Ready For The Rancher
Adam shrugged. “Wasn’t planned, although if you’ll remember, I always had a little bit of cowboy in me.”
Dennis grinned. “That I do recall.”
“Me and Christian had accompanied my father on a trip to Tokyo, where we’d just opened a second hotel. For dinner our host served us Kobe beef. It was hands down the best bite of meat I’d ever put in my mouth. I asked the host about its origins and basically became obsessed with finding out everything I could about how it was processed. When a family meeting led to a large tract of unused land being up for grabs, I jumped at the chance to come as close as I could to producing that taste in America. It’s been five years in the making, but we’re confident that Breedlove Ranch is about to deliver that product. Not Kobe, of course—that type can only come from the region that bears its name—but the best Wagyu beef ever produced in this country.”
“Is that what’s served here?” Dennis asked.
Adam shook his head. “Not yet. We’ve had customers sample the Wagyu, but here we’ll continue to offer the less expensive prime Black Angus.”
He looked over as Ryan made a face. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem,” Ryan responded.
“Tell that to your face,” Adam drawled. “You just scrunched up your nose like you got a whiff of poo.”
The comment caused Ryan to burst out laughing yet again. From a woman who Adam felt was somewhat guarded, the sound was as carefree as it was unexpected. It was a sound he decided he quite liked. A lot.
“Where is your meat processed?” Dennis asked.
Adam glanced at Ryan before answering. “Until now we’ve sold the bulk of cattle wholesale, keeping back a supply for the hotel, a few restaurants and stores in this area, that are processed by a small, family-owned business in Henderson. But we’re four to eight weeks away from completing our own facility.”
“Having your own processing plant has got to be exciting.”
“It is,” Adam replied. “Four thousand square feet, state of the art.”
Adam saw Ryan reach for her purse. “Excuse me,” she said, standing up.
“Don’t go,” Adam responded. “We can talk shop another time.”
“No, really. It’s okay. I want to wash my hands.”
Adam watched her walk away. He was struck by her beauty to be sure—curvy figure, curly hair, skin the color of hot cocoa and he imagined just as sweet. But there was something else about her, an aura of calm assuredness, a peacefulness that somehow calmed him, too. These days, as he balanced his responsibilities at CANN International with the expanded growth and heightening profile of Breedlove Ranch and the beef it produced, moments of true tranquility were in short supply.
“I see you,” Dennis said with a smile in his voice. “Checking out my sister.”
Until then Adam didn’t realize he’d been staring. “I never knew you had a sister. I remember your brother Charles, but not her.”
“Everyone thought Charles and I were brothers. He’s my cousin.”
“You’re right, I didn’t know that. We became close rather quickly in high school but you were a senior when we met. It was only that one year.”
“Makes sense about Ryan,” Dennis replied. “That you never met her. She was several years behind us in school and I don’t think you ever came to my home.”
“That’s because you guys were always wanting to come over to mine!”
“Heck, yeah. Who wouldn’t? Swimming pools. Horses. A full basketball court. Dinners made to order from a personal chef. Going to your house was like going to Hollywood! I couldn’t believe people really lived like that. You’re one lucky dude.”
“I’ll admit to luck in being born a Breedlove. After that, everything was hard work.”
“I know all about hard work,” Dennis said.
“At the meatpacking plant, right?” Dennis nodded. “How does Ryan fit into your operation?”
Adam ignored Dennis’s knowing smile, one that suggested the sister had been brought along to help seal the deal. It was a good move and a smart one, but Adam figured Dennis didn’t have to know that.
“Like I said, she’s helped out here and there. But she doesn’t live in Bakersfield, hasn’t in a while. She went to school in San Diego and lived there after graduation. Until about three months ago when she moved here.”
“Why’d she move?”
Dennis shrugged. “She got a degree in some kind of natural medicine or something. I don’t know much about it. But I know she isn’t working anywhere yet. She probably needs a job.”
“And you think she’d be comfortable working on a ranch?”
Ryan returned to the table. “Talking about me?”
Adam stood but he was too late. Ryan had already pulled out her chair. He waited until she’d sat down before returning to his seat.
