“Still, it hurts. You might aggravate the pulled muscle. So no more laughing,” she ordered, holding out a finger the way one might castigate a child.
“You know, I like your sass, but I’m used to being in charge. Was that an order? Come closer and tell me again.” He reached out and took her hand, tugging slightly. She ended up sitting on the side of the bed.
She slowly shook her head. “You’re not going to charm my concern out of me.”
“Okay. You’re allowed to be concerned. I can understand why you would be if your mother died as a result of a ranching accident.”
Her mother’s death was only a small portion of why Noah’s injury had upset her, Ivy realized, but she didn’t want to think about those other reasons. That would only make things worse. “Marta said you wanted to speak to me. Somehow I don’t think you called me in to demand an apology.”
“You’re right. I had two reasons. One was so you could see that I was really all right. You didn’t seem to believe me when I told you so. If the doctor hadn’t ordered me to stay in bed, and Marta hadn’t threatened to hide my pants, I would have been up and dressed just to prove to you that I was fit and almost as good as new.”
“I knew I liked Marta from the moment I met her.”
He smiled. “She’s evil.”
Ivy laughed, knowing that he adored Marta. “She might be listening,” she said, even though they both knew that Marta wasn’t the type to listen at keyholes.
“I know,” he said, playing along. “That’s why I said it. You hear that, Marta? A woman who threatens to hide a man’s pants to keep him in bed is evil.”
Ivy raised an eyebrow. “Hmm.”
He raised both eyebrows. “Well, I might make exceptions for some women,” he whispered.
Ivy was surprised to find that her hands were shaking…and she was leaning closer to Noah, as if she might be planning to place those hands right on him. The only thing that saved her from doing just that, from leaning forward and licking his lips, was the thought that someone might open the door and walk in on them. With everyone so concerned about Noah, Brody and Darrell would probably be showing up to check on him soon.
“What was the second reason?” she asked, still staring at his mouth.
He visibly swallowed. He was still holding her hand and he looked down to where he was touching her. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, making her skin sing. She jerked, and Noah released her.
“Alicia called,” he said. “Her annual cattleman’s ball is going to be this weekend, and the women want to give it a bit of a twist this year. They want to have a mini fashion show to give it some pizzazz. The women want to try out their newfound skills you taught them and walk the runway, have a charity auction and sell their time and company at the ball. It’s something they dreamed up yesterday.”
“That sounds wonderful. Why did you need to talk to me about it?”
“She wanted to know if I would be willing to give you some time off tomorrow to advise them on what to wear, how to walk the runway and how to pull the whole thing off. I told her that if you agreed to do it, then you were hers tomorrow but only for one day, because I know you want to work and earn your tax money as quickly as possible. Especially after today, I didn’t think you’d want to stick around longer than you had to.”
Ivy didn’t know what to say to that. She knew that, sparks or not, skilled at her job or not, she wasn’t what Noah needed in his life. He needed a 100-percent ranch wife, someone who loved ranching through good times and bad. And he needed a mother for Lily. Someone unafraid to be a real mother.
And Lily? There was the rub. She could never know for sure that she wouldn’t hurt Lily. She remembered waking at night when Bo was first born, grateful that he was hers and worrying that she might somehow let harm come to him. But eventually she realized that she would never let him get hurt. At least, she had foolishly believed that until…
No, she wasn’t going to think about that.
“Ivy?” Noah was still waiting for an answer. “It’s your call.”
“I’d be happy to advise the women.”
“I thought you might. You like to play tough, but you’re really very soft.” He smiled, but he was starting to look tired.
“Oh, I’m tough, all right. Through and through. That’s why I’m ordering you to get some sleep.”
“Darn doctor gave me something. Heck, it’s not even close to dark.”
“For a nice man, you’re pretty cranky about going to bed. Come on, lie down.”
He looked as if he might argue, but then he started to slide down in the bed. He winced slightly, and Ivy leaned toward him.
