Read Online Among Wildflowers by Stella Rose - Free Book Online Page A

taken a nosedive. That the reason he had suddenly canceled his tour was because he was an alcoholic or was suffering from some debilitating mental illness. Screw them, let them think what they want. But Robbie didn’t see it that way. So here he was, playing nice-nice with a couple of assholes from New York City. If you could call that pretty little blond an asshole.
    “Jose!” Ryland called, trotting up to his most trusted ranch hand.
    “Yes?” Jose grinned. This was his element. He loved working on the ranch, and that’s why Ryland had put him in charge of most of the operations around the place.
    “I’m going to be back at the house for the rest of the day. Do you think you have things handled here?”
    “Oh, yeah, you know I do. I had dinner with those two last night.”
    “Yeah?”
    “Yeah, they seemed alright.”
    Ryland nodded, looking on. “I suppose.”
    “That Macy sure is a looker, ain’t she?”
    Ryland frowned. “I suppose.”
    Jose laughed heartily, slapping Ryland on the back. “For a singer you’re short on words a lot, Ryland.”
    Ryland laughed, despite his mood.
    “How are your folks doing?”
    “They’re doing alright,” Ryland said, giving Belle a pat on her neck.
    “Good. I bet they were happy to see you.”
    “They were. I enjoyed going out to see them, too. I stayed away too long.”
    “Yes, you did.”
    Ryland looked at his friend. “Alright, see you later, Jose,” Ryland said, kicking his heels into the sides of his horse and taking off towards the house in an exhilarating gallop.
    He knew in his gut that Robbie was right—he needed to be nice to Macy and Lane, but he wanted nothing more than to tell them to get the hell off his land.
    ***
    Macy climbed up the steps to the porch and looked around. No one was around and she figured Ryland was still working. Placing her hands on her lower back, she tried to stretch the kinks out. The rocking chairs caught her attention. They were beautifully designed, made out of some kind of exquisite wood—cherry maybe.
    She ran her fingers along the ornate back of one of the chairs, marveling at the care that must have been put into creating it. But once again, her attention was brought back to the fact that one of the chairs was clean and looked like it had been sat in recently, and the other looked like it hadn’t been used in ages. Macy felt drawn to a pile of old flowers that were sitting delicately on the seat, and bent to pick up one of the fragile buds.
    “Macy!” Ryland’s voice made her jump in surprise.
    “Ryland.”
    “What are you doing?” he said, taking his hat off and slapping it against his thigh.
    “I was just waiting for Lane. I didn’t see anyone…” She was suddenly at a loss for words. Why did this man make her feel so off-balance?
    He stopped at the bottom of the steps and regarded her for a moment before his face softened and he smiled, making her heart speed up inside her chest.
    “Ready for lunch?” He climbed the stairs and stood beside her.
    “Sure,” she said, turning to search for Lane in an attempt to avoid looking at Ryland. He was making her feel more uncomfortable by the minute.
    “Let’s go find out what Helen made us today,” he said, reaching for the door handle.
    “She seems very nice. How long has she worked for you?”
    “Almost six years.” He held the door open for her. “We’d starve to death if she wasn’t here.”
    “She’s a good cook. She made a pot pie for dinner our first night and it was simply delicious. Your house is beautiful. I was just admiring your porch. I’ve never seen such a large porch. It almost wraps around your whole house…” She was just babbling now.
    “Thank you,” he said, looking down at her.
    Macy tilted her head back so that she could look into his face. Suddenly, she was acutely aware of the man towering over her. He smelled like cedar and leather. He was standing so close to her, all she had to do was reach out and touch him. Her eyes