What a Man Needs. Patricia Thayer

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      Cynthia turned and walked out the door. Keeping her head down, she joined an older couple on the elevator. When the woman’s eyes showed recognition, Cynthia tensed.

      “Say, are you that actress… What’s her name? Cynthia Reynolds?”

      Cynthia shook her head. “You know, I get that all the time. Myself, I don’t see it.” The doors to the lobby opened and Cynthia made her getaway. She hailed a cab back to her hotel. Luckily, she used a private entrance and could get to her private suite without anyone stopping her, wanting to know where she’d been or where she was going. She only had to face her sister in a few hours and convince her that she hadn’t done anything last night that she regretted.

      She might have been stupid to make love with Patrick last night, but she’d never regret it.

       Two

       W ith a groan, Patrick rolled over in bed, his mind filled with erotic images. He blinked, suddenly recalling the sexy woman he’d made love to nearly all night long.

      Cyndi. Patrick smiled as he reached out for her, but he found the other side of the bed empty; just her scent lingering on the pillow. He sat up and glanced around the dark room only to discover he was alone. He swung his legs over the side of the mattress. His clothes were still scattered where he’d tossed them, but there was no sign of Cyndi’s things. He got up and walked to check the bathroom. It was deserted, too.

      There was no trace of her anywhere. He sank against the doorjamb. “Looks like you’ve been dumped.” Not that he’d had much experience in taking women to hotel rooms, but he hadn’t seen this coming. Especially after what they’d shared last night…just hours ago. It was a blow to his ego, he admitted to himself. He wasn’t planning on carrying this attraction that far anyway, but she didn’t need to run away.

      He felt his anger grow as he slipped on his briefs and jeans. Well, the hell with her. He didn’t need the complication anyway. He had the ranch to worry about and it was going to take all his attention when he expanded the vineyard. He sat down and pulled on his boots. And Cyndi No-last-name didn’t fit into those plans. She’d probably done him a favor by leaving. No awkward moments. No regrets. He wasn’t into commitment anyway. Not with the possibility he might inherit his father’s bad habits. Besides, he’d already raised a family—his three sisters. He finally had time to himself.

      It had taken him a lot of years to turn the Tanner Ranch into a profitable operation. Added to the cattle, and the breeding and training of horses, he had the Christmas tree farm to watch over. And his dream of the Tanner Vineyard would take all his time and energy, not to mention the money he still had to come up with. Since he didn’t want to use any of the equity in the ranch, he’d been saving every penny.

      So he didn’t need distracting thoughts about tall sexy, auburn-haired women. He ran his fingers through his hair and headed out the door. Last night was a night he needed to forget.

      Problem was, he doubted he ever would.

      The pounding sound grew louder. Cynthia rolled over in bed, hoping it would go away.

      “Cyndi, open the door,” her sister called.

      Cynthia groaned. She climbed out of bed, went to the door and pulled it open.

      “Good, you’re awake,” her sister said as she swept into the large hotel suite.

      One of the reasons Cynthia always stayed in a hotel when she visited Portland was so she could have her own space and privacy. What a joke.

      Cynthia glanced at the clock. “It’s seven-thirty in the morning. What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?”

      “That’s right. And you aren’t dressed.” Kelly examined her. “Looks like you partied a little too hearty last night. How’d it go with the sexy cowboy?”

      Cynthia stiffened. “Fine. We had a few drinks and some laughs,” she said. And made love three times, she added silently. “Don’t change the subject. What are you doing here?”

      Kelly’s eyes narrowed as she folded her arms. “How could you forget that we’re going out to the Tanner Ranch. You have a date with a nice horse.”

      Cynthia groaned. “Not this morning.”

      “Yes, this morning. I told Nora we’d be out at the ranch early, so go get dressed.”

      “Well, call and tell her we’ll make it another time.”

      Kelly took Cyndi’s hand, led her to the sofa and sat her down. “Look, sis, you told me you wanted a chance at that movie. And the only way to get it is to show you can handle a horse. Has that changed since last night?”

      Career had always come first for Cyndi, and somehow over the years, it had become her life. Every serious relationship she’d tried had gone sour when she had to go off on location, or the guy couldn’t handle her kissing her leading men, especially when the tabloids blew it up as more. And she’d never met any man who had meant enough to her to give it all up. Yet, last night…Patrick had been the first one in a long time who’d made her think how nice it would be to have someone in her life.

      But in the early morning light, she’d panicked.

      “Nothing has changed. Give me twenty minutes to get showered and dressed.”

      “Not a problem. I’ll call room service for some coffee.” Kelly went to the phone, speaking over her shoulder to Cynthia, “Put on some jeans. I have two pairs of boots for you in the car.”

      “Why do I feel like I’ve been had?”

      Kelly turned and smiled. “I’m just giving you a little push. You’re a damn good actress and you deserve the part in Cheyenne. I just want to make sure you have every opportunity to get it.”

      Cynthia stepped into the large bathroom and turned on the shower. She knew getting the female lead in the movie could jump-start her fading career. She only hoped that Nora’s brother knew what he was doing and had a very gentle horse.

      Once in the car, Cynthia thought of a dozen excuses not to go through with this. Right up to the time they drove under the archway to the Tanner Ranch.

      The beautiful, serene area seemed to stretch for miles. Against the mountains in the distance, everything was lush and green, still damp from an early-morning shower. White split-rail fences lined either side of the road, and several horses and foals roamed freely in the pastures.

      A large yellow two-story house with white shutters came into view. The huge porch was adorned with hanging baskets of colorful flowers, and a swing faced a spectacular view of pine-covered mountains. Kelly drove on and headed to the barn. The white structure had a charcoal-colored roof and huge framed doors that stood open. A man walked out leading a very large horse. Cynthia’s heart began to pound in her chest.

      “Come on, let’s go find Nora,” Kelly said.

      “Let’s try the house first,” Cynthia suggested, not yet ready to get near a horse.

      Just as they got out of the car, a brunette woman exited the house—Nora Tanner, she assumed, from her friendly wave to Kelly. She was about СКАЧАТЬ