This woman does not belong here.
Yet somehow I think she can handle it. It’s like she’s got steel under all that polish. She searches the area. Her brows pull together when she spots the Velvet Spur decked out in lights. Then her gaze skims past the horse corrals, the cabins, and the spa. Until finally, it lands on me.
Our stare is hot and immediate. My chest drops tight in response. Her eyes linger, but then something flickers behind them. Whatever it is tugs up the corner of her mouth. The look holds just long enough for tingles to shoot through my body.
Then she breaks eye contact.
The woman turns toward the lobby with brisk, unbothered steps. She moves fast for someone in heels on half-frozen gravel. In a snap, she disappears into our lobby through the massive oak doors.
She’s probably here for some dumbass influencer thing if I had to guess. Still, somebody’s gotta greet the new arrival. And for what feels like the first time ever, there ain’t a damn Kingridge in sight. I head toward the lobby with a slow and collected pace.
This feels like the right time to get my shit together. I drag a hand down my face and tell my dick to mind its own business. Then I inhale a deep breath and straighten up, pulling my shoulders back. I suddenly remember that my flannel shirt is missing a button, and there’s a smear of mud across my thigh from where I slipped earlier. But there’s no going back now.
The big door swings open just as I reach the steps. The woman stops dead on the threshold, almost colliding with my chest. I grab the doorframe to steady us both.
“Sorry,” I say. “Didn’t mean to?—”
Her perfume hits me first. It's clean, expensive, and just a touch sweet. Up close, she’s even more distracting. There are tiny golden flecks in her dark eyes and a faint line between her brows. It’s like she’s permanently annoyed, or maybe she’s just annoyed by me.
“I’m looking for an employee of yours. One of the Kingridge brothers.” Her voice cuts right over me. It’s smooth and clipped at the edges like she’s used to being listened to. “Are you the manager?”
“I manage things.” I let out a chuckle. “It’s mostly horses and hay and broken fence posts.”
She hesitates, and a smile plays on her lips for just a second before it vanishes. “I’m looking for Danner Kingridge.” Her tone is softer now.
“Here for goat yoga, I knew it. He isn’t working today. I’m afraid you’ve got your dates mixed up.”
“I don’t get mixed up. Danner is expecting me. Point me toward his office.”
“Office? We don’t have offices. He’s got a cabin, but if I had to guess, he isn’t there either. We don’t do a lot of downtime around here. My best guess is that he’s over in the gardens.”
“Well, I need to see him. I’m his sister.”
“Sister.” The most recent episode of the Boots & Bitching Podcast plays in my head.A new Kingridge. A woman.
“Correct. Eliza,” she says finally. “Eliza Kingridge.”
The name hits me like a physical thing. I knew it was coming. But somehow I still wasn’t ready for it to be connected to a body like hers. The last name on her lips sounds wrong and right at the same time.
“Kingridge. I guess that makes this your place. I’m Walker Reed.”
“Relax, Walker, I’m not interested in the ranch. I just want my brother back.”
“Well, ain’t much I can do there. In fact, I don’t want to touch that with a ten-foot pole.” I let out a chuckle, and she cuts her eyes at me. I step back, holding the door open. “You want to come in? It’s warmer inside. Priya left fresh coffee this morning. I can page Danner on the radio and see where he is.”
“Yes,” she says, brushing past me. “That would be ideal.”
She walks into the lobby like she owns it. Which, in some technical, bloodline kind of way, she probably does. The thoughtsits strangely in my chest. The edge of her coat sleeve grazes my arm. Heat skitters across my skin like I’ve been branded.
She stops in front of the big window that overlooks the front lawn and crosses her arms. The movement pulls her coat open just enough for me to capture the shape of her breasts beneath her silk shirt and the wide curve of her hips. My mouth waters, and I fight to focus on anything else.
I clear my throat and reach for the radio on the counter. “Danner, you copy? You have a visitor here for you at the lobby.”
Static crackles, followed by Danner’s too-cheerful voice. “I hear you, brother. I am currently in the goat pasture achieving inner peace, but I can relocate to the lobby in approximately… twelve minutes.”
I roll my eyes. “Just get here.”
“Roger that.”
