Free Unbridled by Beth Williamson

herself to. He’d given her exactly what she wanted, after all: a nice quiet, private place. She’d definitely be alone, very much so. A tear slipped down her cheek as she headed toward her car to get her bag.
    Her father might not have mentioned her to Connor, may have kept her as his secret from everyone around her. But he obviously hadn’t forgotten her.
    The combination to the VIP cabin gate was her birthday.
     
     
    As the morning wore on, Connor made his rounds but he didn’t really pay attention to what he was seeing. Before he headed back to his office, more than one employee asked him if he was all right. The look on Alex’s face when she’d been hugging the horse gave him a glimpse at the woman beneath the anger. She looked so damn young and full of joy as Rusty had done his best to snuffle her.
    He had felt sorry for Alex when he first found out who she was, but he hadn’t liked her. Not until he saw how much she loved that horse. No one who loved horses that much could be a bad person, and that was something Connor firmly believed.
    What Connor had to focus on was getting his money together to buy Alex’s share of the ranch. He had offered to buy Daniel’s share, but Claire refused outright. Daniel deserved to be a part of his father’s legacy, and Connor appreciated that fact.
    He’d almost adopted the role of partner when they couldn’t find Alex. In case they never found her, he wanted to have enough funds to purchase her part of the ranch. He never imagined she’d come strolling up in the middle of a September morning and set their world on end.
    Connor had to remember she’d just found out her father was dead, that she was confused and hurt, that she likely had a hangover from the bourbon she drank. Yet the one thing running through his head was the feel of her body pressed against his, the softness of her lips.
    And how much trouble he was in.
    He picked up the phone from the desk and started dialing. Time to call Michael Bailey on his cell and figure out how to untangle the fucking mess Grant had left behind before Connor ruined everything by obsessing about Alex Finley.
     
     
    Alex found the cabin easily enough, pleased by the secluded spot so she wouldn’t have to see just what her father had done to their home. Connor had given her the best cabin on the ranch; of that she was certain. As she entered the combination on the six-foot gate that surrounded it, her fingers shook, forcing her to do it twice.
    Her breath caught when she finally got a good look at the building. Huge picture windows decorated the front of the sturdy log cabin. The rocking chairs on the porch were well tended and a beautiful oak color. There was even a table between them with a checkers set in a plastic box along with a deck of cards.
    The cabin faced southwest, which would give the front of the cabin a clear view of the sunset. She decided that was where she would be at the end of the day. It had been years since she had really watched a sunset. Perhaps returning to Wyoming would finally force her to sit still long enough to enjoy one.
    As she walked up the three front steps holding her pot containing the violet, her boots echoed on the wood, her heels impractical for every part of the ranch. Her feet actually hurt after wandering around for an hour in them. Perhaps there was a place in town where she could get a new pair.
    Or perhaps she should leave before she had the chance to get comfortable with new boots. The only trouble with that idea was that she had no place to go and her money would run out in a month.
    She explored everything, pleased by the simple luxuriousness of the cabin. The only problem she discovered was that cell phones apparently didn’t work in the middle of nowhere. Not that it was a bad thing, but it was another reason to dislike Wyoming. She was cut off and isolated from the familiar and thrust back into the past.
    The message SIGNAL LOST was never more appropriate.
     
     
    Hunger drove