Moonlight Beach Bachelors: Her Forbidden Cowboy. Charlene Sands

      She turned to Zane, roping her arms around his neck. “What did you have in mind?”

      He kissed her quickly and then tugged her closer. “A day of play. We can get out of here. Have fun.”

      A lock of his thick hair fell to his forehead. In many ways, he looked like a little boy, eager to play hooky. He lived in this dream house on the beach and spoke of getting away, as if he’d been in living in the slums all this time. The irony made her smile, and she toyed with that wayward lock of hair, curling it around her finger, mesmerized by the man she shared a bed with.

      “You’re the boss,” she whispered.

      “I’m not your boss,” he said softly. “Not when it comes to this.”

      He began kissing her shoulder, her throat, her chin. And then he stopped suddenly and inched away. He shot her a solid, earnest look. “Would you like to spend the day with me?”

      Oh, wow. Like a date? “Yes.” She yanked the lock of hair. “Of course, silly.”

      He gave her backside a gentle squeeze. “Then we’d better get up and get showered. You first. If we share another shower, we’ll never make it out of here this morning.” He waggled his brows. “On second thought, maybe...”

      She laughed and jumped out of bed. “I’m going in first.”

      Less than an hour later, Zane was sitting behind the wheel of his SUV and pulling out of the gates of his home. “Feels good to be driving again. I hated feeling helpless, having to rely on someone to take me places.”

      A few days of stubble on his face had led to a short, sexy beard. The new look turned her on. Everything about him seemed to do that. All she had to do was think about making love with him last night and tingles fluttered inside her belly.

      He wore a baseball cap instead of his Stetson. The beard and sunglasses also helped disguise him. He’d healed so well, she would’ve never guessed he’d broken his foot, except for his slight limp as he tried not to put too much pressure on it. She already knew she’d be arguing with him about going to his rehab appointments.

      He’d told her to wear her boots, dress in jeans and not question where they were going. He wanted to surprise her. She sat in her comfortable clothes, watching the stunning landscape go by as they left the blue waters behind and drove up a mountain road. The scenery lent itself to light conversation and soft music. Zane sang along with the tune on the radio, his voice deep and rich, her own personal concert. She couldn’t help but grin.

      Thirty minutes later, they were atop the mountain at a sprawling ranch-style home overlooking the city to the south and the valley to the north. The air was clean up here, the smog of the day blown away by ocean breezes. “Where are we?” she asked.

      “My friend Chuck Bowen owns this place with his mother. It’s called Ruby Ranch.”

      She glanced around and spotted white-fenced corrals, vineyards off in the distance and acres and acres of hilly, tree-dotted land. The sound of horses whinnying and snorting reached her ears.

      “C’mon.”

      Zane exited the car and walked around to help her out. He took her hand. That little boy excitement once again lit his expression. “We’re going riding.”

      “Riding?” She hadn’t been on a horse since she was a teenager. She’d go riding every weekend with her good friend Jolie Burns when she wasn’t working at Holcomb House. Jolie lived on a cattle ranch ten miles outside of Beckon. Jessica had the use of a pretty palomino named Sparkle, and she’d learned how to wash down and groom a horse back then, too. It was expected. If you exercised a horse, got him lathered up, then it was your responsibility to see to his needs after the ride. Jessica had fallen in love with Sparkle. She never minded the hard work that came with him.

      She rubbed her hands together. This could be fun. “Oh, boy!”

      Zane chuckled and kissed the tip of nose. “That’s what I thought.”

      A fiftysomething woman with hair the color of deep, rich red wine walked out of the house. She was flawless in her appearance, neat and tidy, and her pretty face must have stopped men in their tracks when she was younger. Even now, she was stunning and dressed in Western clothes that looked as if they’d just come off a fashion runway.

      “Hi, Ruby,” Zane said.

      “Zane. It’s good to see you again.”

      Zane took Jessica’s hand as he moved toward the house. Ruby tried not to react, but her eyes dipped to their interlocked hands for a second before she gave them both a smile. “Ruby, I’d like you to meet Jessica Holcomb. Jess, this is Ruby Bowen. She and Chuck own this amazing land.”