His first impression of Silver Meadows was that she was okay. He cracked a smile at his own expense. Yeah, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in the flesh, and she seemed nice, which he hadn’t been expecting. He wasn’t one to notice online gossip, but he had paid attention when she’d been mentioned because she’d been his first crush, and he kind of foolishly wished the best for her.
“Hey!” BB Morgan stuck his head out from a stall. “Calder and the mules are ready to go. Did you decide which horse you were going to give our guest?”
“She’s coming down for some tryouts.” Ben patted Calder’s nose. He’d brought him over the night before and BB had given him a ride back home. “She’s got some riding experience, so who do you suggest?”
“Ladybug or Marilyn would be my best guesses. They’re both easygoing and should get on great with Calder.” He pointed at the mare he was about to lead out. “This is Marilyn.”
“She’s as pretty as her namesake,” Ben remarked as the honey-colored horse with a white mane and tail sashayed past him.
“So, she’ll suit Silver Meadows very well.” BB winked at him as he walked the horse out and tied her up. “Ladybug is smaller and a paint.”
“A paint what?”
Both men turned to see their ranch guest coming toward them. She still wore her jeans and off-the-shoulder top but had added cowboy boots to replace the sandals and tied back her blond hair.
BB was the first to recover his manners. “It’s a type of horse.” He opened up one of the stalls and went inside. “In this case, it’s a white horse that looks like someone threw cans of black or brown paint at it. This is Ladybug.”
Silver stood back as BB brought the black and white mare out into the paddock and tied her up. “She’s adorable. And who’s this?”
“Marilyn.” Ben stepped up his game. “I want to see you ride both of them, and then we’ll decide which one suits you best.”
* * *
Silver went back to the rented Jeep, opened up the rear, and started to take out her bags. Everyone at the ranch had been so nice that the prospect of her trip deep into the unknown was becoming more exciting by the minute. She found her heavy coat and cowboy hat and set them on top of her luggage. Ben might not talk much, but he seemed pleasant, and he wasn’t all over her, which she appreciated.
Ben appeared leading Ladybug and his own horse, which towered above the little mare. BB brought up two mules, tipped his hat Silver’s way, and wished her a good day before disappearing back toward the barn.
Eventually, Ben turned her way and looked at the pile of luggage.
“You can’t take all that with you.”
She glanced back at her five suitcases. “Why not?”
“Because we’re doing this on horseback.” He pointed at the two mules. “Bill and Ted have to carry everything we can’t get into our saddlebags. Typically, I put a seventy-pound pack on each side of the mule, and that has to include our camping gear, clothes, food, and fuel.”
Silver studied the mules. One of them was already carrying a full load, and the other had one side completely packed.
“So how much space do I have?”
He shrugged. “About seventy pounds max.”
“But that’s only about one big suitcase! Can’t they carry more?”
“They could, but deadweight is hard on their backs, so I prefer to keep it down to the minimum.”
“Then could we take the Jeep?” Silver asked hopefully.
“There’s no one here to drive it.” He raised his eyebrows. “I thought you wanted the ‘authentic ranch experience’?”
“I do, but”—she cast a harried glance over her baggage, which was the standard stuff her PA usually packed for her—“I need all this stuff.”
“Why?” Ben asked simply.
“Because I do!” For the first time, she glared at him. “I’m not used to traveling without my things around me.”
He held her gaze. “You’re going on a trail ride. You need basic clothing, a tent, a sleeping bag, some food, and a horse.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “Well, what are you bringing clothingwise, and where are you going to stash everything?”
“My stuff is already on board.” He gestured toward his horse. “I’ve got a clean pair of jeans, five T-shirts, three shirts, a rain slicker, and this jacket, and that’s about it.”
“No underwear?”
His slow smile came as a surprise. “Maybe I don’t wear any.”
Before she thought it through, her gaze slid down to his jeans and then back to his face. His smile had gone and now he wore a patient look she hated when it was directed at her. Just because she was blond didn’t mean she was a complete idiot. She pointed at her smallest case.
“I have a ten-step Korean face care regime in there that I cannot do without.”
His lips twitched. “You’ve got space in two saddlebags and a maximum of seventy pounds to put on the mule.” He turned toward the guest center. “I’m going to speak to BB about the radio system. If you want to leave today, I’ll expect you to be ready when I get back.”
“But—” Silver watched in dismay as he turned around and walked away. “I don’t know how to pack! Someone always does it for me!”
He didn’t slow down or appear to have heard her, which was unlikely seeing as she was definitely yelling. She surveyed the two open saddlebags, noted that Ben had tied his rain slicker to the back of his saddle and started with that. To be fair, she didn’t have any idea what was in the majority of her bags because Ayla, her personal assistant, had packed them for her.
Jeans ... she needed jeans. Silver set the biggest case on its side and opened the lock. To her everlasting gratitude, Ayla had placed a list of contents on the top of the carefully folded tissue paper. Silver read through the contents and extracted what she needed before turning to the next bag and then the next. By the time Ben returned, she had all the bags open and a pile of things to take stacked haphazardly on one side.
He hunkered down beside her and surveyed her work. He smelled like leather, hay, and sun-warmed man. “Looking good.”
She offered him a haughty stare as she added ten pairs of socks to her pile.
“Would you like me to help you load it onto the mule?”
She wanted to refuse, but she wasn’t that stupid. “That would be very kind of you.”
He efficiently sorted, rolled, and packed her clothing, and stored it inside the pack. “Weight’s okay.” He paused. “You got any sunscreen in that ten-step Korean foot care thing?”
“Face care. I have sunscreen.” She held it up. “And I’m only taking steps one and ten with me.”
“Great. Don’t forget your toothbrush.”
There was a suspicion of a smile in his voice that made her want to stamp her foot. She sat back, collected her now-minimalist skin and makeup collection, and put everything in her saddlebag. Ben stood, murmuring to the mule, his capable fingers buckling straps and settling the pack.
Silver rammed her hat on her head and marched over to him.
“I’m ready to go when you are.”
He cast a long look back over his shoulder at the open bags and then studied her from under the brim of his Stetson.
“What’s