“I’m okay,” he said.
“Nice try. I’m not buying that story. Now, don’t be such a stubborn cowboy. Let me help you.”
She reached around him to support him and came right up against his side, her mouth just a whisper away from his jaw. Her hand slid against his bare back.
“I’m too heavy for you. You’ll hurt yourself,” he said, turning his head, his warm breath lifting a stray curl that had fallen across her face.
Ivy’s heart was pounding hard and fast, but she was a woman on a mission. “I’m strong. Just let me…” She lifted the cover slightly, so that he could slide farther down, but he clamped down on her hand.
“I wouldn’t advise you doing that. I may be tired, but I’m fully male, and I’m not wearing a thing underneath this blanket. Now, strong or not, let go, darlin’. I won’t fight you. I’ll rest.”
“All right,” she whispered. “But be careful. No sudden moves.”
“No. Just slow ones.” And he turned his head more fully, reached out and cupped her jaw and kissed her. Slowly. Deeply. Then he kissed her again.
“You’re a woman of many talents,” he said as he let her go and slid beneath the covers. “You can tame brute horses, mend a fence, sell million-dollar clothes to billionaires, organize a playdate and make a man so crazy with just one kiss that he almost forgets what he’s supposed to be doing.”
Ivy stared down at him. He looked like a big, languorous lion. His hair was disheveled from where she’d brushed up against him, his chest was bare, his eyes…those gorgeous, sexy amber eyes. “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” she whispered, but she leaned down and kissed him. Or he kissed her. Either way, he tasted her fully. He ran one big palm down her back, over her curves. He groaned.
She jerked back. “Did I hurt you?”
“Not in the way you mean. No. I’m fine.”
But she wasn’t. She had been halfway to crawling under the cover with him, forgetting that he was hurt, that there were people in the house and that…well, if she didn’t start backing away from him soon, she was going to break all over again. And she might break him, too. Or Lily. Neither was acceptable.
“Sleep,” she said.
“Yes.”
There, she thought, exiting the room. She had backed away. Everything was fine.
But when she came out of the room, there was Lily, looking as if her heart was breaking. “Da?” she said.
Ivy’s own heart flipped over. She reached behind her, quietly opened the door and peeked inside. Noah’s eyes were closed, his dark lashes drifting down over his cheeks. He’d fought the drug, but the drug was winning.
Silently she closed the door again and, kicking a few bricks out of the emotional wall she’d been building for two years, she bent down to Lily and held out her hand. “Daddy is sleeping. Let’s go find Marta. Okay?”
Lily looked up at her with eyes of clearest blue. She nodded slowly, but her chin was trembling. Was it true that children knew when something was wrong with their parents? Ivy didn’t know, but Lily was obviously concerned about Noah.
Still, the little girl let Ivy take her hand. Her chubby little fingers were so tiny in Ivy’s grasp, so much a reminder of another child’s hand that Ivy bit down on her lip. But she managed to smile at Lily.
And Lily smiled back. It was wonderf
ul. It was devastating. Remembering that killer kiss with Noah, and Lily’s smile, Ivy swallowed hard.
Run now, she thought. You’re going to get hurt, Ivy. A rancher is married to his ranch. No child can ever be Bo or bring back Bo.
She kept walking, hand in hand with Lily. She listened to Lily tell her a story about Barney that she didn’t understand one word of but pretended that she did.
But that night, she counted her money again. Almost there, and tomorrow was a payday. But tomorrow she’d be in town, away from the ranch. That should have made her feel good. Instead she woke up in the morning thinking of Noah and wishing she could stay and make sure he didn’t overdo it. She knew he would push himself too hard without someone to sass him around.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
NOAH HAD BEEN KICKING himself all week because he knew he’d taken things too far with Ivy that day in his bed. He’d been groggy, but not so tired that his memory had failed him. Just enough so that he hadn’t been totally in control of himself. Not that he ever was in control where she was concerned.
