Cowboys & Angels

In the meantime, because he owed his life to her, he’d wanted to do something to commemorate her rescue. She might be a caring woman who didn’t want to be identified, or she might be a spirit sent down from heaven. In either case, she was his angel.

After much thought, he’d chosen to have an angel’s wing tattooed on his left biceps in her honor. Whenever he looked at it, he was reminded that he was one lucky son of a bitch to be alive. In the months that had followed the accident, he’d also realized that Cassie had not been worth dying for. He was ready to move on. Unfortunately, the woman who had made that epiphany possible had vanished without a trace.

* * *

ELLE MASTERSON LOOKED forward to having the Last Chance Ranch folks at Serenity for a long weekend while the foreman and his lady got hitched. She’d been warned by management that these would not be experienced skiers, but teaching beginners was her first love. With no other guests to take care of, she’d build her schedule around whatever they wanted, beginning first thing in the morning.

Before then, she needed to finish her Christmas shopping. Rather than head into Jackson, she’d decided to see if she could find something for her favorite cousin in the Serenity resort gift shop. The items were pricey, but she’d get an employee discount.

The shop wasn’t busy. The only customer was a tall cowboy, probably part of the Last Chance bunch, who had his back to her as he glanced through a selection of postcards on a rack near the door. Samantha, a fun-loving, curvaceous redhead, stood behind the jewelry counter at the far end of the store, and Elle headed in that direction.

“Hey, Elle! What’s up?” Samantha seemed eager for company.

“I need something pretty for my cousin Jill. A necklace, maybe. She likes turquoise, but she also likes nature-themed stuff, like wolves and—”

“My God, it’s you! I recognize your voice!”

She whirled toward the speaker. The tall cowboy who’d been shopping for postcards stood at the end of the jewelry counter staring at her as if he’d seen a ghost. One glance into his brown eyes and she knew why.

Trey Wheeler looked completely recovered and perfectly healthy. He also was as drop-dead gorgeous as she’d remembered. Like most cowboys, he wore his hat indoors, the brim pulled down a bit so it shadowed his eyes and gave him an air of mystery. He’d also left on his sheepskin jacket, but he’d unbuttoned it, which provided a glimpse of his physique.

The guy was built like a defensive end—slim hips, broad shoulders, powerful chest. She wondered if he was still hung up on Cassie, the woman he’d called out for at the hospital, the woman he’d begged not to leave him.

He swallowed. “So you’re real, after all.” His voice was husky with emotion.

“Did you think I wasn’t?” Then she considered what shape he’d been in after the accident. He’d suffered from exposure and a concussion. He might have thought she was a hallucination.

Samantha spoke up from behind the counter. “Could one of you fill me in? Sounds like there’s a story here.”

Elle turned to her. “This gentleman flipped his Jeep into a snowbank last April, and I took him to the hospital.”

“Then you disappeared,” Trey added. “I’ve been searching for you ever since. Where did you go?”

“Argentina.”

His eyebrows shot up. “You live there?”

“Six months out of the year, starting in April. Then I’m here for six months. I’m a ski instructor.”

He nodded slowly, as if fitting the pieces together. “That explains why I didn’t run into you around town. But I wish you’d left your name and contact information. You saved my life. I wanted to show my appreciation for that.”

“Wow, Elle.” Samantha gazed at her. “You’re just like the Lone Ranger!”

“My thoughts exactly.” Trey seemed to have recovered his poise. He walked forward and held out his hand. “But now that you’re unmasked, allow me to introduce myself.”

She knew his name, but didn’t want him to know that she knew, so she kept quiet.

“I’m Trey Wheeler, horse trainer out at the Last Chance, and I’m exceedingly grateful for what you did.”

She grasped his large hand. His grip was firm, warm, and...sexy. Tingles of awareness shot through her. “You’re welcome. I’m glad I happened along.”

She tried to extract her hand, but he held it captive as he smiled down at her. “Not so fast. I still don’t know your name.”

“Elle Masterson.” The continued physical contact jacked up her heart rate.

“Nice to meet you at last, Elle. Buying you dinner doesn’t seem like much of a payback, but it’s a beginning. Are you busy tonight?”

She scrambled to get her bearings. Trey Wheeler was a fast mover. She should have anticipated such an invitation, but she hadn’t. “Sorry, but I make it a policy not to date resort guests.” She smiled to take the sting out of the rejection.

“I get that, but this isn’t a date. It’s a thank-you dinner for saving my life. That’s significantly more important than a date.”

“So you’ll take me to dinner and consider your obligation to me fully satisfied?”

He grinned. “I didn’t say that.”

Her heartbeat ratcheted up another notch. He had a killer smile going on, and he was employing it to maximum effect. He seemed determined to charm her, and he was accomplishing his goal.

But she followed her personal rule about not dating guests for many reasons. All sorts of complications could arise, including getting fired for unprofessional conduct. Every resort she’d worked for had agreed it was a good policy, although some were more relaxed about the issue than others.

And even if she didn’t have a strict policy against dating guests, she’d be wary of dating this one. Catching a guy on the rebound wasn’t her idea of fun. She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Trey, but dinner isn’t a good idea. I understand that you want to thank me in some way, but anyone would have done the same under similar circumstances. Your gratitude is very sweet, but you don’t owe me for doing the right thing.”

“I think I do, but if dinner won’t work, I’ll come up with something else.”

“No, really. That’s unnecessary. Knowing that you’re all recovered is enough of a reward for me.”

His brown gaze was warm as it swept over her. “I admire your modesty, but this is important to me, and I’m not the kind of man to just let it go. You’ll be hearing from me. See you later, Elle.” He touched the brim of his hat and walked out of the shop.

She stared after him, her pulse hopping around like a Mexican jumping bean.

“You should have accepted his invitation to dinner,” Samantha said.

Elle turned. “You know I don’t believe in getting cozy with a guest.”

“Yeah, but he has a point about the special circumstances. Besides, not many guests look like him. He’s one hot cowboy. I say he’s worthy of a little rule-bending.”

“Let’s think about this for a minute, Sam. He’s not simply a guest. He works at a ranch in the area, which means he won’t be completely gone come Tuesday afternoon.”

“Even better! Then he’ll stop being the kind of conflict of interest that bothers you so much.”

“No, but...” Elle felt ridiculous putting her reservations about Trey into words. She’d sound paranoid, or at least presumptuous. She didn’t know him at all, so she couldn’t predict how he’d behave in a relationship.

Yet she’d heard his heartbroken plea to Cassie, obviously his former lover. Cassie might be old news by now, but Trey didn’t strike her as the type who’d be fine with dating a woman who spent half the year in Argentina. He seemed too intense for a casual affair.

Casual affairs were all she allowed herself because she had such a great life following the snow. She didn’t want to tie herself down to one place or one man. Not yet, anyway.

Maybe in a few years she’d grow tired of the traveling. At that point, someone like Trey would be a possibility. But he wasn’t right for her now, no matter how fast her heart beat when he was near.

Samantha frowned in obvious disapproval. “I know what it means when you tighten your jaw. You’re going to reject this yummy man’s advances, aren’t you?”