Читать книгу What a Man Needs - Patricia Thayer - Страница 13

W ith a groan, Patrick rolled over in bed, his mind filled with erotic images. He blinked, suddenly recalling the sexy woman he’d made love to nearly all night long.

Cyndi. Patrick smiled as he reached out for her, but he found the other side of the bed empty; just her scent lingering on the pillow. He sat up and glanced around the dark room only to discover he was alone. He swung his legs over the side of the mattress. His clothes were still scattered where he’d tossed them, but there was no sign of Cyndi’s things. He got up and walked to check the bathroom. It was deserted, too.

There was no trace of her anywhere. He sank against the doorjamb. “Looks like you’ve been dumped.” Not that he’d had much experience in taking women to hotel rooms, but he hadn’t seen this coming. Especially after what they’d shared last night…just hours ago. It was a blow to his ego, he admitted to himself. He wasn’t planning on carrying this attraction that far anyway, but she didn’t need to run away.

He felt his anger grow as he slipped on his briefs and jeans. Well, the hell with her. He didn’t need the complication anyway. He had the ranch to worry about and it was going to take all his attention when he expanded the vineyard. He sat down and pulled on his boots. And Cyndi No-last-name didn’t fit into those plans. She’d probably done him a favor by leaving. No awkward moments. No regrets. He wasn’t into commitment anyway. Not with the possibility he might inherit his father’s bad habits. Besides, he’d already raised a family—his three sisters. He finally had time to himself.

It had taken him a lot of years to turn the Tanner Ranch into a profitable operation. Added to the cattle, and the breeding and training of horses, he had the Christmas tree farm to watch over. And his dream of the Tanner Vineyard would take all his time and energy, not to mention the money he still had to come up with. Since he didn’t want to use any of the equity in the ranch, he’d been saving every penny.

So he didn’t need distracting thoughts about tall sexy, auburn-haired women. He ran his fingers through his hair and headed out the door. Last night was a night he needed to forget.

Problem was, he doubted he ever would.

The pounding sound grew louder. Cynthia rolled over in bed, hoping it would go away.

“Cyndi, open the door,” her sister called.

Cynthia groaned. She climbed out of bed, went to the door and pulled it open.

“Good, you’re awake,” her sister said as she swept into the large hotel suite.

One of the reasons Cynthia always stayed in a hotel when she visited Portland was so she could have her own space and privacy. What a joke.

Cynthia glanced at the clock. “It’s seven-thirty in the morning. What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?”

“That’s right. And you aren’t dressed.” Kelly examined her. “Looks like you partied a little too hearty last night. How’d it go with the sexy cowboy?”

Cynthia stiffened. “Fine. We had a few drinks and some laughs,” she said. And made love three times, she added silently. “Don’t change the subject. What are you doing here?”

Kelly’s eyes narrowed as she folded her arms. “How could you forget that we’re going out to the Tanner Ranch. You have a date with a nice horse.”

Cynthia groaned. “Not this morning.”

“Yes, this morning. I told Nora we’d be out at the ranch early, so go get dressed.”

“Well, call and tell her we’ll make it another time.”

Kelly took Cyndi’s hand, led her to the sofa and sat her down. “Look, sis, you told me you wanted a chance at that movie. And the only way to get it is to show you can handle a horse. Has that changed since last night?”

Career had always come first for Cyndi, and somehow over the years, it had become her life. Every serious relationship she’d tried had gone sour when she had to go off on location, or the guy couldn’t handle her kissing her leading men, especially when the tabloids blew it up as more. And she’d never met any man who had meant enough to her to give it all up. Yet, last night…Patrick had been the first one in a long time who’d made her think how nice it would be to have someone in her life.

But in the early morning light, she’d panicked.

“Nothing has changed. Give me twenty minutes to get showered and dressed.”

“Not a problem. I’ll call room service for some coffee.” Kelly went to the phone, speaking over her shoulder to Cynthia, “Put on some jeans. I have two pairs of boots for you in the car.”

“Why do I feel like I’ve been had?”

