Читать книгу The Billionaire's Colton Threat - Geri Krotow - Страница 10

Chapter 2

“Back toward my voice, slowly.” Alastair would feel like a damned fool if he wasn’t certain he was near death. He held on to Halle’s voice. The snake’s head had hit the ground not two inches from the toes of his too-shiny, too-new cowboy boots as it had struck out at Alastair. The boots had seemed a more practical, if impulsive, buy when he was in Austin. He thanked God he was wearing them and not sneakers.

Halle’s voice gave him courage, not something he usually drew on from others. Even with a close family, Alastair considered himself a loner. His strength came from within. Not now. Halle was his rock as he complied, moving backward until he bumped into her. To his visceral relief, the snake slithered back underneath the rock it had been sunning on before he’d disturbed it.

He turned and found Halle’s eyes watching him, her luscious lips curved in a small smile. “Was that your first rattlesnake?”

“Yes.” But not the only threat out here in the Texas wilderness. Halle held a revolver in her hand. “Tell me, Halle. Do you always carry weapons on family trail rides?”

“Yes. For rattlesnakes and to warn off coyotes.” He suspected it was also in case she ran into criminals.

“Have you ever had to use it against a human being?”

“Not yet, but there’ve been a few scrapes.”

He was looking down at her, close enough to see that her eyes weren’t brown or even amber but the perfect shade of Clyde Whiskey. Single malt, the premium drink that enjoyed worldwide acclaim. But her eyes were just the start of a beautiful face, her nose small and classical, her lips full and incredibly erotic.

“Thank you for saving me, Halle.”

Her eyes looked at his mouth for a full heartbeat before she stepped away.

“You were fine. Rattlers don’t strike unless they feel cornered. You startled him off his sunning spot, that’s all. He would have backed off as long as you didn’t go after him.” Her speech was increasing in velocity. “Your boots helped, too—if he hit your leg you would have been safe. Although you wouldn’t need thousand-dollar boots for that. And for the record, you would have never hit him with your phone.”

“You really know how to make a man feel like John Wayne.”

“It’s all part of your special tour, Alastair. Are you hungry yet?” Her grin was genuine, a flash of inviting white. “We’ve got the best trail food in Texas. I cheated and used my two horseback coolers so that you could enjoy some real food out here. Of course, if you’d caught your friend, barbecued rattlesnake is tasty.”

“Like chicken, I take it?”

She laughed. “You might just survive out here, after all. Let’s eat.”

She spoke as they walked to the horses, and put the gun away in one of her saddlebags. “Sliced Texas brisket or egg salad sandwich?” She pulled out a small bag and held up two wax-paper wrapped bundles.

“Beef.”

They ate in relative silence, for which Alastair was grateful. He needed time to process what he’d just done for the first time in his life. He’d relied on someone other than himself or family to help him out of a life-threatening situation. Gratitude, sexual attraction and downright affection fought for first place in his heart as he took a full account of his feelings since he’d met her. Although a sexual relationship with Halle or any woman was never a sure thing, he knew one thing for certain. Halle made the best kind of friend. She was trustworthy and true to her word. Not boastful but sure of her capabilities and not afraid to use them, as she had been to scare the snake away.

Halle Ford was a woman that Alastair suspected would be difficult to say goodbye to, whether she ended up being his friend or lover.

What he’d really like best would be for her to be both.

* * *

Halle used the lunch break to get her imagination under control. Because it was a total nightmare to even contemplate a sexual rodeo with Alastair, but contemplate she had as she’d been up close and personal with him. When his hard body had backed away from the rattler and into hers, she couldn’t help but wonder how all of that hard muscle would feel, naked under her hands.

Her unintentional vow of chastity to Bluewood was making her crazy. Maybe she needed to start dating again, once she had the ranch running at a profit, or enough of a cash flow for nicer groceries, anyway. Halle wasn’t a food snob by any means but she enjoyed sushi and other less economical treats as much as the next millennial.

“You’re worried about the rain. Is it supposed to flood?” His Adam’s apple moved under his skin as he finished the last of his bottle of sparkling water. Halle noted that he hadn’t spoken as he ate. More like wolfed down his meal—the man might be a gazillionaire but money didn’t take away his basic makeup.

He was incredibly attractive. The man was a sex swizzle stick, for God’s sake. Yet he didn’t act like a jerk, didn’t make a play for her. He treated her like a professional.

