The Rebellious Rancher
THE COWBOY AND THE ACTRESS
He lunged for her at the same time she went for him, and they only narrowly avoided cracking heads before he started kissing her, and that was that. She straddled his lap and let him have it, her hands roaming over him, relearning every taut muscle in his body and luxuriating in the feel of him.
“Silver.” He finally came up for air. “We shouldn’t—”
“Shut up.”
She bit his lip and kissed him, her fingernails scratching his scalp as he groaned and let her have her way with him. She inched one hand under his T-shirt and he shuddered.
“Silver.” This time he held on to her hands. “We really do need to talk about this.”
She undulated against him. “Then talk.”
Ben struggled to draw a breath that didn’t smell like Silver, and the heat of her, and the need ...
Books by Kate Pearce
The House of Pleasure Series
SIMPLY SEXUAL
SIMPLY SINFUL
SIMPLY SHAMELESS
SIMPLY WICKED
SIMPLY INSATIABLE
SIMPLY FORBIDDEN
SIMPLY CARNAL
SIMPLY VORACIOUS
SIMPLY SCANDALOUS
SIMPLY PLEASURE (e-novella)
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE (e-novella)
The Sinners Club Series
THE SINNERS CLUB
TEMPTING A SINNER
MASTERING A SINNER
THE FIRST SINNERS (e-novella)
Single Titles
RAW DESIRE
The Morgan Brothers Ranch
THE RELUCTANT COWBOY
THE MAVERICK COWBOY
THE LAST GOOD COWBOY
THE BAD BOY COWBOY
THE BILLIONAIRE BULL RIDER
THE RANCHER
The Millers of Morgantown
THE SECOND CHANCE RANCHER
THE RANCHER’S REDEMPTION
THE REBELLIOUS RANCHER
Anthologies
SOME LIKE IT ROUGH
LORDS OF PASSION
HAPPY IS THE BRIDE
A SEASON TO CELEBRATE
MARRYING MY COWBOY
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
THE REBELLIOUS RANCHER
KATE PEARCE
ZEBRA BOOKS
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Table of Contents
THE COWBOY AND THE ACTRESS
Also by
Title Page
Copyright Page
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Epilogue
Ruth’s Frosted Animal Cookies for Ben
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2020 by Kate Pearce
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-1-4201-4825-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-4828-2 (eBook)
ISBN-10: 1-4201-4828-1 (eBook)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Huge thanks to Sian Kaley and Jerri Drennen for reading this book early for me and for having widely different opinions. I’d also like to thank professional bareback rider Kenny Haworth for answering my questions about trail rides and what to pack in the wilderness.
Chapter One
Miller Ranch
Morgan Valley, California
Ben Miller didn’t know what was worse, sitting on the back of a horse in the middle of a field of bawling calves, or not giving a damn about sitting in that field because he didn’t want to be there anymore. Now that his big brother, Adam, owned the whole ranch, what did that make him? A hired hand? A man without a purpose?
“Ben! What the hell are you doing?” Adam yelled. “You’re supposed to be moving these calves toward the gate!”
He blinked the squalling rain from his eyes, angled his Stetson against the wind, and looked over to where his brother sat waiting by the fence. Adam never looked particularly happy, not having the face for it, but now he was positively grim.
“Come on!”
Ben gathered his reins, clicked to his horse, and went around the back of the bunch of complaining calves. With the help of his two dogs, he pushed the youngsters toward the gate. Luckily, the calves stayed tightly together and, as their mothers started to call out for them, they were more than willing to be funneled into the next field to find food and shelter.
Adam rode off to make sure they all got settled in, and Ben leaned down to secure the gate. It was hard to tell what time it was, as everything was gray, but he had a sense that it was getting late. Most of the delays had been his fault because he hadn’t been concentrating, and the calves kept getting away from him.
Jenna Morgan looked up as he approached the covered area where she was completing the paperwork for the inoculations they had just given the calves. She wore a heavy jacket with a hood, fingerless gloves, and long boots over her jeans to keep out the chill and the mud.
“I think I’ve got everything. Thanks for your help.”
Adam, who had dismounted and brought his horse into the shelter, grunted. “Not that you were much help, Ben.”
Ben dismounted, patted Calder, brought him out of the rain, and studiously avoided his brother’s gaze.
Jenna glanced uncertainly from him to Adam and stashed her paperwork in her bag. “I’ll get back to you tomorrow if I have any issues. Keep an eye on the calves for the next couple of days to see if there are any adverse reactions.”
