something from a PBS special on frontier living. The sun was beginning to set over the desert mountains to her left, layering red-gold stripes of color on top of blue sky. The rolling hills seemed to be covered with some kind of short grass, with stubby little bushes and scraggly trees dotting the ground. Tall, thick stands of evergreens popped up here and there.

Eli returned to the truck and drove forward a few feet, then went out again to lock the gate behind them.

“It’s beautiful,” Roxie said when he hopped behind the wheel again.

“Thank you.”

“How much of it is yours?”

“Pretty much everything you see to the mountains over there and the ridge over there,” Eli said, pointing to either side of them. “Beyond that is mostly BLM land.”

Roxie shook her head, not understanding.

“Bureau of Land Management—federal property.”

“Ah.”

“So, are you ready?”

She nodded, then swallowed hard, trying not to allow the sea of doubts take her under. It didn’t matter that coming all the way out here with Eli was a giant gamble. It didn’t matter that it went against everything she’d been telling herself about men and the world for the last year and a half. They were bumping along the road toward his ranch. It was happening. She’d put herself—and her dog—in Eli’s hands, and there was no turning back.

When the truck began to climb a rise in the dirt lane and took a gentle curve, a house appeared from behind the trees. It was half-glass and half-wood construction, not quite two full stories high, with huge solar panels on the roof, a big front porch, and pretty spring wildflowers popping up along the walk. The backdrop for the house was a dramatic red mountain ridge and an endless stretch of sky.

“Holy shit,” Roxie muttered.

Eli stopped the truck. Two women came out onto the porch, huge smiles on their faces. They waved. Roxie waved back. Her heart pounded in her chest. Lilith began barking furiously when a long line of dogs ran toward the truck.

“Give me just a second to get the dogs settled, and then we’ll let Lilith out. Can you hold onto her okay?”

Roxie nodded.

Eli smiled at her. “Everything’s going to be fine,” he said in that deep-river voice.

He snatched his cowboy hat from behind the seat, opened his door, and stepped onto the dirt. He moved toward his mother and sister with open arms, hugging the women together. The group of dogs was barking in excitement, but keeping their distance. What happened next was obviously the standard routine around here. Sondra and Carole backed away from Eli and he walked off a few feet to a thin patch of grass, where he plopped down. Eli let loose with a brief and shrill whistle, and it was like the starting gates were opened. The dogs—Roxie counted nine altogether—were all over him.

She watched as Eli rolled around with his pack, allowing them to lick him, sniff him, and snuggle up to him. She was amazed at the sight. Eli looked like he was in heaven. So did his dogs.

Lilith, in the meantime, had reverted to her old psycho self. She was frothing at the mouth, growling, snarling, and barking machine-gun style.

After a few moments, Eli stood, then began walking toward an outbuilding a couple hundred feet to the side of the house. Roxie figured it was a kennel compound because of the chain-link fenced–in areas around it. She watched how Eli managed to separate the pack with a few spare hand gestures. He put four dogs in one kennel, two in another, and three were told to sit and wait outside on the grass.

In a few moments, Eli sauntered back to the truck, three dogs at his side. He nodded at Roxie, giving her the go-ahead to open the truck door.

“Are you sure?” she called out over Lilith’s frantic barking.

He nodded.

So she did it. Lilith went flying out of the truck, heading right toward the three calm dogs at Eli’s feet. She kicked up the dirt as she raced headlong into the group. She skidded to a stop before she reached Eli and his companions, then arched her back, lowered her hind end and head, and hid her tail between her legs. Lilith growled and exposed her teeth, all while displaying her hackles. Roxie thought she looked as mean as a hyena.

She sighed. Eli must have heard her, because he glanced her way. With a barely discernible nod of his head, he relayed to her that she had nothing to worry about. Roxie smiled slightly, hoping he was right.

The largest dog of the group decided he wasn’t much impressed with Lilith, and wandered off to the friendly-looking woman Roxie assumed was Sondra, Eli’s sister. The big brown Lab sat at Sondra’s side, tongue hanging out and tail wagging.

Another of the dogs, a shepherd mix at least twenty pounds heavier than Lilith, took a couple steps forward. The dog’s tail wagged high and slow; its ears were cocked forward and its head was held high. It seemed to Roxie as if the dog were giving Lilith a friendly warning:
You’re welcome to hang with us, but you’d best be gettin’ your shit together
.

The other dog, a homely-looking thing with a pointy, wolflike snout, decided to roll over on her back, exposing her belly. The move seemed to take Lilith by surprise, and she backed off. Her barking stopped and the arch in her back relaxed. Slowly, she approached the animal on the ground, the bigger dog keenly aware of every move she made but not at all threatened. Lilith moved in to sniff the dog still on her back.

Through it all, Eli had done nothing. He simply stood there, his posture relaxed and his face pleasant, but his presence clearly felt by all. Roxie was fascinated by that aspect of Eli’s personality—he did nothing obvious, but his authority was always evident. She smiled to herself, remembering how she’d felt him even before she saw him that day at the baby shower. It was as if Eli carried around his own personal power source, made all the more intense because he did nothing to promote it. It was just part of who he was.

Suddenly she wondered—what would that kind of man be like in bed? What kind of sex would a woman get with a man that sure of himself, that in charge? Roxie’s body flooded with heat, the question landing with a thud right between her legs. Again.

Something must have set Lilith off, because she suddenly barked and growled, then lunged at the relaxing dog. The other dog stepped between them, using his body as a buffer but maintaining his easygoing posture. Lilith relaxed again.

With a wave of his hand, Eli sent his two dogs off to play. After just a second of hesitation, Lilith ran after them—no barking, no hackles, no froth. Roxie blinked. As impossible as it seemed, her dog was living her dream. She was running free with other dogs, having fun, simply happy to be alive.

