6-Pack Rancher (Six-Pack Cowboys Book 1) Read online

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

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  6-Pack Rancher

  Copyright Em Petrova 2019

  Ebook Edition

  Electronic book publication 2019

  All rights reserved. Any violation of this will be prosecuted by the law.

  More titles in this series:

  6-Pack Wrangler

  6-Pack Marshal

  6-Pack Drover

  She’s all glitz and glam, he’s rugged and broody. But when their worlds collide… there’s no dialing down the heat.

  Actor Bellarose Abbott finds herself completely out of her element the minute her private jet touches down in rural Washington State. The big hats and boots speak volumes that she isn’t in Hollywood anymore. But the producer of her latest TV series wants authentic ranch scenery as well as action, which means Bellarose must learn to… ride a horse?

  Kingsley Yates, known by those that matter as King, has spent a lifetime dreaming of establishing his own thoroughbred horse bloodline on his ranch. To do that he needs one hell of a horse—with one hell of a price tag attached to it. Just when he thinks his dream’s out of reach, an offer lands in his lap that could mean the cash he needs. And a huge pain in his backside.

  Having a famous actor shadowing his every move on the ranch is irritating enough, but does Bellarose have to be drop-dead gorgeous too? At every turn, he’s thinking of having his way with her when he should be teaching her the ropes to earn that cold, hard cash. Bellarose has dated a lot of gorgeous men, but those pretty boys have nothing on King. Could she be smitten with the hardened rancher or is this all from working closely? One thing’s certain—she’s never had a kiss, on or off-camera, as hot as King’s.

  6-Pack Rancher

  by

  Em Petrova

  Chapter One

  At the sound of the old truck engine, Amelia turned from the horse stall and drifted to the barn door. Shading her eyes with her hand, she gazed over the rolling green land between barn and house.

  Her heart gave a jolt.

  Cutter.

  Her pulse raced as she took a step toward him. Then another and another. The breeze washed across her face, bringing the fresh tang of mown hay and wildflowers as she clapped eyes on her lover.

  But he hadn’t been her lover in a long time. He wouldn’t think the same of her anymore. Then, she was just some irritating young girl who’d believed she would marry her high school sweetheart.

  Her step faltered even as the burn of yearning rose up inside her, so strong it threatened to knock her off her feet.

  The truck came to a stop on the gravel and the door opened. When his long leg clad in denim emerged along with a dusty cowboy boot, she held her breath, waiting for the rest of the man who’d stolen her heart away at the age of sixteen and never given it back.

  He’d taken it with him to the rodeo and hadn’t bothered to call or text.

  Yet, he was here.

  As he closed his truck door, she was given a good look at his back—broader from all the hard training he’d done over the past few years since he’d left Redemption Falls. The plaid shirt he wore strained oh-so-right across his shoulders.

  When he turned, she sucked in a harsh gasp. Adrenaline flooded her system and she wished suddenly she had something solid to hang on to.

  His gaze drilled into her, rooting her to the spot where she stood. Then he held out his arms and offered her a grin—the same boyish one he’d worn when leaving this small town in Washington.

  Her heart fluttered, but she didn’t take a step in his direction.

  Instead, she cocked her hip and planted a hand on it. “Took ya long enough, cowboy.”

  He moved forward, arms still out.

  For her to run into.

  He waited for her to make her choice.

  She was still angry with him for leaving her behind. Could this even work? She’d been too young back then, and now she was smart enough to know better than to get involved with cowboys who broke her heart.

  But the fact was, she still loved him.

  “Amelia.” His deep voice vibrated her insides.

  She found her feet moving across the ground, and he closed the gap. When they stood inches away, his blue eyes burned down into hers with all the passion and love he’d shown the night when he’d told her he was going off to earn his buckles in the rodeo.

  “I was an ass, Amelia. Don’t shut me out. Please.”

  He cradled her face in his big, callused hands and tilted her mouth up to his. “I never stopped loving you,” he whispered.

  He swept her against him, slammed his mouth over hers and stole her mind and her heart all over again.

  “Cut!”

  The actors broke the kiss and looked at the director. “Great, you two! You really showed that emotion. Next is the love scene. I want to see that passion burning up the screen. You’re going in hot right from the start, so you might need to warm up. Get hair and makeup and we’ll see you in half hour.” He waved his hands as he spoke.

  Chaz Kitts, the actor playing Cutter, released her and Bellarose stepped back. She nodded to Chaz.

  He smiled. “Nicely done, Bellarose.”

  She returned the compliment and then crossed the set to her trailer. There was no time for small-talk even if she wanted to spend the time on it—the filming schedule was tight and they wanted to wrap up the entire production in eight more weeks.

  As soon as she stepped inside, her hair and makeup girl was waiting with all the hair tools at the ready.

  “We need to make you look a little more undone for this love scene.” The girl waved to the padded leather chair and Bellarose sank to it, facing the mirror with Hollywood lights circling it.

