by Karen Rock
“No! That!” She spurred Bear forward, leaning low over his neck, her red braid lifting behind her.
“Yah!” Destiny responded to his cue and gave chase. They’d nearly caught up to Jewel when she stopped Bear on the edge of the grazing area and vaulted from the saddle.
“Look.”
He followed her nod and spied a buzzing cloud of flies over a dead animal. A large animal. Was it...?
“This one of yours?” Jewel pointed to a motionless cow.
His stomach turned as he eyed the brand on its flank and the ear tag. “She went missing a couple of days ago. We’ve been looking for her...” He eyed the white foam around the Brahman’s mouth and pale gums. A dark suspicion grabbed him by the throat. His gaze swept over the yellowing field of water-deprived sorghum, then to the approaching herd. They were walking to their deaths if they got any closer.
“Prussic acid poisoning.”
Jewel glanced up at him sharply when he spoke.
He braced for the “I told you so” that didn’t come. Instead, Jewel nodded, leaped into her saddle and grabbed Bear’s reins to yank his head up from the deadly plants. “Let’s turn them around.”
The top of the herd began descending the small slope, just yards from the poisoned forage. “No time to waste.”
Together, they sprang into action, hustling the cattle, arcing them left and back. At his whistled commands, the cattle dogs streaked to and fro in a blur of white and black. Jewel was like a scarlet lightning bolt as she thundered along the front line, waving her bright red kerchief, spooking the cattle to change course. She was fearless, as bold as she was skilled. He’d be darned if Cole could do as good a job turning the massive herd back on itself.
“What’s going on?” Travis shouted over the panicked bellows of the confused, hungry Brahmans.
“Pasture’s no good. Stay here and run any off that get by me or Jewel.” He charged forward on Destiny, his heart pounding hard enough to come out of his chest when he spied a drop-off hidden by a copse of spruce. If they didn’t control the herd while turning it, they might stampede to their deaths.
Yet hotheaded Jewel was surprisingly cool under pressure. She applied pressure when needed and eased off when it wasn’t, her small features set in fierce concentration. She was as tough a cowgirl as he’d ever seen when she faced down one of the larger Brahmans determined to get by her. Without hesitation, she drove Bear forward, hollering, “Yip! Yip! Yip!” until the cow balked at the last minute and turned. Others followed suit and gradually, after hours of painstaking work, they had the cattle back home, watered and hay fed.
He’d expected Jewel to gloat, but she’d been all business, and darned if he didn’t miss sparring with her when they’d finally gotten the situation under control.
At last, he mounted the stairs to the house, bone weary and longing for a shower. Jewel’s voice stopped him before he reached the top tread.
“You still haven’t said it,” she drawled.
He turned and flicked the brim of his hat up off his soaked brow. “Said what?”
“That I was right.” She climbed past him and stopped on the top step, meeting him eye to eye.
He sighed. “Fine. You were right.” She’d saved the herd today—no denying it.
“And...” she prompted.
He stared at her steadily. “Thank you.”
“Yes, and...”
He lifted a palm to the rosy orange sky, then dropped it. “What else is there?”
“You’d be a better range boss than me.” Her lips curved into a smirk.
The tension was palpable between them, and instinct told him it ran deeper than the fact that their families were enemies. “I’m not saying that.”
Her eyebrows quirked. “But I bet you’re thinking it.”
“You’re a mind reader now?”
“Nah, I’m just clever.” The smirk spread, revealing even white teeth against her freckled face, the contrast unconventionally attractive. “And I also think I’m hilarious.”
He bit back a laugh and slid by her into the house, shaking his head at her brashness.
“Oh, Heath?” she called, and he stuck his head around the doorframe. One of Jewel’s hands lifted a single finger; the other rounded into an O shape. “Cades one, Lovelands zero.”
The smile lingered on his face as hot water pounded on Heath’s sore muscles while he twisted beneath the showerhead’s spray minutes later. Jewel sure had an ego, but she had the talent to back it up, too. He snapped off the water, wrapped a towel around his waist and sauntered from the steam-filled bathroom.
