Lovers at Heart

by Melissa Foster

  With a gentle kick of his heels and a tug of the rein in his right hand, Hope trotted off the path and along the property line toward the creek. Rex’s jaw clenched and his biceps bulged as they descended the deep hill toward the ravine. The water was still as glass when they finally reached the rocky shoreline. Rex looked up at the sky as the gray gave way to powdery blues and pinks. In all the years since he’d claimed those predawn hours as his own, he’d never seen a soul while he was out riding, and he liked it that way.

  They headed south along the water toward Devil’s Bend. The ravine curved at a shockingly sharp angle around the hillside and the water pooled, deepening before the rocky lip just before the creek dropped a dangerous twenty feet into a bed of rocks. He slowed when he heard a splash and scanned the water for the telltale signs of a beaver, but there wasn’t a dam in sight.

  Rex took the bend and brusquely drew Hope to a halt. Jade Johnson stood at the water’s edge in a pair of cutoff jean shorts, cut just above the dip where her hamstrings began. He’d seen her only once in the past several years, and that was weeks ago, when she had ridden her stallion down the road and stopped at the top of their driveway. Rex raked his eyes down her body and swallowed hard. Her cream-colored T-shirt hugged every inch of her delicious curves, a beautiful contrast to her black-as-night hair, which tumbled almost to her waist. Rex noticed that her hair was the exact same color as her stallion, which was standing nearby with one leg bent at the knee.

  Jade hadn’t seen him yet. He knew he should back Hope up and leave before she had the chance. But she was so goddamned beautiful that he was mesmerized, his body reacting in ways that had him cursing under his breath. Jade Johnson was Earl Johnson’s feisty daughter. Jade Johnson was off-limits. She always had been and always would be. But that didn’t stop his pulse from racing, or the crotch of his jeans from tightening against his growing desire. Fifteen years he’d forced himself not to think about her, and now, as her shoulders lifted and fell with each breath, he couldn’t stop himself from wondering what it might feel like to tangle his fingers in her thick mane of hair, or how her breasts would feel pressed against his bare chest. He felt the tantalizing stir of the forbidden wrestling with his deep-seated loyalty to his father—and he was powerless to stop himself from being the prick of a man that usually resulted from the conflicting emotions.

  JADE JOHNSON KNEW she shouldn’t have ridden Flame down the ravine, but she’d woken up from a restless, steamy dream before the sun came up, and she needed a release for the sexual urges she’d been repressing for way too long. Goddamned Weston, Colorado. How the hell was a twenty-eight-year-old woman supposed to have any sort of relationship with a man in a town when everybody knew one another’s business? She’s thought she’d had life all figured out; after she graduated from veterinary school in Oklahoma, she’d completed her certifications for veterinarian acupuncture while also studying equine shiatsu, and then she’d taken on full-time hours at the large animal practice where she’d worked a limited schedule while completing school. She’d dated the owner’s son, Kane Law, and when she opened her own practice a year later, she thought she and Kane would move toward having a future together. How could she have known that her success would be a threat to him—or that he’d become so possessive that she’d have to end the relationship? Coming back home had been her only option after he refused to stop harassing her, and now that she’d been back for a few months, she was thinking that maybe returning to the small town had been a mistake. She’d gotten her Colorado license easily enough, but instead of building a real practice again, she’d been working on more of an as-needed basis, traveling to neighboring farms to help with their animals without any long-term commitment, while she figured out where she wanted to put down roots and try again.

  She heaved a heavy rock into the water with a grunt, pissed off that she’d taken this chance with Flame by coming down the steep hill. She knew better, but Flame was a sturdy Arabian stallion, and at fifteen hands high, he had the most powerful hindquarters she’d ever seen. Flame’s reaction time to commands, and his ability to spin, turn, or sprint forward was quicker than any horse she’d ever mounted. His short back, strong bones, and incredibly muscled loins made him appear indestructible. When Flame stumbled, Jade’s heart nearly skipped a beat. He’d quickly regained his footing, but the rhythm of his gait had changed, and when she’d dismounted, he was favoring his right front leg. Now she was stuck with no way to get him home without hurting him further.

  Damn it. She bent over and hoisted another heavy rock into her arms to heave more of her frustration into the water. Her hair fell like a curtain over her face, and she used one dusty hand to push it back over her shoulder, then picked up the rock and—shit. She dropped the rock and narrowed her eyes at the sight of Rex Braden sitting atop that mare of his.