It had taken Eli minutes to give that gift to Lilith. Roxie had been fighting for it for over a year.

This was the absolute wrong time for this, but Roxie’s chest swelled with tender emotion and she began to cry. Eli was immediately at the passenger side door.

“I’m sorry,” she said, shaking her head and looking anxiously to Sondra and Carole, who were staring at her in concern. “Your mom and sister are going to think I’m a spaz.”

Eli laughed, pushing the brim of his hat back on his head. “Well, you
are
a spaz, Ms. Bloom,” he said.

Roxie sniffed, smiling. She loved it when Eli pushed his hat back like that. It made him look sexy as hell, in a mischievous kind of way.

“C’mon, Roxie,” he said. “Time to stretch your legs.”

Eli made quick introductions. Almost immediately, Roxie received warm hugs from Carole and Sondra and was guided up to the porch, their friendly chatter pinging in her ears. They ushered her through a strikingly pretty hand-carved door and into a room with a soaring cathedral ceiling, criss-crossed by huge wooden beams. One entire wall was glass, making it hardly seem like she was indoors. Roxie blinked in wonder.

“My God, Eli,” she whispered. “This place is incredible.”

“Eli’s bringing in your bags,” Sondra said, her eyes twinkling with delight.

“Oh,” Roxie said, embarrassed.

“It’s lovely, isn’t it?” Eli’s mother arched her brows high on her forehead. She was a tall and trim woman with thick gray hair, managing to look pulled together in jeans and a denim jacket. “He designed it himself and worked right alongside the contractor to build it.”

Roxanne felt her mouth fall open.

Eli came in the door and shut it with the heel of his boot. “I’ll get the guest room set up for you, Roxie,” he said, smiling as he moved through the main room, bags in his hand. Roxie didn’t miss how his mother and sister widened their eyes.

“I checked on Lilith, and she’s doing great, so I let everyone out of the kennel.”

Roxie swallowed hard, watching Eli disappear with her bag. She sure hoped he knew what he was doing.

*   *   *

The meal was delicious and the conversation was easy. Not once did Roxie feel as though she were being scrutinized by the women in Eli’s family, but it was obvious that Carole adored her son and that Sondra looked up to her brother.

Over a lovely fresh fruit dessert tart—and Roxie’s third glass of chardonnay—she got the question she’d been waiting for. Sondra was the one to ask it. Frankly, Roxie was amazed it had taken this long to get to. In the city, asking what someone did for a living was among the first things you wanted to know about a new acquaintance. It must be different out here in Utah, since they’d already covered topics like Roxie’s family, the drive, dogs, nearby natural wonders, ranching business matters, and a general overview of Eli’s childhood years. That’s how Roxie learned that he’d worn braces, played the oboe, and had a tendency to wander off into the woods and lose track of time. Carole said the police were called more than once.

But it was Sondra who’d innocently asked what Roxie did for a living. On the long drive, Roxie had thought about how she’d never been even slightly embarrassed by her career, even when Mrs. Needleman chided her for bringing negativity and venom into the world, or some such drivel. But this was different. Roxie had been invited to meet the family of the most remarkable man she’d ever known, and she cared what they thought of her.

Roxie just told them the truth. She told them about her six years at the
Herald,
how the paper fired her just before it declared bankruptcy and closed, and that she was now blogging for a living.

Carole frowned. “You can support yourself doing that?”

“Some bloggers can,” Roxie explained. “I’ve been quite lucky to attract a wide audience and get the interest of major advertisers.”

Sondra put down her glass of wine. She began to stare at Roxie, her brows knitting together in intense scrutiny. A few seconds of that was enough to make Roxie squirm. She quickly looked to Eli, who smiled and raised an eyebrow.

Uh-oh.

“Oh my fucking
God
!” Sondra suddenly shouted, her mouth falling open in disbelief.

“Sondra!” Carole looked horrified at her daughter’s expletive.

“You’re
that
Roxie Bloom?” Sondra slapped her palms down on the surface of the dining room table. “No fucking way!”

“Sondra!”

Eli cleared his throat, which got Sondra’s attention. His sister stared at him, blinking. She pointed in Roxie’s direction. “Do you know who she is?”

“I certainly do,” Eli said. “She’s an intelligent, beautiful, sweet, and funny woman who just happens to hate men for a living.”

Carole’s eyes went huge.

“I knew it!” Sondra stood up from the table. “
I-vomit-on-all-men
!”

“Oh, Sondra. Please,” Carole said with a weary voice. “This is bad enough without you starting on that.” She let her forehead drop to her hand.

“No, Mom.” Sondra nodded toward Roxanne. “
She
vomits on all men, not me. I mean, that’s the name of Roxie’s Web site. It’s what’s advertised on the T-shirt I won when she published my true story about Alex and his roadside bimbo collection! Remember the T-shirt you won’t let me wear out in public? Mom? Do you?”

Carole slowly raised her head. She looked around the table, stunned.

Roxanne slouched into her chair, suddenly putting it all together. “You’re Sonny from Utah,” she said, her words barely audible.

Sondra smiled. “Yes! My husband was the regional sales manager for a mattress company. He was named Jerk-of-the-Week for February twenty-first through twenty-eighth!” She shrugged. “I missed the Cupid Sucks Award by just a week, but, hey, it was an honor anyway.”

Eli laughed.

Roxie lowered her gaze to the hands she was now wringing in her lap, trying to figure out how she could possibly rescue the evening—the entire trip—from the disaster pile.

“And you knew about this?” Carole asked. Roxie peeked up to determine where that question was directed, and found it had been directed to Eli.