  “So how did it go?” Gabby asked.

  “Pretty well. Dickson said it was great.”

  “Oh, I already know your acting was spot on! I mean,” she said with a dramatic wave of the curling iron, “how was the kiss with Chaz?”

  Bellarose laughed at her makeup girl’s obsession with the actor who played her love interest on Redemption Falls. He was the object of every female’s desire in the free world, so it didn’t surprise her. Half the interview questions thrown at her were about her leading man. Was Chaz as cute in person as on TV? Was he just as much of a sweet talker?

  The answers to those were yes and yes. But she wasn’t interested in more than a working relationship with the actor, even if he was six-two and had that sun-streaked hair, though it had actually been highlighted by somebody in a salon.

  “You seem a little tense, Bellarose. Gotta loosen you up before the love scene.” In the mirror behind her, Gabby toyed with her hair, using a thin pick to pull strands of hair loose from the ponytail she wore, so they dangled around her face and made her look like she’d just made out with the character Cutter.

  Bellarose shrugged. “It’s just being here in Washington. I still haven’t acclimated.”

  “Hard to get used to, coming from Hollywood to this place.”

  “Yes,” she said absently, drifting into her own thoughts of her jet touching down in what might as well be a different world. Back in the Bob Hope Airport in California, the norm was seeing other celebrities and rock stars, all decked out in the latest designer fashion with bodygua
rds and assistants flocking around them. She’d left all that behind and landed in a scene from The Sound of Music, with snowcapped mountains and green rolling fields. The Washington airport had been emptier, and the people had worn boots and hats—clearly the state dress code.

  She understood why the director had decided to move them on location rather than stay within the confines of their Hollywood set. Dickson had an innate sense of how best to sell the series, Redemption Falls, knowing these beautiful vistas couldn’t be recreated on a green screen.

  Except she was no good with the horses. It was one thing that bothered her—she wanted to deliver authentic performances. But she didn’t even know how to act around a beast that was so much bigger than she was. She should have taken her mother up on those riding lessons back when she was twelve. But she’d been cast in that all-girls’ school movie and the rest of her days since had been filled with one movie or TV series script after another.

  No time for such things now.

  “There. Perfection.” Gabby’s words made her look at her reflection to see her natural red hair looking like a very sexy man had just run his hands through it. The elastic band was halfway out, easy for Chaz to tug free while in the midst of rolling in the hay.

  The very itchy hay that made her eyes run.

  She turned to her assistant. “Thank you, Gabby.”

  Her makeup artist stepped back with a smile. “Kiss him once for me!”

  Bellarose stood and shot her a smile then headed outside to the set again. The crew was fiddling with lighting and cursing a dark rain cloud that was moving quickly across the sky.

  “This is where being in a studio helps, Dickson,” a cameraman said.

  “Well, we aren’t in a studio, are we? Back in Hollywood you complained that the props looked fake and now you’ve got the real things.” He waved a hand at the barn and property they were renting for their shoots. But she’d been told this locale wouldn’t work very long, because her character Amelia would soon be going off to become a rancher’s wife. Then she and Cutter would need their own home and that meant a new set.

  Just when she was getting used to walking on this uneven ground without tripping and falling on her face, she would have to learn another rugged piece of terrain soon. Because this next scene would seal the deal between her and Cutter.

  Chaz came out of his trailer with his shirt unbuttoned and his collar wrinkled, wearing that boyish smile her character melted over.

  “Where do you want me? Between Bellarose’s legs, I’m assuming.”

  She shot him a dirty look.

  The director eyed her, waiting to see if she’d blow her top. She’d spent her entire career fending off lewd comments, so she just ignored Chaz.

  Dickson waved his hand. “Actually, not yet. I need you to take up the kissing scene. Then you will sweep her up into your arms and carry her into the barn. You’ll throw her on the hay bales that already have the horse blanket over them and kiss her while taking off her clothes.” Dickson turned to her. “And Bellarose, you will be looking into his eyes every chance you get and working the buttons of his shirt. Chaz, make sure you show off your good side to the cameras so the viewers get a good shot of your abs.”

  Chaz rubbed a hand over said abs. “Worked too hard in the gym to not show off. But you’ve got one thing wrong, Dickson.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Every side is my good side.”

  Bellarose rolled her eyes and shook out her hands, flicking her fingers, which helped her transition from Bellarose Abbott to her role of Amelia, getting her in character.

  “Okay, ready,” she said.

  Then Chaz grabbed her and the director said, “Annnd action!”

  * * * * *

  All she wanted was a hot shower and a clean bed. She couldn’t get the smell of Chaz off her, and while he was good-looking, he was not her type and she didn’t want to smell like a man she wasn’t actually attracted to.

  Bellarose pulled off her clothes and handed them to her assistant, Marissa, to do whatever she needed to do with the garments. She’d inevitably end up wearing them again soon, as her character was a country girl without limitless clothes options.