“Dennis thinks you’d be a good fit for my operation. He says your administrative skills are impressive.”
And if they are half as impressive as the view of your backside as you walked away from the table...
Adam shut down the inappropriate thought, gave himself a mental chastisement, forgave himself because his thought was the truth, then refocused his attention on Ryan.
“I handled a few items for him in the past, but that was a long time ago. I’m focused on developing my own business right now.”
“Which is?”
“Naturopathy,” Ryan said after a pause.
“What’s that?” Adam asked as he watched Ryan stiffen as though expecting a verbal blow. Dennis didn’t disappoint.
“A hobby,” Dennis said.
“My career,” Ryan countered, a cool breeze skittering over the previously warm and calm demeanor Adam had earlier observed.
“Lunch is served!” Zoe announced as she arrived at their table, moving a few items before expertly setting down a circular tray. “Both the pickles and onion strings are vegan,” she said to Ryan, having obviously spoken with the chef. “The barbecue sauce is also vegan but the buttermilk ranch contains dairy. Your entrées will be up in about ten minutes. Bon appétit!”
“These are cool,” Ryan said, using the tongs hooked to the bowl to pull out a wad of thinly cut and battered onion slices. “Onion strings, huh? I’ve had onion rings and a flowering onion but never ones quite like this.”
“That’s Miguel’s handiwork. He puts a unique spin on any dish he touches.”
“I like the beer balls,” Dennis said around the food he’d picked up with his fingers and plopped into his mouth. “That big old juicy burger will be even better. Good old cow meat,” he continued, smacking loudly and reaching for another meatball.
“Older brothers can be a pain in the butt,” he said to Ryan. “I know, I’ve got one, too.”
Ryan smiled. Adam immediately wanted to think of something else witty to make her smile again.
“Good to know someone else understands my pain.”
“He’s not all bad, though,” Adam continued. “Standing up to bullies is how I met your brother.”
“You mean he wasn’t one of them?”
Adam laughed. “Not that time.”
“What happened?” Ryan asked.
Adam and Dennis exchanged a look.
Adam thought back to the day as a freshman in high school where he had fought an admirable but losing battle against four students who’d ganged up against him—at first verbally, then physically. Dennis had come to Adam’s defense. The two had quickly regained the upper hand before school administrators rushed into the melee and broke up the fight. It was Adam’s last physical fight. That summer his muscles filled out and he grew six inches. Once his dyslexia was properly diagnosed, his popularity grew along with his confidence. But still, scars remained. There were traces of the disability that lingered to this day.
“Kids were always teasing me. One day, I found myself in a fight where I was outnumbered,” Adam said. “Your brother jumped in and helped me out. That’s how we became friends.”
“Interesting,” Ryan said, giving her brother a look that Adam couldn’t quite read.
“I always appreciated how you took up for me,” Adam finished. “Just like one of my brothers would, had they been there. It showed character, which is very important to me. That along with loyalty, honesty and respect are the principle virtues I look for in people I work with. Which is why I wanted to have lunch with you today, Dennis. You mentioned your sister working for me but actually the opening I’m trying to fill ASAP requires a different skill set. The person we’d hired to manage my processing facility was involved in a serious automobile accident. He’s alive, but his recovery isn’t going to allow for the type of rigor required for that position. Are you interested?”
Dennis sat back. “Wow, really, Adam? You’re offering me the job of managing your meat-processing operation?”
“I’m asking if you’re interested. We’d still need to go through the application process, but if everything from there is in order then yes, I’d feel good in you having that job.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it and yes, I’m very interested. I’ve always loved your family’s land. Working on it would be my pleasure.”
“I might come up to Bakersfield,” Adam said. “Get a look at your operation and see how it compares to ours.”
“Okay,” Dennis said, after a beat.
Adam found the hesitation odd but didn’t dwell on it. Now that he’d potentially solved a huge dilemma, a delay that would have put a serious wrench in their scheduled plant launch, he was ready to find out more about Ryan. Whether or not he ended up working with Dennis, he wanted to see more of her. Before parting ways he asked Dennis to send him a proposal, and asked Ryan for her number.
