Bridleton

by Becky Barker

  How in the world could she convince him she still fit into those dreams? How could she do that without knowing what was in his heart? Would it help to pour out her heart to him and beg? Could the trust ever be rebuilt between them? She’d hurt and misjudged him badly. He’d accused her of being a snob but that wasn’t what had made her balk at commitment. Her insecurities had been the biggest obstacle they’d faced.

  Maybe sex was the real answer. Maybe that was the straighter path to a man’s heart. Lots and lots of sex until he couldn’t stand the thought of being without her for even one night, she mused as they ambled toward the main corrals. That particular solution made her squirm in the saddle but it brought a smile to her face.

  * * * * *

  Noah snapped out terse orders for his small crew while he stoked the fire to heat the branding irons. “Get those heifers out of the corral! Push them as far back in the pasture as possible! Make sure the chutes are clear so nothing spooks the calves! Get a seat for Doc while he gives the injections!”

  Inoculating and branding the new calves was another dirty, exhausting spring chore but he was happy to have more help this year and a lot more healthy calves. He glanced up as Andrea and Cheyenne approached the branding area. Dressed in jeans and long-sleeved shirts with their hair tucked under hats, they looked like twins. Both were beautiful, long-legged and sexy as hell. They looked too feminine to be of help but there was a lot of strength in their slender frames. What they lacked in physical stature they made up with sheer grit.

  Neither of them complained as much as his cowhands and they didn’t balk at any chore he gave them. It usually made him proud. Today it annoyed him to hell. He’d been getting pricklier by the hour since he stopped visiting Andrea’s bedroom and it had been a damn long dry spell. Despite his decision not to make the next move, he didn’t care much for abstinence. His body hummed with excitement just looking at her. Seeing her and working with her day after day had kept him in a constant state of irritability and arousal. If she felt the same, she didn’t show it.

  “Why are we still branding calves with those nasty hot irons?” asked Cheyenne. “It stinks and it hurts them.”

  “Not to mention how much their mamas hate hearing them bawl,” added Andrea. “I’m always afraid they’ll come charging to the rescue and gouge somebody with those wicked horns. Couldn’t we just put a tag in their ears?”

  “If you want rustlers to cut off their ears,” he said, noticing their grimaces as they lifted hands to their own ears. “Freeze branding is more common these days but we’d need all new equipment. Right now we use what we’ve got.”

  “Freeze branding?”

  “It’s done just like it sounds with quality, lasting results but all different equipment,” he explained. He lifted a branding iron with interlocking B’s for Bartell’s Bridleton. In the past he’d envisioned it with a C to incorporate his name but that no longer interested him. He’d have his own personal brand soon.

  “Where do you want us?” asked Cheyenne.

  “You can help Doc with the inoculations. He’ll tell you how to keep count and register the shots.”

  She nodded and headed inside the barn.

  Noah would have liked to have kept Drea with him but it wasn’t safe near the chutes where he’d be working. Calves got spooked or tried to bolt so he wanted her clear of the actual branding area. Trace was on horseback in the open field, separating calves from cows. Noah told Andrea she could help him. For a long minute she just looked at him with her big, beautiful eyes. He stared back, wondering what she was thinking. She’d always been an expert at hiding her feelings.

  His fingers itched to touch her. He balled them into fists. His gaze strayed to her mouth. He wanted to plunge his tongue between her lips and feel her greedily suck it. He shifted his gaze to her chest. Nipples hardened as he watched, the swelling nubs rising from rounded breasts. Her breasts had always been so damned sensitive and responsive. He wanted to taste them too.

  It pleased him to watch her reaction but he wasn’t immune to the heated desire that flared between them. His body hardened, his jeans getting uncomfortably tight. Tension sung through him as blood pulsed through his veins.

  “A few nights,” he groused, growing equally aroused and agitated. He took off his hat, ran a hand through his hair and then slapped the hat back on his head. “A few nights without you and I’m aching like a randy teenager.”

  She dropped her gaze to her gloves, slowly pulling them on. He wanted her whole body gloving his. Heat suffused him at the thought. Blood pumped into his groin.

  “I didn’t lock my door.”

  “You didn’t invite me.”

  “That never stopped you in the past,” she charged, pinning him with a heated gaze.

  There! A little temper, some genuine emotion. She’d missed him even if she didn’t admit it. He needed to know she cared. Needed to know their relationship, however dysfunctional, mattered to her. She’d walked out on him five years ago. He’d sworn not to let her walk all over his heart and pride again but his body had a mind of its own.

  “From now on I only come by invitation,” he said, his expression challenging her to make a commitment, even a small one.

  Andrea raised a haughty brow but her eyes sparkled with amusement and a smile tugged at her lips. He watched, fascinated by her facial features. Then he realized what he was doing and shook his head in frustration.

  “Consider this an open invitation,” she said, casually dropping her hand as she passed by him. Her fingers brushed against his crotch, lighting him on fire. His blood pressure skyrocketed, making his ears ring. It was a good thing he had his back to the rest of the crew because it took a few minutes to control his arousal. He promised himself to make her pay for that bit of teasing.

