Chapter 1
MAX
The green pick up truck came to a stop in front of the large mansion style ranch house, a giant puff of dust settling in its wake. The summer sun glinted off the freshly cleaned windows and the bright red front door stood out against the darker shades of brown cobble that made up the house’s outer walls. Beautiful flowers of all colors decorated each side of the doorway and made the place give off a homey glow.
I stepped out of my truck and took in a deep breath of fresh country air. I loved the fragrance of warm dirt, grass and horses mixed together, it brought back so many memories. A light smile turned my lips and I closed my eyes to take in all that I’d missed the last eight years.
Opening my eyes I walked around the truck and made my way to the stable in the back of the house. The gravel dirt flew up with each of my steps and my black loafers were now more a murky shade of brown. The sound of birds in the sky and the occasional moo from a cow off in the distance were my only companions.
The stable doors stood open as I approached and I heard the neighing of horses, making me smile. The smell of fresh turned hay let me know the horses had recently been fed. With quiet steps I made my way inside the giant structure and let my eyes wander over my favorite place on the ranch.
Memories of days spent grooming the horses, afternoons shoveling hay and nights laying in the hay bed on the upper deck watching the stars through the upper windows washed over me.
It had been almost eight years since I last stepped foot in the stable and nothing seemed to have changed. Everything was still in its respective place.
The hooks next to the door still held the riding crops. Farther off, the horse tacks were still mounted one on top of the other while various tools lined one wall of the structure. Bails of hay still littered most of the empty spaces in the giant room.
Of course, the eight horse stalls took center stage, four on each side of the stable. They stood wide open, a random neigh emitting from one or another at odd times.
I took careful steps farther into the stable, not wanting to startled the creatures in the stalls. My feet crunched the hay that littered the ground. The first stall I passed was empty, and I wondered where the horse was. My grandfather didn’t have many workers and he was very particular about who he let ride his horses.
Across from the empty stall stood a white Arabian, her hair shining against the light entering the stable. A name plate across the top of her stall identified her as Sugar and she gave a snort as I got closer, her tail whipping back and forth.
“You’re a sweet one aren’t you.” I murmured, stroking her forelock and down her mane, “I see why you’re named Sugar, with your coat and sweet disposition it suits you perfectly.” Sugar nuzzled my palm and I chuckled softly, “I’m sorry, girl, no sugar cube today. I’ll bring you one next time I promise.”
Stepping away from the stall I continued down the stable. The next two stalls held matching palomino Stallions. Only the longer, shaggy, mane and forelock on the left Stallion set him apart from his brother across from him.
Both horses were engrossed in eating and I read their names, Nugget and Sunshine, quietly and walked passed them. The next two stalls were empty and I remembered that my grandfather only owned the few horses that he raced. Every now and then he would rent some stalls to other riders but never for long periods of time.
The last pair of stalls stood at the back of the stable, one across from the other. With a small smile, I made quick work of the few steps that separated me from the stalls.
The left stall was empty.
Across from it, on the right, however, stood a black Thoroughbred Stallion. He stared at me curiously, as if he wasn’t sure what he was seeing. I grinned and unlatched the lock to the stall door.
The stallion beat its hooves and took a step back. He huffed out a breath of warm air and bared its teeth when it neighed. Slowly, I brought my hand up to rub the stallion's snout, the horse beat its hooves angrily and I rubbed harder before whispering.
“Shh, it’s ok, boy. It’s me.” The stallion stopped prancing and nuzzled my hand. I let him search me before moving around the horse to rub his midnight black coat, “There’s a good boy. How have you been, Shadow? Miss me? I missed you.”
Shadow snorted before twisting his neck and nuzzling my shoulder. I laughed, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
The sound of rapid hoof beats made me look up and see the shadow of a horse at the stable’s rear door before a chestnut mare strode in. A cowboy sat atop her back on a saddle and I had to stop myself from drooling.
Long, lean legs encased in a pair of jeans and brown chaps straddled the mare’s back, a pair of well-worn boots digging into the mares side, while a tan button up shirt hung open over a hard, chiseled chest and muscled arms were exposed by the rolled up shirt sleeves. A black cowboy hat sat atop a head with black hair from what I could see of the cowboy’s sideburns.
With a perturbed look the cowboy descended the mare and stared at the open door of Shadow’s stall. He was about three inches taller than me, around six feet one and his cowboy hat only made him look that much more taller.
I was well aware that I was hidden from view by Shadow’s huge form so I stepped out of the shadows, no pun intended, and faced the cowboy.
Piercing black eyed met my gray ones and I smiled. The cowboy didn’t reciprocate my gesture. A frown pulling thin, tempting, pink lips down, the cowboy asked, “Who are you and what are you doing in Shadow’s stall?”
His voice, thick and sweet like honey, held a tinge of danger and if I picked up on it then Shadow surely had. Just as the thought crossed my mind Shadow huffed angrily and began to beat his hooves.
A look of caution crossed the handsome cowboy’s eyes as he glanced at Shadow. I wasn’t afraid, I’d dealt with Shadow’s hissy fits too many times to count. Placing a reassuring hand on my horse’s neck I began to stroke the full mane. I placed my lips to Shadow’s ear and ordered him a command to calm down. The stallion stilled almost immediately, his head bowing as if in shame.
