Treat

"Can't we go somewhere like Hawaii or Mexico? Wyoming sounds like…work." Rachel sneered, making a horrible snapping sound with her chewing gum.

Andria rolled her eyes. Rachel was the biggest crybaby in the senior class. She didn't even last a month at a part time job. "Come on, you weenie." Andria gave her a friendly sock in the arm. "This is our last summer together before we split up for college. We're going, and it won't be as much fun without you."

"Yeah, please?" Jennifer threw herself on the bed, making the mattress lurch violently.

Rachel scowled at the disruption. "You guys always gang up on me."

"And you always give in." Andria rolled onto her back and grinned up at the ceiling. "So save us all some time and energy and give in now."

Jennifer and Andi took turns badgering her, and even had to promise to pay for a mani-pedi when they returned to California before she finally gave in.

"If I hate it, you have to buy me a first class ticket home too."

"Okay, Princess." Andi made a face. "As if your daddy would let you fly home by yourself."

"My daddy loves me." Rachel lay beside Andi, hooking their arms together. "Even if you are a bad influence on me."

Jennifer joined them, and hooked her arm with Rachel's. "We did it, guys. We made it through four years of Westmoreland High Cafeteria food."

"And Mr. McClarkson's public denunciation of antiperspirant." Andi giggled.

"And Bobby Jensen's lame come-ons." Rachel snorted. The three laughed, then lapsed into silence.

Andi had her life planned out, almost to the week. High school graduation day was only the first in many goals, and by far the simplest to attain. She'd been accepted to Stanford University, where she'd take a small class load and a part time job during her freshman year. She refused to overload herself and burn out quickly. Summer school, and more credit hours in her sophomore year. Andi had everything arranged, only stopping short of ordering her college graduation announcements. But she did have a design in mind.

These next few months would be her last as a carefree young lady before real life took hold. She was determined to enjoy every moment of her summer. The mountain getaway looked great in the brochures, and Andi couldn't wait to let loose.

"So do we have to call and reserve rooms, or what?" Rachel elbowed both girls.

Jennifer and Andi leaned up to share a grin.

"What? What's so funny?"

"We reserved the rooms a month ago." Jennifer giggled.

Andi scooted away from Rachel before she shared the rest. "And your plane ticket. We leave on Monday."

"You guuyys!" Rachel groped on the bed for the closest pillow. "No fair!"

Andi grabbed another pillow to defend herself.

They were going to have a blast.

****

They spent their first day at the V-Bar Guest Ranch in southern Wyoming alternately lounging by the pool, and soaking in the hot tub.

Three families shared the guest ranch house with them, and while the parents gave the girls a wide berth, one grade-school girl had taken it upon herself to invite Andi, Rachel, and Jennifer to just about every activity she'd signed up for. It might be hard to resist a week of her sweet begging.

Another fourteen year old boy spent his days reading books, and recently moved from his indoor perch to a covered picnic table in clear view of the pool.

"Those uptight parents should really thank us." Rachel blew on her nail polish, the bright red glinting in the sunshine. "I do believe we're keeping their young son entertained."

They napped in the sun, and stayed up all night watching black and white slasher films.

Much of the second day was spent in the same way, with the additional distraction of scoping out each of the V-Bar's hired hands.

"Oh jeez. Look at that one."

Jennifer loved the big bad boys. The bigger the better. This one had to be at least two-hundred pounds of pure Wyoming cowboy, complete with chew-can ring in the back pocket of his Wranglers.

"Go for it, Jen." Rachel tilted back her lounge chair and straightened her sunglasses. "Just don't come crying to me when he breaks your rib doing the horizontal mambo."

"I'm not as fragile as I look."

"Ugh. We don't want that mental image, thanks anyway."

Andi took a sip from her lemonade, the straw still in her mouth when she saw him, walking down the path surrounding the pool with a tall lanky cowboy.

He carried a child-sized saddle over one arm, and smiled at something his companion said. Denim shirt unbuttoned, but a red kerchief tied around his neck covered any skin that might have shown.

Too bad.

From the shadow of the brim of his hat, she followed the line of his nose to a sensuously shaped pair of lips.

"Damn."

"I second that." Rachel fanned herself. "He should be on their brochure, this place would be packed."

"Don't fight over him, girls."

Andi leaned way over in her lounge chair as the men disappeared into the barn. "Yeah, don't fight me for him, Rach. He's mine."

She hadn't even had time to close her mouth before they reemerged and both turned to face the girls. Across the thirty yard distance, the sexy cowboy's gaze met hers. Since she couldn't pretend that she wasn't staring, she smiled and even wiggled her fingers in a flirtatious wave.

Her sexy cowboy grinned back until his buddy elbowed him hard enough to make him stumble.

"Damn."

"Yeah. I've got no chance." Rachel sighed. "Judging by the look in his eye, that boy's all yours."