  When she stepped under the hot spray of water, she let out a shiver of pleasure. Raking her fingers through her hair to drench it was almost a sin. These long hours on set took their toll, though it was a phenomenon actors were always asked about—why is being on set so exhausting?

  Well, she always wanted to say, you try working twelve-hour days doing the same thing over and over to get it right, to show the right emotion, to capture the correct angles and light. Half the time was spent waiting around to begin, which was much like being stranded in an airport during a snowstorm. Endless boredom and jumping to attention at every announcement, readying yourself to grab your coat and bags and run to catch your plane, only to be let down because they were only telling you the flights were delayed another hour.

  Some actors knitted on set to pass the time. Some took lessons for voice or dance. Years ago, Bellarose was a reader, devouring every novel and classic she could get her hands on. But she hadn’t read on set in years. Maybe it was time she started again.

  She cracked the door of the shower and called out to her assistant. “Marissa, would you be able to grab me some books to read?”

  She poked her head into the tiny cubicle bathroom. “Sure, what kind of books?”

  “Something on horses. Or featuring horses. Or people riding horses. Thank you.” She closed the door again and shampooed her hair. Yes, maybe she could gain some information on horses to help her act those scenes better.

  Another thought hit her, and she hurried through the rest of her shower. When she stepped out, Marissa had a fluffy white robe all ready for her. She toweled off and slipped into it, enfolding herself in the coziness of a Saturday night.

  Except it was Wednesday and she didn’t even get Saturdays off. Filming was six days a week because they were on deadline, and while her paycheck would be fatter for it, she did need to find ways to recharge.

  When she emerged from the bathroom, Marissa was there holding out a bottled water.

  “Would you like a straw, Bellarose?” she asked.

  She took the water. “No thanks. I don’t want to create wrinkles around my lips.” She looked at the bottle. “Don’t they have Vit-Pro Water around here?”

  “Afraid not. We searched every grocery and convenience store from here to Seattle and couldn’t find any.”

  She pushed out a sigh. “Well, as long as you didn’t pull this water up from the depths of a beaver pond, I’ll live. I’ll just sit on the porch a while.”

  Marissa nodded and got out of her hair, leaving Bellarose to drift onto the tiny, cramped area off the trailer she called a porch, but it was only large enough to accommodate one chair and if anybody wanted to speak to her, they had to do it over her shoulder.

  Still, the chair was comfy and the view stunning. Her trailer overlooked land that was now purple with evening shadows. The pines appeared black, curving around a pond that glimmered like a mirror.

  She drew a deep breath. The pure mountain air here was better for her skin. Was better for thinking too. Though her fellow actors on set claimed the silence deafened them, she had not grown up in Hollywood. Before the age of twelve, she’d run the fields of her grandfather’s vineyard in Napa Valley and loved every minute of it.

  Now that was all gone, sold off. She always regretted not being old enough when he passed away to purchase the estate. And she hadn’t had the nerve to visit the vineyard since.

  That thought she’d had in the shower resurfaced. Over her shoulder, she called out to Marissa, who appeared almost immediately. “Marissa, could you get me directions to one of those wineries we passed on the way here?”

  “Of course. Will you need a driver?”

  “Well, I don’t relish the idea of getting lost in Washington and being rescued by some truck driver who would chain me up in
his basement,” she said.

  Marissa’s expression reflected her shock.

  Bellarose stifled a giggle. “Maybe I’ve played too many roles in my lifetime. Perhaps Dickson would want to go along. Get some ideas for filming.”

  “Yes, that’s a great idea. I’ll let him know.”

  Bellarose returned to sipping her water and staring out at the land, her mind roaming, not thinking about her work on the set of Redemption Falls at all. An hour later when she discovered the stack of books she’d asked for, she cancelled the drive to the vineyard and instead sprawled across her bed reading, like she was the twelve-year-old girl she’d once been.

  * * * * *

  King grunted as he pulled into the parking lot of the auction house. “Lots of pricey setups here,” he said to his brother-in-law seated beside him.

  “Either we’re coming to the wrong auction and won’t be able to afford anything or all these ranchers are in debt up to their eyeballs.” Johnny eyed the brand-new pickups with trailers that cost almost as much as King’s house.

  He grunted. “My guess is the latter.”

  “Good, because if I go home without a pony for Sierra, your sister will have me sleeping in the barn for a week.”

  King laughed and cut the engine. “Can’t have you estranged from your wife. Let’s go get that pony then.”

  They got out and King patted the side of his truck as if to reassure the metal that it was okay that it didn’t look like the shiny new paint jobs around it—it still did what it was needed for.

  Hitching his thumbs in his front pockets, he headed toward the entrance of the steel building serving as auction house. In the summer, it was the 4-H center and by Christmas would house a flea market and quilt show. That was how things worked on his ranch too. Nothing went to waste and each dollar worked hard.

  “Kingsley,” a man said with a tip of his hat as he passed.

  King nodded back.

  “I don’t know him,” Johnny said after a few more steps.