  Many long, hot, dusty hours later, they called it quits for the day. Noah sent everyone home for supper, told them to get some rest and be back at first light tomorrow to finish the job. He did a few evening chores and closed the barn for the night. It was nearing sundown when he headed for the house but stopped in his tracks at the sight of Andrea standing near a small black convertible. A low groan escaped him at the thought of her and Shelly having a private conversation. They’d exchanged pleasantries on a couple occasions but as far as he knew the only thing the two women really had in common was him.

  Andrea held her hat and gloves in her hand and her posture looked rigid with tension. She’d loosened her hair to let it fall over her shoulders and down her back. For an instant he allowed his gaze to sweep over her slender back and hips then down her long legs to her boots. Just looking at her gave him a swift kick in the gut.

  He wanted her that badly.

  What he didn’t want or need was them having a discussion about him. Shelly had always been a good friend and an occasional lover but there’d never been anything more serious between them. She knew how he felt about Andrea. He hoped she could be trusted with things he’d told her in confidence. With women, a man never could be sure where he stood. A woman who felt scorned could turn meaner than a snake. He hoped neither of them felt that way.

  Before he reached the car Shelly revved the engine, waved goodbye and headed down the drive. He slowly made his way toward Andrea, dreading the inevitable discussion.

  “Why was she in such a rush?” he asked.

  Drea turned to him. She locked her gaze on his face and quietly studied him. “Your girlfriend didn’t need anything in particular. She just wondered if everything was all right since you haven’t returned her calls for a couple days.”

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “Did you tell her everything is okay?”

  “I did.”

  Noah returned her searching gaze. Whatever had passed between the women, she didn’t plan to tell him. That much he could figure for himself. What he couldn’t tell was how the conversation had affected Andrea. Was she upset? Hurt? Angry? Pissed at him? Did she think he’d lived like a monk all the y
ears she was gone?

  That thought led him in a totally new direction. To what he had done since she’d returned. What they’d done together. What he still wanted to do so badly. In a flash, he was hot again. He hadn’t corrected her when she called Shelly his girlfriend. Would she renege on the invitation she’d given him earlier?

  She answered his unspoken question by stepping very close to him and brushing her lips across his in a soft, tantalizing kiss. When he tried to grab her she quickly dodged out of reach and headed to the house.

  “See you later, big guy,” she called over her shoulder.

  Her husky whisper kicked him in the gut. Just when he thought he knew what to expect from her she surprised him again. Life was never boring with Drea around.

  He’d forgotten.

  Over the past few years he’d gotten used to his mundane existence. He’d settled into a normal, uninteresting lifestyle and forgotten what it was like to have her near. He’d forgotten the wild anticipation that always surged through him at the sight of her. He’d forgotten how much he loved her deep-throated laughter and her flirtatious banter. How she lit up his world with her energy and independent spirit.

  Watching her sashay up the walk reminded him of how much he loved just watching her move. She always got to him. Always challenged and excited him, always left him wanting more. All the other women he’d ever known paled in comparison. She tempted him like no other yet kept him off balance so he never really knew where he stood with her.

  He couldn’t do much about that. What he could and would do was make her pay for all the sexy flirting and teasing. His heart pounded riotously at the thought as he followed her into the house. The others had gathered in the dining room for a quick bite to eat. They were too tired for much conversation and once they’d eaten they all headed to their bedrooms for an early night.

  After his shower Noah followed through on the promise of retribution when he found Andrea still in her shower. She gasped as he joined her but he quickly smothered her objections with hot, hungry kisses. He cupped a breast in each hand, massaging the creamy soap into her equally creamy skin. Then he plucked at her nipples until they budded into tight knots. He let water sluice the soap off while he kissed his way down her neck and throat then teased each nipple with his teeth. After putting an arm around her waist he nudged her backward so he could part her thighs and run his fingers through the tight, damp curls.

  By then she was squirming and whimpering. He used his fingers and thumb to tease her while he greedily sucked at first one nipple and then the other. She writhed against his hand, her body coaxing for deeper penetration. When he thought she was close to climaxing he stopped his caresses and demanded another long series of kisses until her body calmed a little. They kissed deeply, passionately while water continued to pour over them. Then he thrust his fingers into her hot, wet depths again and drove her higher.

  Each time she strained for a climax he taunted her by calming her and then driving her higher, keeping her strung as tight and needy as he’d been all day. He teased her until neither of them could stand another second of the searing hunger, until he felt the sting of her nails digging into his shoulders. Then he buried himself in her as deeply as possible, feeling whole for the first time in days. He wanted to prolong the deep, intimate connection but he needed her too badly, needed the hard, thrusting movements to relieve a more primal longing. Too quickly, both of them spun out of control. They swallowed each other’s cries of release.

  When his legs stopped trembling and he regained some strength Noah wrapped Andrea in a fluffy towel and carried her to bed. They’d both worked hard all day and needed sleep. Her eyes closed as soon as her head hit the pillow, so he pulled the covers over her and said good night. As he turned to leave she spoke to him so softly he wasn’t sure he heard her right.

  “What did you say?” he asked, turning back to the bed. He studied her lovely features as her thick, wet lashes lifted and she looked directly into his eyes.

