Seduced by Moonlight (16 page)

Harry enjoyed his tuna, as well. What he enjoyed the most, though, was watching Cherisse eat. It was a singularly arousing experience. She licked a bit of sauce from her lips and he hardened. He had to look away.

Cherisse followed his line of sight, thinking he must have spotted someone he knew across the room. But he didn't say anything. After a while she thought she might have a bit of sauce on her chin or slaw in her teeth, something he was loath to mention.

If she had something in her teeth, she wanted to be told about it. “Harry, why are you looking everywhere except at me? Do I have something in my teeth?”

“No,” Harry said hurriedly to put her mind at ease. He looked at her, but had to lower his gaze because he was somewhat embarrassed. He said, “Looking at you is doing things to my body. I have been in a constant state of semi-arousal since I picked you up this evening.”

Cherisse reached across the table and clasped one of Harry's big hands in hers. “You don't know what a wonderful compliment that is, Harry. Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure,” Harry said, meeting her gaze. “Believe me.”

Cherisse gave him a winning smile and squeezed his hand. “I'm glad to know I'm not the only one having a hard time controlling my impulses.”

“M
ontana!” cried Jo the next morning when Cherisse told her about Harry's invitation.

Cherisse was pleased to find that Charlie had slept in on Sunday morning. She and Jo had a peaceful few minutes before either Charlie or Danielle came down for breakfast.

She and her mother were sitting at the kitchen table, both in bathrobes, drinking coffee. After breakfast both would be dressing for church.

“Yes, he's going to inspect a resort he's thinking of buying.”

“Why is he taking you?” Jo asked, pretending ignorance. She simply wanted her daughter's perspective on the situation. Having very little experience with men, did Cherisse actually think Harry Payne was taking her just to keep him company?

“I know how your mind works,” Cherisse said, smiling at Jo. “We've already established the fact that there will be separate rooms. Why shouldn't I go? I want to be with him. I only get to see him on weekends.”

“I'm not saying you shouldn't go,” Jo said. “I'm saying that you should be on guard against getting too tempted. Being in Montana alone with Harry is different than being at a restaurant with him in Denver.”

“So you think I'm playing with fire,” Cherisse surmised.

“Yes, I do,” said her mother. “God help me, I don't know if
I
would be able to resist a man that gorgeous if I were alone with him in a cabin in Montana.”

Cherisse laughed softly. “Well, pray for me.”

 

Ponderosa Pines Ranch, located in the high country of the Rocky Mountains, was not a ranch at all but a luxury resort tucked into the southwest corner of Montana.

Harry and Cherisse's plane landed at Missoula, Montana's airport, where a car was waiting to take them the seventy-five miles to the resort.

It was a beautiful clear blue afternoon, and Cherisse saw at once why Montana was called Big Sky Country—the wide open spaces made the sky appear endless. She enjoyed the drive and Harry enjoyed her enthusiasm.

The driver, Jake Hanks, a tall, dark-haired guy in his late twenties who worked for the resort, gave them a short history of the area as he drove “The resort is on the edge of the town of Darby, which looks just like it's straight out of a Western movie. We'll be driving through there in a few minutes and you'll see what I mean.”

There was slush on the roads from recent snowfall but the four-wheel drive handled nicely on the wet road. “How much snow do you get every winter?” Harry wanted to know.

“Three hundred inches,” Jake said. “And there are short lines at the nearby Lost Trail Powder Mountain ski area.”

Harry was aware the resort wasn't designed to cater to skiers as Karibu was. The property they were going to see had several hand-hewn log cabins dotting its five hundred acres and also had a main guest lodge with sixty rooms. It was the sort of place where urban folks who wanted a genuine Western experience, but also wanted to be in the lap of luxury, vacationed.

They were coming into Darby now. As Jake had said, the town definitely had an Old West flavor. False storefronts lined Main Street. There was a tavern, a haberdashery, a general store. It really did look like the set of a Western.

Driving out of town, Cherisse noticed many log cabins. Having lived in Colorado practically all her life, she had rarely met anyone who actually lived in a log cabin. If she had had a camera she was sure she would have been doing the touristy thing and snapping photos of the homes.