“Oof!” He collided with someone—someone much too petite to be one of his brothers. Small, calloused hands landed on his bare chest. His muscles clenched as his heart stopped and then sped up.
Jewel Cade’s enormous brown eyes trailed up his contracting abdomen to his face. “Travis said I could find an extra deck of cards up here.” Air separated her halting words. She yanked her hands down. “We’re playing Texas Holdʼem. Want to play?”
He shook his head, wordless. No. He did not want to play with the aggravating redhead who nettled him like a burr. Her soft mouth parted, and the tip of her pink tongue appeared on her generous lower lip.
“Come on, Heath, don’t you want to live dangerously?”
He pictured icicles dangling from barn eaves, his breath frosting winter air, the sting of sleet hitting his cheeks...anything to stop the temptation to sample her full lips. “Kelsey wants me over for dinner.”
Jewel’s sparkling brown eyes dulled and darned if he didn’t want to make them shine again. Get out of here, he ordered himself, yet his feet had other ideas and stuck him in place.
“But what do you want?”
“Peace.” He ducked back in his room and slammed the door. Her chuckle wove through the thick pine anyway. He paced to his closet and savagely buttoned on the dress shirt and pants Kelsey bought him for his birthday. His rough fingers fumbled to knot the tie. Once, twice...five times. He yanked off the noose. Kelsey’s impending frown flashed in his mind’s eye.
Contrary to Jewel’s opinion, he already knew he wasn’t suited for this ranching life, let alone the one awaiting him once he married. Or maybe it was the other way around and his life didn’t suit him. Either way, he needed to resign himself to it...if she’d just leave him be and stop challenging him.
Was that too much to ask?
When it came to Jewel, his money was on yes.
In the hall, he’d wanted to kiss the everlasting smirk off her face. She tested the limits of his self-control, self-denial and unselfishness.
That, of course, was the problem.
Some part of him apparently liked being unrestrained and taking what he wanted. It’d be his downfall, though, if he didn’t keep his distance from bold, spirited Jewel Cade.
Hopefully, dinner with Kelsey would give him clarity. A loud, raucous laugh erupted from downstairs, Jewel’s shout mingling with his siblings’. He jammed on his hat and clomped outside. He sure wasn’t getting any peace here, not with a certain redhead underfoot and messing with his head.
CHAPTER FOUR
“COME IN. COME IN,” boomed a male voice behind Heath.
He jerked his hands from his pockets, dragged his eyes off the waxing moon and whirled to face the Timmonses’ open front door. Bright light, spilling down tiered brick steps, silhouetted the outline of a short and stocky man with a head as round as a cannonball.
“You haven’t changed your mind about joining us for dinner, have you?” A belly laugh accompanied the question, punctuating the apparent ridiculousness of the notion.
“Only about twenty times.” Heath doffed his hat and trudged up the stairs into the grand two-story home.
“Hah!” Sam Timmons clapped Heath on the back. “Changing your mind about joining us on steak
night...good one.”
Only Heath spoke the truth. During the long drive into town, he’d battled the impulse to turn his pickup around. He glimpsed his clenched jaw in the foyer’s gold-framed mirror. Even though he found Jewel irritating, he’d rather play cards with her and his siblings than endure a night of Kelsey’s parents’ digs about his humble upbringing or their expectations for his and Kelsey’s future.
Speaking of whom...
Kelsey glided through an open pocket door, paused before him and leaned close to pat his cheek. He fought back a sneeze at her overly sweet perfume. “We’re not letting him escape that easy, are we, Daddy?” Her green eyes sparkled through a thicket of black lashes.
“No indeed, Dew Drop.” Sam’s barrel chest swelled as he gazed affectionately at his only child. “You’ve caught yourself a good one.”
Heath cleared his constricted throat, his insides wriggling like a worm on a hook. “She hasn’t reeled me in yet.”
“Famous last words,” Sam guffawed.
“Let’s say hi to Mama.” Kelsey inclined her head, the platinum strands of her upswept blond hair gleaming beneath a chandelier. “She’s been anxious to see you all day.”
