The Cowboy's Spring Romance Read online

  “So what type of outdoorsy things do you like to do?”

  “Run, hike, bike, rock climb, swim, water ski, snow ski,” Lindsay said, thinking about all the things she enjoyed doing. “I’m not much of a camper, though. I enjoy my hot showers too much.”

  Trent chuckled. “Good to know. How about fishing?”

  “Ew! I don’t want to touch a fish. They are so scaly and cold.”

  “Okay, no fishing and camping. What about hunting?”

  “Nope. I don’t want to kill anything, even if it would be for food.”

  “Shooting? Do you like to go shooting?”

  Lindsay thought a moment. “I don’t think I’ve ever been shooting before. I’ll have to try it before I can say if I like it or not.”

  “I’d be happy to take you sometime,” Trent offered, giving her one of the smiles that made it hard for her to remember to breathe.

  “That would be nice,” she said, jerking her attention away from his lips and white teeth to the road.

  “How about horses? Do you like to ride?”

  “I like horses, but I’m not a very good rider,” Lindsay said. She hadn’t spent enough time around them to be proficient at riding.

  “You can ride at the Triple T any time. Cady loves to ride and I know she’d welcome the company. So would I.”

  “Oh, thanks for the invitation,” Lindsay said. She suddenly realized she and Trent had been locked in the pickup together for almost an hour and she wasn’t mad at him. He hadn’t said anything she found insulting and she was thoroughly enjoying talking with him. “What about you? What do you like to do?”

  “Ranch,” Trent said, feeling like the answer was too simple and yet complex. He and his brothers lived, breathed, walked, talked, ate and slept ranching.

  “What else? There must be a few things you like to do when you aren’t farming, chasing cows, fixing fences or riding horses.”

  “I like sports, especially football and basketball. Cady got us tickets to a Blazer game for Christmas and that was awesome,” Trent said, thinking back to how much fun he and Travis had attending the game. “I like to read.”

  “Who are some of your favorite authors?” Lindsay was surprised to hear him say he liked to read. When she had down time, reading was one of her favorite things to do.

  “Promise you won’t laugh?” Trent asked, looking at her shyly.

  “I promise,” she said, attempting to look solemn.

  “Mark Twain and Will Rogers.”

  “Why would I laugh at that? Those are two great authors,” Lindsay said, looking at him questioningly.

  “Because they are old-fashioned.”

  “They aren’t old-fashioned,” Lindsay said. “They are both timeless. Classic.”

  “Most people are more interested in reading whoever is hot on the bestseller list,” Trent said, feeling more relaxed knowing Lindsay didn’t think he was a complete dork, at least when it came to literature. “As for me, I enjoy someone who can make common sense humorous.”

  “Will Rogers certainly had a knack for that,” Lindsay said.

  They discussed some of their favorite stories, books they both liked, places they’d been and favorite foods. Time flew and they were pulling into the parking area at Mt. Bachelor by late morning.

  The sun was shining, making the snow glisten and sparkle. Although he had only been skiing a few times, Trent thought it looked like a perfect day to hit the slopes.

  After getting him set up with all the rental equipment he needed, they both put on their ski clothes, and got ready to go.

  When Trent finished pulling on his gloves and turned to look at Lindsay, his breath caught in his throat. He thought she could be a poster girl for the ski resort. Wearing white ski pants with a hot pink and gray stripe down the side, her matching jacket, pink helmet and gloves completed the ensemble. Her straight blond hair fell down her back and blew in wispy strands around her face and she glowed with the vigor of youth and health.

  “Wow,” he said, under his breath.

  Lindsay was having a “wow” moment herself. With Trent’s tanned face and bright blue eyes highlighted by the background of snow, she felt herself drawn to him in ways that defied logic or reason.

  Taking her poles firmly in hand, she pointed toward the ski lift. “What do you say? Are you ready to give it a try?”

