Hawk's Way: Garth

by Joan Johnston

  Candy snuggled closer to Garth and laid her arm across his chest. She angled her nose under his chin until she was comfortable and said, “I’ll stay.”

  Garth pulled her snug against him. This felt right. It felt good. Surely it was safe to love her. Surely he would find a way to convince her that she belonged with him without having to say the words. Because it simply wasn’t possible for him to speak them. It ought to be enough to prove to her how he felt.

  Garth fell asleep trying to convince himself that Candy didn’t—wouldn’t—need to hear the words to know he loved her.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Candy succeeded beyond her wildest expectations with the black stallion. In a matter of weeks, he was not only coming to her for sugar, but she had put a halter on him and was leading him around.

  “I think I’ll call Señor Santos and tell him I’ve decided to collect on the fee he offered me, after all,” Garth said when he caught Candy standing inside the corral stroking the stallion’s neck.

  “What fee?”

  “He said if I could get Midnight to stand at stud I could breed him to the mare of my choice.”

  Candy stammered, “B-but we don’t know how he’d act with a mare. He might savage her.”

  Garth grinned. “I don’t think so. Midnight’s problem was with humans. Nobody could handle him to get him close to a ready mare. I feel certain he’d know what to do if the situation arose.”

  “But—”

  Garth’s voice hardened. “I say he’s ready. I’m going to have him cover Starlight’s firstborn tomorrow afternoon.”

  Candy paled. Since the death of Starlight and her second foal, Candy had sought out Starlight’s firstborn, a five-year-old mare out of Starlight by Hawk’s Sanctuary. The mare’s name was Hawk’s Star and she was beautiful, a rich glossy black, with a star on her forehead. Candy had befriended the horse, and although she would have been more than happy for Midnight to prove himself, she didn’t want it to be with Hawk’s Star.

  The thought of the savage stallion covering the mare left her feeling physically ill. “I’m afraid,” she said.

  “Of what?” Garth asked.

  “That he’ll hurt her.”

  “I admit the mating of two horses sounds wild and brutal, but it isn’t usually. I’ll keep an eye on Midnight to make sure he doesn’t get vicious with Hawk’s Star.”

  Candy swallowed hard and said, “If you’re going to be there, then I want to be there, too.”

  Garth eyed her sharply. “Are you sure?”

  “Midnight knows me best. He’ll respond best to me if it’s necessary to separate the two horses.”

  Garth snorted. “Once he’s with her, his mind won’t be on leaving.”

  “Nevertheless,” Candy said, “I want to be there.”

  For someone who wanted to possess her own stable and breed her own stock, Candy had been strangely reluctant to observe the mating of stallion and mare. She had studied Garth’s stud books to see which stallions he put with which mares, and looked to see the results in their offspring. She understood what assets Garth was looking for in an animal, and how he chose one horse to be bred to another.

  But it seemed profane somehow to stand by and watch while a stallion covered a mare, even though she knew it was done for the protection of both animals. The mare might lash out with her hooves at the stallion, or he might savage her in return. In the wild, one animal could run away from the other. In a corral, there was no escape. The humans who had put them there together had to rescue the one that needed help.

  It didn’t help her peace of mind when Candy discovered the next afternoon that Hawk’s Star had never been bred before.

  “She’ll be scared. She’ll fight him!”

  “No she won’t,” Garth reassured her. “She’s ready. I’ve had them in side-by-side corrals all morning. She’s been flirting with that stud like a two-dollar—” Garth cut off the vulgar reference he had been going to make and finished, “She’s been flirting with him all morning.”

  “She’s so small,” Candy protested.

  “She’ll be fine.”

  “He looks so wild.”

  “He’ll settle down.”

  “It’s her first time.”

  “There has to be a first time for everyone.”

  The sexual tension in the animals had been transmitted to the humans. Candy’s body felt stretched and full, and she was aware of every move Garth made. She wanted him, had unconsciously sent out sensual lures to him all day. Like the mare, she teased Garth and then moved away, making it necessary for him to follow her.

  Garth’s mouth was dry as a bone. His body was strung taut as barbed wire. He wasn’t sure if Candy was aware of how she was teasing him, taunting him, but he damned sure wasn’t going to wait much longer to do something about it.

  If the truth were known, Garth was as anxious about putting the two animals together as Candy was. The difference was, he had previously observed the wildness, the naked ferocity of the act that was coming. She had not.

  Garth opened the gate, and Candy led Midnight inside the small breeding corral. She left the halter on Midnight so he would be easier to catch, but disconnected the lead. She stepped out, and Garth closed the gate behind her. Tom Handy was there to help, if help was needed.