Sam wagged a finger at Heath. “Anxious for you to set a wedding date.”
Pressure settled on Heath’s shoulders.
“Daddy.” Kelsey swatted her father’s coat sleeve. “You’re terrible. Stop pressuring Heath.”
Heath choked back a laugh. Now that was amusing, considering her ultimatum to agree on a date by summer’s end. “Your daughter’s doing a fine enough job on her own.”
“What’s he talking about, Dew Drop?” Sam’s snub nose wrinkled, and his amiable expression faded slightly. “You’re not chasing after Heath...making a spectacle of yourself, are you?”
“Of course not, Daddy.” Kelsey rested her head on Heath’s shoulder and her stiff hair dented slightly. “We’ve been together forever. Heath’s crazy about me.”
“Or just plain crazy,” Heath muttered beneath his breath as Sam strode across the marble floor and disappeared into the formal living room.
Kelsey gripped Heath’s arm. “What’s gotten into you?”
Good question. Usually he acted the part of attentive boyfriend, no matter what the Timmonses threw his way, but tonight he hadn’t the patience for it. “What do you mean?”
“You’re—you’re not yourself.”
“Maybe this is me and you’ve never noticed.” He’d just lost a chance at his dream, narrowly escaped a livestock disaster and spent a long day sparring with know-it-all Jewel. She’d accused him of never doing what he wanted and yes, he’d admit it, she had a point. Putting others ahead of himself was grating on him lately.
Kelsey’s fingers trailed up his dress shirt’s buttons. “I know you better than anyone.”
Heath’s heart turned over heavily as he nodded.
“We’re meant to be married,” she pressed. “Why else would we have stayed together this long if we weren’t perfect for each other?”
Heath’s lips flattened. Problem was, lately he’d sensed a change in himself, a restlessness when they were together. Instead of the old excitement he’d felt when he saw her, he had a sense of obligation and even boredom...completely unfounded since Kelsey was as kind and giving as ever.
Had he changed? Or was he just outgrowing his feelings for Kelsey? On the other hand, the pressure of setting a wedding date might be giving him cold feet. He should just pick a date already. He’d probably feel relieved. No more second-guessing whether he was marrying Kelsey because he felt he had to instead of wanted to. He had every reason to love her.
Her hard work and generosity in creating his mother’s scholarship also left him beholden to her. After he’d unforgivably failed his ma, Kelsey found a way to honor her and keep her memory alive. It didn’t erase his guilt, but it made it possible to live with himself.
“Where’s your tie?”
Heath’s neck muscles clenched at the slight frown tugging down the corners of Kelsey’s mouth. “Didn’t want to bother with it since it was getting late.”
Kelsey waved her hand. “It’s okay. I—I shouldn’t have mentioned it. It’s just—appearances are so important in my world.”
Her world.
The entitled, stuffy life he’d enter when he gave up gigging and ranching to say, “I do.”
He counted backward in his head. Years with an erratic mother taught him to speak softly and stay neutral. And—of course—he was a Loveland, and Lovelands locked away their emotions. Problem was, when you denied them long enough, you forgot how you really felt in the first place. “Looks aren’t more important than manners.”
“Appearances are everything, honey,” she said gently, with a kind smile that felt the tiniest bit condescending. “Besides, punctuality is for schoolchildren and trains, not real people.”
Heath stared at her false eyelashes, her colored hair and the chin implant she’d gotten three years ago, wondering what passed for “real” these days. A vision of Jewel, covered in dust, her cowlicks standing up every which way, her teeth white against her freckled face, flashed in his mind’s eye. She was as real and raw as it got.
“What are you smiling about?” Kelsey bumped his shoulder with her own. “Can I guess?”
He startled. “Nope. Not in a million years.” Why did the cocky cowgirl occupy so many of his thoughts?
“You’re keeping something from me.” Kelsey’s brow furrowed.
He bristled, resenting her prying even when she had every right to as his fiancée. “If I am, that’s my call.”
“Kids?” a woman called before Kelsey could respond. “I’ve poured the champagne.”