“Why?” Ryan asked, her expression suggesting she couldn’t think of a reason why he’d need to talk to her.
Adam smiled slightly, impressed. Most women were all too eager to give him their number. He was appreciative of one who hesitated. “To talk about food,” he replied, “and what types of vegetarian options might work with our current menu.”
She seemed relieved that his reason was work related. It wasn’t the only one, of course, but it was as good of an excuse as any.
Three
Ryan hadn’t been surprised yesterday when Dennis ran off before she could confront him. He hadn’t returned her calls from last night or yesterday, either. Blindsiding her with a job she’d never heard of in front of the man wanting to hire him was pretty low, even for a brother known for sometimes being underhanded. But honestly, Ryan couldn’t be totally mad. Adam Breedlove was one hot man. She had no intention of working at Breedlove Ranch but she could put in a personal shift or two with the boss. She’d been in the city for three months without dating. One day after the other had been all work, no play. Dennis’s friend could prove a nice lightweight diversion. A little sin in Sin City every now and again.
The prospect of a rendezvous with the cowboy was totally titillating, but Ryan forced her mind back to where it belonged this Monday morning—on her practice, and building it up. After years of sharing “her hobby” as Dennis had called it with friends, classmates and coworkers, she’d gotten serious about her love for alternative healing and obtained a bachelor’s degree in naturopathy, specializing in plant medicine, biophysics, massage therapy and nutrition. She’d simultaneously pursued and received certificates in energetic healing and emotional frequency technique from the prestigious Institute of Higher Holistic Learning in La Jolla, California. From her childhood until her early-adult years as she came into her own, she’d sought to please others and be what they thought she should be. After learning of her passion, her parents had suggested traditional medicine, had thought she should pursue a nursing degree. But Ryan had finally followed her heart and become submerged in Eastern medicine and alternative forms of healing. Those three years of expedited learning were the best ones of her life. This was also when she’d met her ex, which had added some worst moments to those educational years.
While attending an expo during her senior year she’d met Brooklyn, a woman named for where she’d been born, who’d moved cross-country to Las Vegas, a place Ryan had doubted she’d ever return to live. But their long conversations on the alternative and holistic landscape evolved into others on working in complementary fields. Their shared interests and similar personalities led to them being best friends, the sister Ryan had always wanted. Brooklyn suggested they open a practice together. Ryan jumped at the chance to have her own business. That’s why she’d moved back to Las Vegas. Not the only one, but the one she felt most comfortable admitting. The other reasons were complicated, both hopeful and painful. There were secrets she hadn’t unearthed and couldn’t share...yet.
Ryan’s ringing landline startled her out of daydreaming. A blessed interruption, she inwardly noted, while crossing the airy living room of her Summerlin townhome. No doubt it was Brooklyn, calling to make sure Ryan was on schedule and that she’d make it to their appointment on time.
“Yes, I’m ready. Five minutes and I’m out the door.”
“Um, okay, but where are we going?”
Ryan’s heart raced. “Adam?”
He chuckled, a sound that sent goose bumps dancing over her skin.
“I hope it’s okay that Dennis gave me your home number. I tried your cell phone a couple times but didn’t hear back, and the question I have is time-sensitive so I called your brother.”
Halfway through his explanation, Ryan had begun searching for her cell. She’d checked the living room and master bedroom. Now she headed toward the garage.
“Ryan, are you there? If this is a bad time—”
“No, it isn’t,” Ryan said, while lying on her belly and searching her car’s back seat. “I’m looking for my cell phone that I now realize I haven’t heard ring all morning.”
“When is the last time you remember having it?”
“Definitely this morning before leaving the house. I tried calling Dennis in fact and...aw!”
“Whoa, are you okay?”
“Yes!” Ryan laughed. “I just remembered where it was.” She headed into her house and the bedroom. “I forgot I placed it in my yoga bag before going into the studio.”
She found the bag in her closet, opened it up and retrieved the phone. “Listen, Adam, if you’re calling about what Dennis is doing—”
“I’m not.”
“Oh.” Ryan glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost time to head out for her meeting. But she had five minutes. She sat down. Adam’s voice was better than a massage. It made her feel all noodly, if that was even a word.