  The nerve of him, staring at me like I’m a piece of meat. Even if he was every girl’s dream of a cowboy come true in his tight-fitting jeans, which curved oh so lusciously over his thighs, defining a significant bulge behind the zipper. She ran her eyes up his too-tight dark shirt and silently cursed at herself for involuntarily licking her lips in response. She tried to tear her eyes from his tanned face, peppered with stubble so sexy that she wanted to reach out and touch his chiseled jaw, but her eyes would not obey.

  “What’re you looking at?” she spat at the son of the man who had caused her father years of turmoil. When she’d first come back to town, she’d hoped maybe things had changed. She’d ridden by the Bradens’ ranch while she was out with Flame one afternoon. Rex and his family were out front, commiserating over an accident that had just happened in their driveway, resulting in two mangled cars. She’d tried to see if they needed help, to break the ice of the feud that had gone on since before she was born, but while his brother Hugh had at least spoken to her, Rex had just narrowed those smoldering dark eyes of his and clenched that ever-jumping jaw. She’d be damned if she’d accept that treatment from anyone, especially Rex Braden. Despite her best efforts to forget his handsome face, for years he’d been the only man she’d conjured up in the darkest hours of the nights, when loneliness settled in and her body craved human touch. It was always his face that pulled her over the edge as she came apart beneath the sheets.

  “Not you, that’s for sure,” he answered with a lift of his chin.

  Jade stood up tall in her new Rogue boots and settled her hands on her hips. “Sure looks like you’re staring to me.”

  Rex cracked a crooked smile as he nodded toward the water. “Redecorating the ravine?”

  “No!” She walked over to Flame and ran her hand down his flank. Why him? Of all the men who could ride up, why does it have to be the one guy who makes my heart flutter like a schoolgirl’s?

  “Taking a break, that’s all.” She couldn’t take her eyes off of his bulging biceps. Even as a teenager, he’d had the nervous habit of clenching his jaw and arms at the same time—and, Jade realized, the effect it had on her had not diminished one iota.

  “Lame stallion?” he asked in a raspy, deep voice.

  Everything he said sounded sensual. “No.” What happened to my vocabulary? She’d been three years behind Rex in school, and in all the years she’d known him, he probably hadn’t said more than a handful of words to her. She narrowed her eyes, remembering how she’d pined over each one of his grumbling syllables, even though they were usually preceded by a dismissive grunt of some sort, which she had always attributed to the feud that preceded her birth.

  “All righty then.” He turned his horse and walked her back the way he’d come.

  Jade stared at his wide back as it moved farther and farther away. Damn it, what if no one else comes along? She looked up at the sun making its slow crawl toward the sky, guessing it was only six thirty or seven. No one else was going to come by the ravine. She cursed herself for not carrying her cell phone. She wasn’t one of those women who needed to be accessible twenty-four-seven. She carried it during the day, but thi
s morning, she’d just wanted to ride without distraction. Now she was stuck, and he was her only hope. Getting Flame home was more important than any family feud or her own conflicting hateful and lustful thoughts for the conceited man who was about to disappear around the corner.

  She shook her head and kicked the dirt, wishing she’d worn her riding boots. The toes of her new Rogues were getting scuffed and dirty. Could today get any worse?

  “Hey!” she called after him. When he didn’t stop, she thought he hadn’t heard her. “I said, hey!”

  He came to a slow stop, but didn’t turn around. “You talking to me? I thought you were talking to that lame horse of yours.” He cast a glance over his shoulder.

  Jerk. “His name is Flame, and he’s the best damned horse around, so watch yourself.”

  His horse began its lazy stroll once again.

  “Wait!” Goddamn it! She gritted her teeth against the desire to call him an ass and shot a look at Flame, still favoring his leg, softening her resolve.

  “Wait, please.”

  His horse came to another stop.

  “I need to get him home, and I can’t very well do it myself.” She kicked the dirt again as he turned his horse and walked her back. He stared down at Jade with piercing dark eyes, his jaw still clenched.

  “Can you help me get him out of here?” Up close, his muscles were even larger, more defined, than she’d thought. His neck thicker, everything about him exuded masculinity. She crossed her arms to settle her nerves as he waited a beat too long to answer. “Listen, if you can’t—”

  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” he said, calm and even.

  “You don’t have to be rude.”

  “I don’t have to help at all,” he said, mimicking her by crossing his arms.

  “Fine. You’re right. Sorry. Can you please help me get him out of here? He can’t make it up that hill.”