A few miles more, and Jake was turning onto the road that led to the resort. As they approached, Cherisse took in the breathtaking beauty of ponderosa pines, their tips kissing the sky. Now she knew where the resort got its name. The lodge was made of hand-hewn pine, itself. The building was three stories high and blended well into the natural background of the surrounding pine forest.

She and Harry were greeted by the owners, Brian and Mitzi Raynor. Both were in their mid-fifties, Brian was tall and trim, with light brown hair and brown eyes, and Mitzi, also tall and slim, had red hair that she wore in a very short pixie cut, and hazel eyes. They spoke with marked southern accents, which delighted Cherisse, who rarely heard southern accents in her neck of the woods.

“Welcome, welcome,” said Brian. He and Harry shook hands.

Harry introduced Cherisse. “This is my good friend Cherisse Washington. Cherisse, meet Brian and Mitzi Raynor.”

Mitzi grinned at Cherisse and gave her a warm hug instead of shaking her hand. “Hello, Cherisse, welcome to Ponderosa Pines.”

“Thank you, Mitzi. This is beautiful country. I really enjoyed the drive here.”

“Isn't it?” said Mitzi, taking Cherisse by the arm and escorting her up the walk to the entrance to the lodge while the men brought up the rear. “Brian and I instantly fell in love with the ranch when we first saw it twenty years ago. We're a couple of hillbillies from Arkansas, much like Bill and Hillary Clinton, and we had never seen so many mountains and pine trees before. Wait until you see the country in the spring. The high-country meadows are just blanketed with fairy bells, lilies of the valley and violets. It's a sight to behold!”

Behind them Brian was saying to Harry, “Harry, I have to tell you I'm a fan. In my opinion, you and John Elway were the best quarterbacks the Broncos ever had.”

“I'll let John know that the next time I see him,” Harry joked.

Over lunch the Raynors explained why they were selling the resort “It's become too much for us to handle alone,” said Brian. “We both had health scares last year—I had a minor myocardial infarction and Mitzi developed diabetes. Our doctors told us that we had to reduce the stress in our lives. And although we love this place, it is stressful sometimes. We always want to please our guests and some guests are not capable of being pleased. Am I right, Harry?”

“I've had my share of disgruntled guests,” Harry agreed. He usually let their complaints roll off his back, though. When you've done everything within your power to please a guest, there is nothing else you can do except wish him a good journey back home and suggest, perhaps, another venue might be a better choice for his next vacation. Harry never encouraged disgruntled guests to try them again. Who needed that kind of negativity? He knew he offered top-of-the-line accommodations and excellent service. He had his standards and they were always met by his staff or they would no longer work for him. It was basic good business sense.

“So, we're moving back to Arkansas to be near our children,” said Mitzi. “We have a son and a daughter and six grandchildren between them.”

“Mitzi, you don't look old enough to have six grandkids,” said Cherisse, smiling at her hostess.

“Don't I know it,” said Mitzi, grinning back. “But I'm thrilled to be a grandma. They range in ages from fourteen to two. We had all of them here for Thanksgiving, and boy, oh, boy, did they wear me out!”

“And she's looking forward to seeing them every day,” Brian joked.

After lunch, it was agreed that a trail ride would give Harry and Cherisse a good overview of the property, so they all retired to their rooms, Harry and Cherisse to a cabin a few yards from the main guest lodge and Brian and Mitzi to their suite in the lodge, to change into riding gear.

The cabin had a living room, kitchen and two bedrooms with their own baths. Cherisse put on jeans, a flannel shirt, leather boots and her down coat. It was colder in Montana than it had been in Denver. And from the lowering of the sky it appeared as if snow was imminent.

She met up with Harry in the living room. He was similarly dressed in jeans, boots, a long-sleeve denim shirt and a fur-lined jacket. He was also wearing a brown Stetson.

He stood with his right hand behind his back, admiring her. “You make a very cute cowgirl, Ms. Washington. There's just one thing missing.” And he presented her with a Stetson just like his.

Grinning, Cherisse took it and put it on her curly mane. She'd put her hair into a ponytail and now the hat fit snugly over her thick hair. “How does it look?” she asked Harry, eyes sparkling.

Harry stepped forward and adjusted the hat at a jaunty angle. Then he bent and kissed her, slowly and with passionate intensity. It was the first time they'd been alone since getting on the plane in Denver. Harry vowed not to miss an opportunity to kiss her whenever they were alone.