Now he was at her cottage waiting for her to come out of her bedroom so he could escort her to the ball. Brody and Darrell had gone separately. Marta was keeping Lily. It would be just him and Ivy—and man, this felt too much like a date. He would have to watch his thoughts…and his mouth…and his hands. Stop it, Ballenger, he ordered.
He had just decided that he would be all right when Ivy’s bedroom door opened and she walked out.
His thoughts froze. His brain sizzled. She was dressed in a long silver halter gown, the neckline plunging deeply, the honeyed skin of her back exposed. Her hair was loose except for twin silver clips holding it away from her face.
“You look amazing,” he said, his words far too tame for what he was feeling. His fingertips itched to touch, to travel over her bare skin. He wanted to nuzzle her neck, to breathe in her scent.
Instead, he held out his arm. “I’d offer you a gold carriage, Cinderella, but my SUV will have to do tonight.”
She smiled. “At least your SUV won’t turn into a pumpkin at midnight.”
“It has its good points. Nice dress. Nice everything.”
She blushed a bit…which only got him hotter. “The gown’s a bit much for the cattleman’s ball, I’m told, but the women asked me to emcee and they wanted something glamorous and slinky. They’ve decided that they want to give the auction major attention. Even though it was put together quickly and won’t bring much money this year, they thought that if it worked, they could expand it next year and make it an annual event. So I was supposed to vamp it up.”
He grinned.
“What?”
“Vamp it up?”
She held out her hands to draw attention to her outfit. “What would you call it?”
“I’d call it a situation where I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about. But I like it. A lot,” he said, with a chuckle. “So let’s go. I can’t wait to see the show.”
By the time they strolled in, the party was in full swing. People were dancing, and Sandra was cruising the room snapping pictures.
“Let me get a picture of you, Noah,” she said.
Immediately Ivy stepped away from his side, and he frowned.
“You have to smile,” Ivy told him.
He smiled. Sandra kept taking pictures, making him turn right and left. “Enough,” he said. “I’m not the model.”
“Neither is she anymore,” Sandra said. “No offense intended, Ivy.”
Ivy gave her a look. “None taken,” she said with her usual cool, but she blinked when Sandra stuck her camera out.
“Take a picture of Noah and me,” the woman said. And without even asking, she picked up his arm and draped it around her shoulder.
Ivy quickly took two pictures and returned the camera.
Sandra looked at the screen. “We look good together. Thanks, Noah. Ivy, I think Alicia wants us backstage.”
Ivy nodded. She headed for the backstage area.
Noah watched her walking away from him, and it felt like a punch in the gut. A memory of other times, but even more so, a precursor of what was to come. He’d gotten used to having her around, to sparring with her and teasing her and touching her.
But there was just no forgetting that he was merely borrowing her for a while, and one day soon she would leave him forever. She had been temporary from the start and this time, unlike Gillian and Pamala, he had known it. Tonight, seeing her as a glamorous model, there was no denying the truth. She had never been meant to be here, and anyone who tried to hold her would simply be a selfish jerk.
Noah settled down at a table and waited for Ivy to reappear. In her true colors this time.
Ivy took deep breaths. Tonight was certainly testing her composure. Stepping out of her bedroom to meet Noah, wearing glamorous clothes for the first time since her accident, had made her palms sweat. She’d felt naked, exposed, worried that without her cowgirl armor she might not measure up to his expectations.
His reaction had warmed her, excited her, made her heart ache. For a short time, until they’d run into Sandra, she’d almost felt as if she and Noah were on a date, one where no one else mattered.
Sandra’s comments had brought reality crashing down. Now here she was, ready to appear on a stage in something akin to her model persona. People would be looking at her, judging her.
For a moment a touch of the old defiance kicked in, and she was tempted to scrub away the makeup that muted but didn’t hide her scars, the reminder of her biggest and most heartbreaking failure.