  “Why not,” Trent said, hoping he wouldn’t fall on his face in front of her.

  Reaching the top of the slope, Trent encouraged Lindsay to make a few runs while he got his bearings and remembered the basics of skiing. He didn’t want her standing by watching him make a colossal fool of himself. After looking at him uncertainly, he urged her to go ahead and she finally went sailing down the hill in perfect form.

  He decided he would just wait right there on top until she came back, practicing standing upright and keeping the skis on his feet. Standing there by himself, he called Travis sixteen different kinds of an idiot for talking him into taking Lindsay skiing. He knew she’d enjoy it. The problem was that he wasn’t good at skiing. He thought he was too tall or too something, but he’d never really gotten the hang of the sport. Travis assured him all he had to do was strap on the skis and make it to the bottom of the hill.

  Trent was doing great pretending he was waiting for someone to join him until a couple of college-aged girls skied up beside him and gave him a once over.

  “Going our way?” one asked, while the other smiled at him.

  Trent shook his head and attempted to turn the other direction. When he did, his skis started to slide downhill and he couldn’t keep from gaining momentum. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember how to stop, so he closed his eyes and prayed to get to the bottom of the hill in one piece.

  Opening his eyes, he noticed the trees and snow zooming by in his peripheral view. Racking his brain, he tried to remember the basics from the few skiing lessons he took more than a decade ago. Knees, he remembered something about bending knees, tucking elbows. Great, now was not the time for a complete memory lapse.

  Deciding a crash at a location of his choosing would be better than running into something farther down the trail, Trent started leaning to one side, hoping he’d tip over. Instead, he veered off to the right, nearly running into an older couple.

  “Watch it, speedy,” the woman yelled after him.

  “Sorry,” he hollered as he continued his descent down the mountain. Taking in a deep breath, he forced himself to pick up his left leg and throw himself to his right. Falling down, he slid for several feet before finally coming to a stop.

  Lying on his back in the snow staring up at the blue sky, he realized nothing was broken, he was still in one piece and life could continue. Sitting up, he started to get to his feet when one of his skis came loose and before he could grab it, started making its way downhill without him.

  Standing on one ski with his poles propping him up, he didn’t know what to do. A group of three kids went by and pointed at him, laughing. This was just fantastic. The only thing that could make it worse would be to have Lindsay ski by and find him in this predicament.

  Debating what to do, he was just about ready to take off the second ski and hike down the hill when the three kids came trudging back up the hill with his ski.

  “Hey, mister, is this yours?” a little boy asked. Freckles stood out on his nose and he was missing a front tooth.

  “It sure is,” Trent said, taking it from the kids. “I really appreciate you bringing this back to me. You kids are awesome.”

  “Thanks!” they said, then turned to finish their run down the hill. Before they took off, the girl, who looked to Trent to be about ten, gave him a look over her shoulder. “Make sure you keep it on your foot this time.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Trent said with a smile.

  Watching other skiers, some of what Trent learned in classes came back to him and he cautiously pushed off and made his way without incident to the bottom of the run.

  He was
trying to decide if he wanted to make another attempt at skiing or just wait at the bottom for Lindsay when he saw her finish her second trip down the hill. She skied over and executed a perfect stop just inches from him.

  “Hey, I was looking for you. Let’s make a run together,” she said, cheeks glowing and her smile nearly as bright as the sun reflecting off the snowy slopes.

  “Okay,” Trent said, dreading the humiliation to come. As they waited in line for the chair lift, Lindsay told him she’d heard about some loser who lost his ski and how three kids came to the rescue by carrying it back up the hill to him.

  Trent felt like he was suffocating. How had word gotten around so quickly? He was going to throttle Travis when he got home. This was all his stupid idea. He could have just taken Lindsay to dinner and a movie in The Dalles, but Travis had talked him into doing something different and exciting.

  “Lindsay, that guy who lost his ski, he’s an undeniable moron,” Trent said, as he felt his neck turn red followed by his face.