  “Just how do you suppose I do that?” He glanced at the steep drop of the land just twenty feet ahead of them, then back up the ravine at the rocky shoreline. “You shouldn’t’ve brought him down here. Why are you riding a stallion, anyway? They’re temperamental as hell. What were you thinking? A girl like you can’t handle that horse on this type of terrain.”

  “A girl like me? I’ll have you know that I’m a vet, and I’ve worked around horses my whole life.” She felt her cheeks redden and crossed her arms, jutting her hip out in the defiant stance she’d taken throughout her teenage years.

  “So I hear.” He lowered his chin and lifted his gaze, looking at her from beneath the shadow of his Stetson. “From the looks of it, all that vet schooling didn’t do you much good, now, did it?”

  Ugh! He was maddening. Jade pursed her lips and stalked away in a huff. “Forget it. I can do this by myself.”

  “Sure you can,” he mused.

  She felt his eyes on her back as she took Flame’s reins and tried to lead him up the steep incline. The enormous horse took only three steps before stopping cold. She grunted and groaned, pleading with the horse to move, but Flame was hurt, and he’d gone stubborn on her. Her face heated to a flush.

  “You keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll be back in an hour to get you and that lame horse of yours.”

  An hour, great. She was aching to tell him to hurry, but she knew how long it took to hook up the horse trailer, and she had no idea how he’d get it all the way down by the ravine. She watched him ride away, feeling stupid, embarrassed, angry, and insanely attracted to the ornery jerk of a man.

  (End of Sneak Peek)

  To continue reading, be sure to pick up the next

  LOVE IN BLOOM release:

  DESTINED FOR LOVE, The Bradens, Book One

  Love in Bloom Series, Book Four

  “Contemporary romance at its hottest.

  Each Braden sibling left me craving the next.

  Sensual, sexy, and satisfying."

  — Bestselling author, Keri Nola, Psychotherapist (on THE BRADENS)

  LOVE IN BLOOM is a nine-book series

  Check online retailers for availability

  SNOW SISTERS

  Sisters in Love

  Sisters in Bloom

  Sisters in White

  THE BRADENS

  Lovers at Heart

  Destined for Love

  Friendship on Fire

  Sea of Love

  Bursting with Love

  Hearts at Play

  Acknowledgments

  There are so many people to thank for helping me bring this book to readers. There’s a community of bloggers, reviewers, authors, readers, and friends that each deserve to be listed here, but I simply don’t have space. My sincere gratitude goes out to everyone who has inspired, helped, and encouraged me though this exciting journey. I hope we can continue to inspire each other. Thank you all so very much.

  My dedicated and efficient editors and proofreaders deserve a chocolate sculpture ten feet high for their energy and skills. Thank you Kristen Weber, Penina Lopez, Jenna Bagnini, Colleen Albert, Juliette Hill, and Marlene Engel. I’m so lucky to have you on my team. My beautiful cover was designed by Natasha Brown and formatting was handled by Rachelle Ayala. Thank you both for all you have done and continue to do for me.

  Stacy Eaton, Amy Manemann, Emerald Barnes, Wendy Young, Christine Cunningham, Rachelle Ayala, Natasha Brown, Bonnie Trachtenberg, G.E. Johnson, and Kathleen Shoop—you are the best friends a person could hope for and I treasure every moment of our laughter, whining, wining **wink wink**, and trouble-making time together—virtual and otherwise. Sisters at heart…forever.

  Thank you to each of my Team Pay-it-Forward community who have become like family. You’re all so special to me and I am proud to be among your friends.

  The name “Braden” was a gift from my good friend Russell Blake. Thank you for giving a name to the men in my head and then pushing me to make them ever bigger than life. I hope my readers will jump the fence and pick up your thrillers.

  My writing life would not exist if not for the support and understanding of my mother, my husband, and my children. You rock my world and I love you all.

  Melissa Foster is an award-winning, International bestselling author. Her books have been recommended by USA Today's book blog, Hagerstown Magazine, The Patriot, and several other print venues. She is the founder of the Women’s Nest, a social and support community for women, and the World Literary Café. When she's not writing, Melissa helps authors navigate the publishing industry through her author training programs on Fostering Success. Melissa hosts Aspiring Authors contests for children, and has painted and donated several murals to The Hospital for Sick Children in Washington, DC.

  Visit Melissa on her website, or chat with her on The Women's Nest or social media. Melissa enjoys discussing her books with book clubs and reader groups, and welcomes an invitation to your event.

  Melissa’s books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most online retailers.

  www.MelissaFoster.com