Kelly turned and smiled. “I’m just giving you a little push. You’re a damn good actress and you deserve the part in Cheyenne. I just want to make sure you have every opportunity to get it.”

Cynthia stepped into the large bathroom and turned on the shower. She knew getting the female lead in the movie could jump-start her fading career. She only hoped that Nora’s brother knew what he was doing and had a very gentle horse.

Once in the car, Cynthia thought of a dozen excuses not to go through with this. Right up to the time they drove under the archway to the Tanner Ranch.

The beautiful, serene area seemed to stretch for miles. Against the mountains in the distance, everything was lush and green, still damp from an early-morning shower. White split-rail fences lined either side of the road, and several horses and foals roamed freely in the pastures.

A large yellow two-story house with white shutters came into view. The huge porch was adorned with hanging baskets of colorful flowers, and a swing faced a spectacular view of pine-covered mountains. Kelly drove on and headed to the barn. The white structure had a charcoal-colored roof and huge framed doors that stood open. A man walked out leading a very large horse. Cynthia’s heart began to pound in her chest.

“Come on, let’s go find Nora,” Kelly said.

“Let’s try the house first,” Cynthia suggested, not yet ready to get near a horse.

Just as they got out of the car, a brunette woman exited the house—Nora Tanner, she assumed, from her friendly wave to Kelly. She was about twenty-five and had a petite, shapely body clad in jeans and a cotton T-shirt.

“Hi, Kelly,” the woman said, then turning to Cynthia, she gushed, “Oh, Ms. Reynolds, it’s such a pleasure to meet you.”

“Oh, no, an adoring fan.” Kelly rolled her eyes.

Cynthia ignored her. “Please, call me Cyndi.”

Nora nodded. “Cyndi. I’m so glad you could make it.”

“I’m sure my sister told you that I don’t do very well around horses.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m happy that you’re going to give riding another chance,” Nora offered. “Welcome to the Tanner Ranch.”

Cynthia heard a horse’s high-pitched whinny. “I’m not sure this is going to work.”

“But you’re here to try,” Nora said.

Cynthia nodded reluctantly.

“Good, you won’t be sorry. My brother is the best with horses, and the best teacher. Let’s go find him.” She headed toward the barn.

Cynthia reluctantly followed her. How could she have let herself be talked into this? Nora went on ahead and talked to a man with dark brown hair and hazel eyes who looked to be in his late thirties. Just their flirtatious demeanor told her they weren’t brother and sister.

“This is Forest. He’s the foreman here. Forest, this is Kelly and Cyndi.”

The cowboy raised his fingers to his hat in a salute. “It’s nice to meet you, ladies.”

Cyndi managed a hello, but was watching the horse in the corral. The shiny coal-black stallion wasn’t docile like the horses she’d seen in the pasture. This animal was prancing around, bobbing his head up and down, whinnying. She couldn’t take her eyes off the magnificent animal.

Forest noticed her interest. “You’ll have to excuse Black Knight, he’s a little…stirred up.” Just then a high-pitched whinny came from the barn. “He’s going to stand in stud today.”

Cyndi didn’t have to live on a ranch to know what that meant. “How nice for him.”

Just then a man’s loud voice came from inside the barn. Nora said, “Don’t let Patrick’s bark scare you off. He’s a real sweetheart. C’mon.” Nora went inside.

Patrick? Cynthia froze. No. It couldn’t be the same man, she told herself.

Kelly nudged her down the cement aisle lined on either side with horse stalls, some empty, some with horses inside that came forward to welcome them. Cynthia could smell a sweet mixture of hay and horses in the immaculate barn.

At the far end a tall man stood with his back to them. Even before he turned around, Cynthia knew who he was. Oh, God. This had to be a bad dream. She quickly took in his blond hair partially covered by a white cowboy hat. It was the same face, the same chiseled jaw that she’d stroked so many times last night, and the same mouth that had done so many incredible things to her during their lovemaking. Finally she raised her gaze and looked into those blue, blue eyes.

Cynthia fought for a breath. She needed her best acting performance to get through this meeting.