“Coming,” Kelsey hollered back. Her concerned gaze pinned Heath in place. “Can we talk about this later?” When he nodded, she rose on her tiptoes, so their mouths were almost level. “How about a kiss?”
He half-heartedly obliged, anticipating the familiar sticky-peach taste of her favorite lipstick before easing away.
“What am I, your whiskered great-aunt?” Kelsey threw her arms around his neck. “Kiss me like you mean it, gorgeous man.”
“Kelsey!” Her mother appeared in the archway, one beringed hand resting on a cocked hip. As they broke apart, Darla Timmons smiled tightly, her unlined skin making it hard to gauge her age. She could be thirty-five going on sixty. “If you two lovebirds are done, we’re ready for predinner drinks.”
“Of course.” Kelsey tucked her hand inside the crook of Heath’s arm and hustled them into the formal living room.
Tasteful neutral-colored wallpaper covered ten-foot walls ending in white crown moldings. Elaborate sofas and chairs, grouped together before an oversize hearth, were covered with patterned pillows matching long drapes pooling on an inlaid wooden floor. His boots sank into the plush rug as he crossed the room to Kelsey’s parents.
“Why, don’t you look handsome.” Darla handed Heath a champagne flute with a stem so thin he feared he’d snap it just by looking.
He held it gingerly and inhaled the fruity scent fizzing from its surface. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“What are we toasting?” Darla asked, raising her glass. Some of the bubbly splashed over the top and down the side of her hand as she lurched slightly on her heels. Heath instinctively steadied her with a firm hand on her elbow.
“Do we have anything to cheer, Heath?” Sam asked.
Three pairs of eyes turned to him. Heath raised his glass and said what was expected. “To Kelsey, the most beautiful gal in Carbondale.”
Glasses clinked, and Heath downed the sweet bubbly in a single gulp.
“She’s not getting any younger.” Sam snagged a shrimp from an ice-filled crystal tray and dipped it in cocktail sauce.
“Daddy!” Kelsey smoothed the tight skin beneath her chin. “I’m not even thi
rty yet.”
“But you will be in a couple of years.” Darla tottered down onto the couch, patted the cushion next to her and shot Heath a pointed look. “Tick tock. When am I getting grandbabies?”
“Would you like something to eat, ma’am?” Heath perched beside her and whisked away her glass in hopes she’d forget it, and her nosy question.
“See,” Darla trilled. “This is why you’ll make a wonderful son-in-law. Good manners and such a thoughtful young man.”
“He’s a good boy, all right.” Kelsey patted his cheek.
“And when will the happy day be?” Sam leaned a hip on a grand piano, a Steinway no less, one Kelsey confided had never been played. Heath’s fingers itched to touch its keyboard. The songs he would write on such an incredible instrument... Only once he moved here, he’d be as silent as the Steinway, a decoration without a purpose. Appearances mattered to the Timmonses—not substance.
“We’re setting a wedding date by the end of summer.” Kelsey’s lips curved as she peered at him over her champagne glass rim. “It’ll be a Christmas wedding.”
“That’s not settled yet.” His fingers clenched. Kelsey acted as if their marriage was a foregone conclusion and maybe it was...but his heart hadn’t made peace with it yet. Once he’d successfully moved the herd and handed the ranch back to his father, would he be ready to begin a new life with her? Hopefully, his regret over missed opportunities in music would fade once he had a wife and children to occupy him instead.
“Stop messing around, Heath.” Kelsey playfully swatted him. Her parents’ gazes pinged between them.
An elderly man wearing a bow tie cleared his throat from the archway. “Dinner is ready whenever you are, ma’am.”
Darla inclined her coiffed head. “Thank you, Matthew.” She wobbled to her feet, one hand clutching Heath’s extended arm. “Shall we?”
Once seated, Kelsey cleared her throat and pointedly stared at Heath’s cloth napkin, then at his lap. Perversely, he tucked it into his shirt collar like his father instead of draping it on his lap as expected.
Kelsey dropped her fork, then paused by his ear as she reached for it. “Why are you acting like this?”