by Alexa Davis
I watched Daniel striding toward me and pushed away the fluttery feeling in my stomach. That shipped had sailed, but I wouldn’t avoid him anymore.
Daniel was the epitome of the iconic Texas rancher. He was strong, cunning, and knew everything I did about the care and development of his animals and how to best breed them. I may have known how to surgically treat an animal, but I’d bet money he could diagnose most ailments just as fast as I could, maybe even faster, just from having done it for so long.
“Are you ready?” he asked when he approached. I lifted an eyebrow in response and he laughed. “Okay, smart-ass, I’m ready to go, unless you’d like to look at anything else.”
I shook my head and held out my hand for him to assist me to my feet. He looked at me askance, but didn’t hesitate to help me up and placed my hand over the crook of his elbow. He took Skipper’s lead and led us out of the store to his truck.
“I’m sorry I blamed you for what happened earlier,” I said quietly. “I should know better than to make assumptions about one person based on the words of another, believe me.” I patted his arm with my casted hand. “I hope that our work doesn’t suffer because I chose to react poorly to idle gossip. I despise your girlfriend, of course, but that’s neither here nor there,” I added, trying to make him smile. He helped Skipper into the truck and turned back to me.
“She’s never been my girlfriend,” he asserted. “Not for her lack of trying, but she’s not my type.” He winked at me and helped me climb up into the cab.
I waited until he couldn’t see me before I smiled. We may not have been destined to be, but for what it was worth, he didn’t hate me and that was enough for me now.
Chapter Eight
Daniel
I was furious with myself for being stupid enough to expect Sara to be an adult when I took Rachel to get furniture for her new quarters. The arrangement she and I had was mutually beneficial and had worked in the past, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think Rachel would let me near her if she thought I was pursuing other offers. I’d told Sara multiple times that we were done, but she just wouldn’t let up.
At first, she’d been great. We’d had fun together, and when I got her alone and out of sight of others, she had actually had a few moments of real humor and generosity that made her, well, human. But her pouting and possessiveness had gotten to be more than any man should have to handle, especially when they aren’t in a relationship. I’d called it off, before Rachel had even come to stay on the ranch.
When I’d gotten Rachel back to the ranch, she was back to her bubbly, sweet self. But, something had changed. I still felt an electric charge run through me when I touched her skin. I knew she felt something, too, but only because of the little frown that she schooled off her face when she saw me looking at her. She didn’t trust me anymore, and it was my own fault.
I was given hope by the fact that she didn’t avoid me, but it hurt to see her become more distant and professional whenever I showed up. She’d go from playfully teasing Pete or Gary, only to become very quiet and almost submissive when she noticed me. It was easier for me to stay away and let them work without me ruining the chemistry, but I had to admit I hated it.
The weeks had started to tick past at an ever increasing rate and I was quickly running out of time to make things right with Rachel. In desperation, I suggested a Fourth of July party to my mother, in the hopes of bringing Rachel in contact with people who would be great contacts later and wouldn’t leave a bad taste in her mouth just from meeting them.
I gave my mother my guest list, and she and her assistant went to work, putting together entertainment, a menu, and invitations. It wasn’t often that Lago Colina opened itself to outsiders, but when we did, everyone wanted to be there. I made certain that Rachel’s family was on the list and when my father confirmed that the celebration was a go, I took an invitation to hand-deliver to Rachel myself.
She wasn’t in the stables or the high pasture when I went in search for her, and none of the men had seen her since just after breakfast. Worried, I went straight to her cabin and pounded on the door. I had been hitting the door with my fist long enough and hard enough to have bruised the through to the muscle, and had just decided to break in through a window when she finally answered, wrapped in a bath sheet, her hair dripping on the stone tiles.
“What on earth is wrong with you?” she gasped. I was already rubbing my aching hand and more embarrassed than I had considered when I decided she was dying alone on the cabin floor. I could tell she’d been crying, the shower hadn’t removed the redness from her eyes.
“Can I come in?” I asked, not wanting to make a spectacle of us standing there, especially not with her naked in the doorway. She nodded and stepped aside. The door shut with a slam behind me, and when I turned around, she was racing for the bedroom. “Um, I’ll wait out here for you – unless you need some help,” I teased.
“No, no help necessary, thank you kindly!” she called out, her voice muffled like her head was inside a burlap sack. I resisted the urge to finally get my hands on her while she was possibly tangled up in a t-shirt and unable to stop me. It was harder than it should’ve been, since I was raised right, but knowing she was in there with little to no clothes on made me crazy.
Thankfully, it was only a few minutes before she came out, fully dressed. I could see I was right about her eyes being red, and her nose was pink, too. If she had been crying, she’d been crying hard. She offered me a seat on her new couch. I was pleased, when I finally thought to look around, at how the place looked. The new furnishings had only been delivered the day before, but she had everything in place and it looked like she’d been there forever.
I looked at her, sitting across the couch from me, totally in her element. Her wet hair was tied into a long, dark ponytail that made a wet pattern on her t-shirt when she moved. The scooped neckline was just low enough to make me grateful that other men weren’t looking at her right then. She flushed under my scrutiny and stared at the floor, where Skipper lay sleeping.