  Lindsay just looked at him, then looped her arm through his and squeezed. “It was you?” she asked, a teasing glint settling in her eyes. “What happened?”

  “I thought I would remember more about how to ski than I apparently do,” he said, ashamed to admit it. “I guess you forget a lot in ten years.”

  “I’ll help you,” she said, pulling him out of line. “Let’s take the lift to one of the easier runs.”

  “Are you sure?” Trent asked, perking up now that she hadn’t called him a dolt or walked off and left him.

  “Absolutely,” Lindsay said. “Why didn’t you tell me you hadn’t skied in such a long while? No one would remember everything after that much time.”

  “I know. I just thought when I put on the skis it would all come back to me, except it didn’t.”

  “Come on,” Lindsay said, tugging him onto the chair lift beside her. “You have to admit, the story about the kids bringing back your ski is kind of funny.”

  “Not really,” Trent said, not yet at the point of seeing any humor in the situation.

  Lindsay looked at him and burst out laughing.

  “It’s not that funny,” Trent said, irked at being laughed at. Obviously, he’d become the joke of the day.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry,” Lindsay said, trying to stop laughing only to break into a round of uncontrollable giggles. Wiping her eyes, she sucked in a cleansing breath as they got off the lift and headed toward the easy run.

  In between giggles, she managed to give Trent a refresher course in the basics. Under her direction, his lessons were coming back to him.

  “Ready to give it a shot?” she asked, still smiling at him.

  “Sure,” he said, subdued. This day wasn’t going anything like he planned.

  Lindsay elbowed him and drew his attention. “I’m sorry I keep laughing, Trent, but the reason it is so funny is because you are always in control, always so calm and collected. The mighty Trent Thompson wouldn’t do something like lose his ski and be at the mercy of three little kids to rescue him. That’s what makes it funny, because it’s so out of character for you.”

  Trent wasn’t sure what to think or say, so he just nodded his head and pulled the mask of his helmet down.

  “Let’s go,” he said and watched Lindsay push off, following her lead.

  Lindsay set her pace to his and they enjoyed the run down the mountain. Arriving at the bottom, Trent felt a little more at ease and Lindsay looked just as invigorated as she did earlier.

  “That was fun. Want to go again?” she asked, looking around. She didn’t really care where they skied. Lindsay was enjoying getting to know Trent better. She could only imagine how much it pained him to admit he was the person who lost his ski and she liked him all the better for it. She realized he planned a date to go skiing because he knew it was something she would enjoy, not something he was particularly good at, although he seemed to be doing fine now.

  “How about a break before our next run?” Trent asked, pointing to a vendor selling hot chocolate, sodas and snacks.

  Sitting down on a bench, they chatted while they enjoyed cups of steaming spiced cider and shared a hot, doughy pretzel.

  “We’ve got time for one more run,” Trent said, checking his watch. “Don’t you want to go for a harder one? I can wait for you.”

  “No, let’s go down together,” Lindsay said, turning toward the lift to the easy run. They finished their last trip down the mountain then Trent returned his equipment to the rental shop while Lindsay stowed her gear in her duffle bag.

  “Where to now?” Lindsay asked, as Trent held the pickup door for her and watched her slide in. She looked so young, fresh, and full of life it was all Trent could do not to pull her into his arms and kiss her with all the excitement and passion she stirred in his soul.

  Instead, he swallowed hard and shut her door.

  “I have a little something planned,” he said, driving out of the parking lot and back to the road.

  Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot of a resort and Lindsay looked around.

  Before she could get out, Trent opened her door and took her hand. He walked over to a booth, gave his name and confirmed a reservation. The attendee smiled and said they would have about a five-minute wait.

  Lindsay was curious to know what they were waiting for, but decided to let Trent keep his surprise. He asked if she needed anything and she shook her head. They stood watching families and couples come and go. An old-fashioned sleigh came through the trees and stopped near the booth. A family climbed out, the children giddy with excitement and talking a mile a minute.