“What’s up?”
“Magic, if you’re into that sort of thing.”
If you’re doing the tricks, I very well could be. “What kind of magic?”
“What kind do you like?”
His voice had lowered just enough for Ryan to imagine a double entendre. If his bedroom moves were half as sexy as that raspy tenor...
“All kinds, I guess. I find fantasy entertaining. The ability to conjure another type of world within this one is an incredible skill.”
“I agree. Our hotel is hosting a private premiere that we feel is going to be very special. It is a show that blends illusion with dance, great music and scenes. Rather than separate tricks, an entire story is told. The guy is from Denmark. His name is Valdemar.”
“Never heard of him.”
“Few have, in America. At least not yet. And no one in the way he’ll be presented at CANN. The show is tomorrow night and I’d like very much for you to join me.”
“It sounds interesting. What time?” Ryan asked, as though it mattered. Mentally, she was already going through her closet for what to wear, but a girl couldn’t appear too hasty.
“The show starts at nine but I was hoping you’d also join me for dinner. I spoke with hotel management, who recommended a couple of our restaurants with stellar vegan and vegetarian choices.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you.” Or presumptive.
“I wanted to be prepared, just in case you said yes.”
Ryan hesitated.
“I know it’s late notice. I wasn’t planning to go until, well, I caught a bit of the rehearsal and what I saw blew me away.”
“It sounds incredible, Adam. I’d love to join you.”
“May I pick you up around...six thirty?”
“Are you sure? I could meet you there.”
“No way. I’ll come to you. What’s your address?”
Ryan rattled off her address while gathering her tablet and a couple folders and placing them in a stylish hemp tote. She ended the call, exchanged house shoes for a pair of wooden throwback clogs that she adored, placed her clutch inside the tote and walked to the car with her cell phone in hand. There was one more call she needed to make.
As soon as her Bluetooth engaged, Ryan called Dennis, at the office this time. “I need to speak to my brother, Katy. I know he’s there so tell him to pick up or I’m coming over.”
“Um, Dennis isn’t here,” Katy said.
“You sound uncertain. Are you sure?”
“Let me check and call you back.”
“I’ve been waiting for callbacks, Katy. I hate to put you in the middle of this, but I really need to talk to Dennis, now.”
“I’ll find him for you and either he’ll call back or I will, promise.”
Ten minutes later, her phone rang.
“Hey, sis!”
“Don’t ‘sis’ me. You owe me an explanation regarding lunch this weekend. What was that about?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know full well what I mean. I never worked for you, have zero interest in being a secretary and am not looking for a job. Of course you don’t know this because you never asked me. We haven’t talked in weeks.”
“Ah, Ryan, don’t be upset. I could tell Adam liked you and played on it is all, hoping his interest in you would give me an advantage when I asked him for a job. Turns out that didn’t happen because he asked me!”
Ryan sighed. “I’m glad it worked out for you, Dennis. But from here on out, don’t put me in the middle of your business, okay?”
“That’s fair, sis. I just have one more request.”
“What?”
“You’re coming home next week, right?”
“How do you know about that?”
“Mom told me.”
“Yes, I’m going home. Why?”
“Adam wants to visit my, um, facility and I thought it would be cool if I schedule his visit at the same time you’re here so we can all have dinner together.”
“What’d I just say about involving me in your meat-factory business? I don’t want to take part in it.”
“I know, and after this, you won’t. It’s just that Adam is big on family, huge. Mom likes that and wants to have him over for dinner. Your being here could be a buffer. Mom isn’t always the most gracious person, you know.”
“Yes, I know.” She had a son who was just like her.
Ryan reached the block where her business rental was located. She pulled into the parking lot, found a space and parked.
“I get a feeling there’s more to this. What aren’t you telling me?”
“That’s it, I swear! Mom says you’ll be here Friday. I’ll ask Adam to come up then, and Mom will do dinner that night. Cool?” Ryan’s eyes narrowed as she tried to get a feel for what was really going on.
“It’s all about family, Ryan. I’m asking you to help me the way we’ve helped you, all right?”
Of course he’d pull that card. “I guess, but after this I’m out. Are we clear?”