Which of course made him even more attractive. Not only for how the integrity that simmered underneath his all-business, all-the-time demeanor. He was a true gentleman in that he hadn’t flung a crude come-on at her or tried to flirt with her in a creepy way. His good manners reminded her of her father’s. Although she had to admit she’d love it if he decided to make any kind of romantic move. Client and all. She’d always enjoyed the challenge, the push and pull, the delicate balance of tension that surrounded a full flirtation. She was her father’s daughter, for sure. Chancellor Ford had never backed away from any challenge.

White-hot anger seared her heart. Her father’s life had ended horribly, in a car accident he’d had no warning was coming. He’d been murdered in cold blood by a hit-and-run driver, a woman Halle would never forgive. She had to physically shake her head to break free of the grief that threatened to swamp her.

“Halle? The rain—is it going to be that bad?” Alastair’s concern was in the lines around his mouth, the intensity of his stare. The words were about weather but the subtext was clear. Are you okay? Are you nuts or something?

Halle wrapped her waxed paper and napkin into a ball. “Worried is a strong word. I’m concerned that we’ll get caught in the downpour and get soaked. Hypothermia would be a quick end to our adventure.”

“The rattlesnake could have ended it, too. And while I still hope that I can sleep directly under the stars tonight, I’ll take you up on the spare tent if you think it’s best. But only after we get yours set up, and you convince me you’ll be safe. You’re my trusted tour guide, after all. It wouldn’t be prudent to have you hurt this early in the adventure.”

Halle’s heart warmed. It had to be a major concession for such a worldly man, even though he’d couched it as her decision, to sleep in the tent instead of under the stars directly. His manner of trying to disguise his concern for her as selfishness on his part was downright adorable. And sexy as all get-out.

“All of the riders I bring out here dream of sleeping under the stars, but I have to say that rattlesnakes and scorpions can ruin a perfectly good night’s sleep. The tent is the easiest solution. We’ll set them both up. You can see the stars best before sunup, anyhow. We’ll have our coffee with the dawn.”

Alastair laughed and with growing dread Halle realized it was a sound she could get used to. Too fast, too deep.

“I wouldn’t want to meet our friend from earlier in my bedroll. Or make you have to shoot it in the middle of the night.”

“Trust me, if there’s a snake in your bed, you’re on your own.”

“Really?” The gray-blue gaze, the relaxed mouth, the day’s rough growth of stubble. Her face heated at Alastair’s innuendo. A normal reaction, but the heat that entered farther down her belly and into her female core went too far for her sense of professionalism.

“Since neither of us wants that, let’s get going. We’ve got a couple of hours till we’re at the first night’s campsite.” She couldn’t get astride Buttercup fast enough.

“You don’t have to keep running away from me. Unlike the rattlesnakes and scorpions, I don’t bite.” He’d maneuvered Buster up next to her and Buttercup with the ease of a skilled horseman. She had to give him credit—he may not appreciate just how brutal “roughing it” could be in Texas, but he knew his way around a horse.

“I’m sorry to give you the impression that I’m avoiding you. I’m used to leading a dozen folks at a time, many beginner riders. They usually like to be together with someone they know, to keep their conversation easy. Even when I take out single guests, I’m not used to making more than small talk on the trail.”

“Our conversation can be easy. And I’ll follow you wherever you want to go.”

Zing. Her attraction to him lit up like a Christmas tree. The way it made her body feel was like a special gift. She knew her face was flushed and hoped he couldn’t see her hardened nipples under her shirt. Because as much as she loved Christmas and the live tree she continued to cut down, drag in and set up each year in Bluewood Ranch’s modest living room, she didn’t need her sexual desires on full display in front of a business client.

“You don’t strike me as the easy-talking type, Alastair. You don’t run a successful business like Clyde Whiskey without being very exacting.”

“True, but that’s work. Which I can’t seem to get away from these days.” He lifted his hat and let the breeze lift his short locks before replacing it. “It’s never done, never secure. Not in the age of HFT.”

“HFT?”

“High-frequency trading. Have you thought of investing your profits from the ranch into the market, when you’re ready?” He was so sincere, so earnest in his concern for her financial well-being.

Halle couldn’t have stopped the laugh if she’d wanted to. “I’m lucky to be able to invest in groceries at the end of a month.”

Alastair’s eyes filled with compassion. “Getting a business up and running is difficult, but continuing to successfully run one year after year can prove just as challenging, if not more so. We’re two of a kind, Halle Ford. I suspect we both have a passion for our businesses, and that’s why we do what we do. All the sacrifice. Tell me about your business, Halle.”

To her surprise, she did.