“Will do. Thanks, Jenna,” Adam said.
“Have a great evening.” She slogged off through the mud toward her SUV, which was parked on the other side of the fence.
Adam waited until she drove away and then cleared his throat.
“You got something to say to me, bro?”
“Why would you think that?” Ben fussed around with the straps of his saddlebags.
“Because you’re acting like an ass.”
“Takes one to know one,” Ben muttered, as he found a cloth and went around to clean off Calder’s nose strap, which was so splattered with mud that his nostrils were practically closed up.
“You’ve been salty ever since Dad announced he was leaving me the ranch and stepping back.”
“Really? I wonder why?”
“Ben . . . will you just talk to me?” Adam asked. “If you hate the idea so much, I’ll talk some sense into Dad and make it right.”
Ben finally met his brother’s gaze. They were almost the same height although Adam was slightly taller and leaner. “If Dad wants you to have the ranch, then it’s yours. It makes a lot of sense, and you’ll definitely run it better than he does.”
“Just because something makes sense doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.”
“Why are you arguing against yourself, bro?” Ben patted Calder’s nose and put the cloth away. “I totally get why he did what he did. This is on me.” He poked himself in the chest. “I’ve got to work out how I feel about it—not you.”
Adam held his gaze. “I’ll tell him no.”
“It’s too late for that. The paperwork was all done and dusted last week.” Ben took off his Stetson and banged it against his thigh to shake some of the water off.
“I don’t care. We can do it again. I’ll even pay for it if you’ll just stop walking around looking like someone kicked your favorite puppy.”
Guilt coalesced in Ben’s gut. “That bad, eh?”
“Yeah.”
Ben could never say that his older brother wasn’t a straight shooter. If he said he was willing to go back and renegotiate the deal, then he’d do it. But what would that give Ben? Maybe he should’ve stood up and voiced his concerns straight off rather than stewing on them for weeks and making everyone else feel bad.
“It’s on me,” Ben repeated slowly. “I didn’t speak out, and it’s not up to you to fix
my mistakes.”
Adam opened his mouth to argue, seemed to think better of it, and just nodded. “Okay.”
“Thanks, Adam.” Ben found a smile somewhere. He was the one who normally made everyone else in the family get along, but he wasn’t doing it right now. “We’d better get back. Dad will be wondering what’s for dinner.”
* * *
After a hot shower and three cups of strong coffee, Ben was almost feeling like himself again. Adam had been right to point out that his attitude sucked; he just wished he knew how to change it. Ever since his mother had reappeared in their lives and everything he’d once thought true had been upended, he’d felt adrift. The last time he’d felt like that he’d done some really stupid shit, and he had no desire to repeat himself.
Adam taking control of the ranch and keeping it together for the next generation made perfect sense. Having six kids potentially dividing up a profitable ranch, and maybe fighting over it when their father died, would have destroyed their heritage. Ben didn’t want that to happen, so what did he want?
He wiped the condensation off the mirror and stared at his bearded reflection. What was he going to do? Remain at the ranch as Adam’s second-in-command, a job he was damn good at, or what? Leave? Ranching was in his blood and he couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
Someone banged on the bathroom door.
“Hey, you finished in there, Ben?” Kaiden shouted. “I just got back and I need a shower.”
“Yup.” Ben opened the door, allowing a cloud of steam to escape. “Sorry.”
“No problem.” Kaiden went past him, smelling like a pine forest. “That renovation in town is taking way longer than I anticipated, but it’s going to make a whole group of people a great home.”
Ben was the only brother apart from Adam who worked full-time on the ranch. Everyone else, including their sister, Daisy, had other jobs. Kaiden was a master carpenter and always busy.
Ben got dressed and wandered into the kitchen where Adam had already started cooking dinner. “Need a hand?”
“You can set the table.”
Ben completed the task and then took a moment to check his cell phone. Not that he ever got many messages, but he liked to keep on top of things.
Can you come over tonight?
Ben squinted at the text, wondering who the hell was talking to him, and scrolled back up to see he’d missed a few vital bits of information.
“I’ve got to go out,” Ben replied to the last message, and shoved his cell in the pocket of his Wranglers.
“I’m cooking dinner here,” Adam complained. “Can’t you just eat fast, and go after?”
“Nope, sorry, I’ve got to go right now. I’ll eat when I come back.”
Ben ignored Adam’s next shouted question and went into the mudroom to grab his heavy coat, boots, and his second-best Stetson that had been drying out on the heater from yesterday’s rain. It was still pouring so he took the keys to his Jeep, and ran to where he’d parked it.