But this auction was for a good cause—the women were trying to help children and she had agreed to help, too. She needed to be calm, to do this right and not give in to her fears, not let her voice break or her racing heart betray how scared she was.
Ivy swallowed hard. She peered through a small space in the curtains, scanned the room filled with people. Finally she saw Noah sitting there, waiting. He must have seen her face peeking through, because he winked at her.
Her heart warmed. The dread she’d been feeling disappeared. She pulled her shoulders back and waited for her cue.
Anticipation built in Noah as he waited for Ivy to appear. She’d smiled when he winked at her. Now he was eager as a green teenager caught up in his first impossible crush.
He fidgeted as the lights dimmed. Alicia appeared and announced that none other than Ivy Seacrest would be emceeing their runway auction. She explained the rules—whoever bid the most on a model could choose to have either the benefit of the woman’s company for the evening or, for the cost of materials above the donation, some of the seamstresses would re-create a replica of the outfit worn by the model. All proceeds would benefit a local charity.
There was laughter in the audience, with various husbands wondering if they would recognize their newly glamorous wives.
But when Ivy came to the podium in her silver dress, the room fell silent. She looked like a princess, with that long blond hair and big blue-violet eyes. She looked like something a cowboy could never hope to have.
“I’m proud to be here for the first annual Cowgirl Runway Rodeo,” she said, her voice coming out too soft at first, then growing stronger. “No roping calves or barrel racing tonight, but we hope to raise a lot of money for some needy kids and have some fun, too, so without further ado, let’s bring out our models. Ladies…”
There was a round of applause as the women came out for their preview walk. Whistles accompanied smiles as well as some shocked looks. Other than Noah, who had seen the women strut their stuff at his house, no one had been privy to the transformation.
The women hadn’t been shy in their choices, either. There was glamour and extreme cowgirl. There was New York chic, business casual and even a touch of naughty.
There were two daises—Ivy provided the runway patter while an auctioneer handled the bidding. The audience and models hammed it up, and everyone had a good time running up the totals. Noah wasn’t bidding. He w
asn’t going to snag some other guy’s wife, and knowing what was going down tonight, he’d already sent a generous donation to Alicia. If they didn’t reach their goal, he’d donate more after the auction was over. That would be soon. Most of the women were already taken.
Sandra was last, and she came out wearing a long, demure gown in virginal white that played well against her dark hair. Frankly, Noah was surprised she hadn’t chosen something racier. Bold had always been Sandra’s style.
“Looks almost like a wedding dress,” someone said as the bidding started. And bidding was lively between the women who wanted the dress and the single men who wanted dinner with the lady. But Sandra’s smile looked strained before it was over. Several times she glanced at Noah, but he knew better than to enter into this. After surviving two relationships built on pretenses, he didn’t pretend things he didn’t feel.
And then the auction was over. Or so everyone thought.
“Thank you so much, everyone, for being an appreciative and generous audience,” Ivy was saying. “I can’t think of a single fashion show I’ve attended or appeared in that I ever enjoyed more.”
She had started to back away from the mike when Alicia rushed forward and whispered in Ivy’s ear. Ivy shook her head, but Alicia persisted. She touched Ivy’s arm. Slowly Ivy nodded.
Alicia took the mike. “Ivy has just agreed to be our last model for the night. She wasn’t expecting this. I sprang it on her just now. So I hope you all know what a big favor she’s doing us. This is purely to help those children. Thank you, Ivy. And here she is.”
Ivy walked to the center of the stage, and someone backstage turned out all the lights except for a spotlight shining on her and a small light for the auctioneer.
She stood there in her regal beauty, scars and all. Cameras flashed. People applauded. For a few seconds she looked as if her knees would buckle. Then she pulled her shoulders back and stood tall.
“Way to represent, Ivy,” someone called.
“Let’s help some kids who need it,” someone else called out.
Cowgirl Makes Three Page 12