Nora’s voice broke through Cynthia’s reverie. “Kelly, Cyndi, I’d like you to meet my brother, Patrick. Patrick, this is my boss, Kelly Reynolds, and her sister, the actress Cynthia Reynolds.”

“Oh, my God,” Kelly said. “You were at Morgan’s last night. You were with—” She gave Cynthia a confused look, then quickly masked it as she turned back to Patrick.

Patrick nodded, fighting to act nonchalant. But too many emotions were churning through him, the most prevalent being anger. So his Cyndi was Cynthia Reynolds. And last night the famous actress had been looking for some entertainment. He’d just been a diversion to her.

“Yeah, I was at the pub. I was supposed to meet Nora, but it seemed she had a flat tire.” He glanced at his sister. “If you want to show your friends around the ranch, it’s not a problem, but I’m breeding the Keefers’ mare this morning.” He shot a hard look at Cynthia as he rubbed the mare’s nose.

“She’s beautiful,” Cyndi said. “What’s her name?”

Patrick had trouble listening to her soft, husky voice. “Suzy Q.” His gaze bored into her startled brown eyes. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…” He started to open the stall.

“Wait, Patrick,” Nora called. “I need to talk with you.” She took him by the arm and started off, but looked back toward Kelly and Cyndi. “Kelly, will you take Cyndi up to the house? I have coffee and Danish in the kitchen. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

“Maybe we should just go,” Cyndi said. “This wasn’t a good idea.”

“No, it’s fine,” Kelly said. “We’ll be at the house. Nice to meet you, Patrick.”

Patrick watched both women walk off. He wanted to run after Cyndi and demand to know why she hadn’t told him who she was. But he first needed to speak with Nora. He had a feeling that she’d set something up. She usually didn’t bring strangers to the ranch without telling him.

He folded his arms across his chest. “Okay, talk.”

Nora forced a smile. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

“Who?” As if he didn’t know.

“Cynthia Reynolds, that’s who.” She rolled her eyes. “And she came here for help.”

Now all the pieces were starting to fall together. “Was Cynthia the reason for our meeting at Morgan’s last night?”

“Well, kind of.” She wrinkled her nose. “I was hoping that if you met and liked each other, that you would want to help her.”

Oh, brother. He’d helped her all right…and Cyndi had helped him, too. He drew a calming breath. “Just how am I supposed to do that?”

“She has this movie part coming up and it’s a Western and…you need to teach her to ride.”

Great. When did things get so bad that he had to teach a spoiled Hollywood actress to ride a horse? “Like hell. I don’t have the time or the disposition to put up with a demanding actress.” He couldn’t stop the flood of memories of last night. Cyndi was demanding, all right, as a lover, but she had been just as giving. He turned away.

“Patrick, wait. You don’t understand. She’s terrified of horses.”

“Not my problem.”

“She’s willing to pay twenty-five thousand dollars.”

He stopped and stared at his sister. “You’re kidding.”

She shook her head. “I know you normally work with children, but Cyndi needs to be able to ride for this movie. When Kelly told me about it, naturally I thought of you. You are the best.”

Patrick hated it when his baby sister pulled this sweet act. Ever since she was a kid, she’d brought home all kind of strays. He still had two dogs and a cat that she’d rescued. But this… “I have too much to do.”

“I thought your dream was to enlarge the vineyard, to start a winery. Helping Cynthia Reynolds will bring you a lot closer to that goal.”

It would take a long time for Patrick to save that kind of money. But the problem was, could he get past his relationship with Cyndi? Hell, what was he talking about? It was a one-night stand.

“Tell her I’ll give her some time in the afternoon.”

Nora looked funny. “Patrick, she needs more than that. You’ve got to work with her full-time. And this has to be a secret. That means she should live out here.”

“So what exactly happened between the two of you last night?” Kelly asked curiously. “The man didn’t seem to be too happy to see you. And before you deny it, I saw the sparks between you two, but I wasn’t sure if he was going to throttle you or jump your bones.”

Cynthia paced the large farm-style kitchen. Although the room had obviously new maple cabinets and the countertops were tiled in a natural-colored stone, there was a homeyness about the place that was warm and inviting. But no matter how inviting, she wanted to leave, to convince Kelly to take her back to town.

