Dude Ranch Nights

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

C.J. worked to catch the rhythm of her mount’s easy gait. True to his word, her host did not pamper her. He set a hard pace for the first two hours, trotting on the level or gentle slopes and slowing to a walk only when the going got steep or rough. C.J. allowed Josie to pick her path once it was clear the little mule intended to stay close on the bay’s heels.

Unused to western riding, C.J. had to concentrate on keeping her seat and yet not getting her butt pounded at the trot. The familiar posting mode was not possible with the long stirrups. However, she already sensed this would be easier on her legs for a long ride such as they were apparently going to make. It didn’t take her long to settle into the new style. Her unusual mount had smooth, easy gaits, whether at the walk or the trot.

Cam’s stiff posture indicated he was still miffed with her. He never once looked back, but pushed his mount on up a zigzagging trail. It appeared to lead to the top of a loaf-shaped mountain that now loomed over them with a beetling brow of dark cliffs. C.J. tied the reins together and draped them over the saddle horn in order to snap a few pictures. She thought Josie was trustworthy enough to follow Cam’s horse without any direction for a few minutes.

Back home it would be hard to describe or even recall the blueness of the sky, the crystal clarity of the dry air, or the wild scents of the native foliage, most of which was totally unfamiliar to her. Although harsh, the scenery had a unique but undeniable beauty all its own.

Already she was moved by the curious enchantment of the high desert. The handsome man on his powerful horse added to the charm.

He might act aloof but I’ll bet I can bring him around.

Right now he was an enigma. He spoke mostly in cultured tones, using correct grammar and very few of the cowboy idioms she’d heard in the movies. Yet in appearance he merged perfectly with the environment, in his element on horseback and in the wilds.

She noticed the rifle in a leather scabbard slanting along his mount’s right side beneath his stirrup strap. It hung so he could grab the rifle and swing off with a single motion. Can there be a real need to be armed? He did say there were wild animals, though—predators. A frisson of mixed excitement and anxiety danced down her spine. She cast an anxious look around her, almost expecting to see a tawny puma crouched beneath one of the squatty evergreens or a bear in a thick clump of brush.

When she realized Josie had fallen behind while she was absorbed in her photography, C.J. heeled the mule firmly in an effort to get closer to the big horse and his rider. If they disappeared from view, she knew she would be lost in moments. That was a daunting notion. Although she could catch an occasional glimpse of the green grove where the ranch sat far below, the way back was not clear. Perhaps she could follow the trail, yet it was but the dimmest trace in some spots, easy to miss.

In short, she was completely dependent on Cameron Greenway and his knowledge of this country. She was not at all sure she liked that and yet, was it not what she’d come for? His blatant masculinity itself was a challenge to her, a taunt which made a prickly heat flash through her body, starting a tingle in her crotch where she pressed against the smooth leather of her saddle. Before I leave here, I will have…No, I expect he’ll have me, but that’ll be the wildest adventure of all.