  “I said I love you,” she told him, louder and stronger. “You probably know that already. I don’t suppose I ever stopped loving you but I love you more now than I thought it was possible to love someone.”

  His heart pounded wildly in his chest. Blood roared in his ears. The last thing he’d expected from her was a confession of love. Passion, yes, and plenty of it. Love, never again. He didn’t dare trust her yo-yo emotions, no matter how much he wanted to. But the desire to do so waged war within him and spiked his temper.

  “You said that five years ago.” His harsh reminder held a mix of anger and disgust. “There’s no such thing as real love without trust and acceptance.”

  “You don’t think I trust you?”

  “I know you don’t. What was your first thought when you saw me with Shelly out at the property I’m buying?”

  She didn’t answer but her expression spoke louder than words.

  “You’re never going to trust me because you’ve never really loved me. You just want what you think you can’t have. What you’re feeling, what you’ve always felt for me, is lust. It took me a while but I finally came to terms with the truth. You’d better face it too, or we can put an end to this right now.”

  He watched her facial features go blank. Then her expression changed to the cool detachment he hated so much. Sighing heavily, he raked his fingers through his hair. Damn if he knew what he wanted anymore. He couldn’t have it both ways. Either he accepted the emotion or stopped trying to evoke it.

  In a gruff voice, he asked, “Do you want to end this between us?” He didn’t breathe again until he heard her response.

  “No.”

  He left her then, returning to his own cold bed and berating himself for being so torn up about her declaration of love. He’d sworn to never let her get under his skin again but he’d known, even then, the warning came too late. She’d stolen a part of his heart and soul the day they’d met in grade school.

  The Bartells and Bridleton owned the rest of his heart. As an only child in a single-parent household he’d yearned to become a part of the big, loving Bartell family. That hadn’t changed but he wasn’t a kid anymore and circumstances had changed.

  Now he needed to either let go of the dream for good or take a leap of faith and trust that Andrea knew her own heart. Did she have what it would take to be his wife and the mother of his children? To build a home from scratch? She said she loved him but would her feelings change when life got tough? When he made his home somewhere besides Bridleton? He’d believed it possible once but now he just couldn’t be sure enough to put his future on the line.

  Chapter Nine

  On the second day of branding the temperature soared well into the nineties, making everyone hotter, grittier and more short-tempered. The cows bellowed louder and longer, protesting being separated from their calves. Even the best cutting horses in the country had trouble staying ahead of the herd. Once in the branding chutes the calves kicked, bolted and generally made the job more difficult.

  By late afternoon the last of the calves had been inoculated and branded. Trace turned the final stragglers into the pasture while Noah readjusted gates and fences near the corral. The vet bid them farewell and all the cowhands slowly made their way back toward the barnyard.

  One lone mother cow still bawled at the pasture fence.

  “I’m really sick of hearing that old cow holler,” said Cheyenne as she moved to where the others were gathering around the corral fencing. “I swear I heard it in my dreams last night. At first I was a little sympathetic but now I’m ready to have her butchered and grilled.”

  Her grumbling brought smiles to a few weary, weathered faces.

  “Now, Miss Cheyenne,” said Sam. “She’s deservin’ of a little extra sympathy. She holds us responsible for stealin’ her stillborn calf so she’s thinkin’ we done her wrong.”

  “Or maybe she’s just protesting on behalf of all the mamas separated from their calves today,” said Trace as he joined them i
n the shade of the elm at the corner of the corral.

  A sympathetic expression briefly crossed Cheyenne’s features but then the cow let out another bellowing complaint, grating on everyone’s frayed nerves. “I might have to go out there and strangle her myself. Then she can join her calf in longhorn heaven!”

  A collection of tired chuckles followed her heated, useless threat. Andrea smiled and glanced across the corral toward the pasture fence where the cow stood. The rest of the cattle had gone back to grazing peacefully but the old mother cow just stood there glaring in the direction of the humans.

  In a sweeping glance across the now-empty corral area, Andrea also noticed one of her leather work gloves on the ground a few yards inside the fence. Reaching to her back pocket, she realized she’d dropped it when she dismounted earlier. Gloves, like hats, were never taken lightly on the ranch. They were a necessity and she only had one pair that fit well.

  Any or all of the men would offer to collect it for her but they were bone-tired too. They’d been on their feet all day while she’d spent most of her time in the saddle. A short walk would help her stretch the kinks from her muscles. At least that’s what she told herself as she mustered the energy to go after it.

  Moving toward the fence, she climbed one rung and swung her leg over the top, then stepped to the ground inside the corral. “I dropped my glove,” she explained to the others as she slowly made her way across the bare, hard dirt. After picking up the glove she slapped it on her hand to shake off the dust and then tucked it in her pocket.

  She turned to head back to the barn but caught her boot in a rut and twisted her ankle. Thrown off balance she fell hard, landing face-first in the dirt and knocking the breath from her body. Stunned and with her ears ringing, she lay still for a few seconds until her head cleared. At the same time she heard the unmistakable sound of wood splintering. A lot of wood splintering. The next thing she heard was a chorus of warning shouts.