Free Who Wants to Marry a Cowboy? by Abigail Sharpe Page B

when she and her vanilla scent wouldn’t go away. And what was that gleam of understanding in Molly’s eye?
    “I’ll just… be over here.” Ainsley slid to an overstuffed green chair in the corner of the room.
    The loss of the warm vanilla didn’t improve Riley’s mood. “This is about Scarlett, isn’t it?”
    Molly didn’t answer, only handed him a fork from the buffet table. “Eat. Your guests are all watching you.” She glided away from him and was immediately replaced by two of the guests who blocked his escape route though the kitchen.
    Dammit, he should be in the barn, not playing the Pied Piper of Wyoming. Cookie was perfectly capable of handling the mare’s foal, but Scarlett was Riley’s favorite. He wanted to be there, not catering to a bunch of women who stood so closely to him they might as well be breathing his air.
    Worse were the ones who didn’t address him directly. A woman wearing a low-cut white blouse and a skirt shorter than his temper positioning herself in provocative poses. She must have been the clumsiest person ever, because she kept dropping her napkin. Two others stood within range of him, but talked to each other, occasionally turning Riley’s way to include him in the conversation with a question or comment, each accompanied by a touch on his arm. Hair flips, bright smiles, batted eyelashes, and pouty lips all paved a path from one woman to the next while he tried to wind around them and into the kitchen.
    All he wanted to do was see Scarlett.
    The napkin woman bent down again and the other two were occupied in a new thread of conversation. His eyes lit upon Ainsley, and she lifted her orange juice in an impromptu salute. That was the last of it. He hightailed it into the kitchen before anyone else noticed. Only it wasn’t a perfect plan, since Molly stood there with her hands on her hips, blocking his exit.
    “No,” she said.
    He inhaled deeply before answering, putting a hold on his trigger reaction to charge out the door. “No what, Mol? No, don’t go outside, so you can waste your time with women who treat you like first prize instead of tending to your livestock? No, stay here and ignore what’s going on in the barn? No what?”
    She glared at him. “This is not how I planned it.”
    Riley softened his tone, knowing his sister liked to keep to a schedule. “Molly, I’ll see everyone tonight at whatever activity you have planned. The ladies are crowding around me so much right now anyway that I can’t talk to them. It will be better this way.” He kissed her on the forehead and strode out the mudroom door to the barn.
    *  *  *
    Ainsley had known something was up when Riley’s brother nearly knocked her over in his haste to reach Molly. After that, the strain of impatience had warred with the reserved emotions on Riley’s face, and she found herself wondering what he’d be like if he lost that tightly held control.
    His constricted composure hadn’t lasted long after that. Once Riley stormed into the kitchen, Ainsley counted how long it took to hear the back door closing. Two minutes. She didn’t blame him. Something unusual happening on the ranch was more important than a stupid singles retreat.
    It was another minute before everyone else realized their dreamboat was missing, the buzz of annoyed women growing louder until Molly emerged from the kitchen. “Where did Riley go?” Robin asked.
    Molly held up her hands, resignation taking over her features. “Ladies, it seems we’ll have to wait until tonight’s one-on-one speed-dating interviews to see my wayward brother again,” she said. “Please, finish your brunch and relax in here or feel free to explore the ranch.”
     “So where’s Riley?” Leigh asked.
    “Where did he go?” Robin repeated.
    “To the stables,” Molly answered. “We have a mare about to foal.”
    Silence filled the room as the women looked at each other, Molly, and out the huge window. A few of them put down their drinks