* * *

Alastair kept his eyes on Halle the entire time she confided in him. He was so touched, so damn honored that she trusted him enough to tell him what she’d been through. His concern over her welfare spiked as he listened. Halle spoke as if the tragic death of her father, which she clearly blamed a dead woman named Livia Colton for, had happened in another family, not hers. She was too detached. He wondered if she’d properly processed the ordeal, and worried for her when she did, when it would all hit her. He hoped he’d be around to help her through it, as ridiculous as it seemed on paper, since they’d known one another for such a short time. Alastair got Halle’s dilemma—he knew what it meant to have to shove down pain that would otherwise choke the last gasp of joy out of him.

“I’ve gone through similar trials. We’ve almost lost our business half a dozen times over the past decade. It’s so hard at times. If it weren’t for my family and the fact that Clyde Whiskey is a family business, I’d have hung it up on more than one occasion.” As he spoke he felt tremendous relief. As if he were the one unburdening to her. Maybe he was.

She nodded.

“It’s important to me to keep Bluewood Ranch running. I know that the tourist business isn’t going to keep it alive forever, but I haven’t figured out what else I want to do, what would be financially feasible, for the ranch.” She spoke with the weight of an executive CEO, which he found admirable, since Bluewood seemed like a relatively small operation. Halle took her responsibilities seriously, her experience with larger corporate concerns evident. It was another reason she was unlike any other person he’d ever known, and why he desperately wanted to know her better. So much better. Halle did nothing halfway. She was the epitome of “go big or go home.”

“Have you thought about attracting outside investors?” He thought he’d asked it innocently enough, not mentioning Jeremy outright.

“A pity handout? Never. The big money around these parts is the Colton family and I will never take a penny from them. Even in the wrongful death of my father, I never sought restitution. The only payback would have been to put Livia Colton behind bars. Since she’s dead, it’s a moot point.”

“Understood. But Jeremy’s not a Colton.”

“No, but he’s my friend, as is Adeline. I don’t want to mix friendship and business. Not when investing in the ranch is such a risk. For the moment.” A cloud ran across the sky, putting them in shadow. Halle’s face was guarded.

“And yet you allowed Jeremy to send me here. Is there something you aren’t telling me about the risk at Bluewood?”

“No, not at all.” She let out a soft sigh as she looked at the horizon. “I always planned to take over Bluewood from my dad. Looked forward to it. I knew that someday I’d be running it.”

“But?”

“It’s happened too quickly. I’ve had to learn my way around ranching and the tourism industry while still booking clients. I never feel as if I’m one hundred percent in either role—apprentice or ranch expert.”

“Do you have any staff to help out?” He’d only noticed one ranch hand tending to the barn and stables before they set out.

Halle laughed. “No, that takes time and money.” Neither of which she would have yet since her schedule was full taking people on tours like this one and pouring the revenue into repairs. “My full-time ranch hand, Charlie, hasn’t had a raise in two years. He’s loyal but he could decide today to move on and I’d have no recourse. And frankly, I wouldn’t blame him. I hire other ranch hands as needed.”

“I hear you on feeling as though you’re never doing enough. It’s part of being in business for yourself. That’s what I’ve learned, anyhow. I give you credit, Halle. You’re remarkable. I inherited a solid business and grew it. You’re taking something with a lot of challenges and turning it around. I wish I had as much courage as you.” He meant the words and could feel his heart beat with each one uttered. Halle had a way of forcing him to dig deeper, to find the best way possible to let her know how incredible she was. He’d been under his own work stress lately, but it didn’t compare to Halle’s. Except that they shared indefatigable work ethics. His work was never done, and with his current situation the anxiety of an unforeseen buyout made it so much worse. Nothing he could tell Halle, nothing he’d want anyone in Shadow Creek to know about, no matter how much he trusted them. Not yet. They’d know soon enough if he decided to not invest in tech in the Austin area. Because if he lacked the funds, he wouldn’t invest or ask others to. Alastair might be a billionaire but to him his word was worth more than any commodity, cash included.

They pulled the horses up to a wide leg that offered a breathtaking view of the countryside below and in front of them. They sat in companionable silence as they watched the sun start its descent. Streaks of peach, apricot and purple hues soared over the Texas sky. Even Buttercup and Buster were still, as if showing reverence for nature’s spectacle.

“Let’s dismount and set up camp. We’re over there, near the grove of willows.” She nodded toward their night camp. Halle’s eyes reflected the fiery shades of the beginning sunset. It didn’t escape Alastair that if they’d met anywhere else in time, or on earth, they might be together tonight in the best of ways.

But Halle had made her boundaries clear. This was solely a business excursion. He understood and in fact admired her for her professionalism. Even if it meant losing out on an opportunity to explore the undeniable attraction that arced between them. How could he consider campsite extracurriculars with Halle when his entire livelihood could be at risk?