“I never told him who I was last night. We only exchanged first names.” She tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. “What’s the big deal? You encouraged me to share a few drinks and some laughs.”

Last night’s memories were still fresh in her mind, still stirred feelings within Cynthia. She couldn’t believe how much she’d wanted Patrick just hours ago. So much so she couldn’t keep her hands off him. Seeing him again this morning, she realized those feelings hadn’t gone away. Trying to work with Patrick Tanner would be a disaster.

“Are you saying that more happened between you two?” Kelly’s eyes were wide with hope and surprise.

“Since when do we—” Just then the back door opened and Nora walked into the kitchen.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said. “Patrick and I needed to go over some things.” She released a long breath and looked at Cynthia. “My brother wants to talk to you. He’s outside on the porch.”

“Look, Nora, if this is going to cause trouble…” Cynthia began.

“No, he just wants to make sure that you’re serious about learning to ride. And to work out a few details.”

Cynthia nodded. Good. She would straighten this out. She’d tell Patrick Tanner she didn’t need his services and leave. There had to be dozens of instructors who could teach her to ride.

She walked out the door and found him sitting on the back-porch railing. His arms were folded over that gorgeous, broad chest. She shook away the mental picture of Patrick naked, then her gaze connected with his. “Look, Patrick, I’m sorry about last night.”

“What are you sorry about, Cyndi? That you spent the night with me, or that your little joke backfired?”

“It wasn’t a joke. You may not believe it, but I don’t make a habit of going to bed with men I just met.”

He didn’t look like he believed her. “No problem. We used protection.”

Seeing her pained look, Patrick wanted to take back his words.

“How come it’s only my behavior that’s being scrutinized?” she asked. “Is it because I left you first, instead of you leaving me?”

Her fiery question hit home.

He fought back. “How about because you didn’t mention that you’re Cynthia Reynolds? Was that the reason you wanted to leave it at just first names?”

“You ever think maybe my reason was that people act differently around me when they know who I am?” she asked. “You didn’t recognize me. It was nice being myself for a change. You didn’t seem to care who I was.”

Hell, she’d had him so hot he couldn’t remember his own name. “What do we do now?”

She shrugged. “I’ll just tell Kelly and Nora we can’t work things out. Although, I would appreciate it if you gave me the name of someone who can teach me to ride.” She glanced around, not really looking at him.

He could direct her to a half-dozen people, but he doubted she would get results in such a short time. “Nora said you only had ten days and needed to keep this quiet. That if the media gets wind of you taking riding lessons, you could lose the opportunity for this movie.”

“It’s not your problem. Tell your sister thanks and tell my sister that I’ll meet her in the car.”

Before Cyndi could pass him, he reached out for her. Mistake. The hot sizzle from the connection was unbelievable. What he was about to do was another mistake. “I’ll do it. But by my rules.”

Cynthia didn’t pull away, but she didn’t back down either. “What are the rules?”

“We’ll work from early morning until the afternoon. You’ll also be responsible for the care of your horse. There will be no media around, and you’ll move out here for the next ten days.” And he asked for a larger amount of money for his services than she had originally offered just to see how far he could go. He expected her to tell him to go to hell.

“And what if I don’t agree?”

“Then we say goodbye…this time.” Inside he wasn’t sure what he wanted her to do. He knew he didn’t need this distraction, but he still wanted Cyndi. Maybe during the ten days she’d be here, he would get her out of his system.

Cynthia stepped back. “I have one condition of my own. We keep this arrangement strictly business. What happened last night will not happen again.”

We’ll see about that, Patrick thought. “Agreed. Strictly business.” He shook her hand then released it before he broke his promise right here and now. “Talk with Nora and she’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

He started down the steps toward the barn, then turned. “I’ll be busy most of the day, so you’ll be fending for yourself. But tomorrow I expect to see you in the barn at 6:00 a.m. If you’re not, I’ll figure you’ve changed your mind.”

“Oh, I’ll be there,” she tossed back, a challenging look on her beautiful face. “So be ready to live up to your reputation.”