  But Hawk’s Star wasn’t in the least shy. And Midnight knew exactly what he wanted. The stallion quickly covered the mare. Even with both horses willing, Candy was unprepared for the violence of the coupling. She couldn’t bear to stay and watch. She headed for the house at a brisk walk. As soon as she was out of Garth’s sight, she broke into a run.

  Garth was torn between his duty to stay and his desire to go.

  “I’ll keep an eye on the horses,” Tom offered.

  Garth nodded abruptly and headed in the direction Candy had gone. Charlie’s truck was missing, so he knew there was no one else in the house besides Candy. Garth ran up the stairs and stopped to catch his breath in front of Candy’s bedroom door.

  “Candy? I’m coming in.” Garth didn’t wait for an invitation because he wasn’t sure he would get one. Candy was curled up on her bed, her face hidden in her pillow. He sat down beside her and touched her shoulder. “Candy?”

  The instant he touched her she turned and launched herself into his arms. “Oh, Garth!”

  Garth had never had much to do with crying women and now he knew why. A man felt downright helpless in the face of a woman’s tears. All he could do was hold her tight and tell her everything would be all right. Garth felt her anguish, and if there had been a way to do it, he would have taken her pain on himself. He had to be content with murmuring words of comfort.

  “Even though it looks wild and rough, the coupling isn’t hurtful to the mare,” he said.

  Garth pushed the hair back from Candy’s face and kissed her brow. Then he kissed away the tears at the corners of her eyes and on her cheeks, until his lips found their way to her mouth.

  It was the gentlest, the softest kiss Candy had ever felt, and it touched her to her core. A steady warmth built inside her. She shivered when she heard the stallion’s neighing scream and the mare’s sharp whinny in reply.

  Candy looked into Garth’s dark eyes and saw a fierceness there every bit as savage as the stallion. And like the mare, she had no intention of denying him. Candy returned Garth’s kisses with an urgency she didn’t understand. She only knew it was necessary to couple with Garth now, to love him as she had never loved him before. Because time, her precious time with him, was finally running out.

  “Love me, Garth. Please, love me.” It was a plea from the heart, an urgent wish not just for the physical act, but for an emotional commitment.

  Garth didn’t answer her in words. She hadn’t expected him to. He stripped her and himself and laid her out naked for his admiration.

  “You are so perfect,” Garth said in a husky voice. “Your breasts high and firm. Your belly flat. Your legs strong and slender.”

  He wo
rshipped her with words. His hands adored her. His mouth cherished her. His loving was as tender as it had ever been.

  But the passions running high between them put tremendous pressure on Garth’s restraint. Until at last he gave rein to the demands of his nature. Man’s possession of his mate was every bit as violent as that of any other animal.

  Candy arched up to receive Garth as he covered her with his body. She gasped as his thrust impaled her. Her hands clutched at his shoulders as he began to move inside her. Candy was insensate with desire as she undulated beneath him.

  Her fingers clawed at him.

  His hands grasped at her.

  Her legs circled him and held on.

  His mouth claimed hers and clung.

  At the moment of ultimate pleasure, Candy’s wild cry of fulfillment urged Garth to his own release. His shout of exultation was no less feral than hers.

  The tumultuous coupling expressed all the unspoken love each felt for the other. But in the aftermath, only she was able to say the words that expressed what they had shared.

  “I love you, Garth.”

  There was a long silence, one that begged for words of response. Candy waited. But Garth remained silent.

  Candy lay in his arms and felt only despair. Her dream that Garth would one day love her seemed doomed to remain unfulfilled. Oh, he could desire her. And he could demonstrate that desire. But because of his past, he was unable to trust—ultimately to love—any woman. She had to face the fact that he never would and go on with her life.

  Candy slipped out of Garth’s embrace and left the bed, looking for the clothes he had scattered when he had torn them from her.

  Garth’s eyes were closed, his body completely relaxed. He was enjoying the languor of a sexually satisfied male. He was aware Candy had left the bed, but he expected her to return at any moment. His arms felt empty without her. He knew she had wanted him to speak his love aloud. But it was still a very new emotion, and he felt too vulnerable to say the words.

  But he knew now that he loved her. He felt almost giddy with the knowledge. Someday he might even be able to tell her so. Garth took a breath and let it out.

  When Garth felt the weight on Candy’s side of the bed, he thought she was returning. Then he heard two clicks. He shot bolt upright and stared at what he found.

  Candy was completely dressed. She was packing her suitcase to leave.

  He grabbed for his jeans and yanked them on, leaving them half-unbuttoned as he stalked around the bed to confront her. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  “I think it’s pretty obvious what I’m doing. I’m packing.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m leaving.”

  “Why?”