“So, what brings you over here today?” She sniffled and rubbed at her nose with a tissue. It was pretty clear she didn’t want me there, but I still would’ve wagered the runny nose wasn’t from allergies.
“I’ve got a party invite for you, actually.” I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the stiff envelope. “We decided to have a Fourth of July shindig, and I wanted to make sure you came. Your family got one sent to them; it would be odd if they showed and you didn’t.” I leaned forward and followed her gaze to the lazy retriever asleep on his new dog bed.
“I looked for you, and everyone was concerned that they hadn’t seen you. I was a little worried by the unanswered texts and calls and then, when you didn’t answer the door…” My voice trailed off. “Well, let’s just say my head wasn’t in the best place by that time.” Rachel sniffed again as I met her eyes.
“I’m really sorry I worried you. I got a phone call that messed with my head a little. Somebody I thought I was well rid of.” She hiccupped a little as she talked, her voice becoming more agitated as she continued. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t always sketchy about guys. Which means I have a dreaded ex. He’s been hearing ‘rumors’ around town that I got a cushy position because I’m sleeping with the boss.”
I growled low in my throat, and Skipper popped his curly head up in concern. Rachel soothed him until he laid back down and she continued. “He heard it from…wait for it, Cal Preston himself.” I gasped and smacked my forehead with the palm of my hand. “Oh, and apparently Jason, that’s my ex, is friends with one Miss Sara Abbott, too. He actually thinks she’s into him, you know, ‘cause of the sex ‘n stuff.’ His words, not mine.” She held her hands up in surrender.
“I can’t even begin…” I tried to apologize, but what part was my fault? “I don’t even know what to say at this point.”
“Say that Sara Abbott isn’t invited to your party, or Cal Preston, or Jason the sleaze, and let me take Kai
ser out for a ride tomorrow, and we’ll call the whole thing water under the bridge.” I agreed and held out a hand.
“Is it all water under the bridge?” I asked carefully, reaching out my hand to her. “Because if it is, there are a couple of things I’d like to start over.” She smiled shyly at me and slid her little hand over mine. I closed my callused fingers over her softer ones and gave it a squeeze.
“Um, by starting over, I hope you mean from the very beginning because I’m going to need a little time,” she admitted, pulling her hand away from me again. “However, it would be really nice of you to give me a lift into town to get this cast off on Thursday, if you could. I think it would go miles toward proving you’re on the up and up.” She watched me out of the corner of her eye. I nodded and agreed to take her into town and scratched Skipper on the head.
“Let me know when you’re ready to go out for that ride,” I reminded her. “I’ll be ready. I’ve been wanting to put Peacemaker through his paces myself, anyway.” I reached down and hugged her. “Don’t let small, stupid people get in your way, Rachel. I certainly don’t plan to.”
I tipped my hat and walked out without waiting for a response. I was so pissed I had to burn it off and spent the afternoon in the field with the men, effectively forcing Rachel to stay away if she was still avoiding me. I was tempted to find out exactly who Jason the sleazy ex-boyfriend was and hunt him down.
Then again, I reminded myself, if he was chasing Sara, he had himself a piece of tail that would very soon turn into a pretty, blonde sliver of hell.
Rachel never showed on the fence line, and the heat and hard work was like a calm in the storm. The guys laughed, bickered, and gossiped just as much as Rachel had told me the last time we’d been alone together. I dropped another post in the waiting hole. No matter what, I wasn’t giving up on her. I couldn’t imagine any man ever wanting to.
Rachel was at dinner, and from her smile, I must’ve made things at least a little better when I visited her. I left her alone and gave her the space she asked for. I had eight more weeks to convince her that I was the one she needed. I planned on using every one of them to my advantage.
A few days later, my mother wrangled Rachel and I to help with the party, and we got to go back into Austin, without Skipper, to pick up party decorations, rented chairs, and whatnot from Christie at La Maison. She helped us load up the truck with goodies and sent us on to her florist for the potted trees and the trellis my mother wanted for the garden. When our errands were done, I stopped at a park in the center of town and pulled out a picnic basket from the back of the cab.
“My mother wanted to make sure we were taken care of, so she packed us a lunch,” I half-lied. She had packed the picnic, but only after I promised her that I’d make a concerted effort to make Rachel fall in love with me, so she could get grandchildren out of her efforts.
We sat in the shade of an ancient cypress and watched water trickle down the creek that ran through the center of the park. The level of the water was already dropping with the heat of summer, combined with a lack of rain in the past month. Rachel set her lunch aside and picked through the pebbles at the edge until she found something that caught her fancy.
“Glass pebbles,” she explained as she showed me the little clear bits of glass in her hand. “When I was small, my mother told me they were fairy glass. I guess I just think they’re pretty now.” She pocketed the pebbles and picked at her food while I watched her.
She was so little, but her natural grit made me feel a little small myself. She made me try harder and work to be better, just by being herself. I felt more a man with her in spite of our lack of a physical relationship, than I’d ever felt with women like Sara. Rachel noticed me watching her and blushed.