Smiling faintly I turned back to the cowboy, who now stood in shock staring at me, and held out my hand, “Maximilian.”
With one last look at, the now sedate, Shadow the cowboy reached for my hand, “Luca Kingsley. I don’t understand, how did you do that? Shadow doesn’t follow anyone’s orders. It takes the men hours to get him to simply stay calm enough to take him out of his stall to the corral.”
I looked over at my horse and smiled fondly at him, “I think he recognizes the person who raised him.”
Luca’s brows furrowed as he processed what I said. His eyes widened as understanding took over his features, “You’re Maximilian. As in Maximilian Leroy Sterling?”
“You can call me Max.” I replied with a cheeky grin, “I take it you’re my granddad’s new ranch hand? The one he praises to me about on the phone constantly.”
A faint blush shined under Luca’s caramel brown tan and he gave me a half smile that made weird feelings erupt in my stomach, “Luca Kingsley at your service.”
“Kingsley,” I mused. “I know that name. Doesn’t your grandfather own one of the Ebony River ranches?”
Ebony River was a giant serpentine natural wonder, eighteen meters in width and a 15 miles long, it ran between four ranches. It had gotten its named long ago due to the silt that made up the river bed which was an ebony color for a reason no one knew. Since only the four ranches--the Cosway Ranch, the Stanley Ranch, the Kingsley Ranch and of course the Sterling Ranch--shared the mile long river they had been dubbed the Ebony River ranches.
I saw a shadow of pain cross Luca’s eyes and regretted asking about his ranch. Luca’s face became a mask of controlled emotions and he forced a smile, “My grandfather passed away six months ago and my father couldn’t keep the ranch. He sold it to Charles Stanley.”
“Charles Stanley owns the whole eastern side of Ebony River?” I asked alarmed.
The four ranches that sat on the banks of Ebony River made a sort of square divided into four smaller squares. Each ranch had the same amount of land with the river running through them, creating a natural divide between the two ranches on the northern side and the two ranches on the southern side.
The Kingsley ranch was on the eastern southern side, neighboring Max’s grandfather’s ranch. Charles Stanley’s ranch was directly across the river from the Kingsley’s.
Luca grimaced, “Technically, he says he’s only holding the ranch until my family can repay me the money he gave to my father.”
“You don’t believe him,” I stated.
“Not for a second. I heard from a friend in town that he’s making building plans to tear down the ranch and create more stables for his horses.”
“Does my granddad know about this?” I asked, concern and a tinge of anger tinging my voice.
“Yes, he does.” The gruff sound of Leroy Colton Sterling’s voice drifted to me from behind Luca.
I moved away from Shadow, shushing the stallion as he gave a loud neigh in protest to my leaving, and stepped out of the stall. Luca guided his mare to the side and I finally had a clear view of my grandfather.
Wearing ratty jeans, a plaid red and black button up shirt tucked into his waistband, a pair of cowboy boots with spurs on the back and a shiny black cowboy hat, my granddad looked every inch the rancher he was.
His experienced eyes still held that spark of mischief I loved about him that even the etchings of wrinkles couldn’t take away. With a straight edged nose and plush lips Leroy Colton Sterling was still a looker even in his sixties and I knew had my grandmother, Evelyn, still been alive she would have been the envy of her friends.
With a bright, genuine, smile I walked up to my granddad and embraced him in a hug, “It’s good to see you, old man. How are you feeling? Mama said your heart was giving you problems.”
My granddad waved off my concerns, “That women worries too much. I’m fine, this old ticker still has a lot of work to do.” He stated, patting his chest over his heart.
“She’s your daughter granddad, it’s her job to worry. You’re lucky she’s not here fussing over you now.”
“I thought that’s what you were here for.” My grandfather rebuked and I had to fight the grin that threatened to split my face, “But back to the discussion I walked in on. I see you met Luca,” motioning to the man standing off to the side watching tour exchange he smiles, “and you know what happened to his ranch.”
“Yeah, is Charles allowed to do that?” I asked my concern returning.
Grandad began to nod but before he could speak Luca piped up, “If you don’t need anything boss, I’m going to put Cinnamon in her stall.”
“No I don’t need anything, Luca. I’ll be in my office with my grandson if you need anything.” He instructed the young man and turned on his heel causing a small cloud of dust and called over his shoulder, “Would you like to go inside, Max?”
I rolled my eyes, “Like you left me a choice,” I grumbled, following my granddad, and I swore I heard a faint chuckle coming from the stable.
A small chuckle of my own formed in my throat and I reasoned that if I got to spend half my time at the ranch with the smolderingly hot new ranch hand maybe my trip wouldn’t be as boring as I had thought.
Growing up on the ranch had made me sick of it by the time I was in high school. So as soon as I could I left to college in New York. That had been eight years ago and I hadn’t stepped foot on this property since.
I wasn’t thrilled about having to leave my business for two weeks to spend some time with my grandad but my mother insisted that he needed company. The only thing I had been looking forward to was riding Shadow over the many acres of land the ranch owned.
Now, however, I also looked forward to spending time with a tempting cowboy.