  Candy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She let it out, opened her eyes and said, “I thought I could wait forever for you to love me. I can’t. It hurts too much.”

  “I care for you,” Garth managed to say.

  “Oh, Garth.” Candy knew it was more than he had ever said to any woman. But it wasn’t enough upon which to build a lifetime together. “That’s not enough,” she said at last.

  “What do you want from me?” he demanded. “I’ve done everything I can to show you how I feel,” he said in a savage voice.

  “I want the words. I want you to say it out loud. I wouldn’t even mind if you shouted it to the heavens,” she said with a sad, wry smile.

  But Garth said nothing.

  Candy returned to packing.

  Garth wanted to rip the clothes from her hands. Wanted to throw the suitcase across the room. Wanted to fold her in his arms and never let her go.

  He watched her close the suitcase and snap it shut on the bed. When she walked out that door, he would lose her forever.

  Garth faced a moment of truth. He had to let go of the past—or let go of Candy. When it came right down to it, the choice was amazingly easy.

  “I love you, Candy.”

  The words had a harsh, grating sound, but they were the sweetest Candy had ever heard. She stared at Garth, her heart in her throat. She was afraid to believe what she had heard. “Say it again.”

  “I love you.”

  “I wasn’t hearing things?”

  “No, you weren’t. I love you, Candy.”

  “Oh, Garth!” She launched herself into his arms from halfway across the room. He caught her and swung her around with abandon. His mouth found hers and his tongue thrust inside, laying claim to her.

  “You’re mine, now,” he rasped. “Now and forever.”

  “And you’re mine,” she said just as fiercely. “Now and forever.”

  “We’ll have children, lots of them,” he promised.

  “Oh, I hope so,” she said. “In fact, I think we already have one on the way.”

  Garth stared at her, stunned even though he had always known it was a possibility. “What?”

  Candy laughed. “I said we already have one on the way.”

  Garth sobered, only now realizing just how much had been at stake. And how close he had come to losing it all. He would never take that chance again. He would say the words often, until Candy would never again doubt his love.

  “I love you, Candy.”

  “And I love you, Garth. Everything will be all right. You’ll see.”

  He took her to bed again. This time the loving was tender. At the moment of climax he said the words that sealed their fates together.

  “I will always love you,” the wrangler promised her.

  “As I will love you, always and forever,” the rich girl promised in return.

  EPILOGUE

  “Eight—uh—nine months later you was born, Zach. Three months after that, Hawk’s Star foaled a fine colt with a star on his forehead.”

  “And Mom named him Midnight Star,” Falcon piped up.

  “Yessiree, that’s the one.” Charlie One Horse looked down at the little girl asleep in his arms. Zach lay sprawled on the floor in front of the fireplace. Falcon sat cross-legged at Charlie’s feet. “And that’s the story of how your mom and dad met and fell in love.”

  Zach rolled over to face his father and asked, “Is that how it really happened, Dad?”

  Garth kissed Candy softly on the mouth and said, “Trust your uncle Charlie, boy. It happened just the way he said. I took one look at your Mom, and I knew she was the woman for me. Now it’s time for all of you to get to bed.”

  “Do we hafta?” Falcon asked.

  “You can barely keep your eyes open,” Candy chided. “Come on now.”

  She herded the two boys ahead of her while Garth retrieved his daughter from Charlie’s lap.

  “She’s sleepin’ like an angel,” Charlie said as he gave up his burden. The old man marveled at how tenderly Garth held the girl. He wanted to be a fly on the wall when the first beaus came calling on Callen Whitelaw.

  Garth caught up with Candy and slipped his arm around her waist. Charlie heard them laughing together as they followed their sons up the stairs.

  “Yep,” Charlie muttered to himself as he watched them disappear, “that sure is the way it happened, all right. And the wrangler and the rich girl lived happily ever after.”

  * * * * *

  If you enjoyed this Hawk’s Way book, keep an eye out for the rest of the books in this series by bestselling author Joan Johnston!

  Hawk’s Way Series

  Hawk’s Way: Dallas

  Hawk’s Way: Jesse

  Hawk’s Way: Adam

  Hawk’s Way: Faron

  Hawk’s Way: Garth

  Hawk’s Way: Carter

  Hawk’s Way: Falcon

  Hawk’s Way: Callen

  Hawk’s Way: Zach

  Hawk’s Way: Billy

  Hawk’s Way: Mac

  Hawk’s Way: Colt

  Hawk’s Way: Sisters

  Available wherever ebooks are sold

  ISBN-13: 9781488025594

  HAWKS WAY: GARTH

  Copyright © 1993 by Joan Merten
s Johnston

  Previously published as The Wrangler and the Rich Girl.

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  All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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