Vicki Thompson - Rolling Like Thunder

That was so unfair. Just because Alison had complained about his lack of attention didn’t mean she would. She understood the constraints on his time and she had her share of those, too.

But he’d retreated into his anal-retentive shell and wasn’t coming out. She longed to give him up as a lost cause, but he sent her checks every month and that guaranteed she couldn’t forget him. Then this situation with his foster parents had brought them back together and, once again, she was into him.

Worse yet, he’d added a new level of hotness with his cowboy shtick. She hadn’t realized she was susceptible to cowboys. Or maybe it was only Cowboy Finn who made her heart beat faster. She’d find that out after being surrounded by a bunch of them for the next few days.

Last month her first big challenge had presented itself. Logically she’d been the one to handle his calendar shoot and she’d counted on her irritation with his behavior to see her through. It hadn’t.

She’d mostly blamed the shirtless part for her overheated state. Finn’s hair was the kind a woman itched to run her fingers through. Turned out he had a sprinkling of that same tantalizing dark hair on his rather impressive chest and it also formed a narrow path that led to the low-slung waistband of his jeans.

The shoot had taken longer than necessary because she’d spent far too much time wondering what he kept hidden behind that denim fly. She suspected he had a package worth bragging about, but Finn wasn’t the bragging type. Of course that made him all the more tempting. After photographing him posing shirtless and wearing the Stetson, jeans and boots, she’d hurried home to commune with her vibrator.

Sadly that was the extent of her sex life lately. After his quickie marriage, she’d indulged in a couple of affairs that had gone nowhere. The torch still burned for Finn despite all her efforts. She’d protected herself by being cool and sarcastic in his presence—until a moment ago when he’d given her that high-wattage smile and a sensuous “thank you, ma’am.”

A man as beautiful as Finn shouldn’t be allowed to talk like that. He also shouldn’t wear yoked shirts that made his shoulders seem a mile wide and jeans that cradled the sexiest buns in Seattle. But he had no idea that he was a walking sexual fantasy. The flight attendant had fallen all over herself sending “I’m available” signals and he hadn’t seemed to notice. Now that she had the calendar, Finn might discover a phone number tucked into his hatband.

But he was Chelsea’s for the next week, or as close to being hers as she’d ever experienced. He’d also left his precious business in the hands of his assistant, Brad. With luck he might learn that he wasn’t so damned indispensable, after all.

But she couldn’t allow thoughts about sexy Finn to distract her from her first order of business—wooing TMA backers during the presentation at the Last Chance Ranch. She’d continued to work on the PowerPoint until after midnight, which had caused her to oversleep. Now that the plane was at cruising altitude, she could take another look at it.

Finn, she noticed, was already engrossed in his Excel file. She’d retrieved her laptop and had balanced it on her fold-down tray when the flight attendant showed up with the calendar.

All her attention was on Finn, who remained engrossed in his spreadsheets. “You’re Mr. April, aren’t you?”

His head snapped up and he flushed as he stared at her in dismay. “Uh, yeah.”

“Gorgeous.”

He swallowed. “It was...we needed...”

“What’s the deal with Thunder Mountain Academy?”

“It’s this...this—”

“A residential equine program for sixteen-to-eighteen-year-olds,” Chelsea said. “It’ll be a fabulous opportunity for kids who think they might want to build a career around horses. They’ll learn horse training and equine health care along with the daily maintenance required. In addition, we have a master saddle maker who’ll teach them the basics of that art.”

The flight attendant blinked. “Sounds great, but I don’t have any kids. Can I just buy the calendar?”

“It’s offered as a premium if you pledge a certain amount to the academy’s Kickstarter fund.” Chelsea pulled out a card with website information on it. “Here’s where you can do that. It’s all spelled out on the site.”

“Thanks.” She took the card and reluctantly handed back the calendar. “Maybe some of my girlfriends will want to go together on it.” She glanced down at Finn. “I’m a beer drinker, too.”

He cleared his throat. “Good.”

“Don’t forget your hat when you leave the plane.”

“I won’t.”

“’Bye, now.” She fluttered her fingers at him and headed back to the front of the plane.

“Good Lord.” Finn sank back against the seat and took several deep breaths. “Thanks for telling her about TMA. My mind went blank.”

“I noticed.”

“Obviously, I’m not prepared for the effect that calendar is liable to have.”

“It’s not just the calendar.” Chelsea gazed at him. “So how long since you’ve dressed like a cowboy?”

“About five years. Basically since I moved to Seattle. Why?”

“Oh, it’s just that some guys get more appealing as the years go by and some get less. You might be in the first category.”

He laughed and shook his head. “No. It’s the calendar. I just have to brace myself for the reaction to it from now on.”

“If you say so.” She tucked the calendar back in her laptop case. Then she dug around for her earbuds because she wanted to hear the background music she’d chosen to accompany her PowerPoint, as well as the sound for the accompanying videos. At last she cued it up on the screen and put in the earbuds. “Back to work.”

Finn tapped her on the shoulder and she pulled out an earbud. “What?”

“Can I listen, too?”

“Okay.” Sharing the earbuds meant leaning close to each other, but she wouldn’t mind getting his input even if it meant putting up with the warmth of his body, the delicious scent of his aftershave and the sound of his breathing.

Once they were huddled together, she started the PowerPoint. Focusing on it with him so close wasn’t easy, but it was a good test of whether the presentation was any good. She’d opened with stirring music and the TMA logo: a horseshoe with the letters at the top created to resemble snowy mountain peaks. Next was a slide of the snowcapped Big Horn Mountain range with her shout line: Thunder Mountain Academy—Built on a Foundation of Caring.

Rosie had sent her some old photos of the ranch during its years as a foster-care facility and Chelsea had created a montage along with some explanatory text. Finn as a teenager appeared in several of the pictures. She heard his breath catch as he watched.

She’d introduced the next segment with the title “A New Era Dawns” and a brief explanation of the program. Then she’d included videos of Lexi, Cade’s girlfriend, giving riding lessons, plus one of Cade schooling a horse. Herb, a retired veterinarian, was shown delivering a foal. Ben Radcliffe would teach saddle making, and he’d sent some beautiful photos of his work. The academic benefits of the program were outlined, and then Rosie appeared in shots of an outdoor feast around a large campfire.

A brief video tour of the ranch house, the barn and the four log cabins where the students would live rounded out the presentation. It ended with a picture of Rosie, Herb, Cade, Lexi and Ben all wearing T-shirts bearing the TMA logo as they stood smiling in front of the ranch house. The last slide was once again set against the Big Horn range and carried the slogan “Thunder Mountain Academy. Fostering respectful stewardship of our equine friends through experience and education.”