“Mmm, that's better,” he said, raising his head and smiling at her.

“The trouble with you, Harry, is one kiss is just never enough,” she said, and kissed him back.

When she let go of him, Harry had to struggle to control the tightness in the groin area of his already tight jeans.

Cherisse, as if oblivious of the state she'd left him in, flounced to the door and turned back to smile at him. “Coming, Harry?”

She's going to be the death of me,
Harry thought, and followed her out the door, hoping that once he hit the cold December air his problem would subside.

The Raynors took them into the pine forest to a ridge that allowed them to look down on Ponderosa Pines Ranch. As the four of them sat on their horses and gazed down, Brian said, “It's one of the last best places on earth.”

Harry had to concur with that. The ranch was so beautiful and peaceful that those attributes alone should draw guests from far and wide. However, as a businessman he knew that guests liked creature comforts. Beauty, yes, but comfort, ultimately. The ranch provided both. He was seriously thinking of making the Raynors an offer. But he would sleep on it. Tomorrow he would know for sure.

It started to snow on their descent.

At one point they had to go down a hill in a single line. And since it had begun to snow, the horses now had to step gingerly on the terrain. Brian went first, followed by Mitzi then Cherisse on a gentle pinto pony that Mitzi said was called Slowpoke for a reason, followed by Harry on a more spirited mount.

Slowpoke was almost at the bottom of the hill when a sound like a buzz saw split the air. All of the horses were startled, but the three more experienced riders instantly knew how to control them. A horse that is properly halter broken would not pull against pressure on his halter even when startled. Harry, Brian and Mitzi applied sufficient pressure to keep their horses from panicking. However Cherisse wasn't aware of this trick and did not. Slowpoke henceforth took off at a pace that belied his name.

Cherisse held on for dear life.

Harry took off after her, and Brian and Mitzi followed Harry.

The culprit behind the earsplitting nose, a teenaged boy riding a dirt bike, kept going, unaware of the chaos he'd caused. Slowpoke made a beeline for the pine forest and Harry yelled, “Cheri, duck!”

Cherisse did duck, but apparently not low enough because a low-hanging branch effectively unseated her and she wound up on her back on the pine-needle-covered forest floor looking up at the tips of the pines, in a world of pain. The air had been knocked out of her, but she soon began breathing again and knew that a lung hadn't been punctured by a sharp twig as she had at first imagined. She had managed to hang on to her hat, which she suspected helped her escape a concussion. Her head didn't hurt and her thinking wasn't fuzzy.

Harry reached her and quickly dismounted. Running to her side, he knelt beside her. By this time, Cherisse was trying to get up.

Putting a firm hand on her stomach, he said, “Don't move, darling.”

“Nothing's broken,” Cherisse said a bit breathlessly, up on her elbows.

Brian and Mitzi arrived and assessed the situation. “I'm going back to the lodge to phone 911. Cell phones don't work up here,” Brian said. He galloped off on his horse.

Mitzi dismounted and knelt beside Cherisse. “Where does it hurt, Cherisse?”

“At the moment, my back and my ankle,” Cherisse said. “But I don't think anything's broken. I can feel all of my extremities. My ankle might be sprained, but otherwise I'm okay.”

Mitzi smiled at her and then smiled at Harry. “She's not talking out of her head, is she? How can she be sure nothing's broken? That was quite a fall.”

“She's a nurse,” Harry answered, concern written all over his face. He met Cherisse's eyes. “But in this instance, she's not going to diagnose herself. She's going to the hospital.”

That's how Cherisse wound up in the emergency room of the Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital in the nearby town of Hamilton, Montana.

In all her years as a nurse she'd never ridden in an ambulance. It was a sobering experience, one she didn't want to repeat anytime soon. For one thing, looking up at someone from that awkward angle, seeing his nose hairs and other things lurking within was no fun.

Harry wanted to ride with her in the ambulance but was told it was against the rules. He took one of the ranch's vehicles and followed the ambulance to Hamilton and by the time he found a place to park, Cherisse had already been carted inside the emergency room and been put in a curtained-off examination room, where a nurse had come and taken her blood pressure and jotted down her various complaints. Now she lay on her back looking at the ceiling.