It didn’t take long to drive back onto the county road and then along to the much bigger Morgan Ranch where BB, Blue Boy Morgan, lived with his wife, Jenna, and his daughter, Maria, in a newly constructed house on the family land.
Ben pulled up in the driveway behind Jenna’s truck, and got out to a cacophony of barking. Between Jenna’s veterinary business and Maria’s love of taking care of creatures, their place was like a zoo.
By the time he reached the door, it was already open, and Blue “BB” Morgan, retired Marine and all around badass, was waiting for him. He wasn’t the kind of guy who would let anyone creep up on him unawares.
“Hey, thanks for coming over.” BB patted Ben’s shoulder. “Have you eaten? Jenna made some vegetarian patties if you like that kind of thing. Me and Maria are going with the beef.”
“I’m good, thanks.” Ben ignored the low growl of his stomach. Working outside meant that he had quite an appetite and burned through a ton of calories without putting on weight.
“Well, sit down and keep me company, anyway,” BB said as they came into the open-plan kitchen and dining area. “Jenna’s got a thing about us all eating dinner together.”
“Hey again, Jenna,” Ben called out as he spotted the veterinarian. “Sorry to barge in on your dinner.”
“It’s all good.” Jenna patted the seat next to hers. “Come and sit by me. How are the calves?”
“All doing okay the last I saw of them.” Ben took the seat and nodded at Maria who was sitting opposite him. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She blushed and hid behind her long dark hair.
“How’s school?” Ben asked.
“Good.”
“Any idea what you plan to do when you graduate?”
“Not yet.”
Jenna winked at him. “She’s thinking about ranch management.”
“Awesome.” Ben’s stomach growled again.
“Here.” BB pushed the plate over. “Help yourself.”
“If you’re sure...” Ben looked longingly at the big, juicy burger. He should’ve listened to Adam and eaten at home before he came out.
“Plenty more where that came from,” BB joked. “Benefit of living on a cattle ranch.”
“Dad, that’s so lame.” Maria rolled her eyes.
“Apparently, nothing I say is funny anymore,” BB commented as he reached for the ketchup. “Teens, eh?”
Maria looked over at Jenna. “Can I leave the table, please? I’ve got a math test tomorrow, and I need to study.”
“Sure.” Jenna waved her away.
“Bye, Maria,” Ben called out to her retreating figure. “Nice to see you again.”
She stomped up the stairs and slammed her door so hard that everyone at the table winced.
“Was it something I said?” Ben asked cautiously. “She used to get along great with me.”
BB grinned at his wife. “Well, Jenna’s got a theory about that. She thinks Maria’s got a bit of a crush on you.”
Ben almost choked on his burger.
“It’s okay,” Jenna hastened to reassure him. “And it’s all good. I can’t think of a better man for her to have a crush on than you. You’re a great role model.”
Ben wasn’t so sure about that, so he concentrated on his burger. Jenna excused herself to go and finish some paperwork, leaving him and BB with the coffeepot between them and time to talk.
“I got this kind of weird request for a trail ride experience,” BB said. “At first I ignored it because I thought it was some kind of windup, but the guy kept calling and eventually I sat down and listened to what he had to say. I told him I had just the right man for the job, but that I’d have to square it with you first.”
“What kind of job?” Ben sipped his coffee.
“He wants someone to take his daughter out on an all-singing, all-dancing, trail riding experience as close to nature as we can manage.”
“Like on foot?”
BB grinned. “Not quite that bad. Just horses and no motorized support. Apparently, she needs to experience what it would be like for a film role.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Ben stared at his friend.
“Nope.” BB shrugged. “It’s not unheard of for actors to want to immerse themselves completely in a role, and that’s apparently what she wants to do.”
“Okay, for how long?”
“At least a week, maybe ten days.”
“With just the two of us and a couple of horses?”
“That’s about it.”
While Ben considered the idea, BB sat back to drink his coffee and didn’t rush him.
“Why can’t you or Jackson do it?” Ben finally asked.
“Because the guy wants to get it done as soon as possible, and I can’t be away for that long at this time of year. Neither can Jackson.”
Yeah, that was all Ben needed—a reminder that he wasn’t as vital to the operation of his family ranch as everyone else....
“What about your military buddies?”
For the first time, BB hesitated. “It has to be someone I trust one hundred percent. The father wants the whole thing kept under the radar so she doesn’t have to worry about the press or any of that crap.”