  The driver got down, straightened the blankets in the sleigh, brushed off the seats and looked their direction.

  “Mr. Thompson, we’re ready for you now,” the attendee called from the booth. Trent smiled and took Lindsay’s elbow, escorting her to the Victorian sleigh.

  “I’m surprised,” Lindsay said, looking forward to the ride. The driver helped her climb in and she felt Trent settle close beside her. The driver handed Trent a blanket before taking his place on the front seat.

  “Here we go,” he said, and began the trip that wound along the Deschutes River, giving them a remarkable view of Mt. Bachelor.

  Lindsay wasn’t sure at what point during the sleigh ride it happened, but somewhere along the trip, Trent slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close against his side. It felt so right, so wonderfully perfect to be there, Lindsay didn’t pull away.

  “This is spectacular,” she said as the sun began its descent and the sky filled with fiery streaks of orange and gold, giving way to softened whirls of pink.

  “It certainly is,” Trent agreed, only his eyes weren’t on the sky, they were locked on her face. She blushed and looked back at the fading evening light.

  Returning to the resort, she couldn’t think of a single more romantic thing she’d ever experienced in her life than the sleigh ride. If she and Trent never went on another date, this moment, this beautiful moment in time, would be forever captured in her heart.

  “Thank you,” she said, as he stepped out of the sleigh and gave her his hand.

  “For what?” he asked, settling his arm around her shoulder as she stood beside him.

  “For giving me such a wonderful memory.”

  “You’re welcome,” he whispered, desperately wanting to kiss her, but knowing this was not the time or the place. Their first kiss would be one he wanted her to remember forever.

  Walking back to the pickup, he handed her the garment bag from the back seat, and snagged his duffle bag before they walked into the resort.

  Using the restrooms as a changing area, Trent was dressed and waiting for Lindsay when she returned to the lobby. It was all he could do to keep his chin from hitting the floor. Her hair was hanging loose in a silky blond curtain down her back. She wore a simple, fitted dark blue dress that accented her lean figure and her long, long legs, with a pair of bla
ck heels. A black shawl draped around her shoulders and a small black handbag completed her look.

  As she stepped next to him, her woodsy, soft scent floated around him, surrounding him in a warm aura that he never wanted to leave. Drawing a deep breath, he took her garment bag from her and ran their ski clothes out to his pickup.

  While she waited for him, she studied the menus of the various restaurants, wondering where Trent planned for them to eat dinner. Trent was more handsome than any man had a right to look, especially on a first date. When she walked out of the restroom to see him wearing creased Wranglers, a light blue dress shirt and a black sports coat with polished black boots, she wondered who the good-looking cowboy was. Then she realized it was Trent. She was one lucky girl to be on a date with the very attractive rancher. So far, he hadn’t said anything to make her mad, insult her, or in any way ruin their fun day together. In fact, she really enjoyed talking with him, laughing at him and getting to know him better. The sleigh ride was beyond amazing, and she still had dinner to look forward to.

  Trent came back in, bringing a blast of frigid air with him and Lindsay shivered. She wasn’t exactly dressed for freezing temperatures, but she wanted to look nice. Her worries centered more on her appearance than staying warm.

  “Ready for dinner,” Trent said, placing his hands on her shoulders. His fingers, though cool, seared her skin at their touch through her thin shawl.

  She nodded her head and he took her hand, entwining their fingers, as they walked toward the door of a restaurant.

  He gave his name and they quickly found his reservation, seating them at a table in front of a huge picture window. From there they could see the lights from Mt. Bachelor. It was a marvelous view. Lindsay turned her head from staring outside to find Trent watching her.

  She gave him a shy smile then picked up her menu. If she didn’t know better, she would think Trent had more than a passing interest in her. If this day had been one meant to show her a good time and make a great impression, he had more than accomplished his goal.