“Sorry, darlin’, not trying to stare. You are just so damn pretty sometimes I forget myself,” I apologized. I put away the dishes from lunch and busied myself carrying things back to the truck to give her some space. It had been a Godawful couple of weeks, wanting her so bad, but promising not to push. All I wanted to do was scoop her up in my arms and test out that new bed of hers.
I turned around to tell her I was ready for us to head back to the ranch and she caught me by surprise, lifting up on her toes and reaching her arms up around my neck. As I leaned in to her, she kissed me, a quick peck on the lips that a child would give a favorite uncle. I pulled away and frowned at her.
“Tell me you’ve got something better than that!” I exclaimed with feigned exasperation. With a gasp, she flinched, then giggled. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist and tried again.
This time, I was ready for her and slid my hand around the back of her neck, holding her tight against me as I opened my mouth to her. She explored me with her tongue, timidly at first, then as the heat took over, she moaned into my mouth and nipped at my lower lip, pulling it into her mouth and grazing my tongue with her teeth.
I turned us around and braced her back against the door of the Chevy as she ground her hips on mine. I kissed her until my head felt light and I was afraid that if I didn’t stop soon, there’d be no stopping until I had her naked in the backseat.
“You know I want you,” she panted as she trembled in my arms. “But, I think I need to stop now or I’m going to do something that could get me arrested.” She laid her head on my shoulder and I held her, braced by the truck, until we were both breathing normally and my jeans weren’t quite so tight.
“Well,” I finally replied when I could trust my voice. “It’s good to know that you’re willing to adapt those boundaries of yours.” She giggled into my neck and my stomach clenched with need. “Because I am getting damn tired of sleepless nights and cold showers, missy.” I set her down gently. I fished my keys out of my pocket and opened the door for her. She held out a hand to me, and I helped her up into the cab, pretty damn pleased with myself when she slid over to the middle of the seat and buckled up.
I hopped in and fired up the engine. Rachel cuddled up against me like she had the very first time she rode with me. I draped my arm around her and relaxed in the clean, floral scent of her hair as we drove home.
“I think we should split up when we get back,” Rachel mused after a few minutes. Immediate irritation rose like bile in my throat. “Now, don’t get the wrong idea,” she cautioned when she felt my shoulder tighten. “I just think we need to get our work done, before we go and spoil things for your mother by disappearing.” She slapped me on the leg. “I am not a ‘wham bam thank you ma’am’ kinda girl there, cowboy. You best be giving me some real time and putting thought into it when I let you into my bed.” She glanced up at me and I saw the light dancing in her eyes.
“Well, I’ve waited this long, right? What’s a few more hours?” I asked contemplatively.
“Right,” she agreed. “Or a few days, if that’s what it takes,” she added, preemptively flinching from my displeasure. “I’m okay with kissing for a little bit first; aren’t you?” I had to admit that if that was what it took to make her understand I wanted more than just her body, I was happy to oblige. I wasn’t sure for how long I could handle being so close and still so far away, but we were finally on track and I wasn’t about to be the one to derail us now.
Chapter Nine
Rachel
I was so excited that my hand was healing well enough to downgrade my treatment from a cast to a simple cloth brace before the party. It was bad enough to have to wear the little, wrap-around brace, but at least it was skin-colored and didn’t stand out quite like the lime green cast material had.
The day before the party, everything was already set. Hannah was a great organizer and had even thought to use living plants instead of floral arrangements to decorate with. She said some would go to the people that helped put the party together, like the caterer and Christie, Hannah’s designer friend, and some would be planted in the garden to help preserve the good memories.
I had been entrusted with grooming Kaiser, along with the vac
cinations and non-emergency treatment of the horses and sheep. I had to beg out of shaving them, due to the decreased mobility on my hand and wrist, but I loved giving the lambs their check-ups and having an excuse to relax in the field while they grazed.
That’s where Hannah came looking for me the day before the party. Her shadow fell over me as I sat in the grass, cuddling with a lamb.
I looked up and felt a quick stab of guilt being caught playing when I should be working. Instead of asking what I was doing or telling me to go find work to do, she sat down next to me and crawled her fingers into the thick, curly wool of the lamb. She didn’t say anything to me so I stayed silent, as well, and we both enjoyed the bright, hot summer day sitting in the cool grass. After a few blissful minutes of silence, she finally explained to me what she was there for.
“It occurred to me as I was cleaning up after breakfast today that I never see you in anything but work shirts and jeans. I was thinking perhaps now was a good time for us to go out and have a girls’ day. How would you like to join my assistant Patricia and me and go into town to get manicures and new clothes for the party?” The rancher brushed some dry grass off her legs as if it offended her. I looked down at my own clothes, covered in random stains, some more barnyard than others.
“You know what? I would love to tag along. I haven’t seen Patricia in a couple of weeks, since the season’s lambing had begun,” I replied. I’d been measuring blood glucose levels of the sweet, little newborns for going on ten days straight. I’d even foregone a visit to Austin with Tracy and Freddie, who I was missing horribly. Of course, knowing they were coming tomorrow had made me feel better, and Tracy had promised to bring me a dress or two to choose from. Knowing her tastes, I had been worried that she might force me to be braver than I preferred.