Dennis laughed. “Don’t get all huffy just because you’ve got a billionaire interested in you. I could tell him a few things to make him change his mind.”
Ryan ended the call more conflicted than ever. Going on the date with Adam now felt like a bad idea. She found him super good-looking and was madly attracted, but did she really want to go on a date and maybe sleep with a guy that her brother might end up working with? Someone she might have to see after a fling?
No, she didn’t. She couldn’t, especially now, just as she was about to open her business. Few people knew what Dennis threatened to share with Adam, details of a painful past she’d worked hard to overcome. One that for twenty years her adoptive mother, Ida, had encouraged her to keep secret. She’d demanded that her “embarrassing” birth mother, Phyllis, be left in the past. That Ryan had been in contact with Phyllis off and on for the past five years would definitely anger her. As would the latest secret, that for the first time in Ryan’s life, she was going to try and find her birth father.
Dennis was right. There were things Adam didn’t know, facts hidden beneath a carefully crafted facade of perfectly placed secrets. Even without her dysfunctional history, a man like Adam was clearly out of her league. For a while, though, she’d forgotten, had allowed herself to believe that she could have the fairy-tale life of her childhood dreams. Happily-ever-after came only in books, something Ryan would do well to remember.
Four
Adam strolled out of the hotel’s private entrance, eased into the roomy back seat of the car that awaited and clipped the hanger holding his suit jacket over the bar. He hoped Ryan wouldn’t consider his transportation choice bougie, although that was a fairly apt description for an executive limousine. Any other woman and he wouldn’t have given it a second thought, knew that picking up most dates in the company’s brand-new four-seater SUV limo would impress them right out of their undies. Not that he was thinking about Ryan’s lingerie. He’d be lying to say that since meeting her such thoughts hadn’t crossed his mind from time to time.
Ryan lived in Summerlin, just over ten miles from the Strip. Adam thought of a few things he could do in the twenty-five or so minutes it would take to reach her, longer if traffic didn’t cooperate. There were emails to answer, phone calls to return. But instead of returning calls or checking texts or browsing emails he dropped his head, closed his eyes and thought about how Ryan had tried to get out of attending the show with him tonight. He couldn’t remember ever having a woman try to break a date. Why had Ryan? And for a man who could go out with just about anyone he wanted, especially when only interested in a casual good time, maybe a bedroom rodeo, why had her canceling their date not been an option?
“Something came up,” she’d said. He’d told her she couldn’t cancel. When asked why he’d calmly replied, “This is a major event with huge implications for the continued success of this particular hotel venue. Every RSVP has already been tabulated into the report for our board. I can’t show up alone and there is no time to call in a replacement. You’ve given your word. I’ll be there in an hour.” Five minutes later, he’d walked to the car.
What Ryan didn’t know was that what Breedloves wanted, Breedloves got. Period, point-blank, end of story.
They pulled into one of Summerlin’s planned communities and onto a street ending in a cul-de-sac framed by townhome-styled condos. One had a red door with earthen pots on each side, brimming with flowers and greenery.
“A hundred bucks that’s Ryan’s home,” he said to the driver, who checked the address and nodded at Adam.
“Good thing I didn’t take you up on that bet.”
Adam got out of the car and strolled up to the door. A burst of excitement spread from his core to his groin. With a smorgasbord of women to choose from any given night of the week, he’d grown jaded to the art of wining and dining. It felt good to be excited. He rang the bell.
“Un momento,” she sang out. Gringo Spanish. He thought about Miguel and smiled.
In less than a minute, she opened the door. Adam turned, but wasn’t ready for the woman he saw. Not this Ryan—part innocent femininity, part femme fatale. The dress, long and flowing, following her curves like water followed the falls. The color almost matched her tawny skin, making him imagine her nude. At the restaurant her curls had been tamed by a band on top of her head but tonight they bounced wild and free, framing her face and brushing her shoulders. They teased his senses; he wanted to touch. He liked that she wore little makeup yet still looked flawless. Her lips kissed with a color of gloss that reminded him of a fine wine. He wanted a taste. How was it that with most of her body covered she managed to look so sexy?