Andi didn't reply. She just watched him walk away, and even blushed a little when he paused in the barn doorway to glance over his shoulder.

Damn.

****

She spent the next day in the same lounge chair, hoping to see him again. Just as she gathered her belongings before dinner time, he rode by on horseback, slowing just enough to tip his hat.

He wasn't close enough to speak, but she got a better look at him this time. She now saw his dark blond hair almost reaching his collar, and brilliant white teeth. Andi steadied herself against the picket fence as he rode away.

Rachel waved a hand in front of her eyes. "So what, are you going to just lust after the guy from afar? Go get him, Andi!"

Andi tamped down her hormones. By the time her heart returned to a normal pace, she could answer her friend. "Yes, I'm just going to lust from afar. There's no way I'd start anything. Not with some guy I'll never see again. Besides—" she slipped into her flip-flops "—a summer fling isn't in my three year plan."

"Yeah, yeah." Jennifer rolled her eyes. "You probably planned which day you'd meet your future husband, when you'd propose to him, and what you'll name your two-point-five kids."

"I've got a plan."

"You've had that plan since you were twelve." Rachel led the way back inside and up the old oak staircase. "It would do you good to pencil some hot steamy sex in on your plan. It's not like it would hurt anything. You're a big girl now, right?"

Andi dressed for dinner, Rachel's words echoing in her head. Pencil in some hot steamy sex. As long as nothing derailed her goal, adding some fun wouldn't hurt, right?

She mulled it over through the next morning, and even while watching Jennifer on her horseback riding lesson. Rachel napped in her room, leaving Andi to her own devices. She wandered around the property, totally not looking for the blond cowboy.

Finally she picked up a fishing pole and headed for the small stock pond a short walk away. She was close to falling asleep on the wool blanket she'd brought along when she heard the rhythmic cadence of an approaching horse.

She sat up. It was him. Her sexy Wyoming eye candy. After recognizing him, she smoothed her hair and hoped like hell that her mascara hadn't smeared during her catnap. He slid out of the saddle, loose limbed and fluid.

"Catch anything?" His voice was deep and rich. Like hot chocolate syrup. She shook her head, mortified at the blush that rose to her cheeks. She wasn't a shy person. She was the captain of her high school cheerleading squad, and the president of the debate team. She had dated the most sought-after guys in class. She was popular throughout school, and never went to pieces when confronted by a boy, no matter how good looking. So why would she blush at the two simple words from this complete stranger?

It was uncharacteristic, and it made her feel pathetic. That was nothing, though, compared to the weakness she experienced when he folded his lean body to squat before her.

Whatever cologne he used, it worked for him. Ginger? No—citrus and pine. It mingled in with the scent of his body and his rugged outdoor occupation in such a way to make her practically melt into a pool on the plaid blanket. It was a good thing she was already seated, or she would have collapsed.

"It's hot," he said softly. From beneath the shade of his wide-brimmed hat, his eyes were as busy as hers.

It was hot. And growing hotter. She nodded dumbly, her eyes busily cataloguing everything about this cutie pie. Westmoreland High School boys had nothing on this man.

"The fish won't bite until it cools down. Maybe you'd have more luck this evening."

Oh. Fishing. That's right. Finally she found her voice. "I don't mind. I just throw them back anyway."

"If you take them back to the house, our chef will cook them for you."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah, he's real good. He can even make fish taste decent." He grinned, flashing a set of straight white teeth that could easily be the "after" picture on the wall of an orthodontist's office.

"Not a fan of seafood?"

"No. Give me a steak or greasy hamburger any day." Not only did he look like a meat eater, he looked like a predator who had just sighted his next meal. His eyes had narrowed, and his lip curled in a carnivorous grin. Rather than sending her running for cover, she wanted to crawl on top of him, and devour him first.

"Jacob Walker." He peeled off his leather glove and stuck his hand out.

"Andi Hamton." She accepted his hand, warm from his glove, and deliciously rough against her palm.

"Very pleased to meet you, miss." Rather than shake it politely, he held it firmly.

Andi was struck dumb. Afraid to look away from his mesmerizing blue eyes, even to glance down at their clasped hands, though she was dying to see why the contact felt like sparks flying.

"Mind if I join you for a bit? I've got a break, and nothing to do." He gave her hand a squeeze before releasing his hold.

"Not at all." She moved her tackle box to the other side of the blanket, clearing a spot beside her. "Maybe you can show me how to bait a hook."

He shrugged, then stretched his long legs out beside her. "I'm not much of a fisherman. If you don't mind, I'd rather just sit and talk to you."

She couldn't help the smile that spread over her face. "I don't mind at all, Jacob."

"Just Jake."

The intimacy of his shortened name shouldn't have sent a bubbling lake of desire through her veins, but it did. "Jake."