by Leah Braemel
“You are insane. You could have tipped over down that last drop off.”
“And you followed me right down, I notice.” He swung his leg over his quad and grinned till he met her gaze, then his smile faltered and his body stirred in desire. “Look at you, your cheeks all wind burned and hair all mussed up.”
Damn that would be a good lyric. Strains and chords played in his head, competing, weaving their way around his words.
He leaned over and caught her wrist when she reached up to smooth it out. “Don’t. I like it like that.”
Her pulse raced beneath his fingers, and a slight tremor ran through her arm. Excitement? Or exhaustion?
“You really are crazy, you know that?”
Either way, he loved her reactions, because they weren’t faked, and they matched the need ramping up in him. What was it about this woman that attracted him? That made him want to get her flat on the ground beneath him, watch her eyes unfocus, hear her beg him to do her harder. “And you kept up with me on every hill and every corner.”
“Yeah, I did, didn’t I?” She shook out her hands, a smile splitting her face from cheek-to-cheek. “That got me higher than if I’d been driving down the interstate going ninety miles an hour the wrong way.”
“I should have known you were a speed demon.”
She climbed off the quad and stretched before picking her way over the rough ground from the old shoreline to where the water now lapped a good eighteen feet away.
“The drought’s hit us hard.” Down boy, he told his erection. There was no way he was going to get her into bed this early, and not a chance in hell he was going to take her right here. Though maybe one day he’d bring her back and seduce her. Or maybe she’d seduce him. Yeah, like the thought of her riding him was going to help his hard-on deflate. “It’s going to take more than a good rain to get this back up to where it was.”
“How much of it goes to irrigate your crops?”
Oh shit. Don’t tell him she’d been listening to the locals who begrudged them the lake. “We use some of it. But we have to get a permit from the State for any irrigation. Even though the lake’s completely on our property, they still strictly regulate us.”
She continued walking along the edge, so he trailed her. A herd of white tails, including a ten point buck, ranged along the hillside below. The stag had raised his head and watched them carefully.
He hunkered down and picked up a handful of soil, sifted it through his fingers. “It takes work to keep it healthy, not just irrigation but fertilizing, rotating crops. Even rotating the cattle through the pastures so they don’t overgraze.”
“You really love this place, don’t you? Your whole face lights up when you talk about it.”
Not many people got him like Paige did. And she’d picked up on it so quickly. He nodded. “It’s like I’m connected to it. It’s in my veins.” The first glint on the far hill caught his eye. His timing had been perfect. “This is what I brought you down to see.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her back against his chest and rested his chin on top of her head. Another degree of movement from the sun as it lowered and...there.
Beams of sunlight reflected off the mansion, scattering over the valley. As he always did when he stood here in the afternoon, he wondered if the architect had planned the angle of the windows to catch the sun’s rays the way they did or if it had been serendipity.
Paige gasped. “It’s breathtaking. The way the sun glints off the windows, it’s like the entire top of the hill is crystal.”
Exactly. And finally. Finally someone saw it the way he did. Ben had never managed to open his eyes long enough to see the beauty of the way the building had been set into the side of the hill, how it blended into the surroundings. Only seeing the bleak fortress-like presentation Gram’s architect had deliberately presented for outsiders to see.
“I used to sneak away after dinner and come down here. When the sun is low on the horizon, and the sky is all red and gold, reflected in those big windows, and in the lake, it’s like the whole valley is on fire.
It felt so right. With her, standing right here in this spot. Someone who got him. Someone he had no secrets from.
The tightness in his chest loosened, the world feeling righter than it had in a long time.
“One day I got pissed off. Ben was bugging me and Mom and Pop were busy doing somethin’ or other. So I came out here. Figured I’d camp out until someone missed me.
“Took them a couple hours and then Pop appeared. I figured he’d be mad, but he just sat down on the ground beside me.” His father had draped his arm around his shoulder. They’d stayed there, enthralled as the sunlight changed from its bright gold to fiery orange, reflecting over the entire area. “He said he loved coming down here too. That it was probably his favorite spot on the whole ranch.”
“I can see why.” She covered his arms with hers, the physical connection soothing and enticing all at once. He made a slight adjustment of his hips so she wouldn’t feel his semi-hard-on.
“He brought me back a few days later, just the two of us. We set up an old canvas tent, sleeping bags. Had a campfire.” He’d fallen asleep staring at up at the sky, the stars mirrored on both sides of them, in the lake and the massive glass sparkling like a cathedral, peepers and frogs serenading him like a choir. He’d slept better than if he’d been tucked into his own bed.
Grief he’d thought he’d set aside swamping him, he buried his head in her hair. “I miss him.”
Paige twisted in his arms until she faced him. “Of course you do. Every time you look out here, it’s a permanent reminder of what you’ve lost.”
Her lips were parted, the color still high in her cheeks. She smelled of oranges or tangerines and something spicy, with a hint of gasoline from the quad, the mix strangely intoxicating.
She reached up and brushed her lips over his. One hand slipped around his waist, the other cupped his head, drawing him down to her level. Not that he was about to resist her. She parted her lips and touched her tongue to the seam of his.
Her fingers tangled in his hair, holding him in place as she moved her lips over his cheek, down his throat. His arms tightened around her when she licked his Adam’s apple. Nibbled the side of his neck.
“Damn it, woman, if you keep that up...” He’d walk her until her back was flat against one of the trees, her jeans pulled down and him buried inside her.
“You’d what? Get me horizontal?”
“Not around here. The ground is too rocky. And then there are the darned prickly pears. They hurt like a son of a gun if you end up in them.” He groaned when she nibbled his earlobe. “Have any complaints about doin’ it standing up against a tree?”
“None at all.” Her breath tickled as she traced the shell of his ear.
Intent on taking her up on her offer, he nudged her backward. A stone clattered at the top of the hill, then another. A creak of leather. Someone on horseback. While it could be one of the hands, he’d bet on Ben or Gabe, since they would be the only ones with any need to venture this close to the main house.
“Someone’s coming.” The moment broken, he took a deep breath and stepped back. He hadn’t completely lost his chance. She’d be here for a few weeks, maybe more.
Her eyes slowly opened, heavy-lidded, soft and dilated. They quickly focused on something—someone behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder, following her gaze. Damn it, Gabe was less than twenty feet away, his horse standing quietly beneath him.
That his half-brother had gotten so close without him hearing was proof how deeply he’d been concentrating on Paige.
Gabe touched the brim of his hat. “Miss Paige.”
Gabe’s dark eyes flicked to Jake, his jaw setting hard. “Ben’s been looking for you—wondering why you haven’
t been answering your radio.”
Shit. “I guess I left it up at the house.”
“You forget your phone too? Or were you deliberately letting it go to voice mail?”
“Swear to God I never heard...” Jake touched his phone’s holster. Empty, damn it. Shoot, that paid him for showing off to Paige. It had probably dislodged over that last hill and fallen out. “Crap, I’ve lost it.”
Second time this month, doofus.
“Convenient.” Gabe’s dark grumble of disbelief wasn’t lost on Jake.
Geez, would the guy not cut him any slack? “I didn’t lose it on purpose, all right? What’s Ben want?”
“You’d have to ask him. So finish up whatever you’re doin’ here—” his gaze slanted to where Paige stood, “—and call him.”
Without waiting for a response, Gabe urged his horse around and walked off, kicking the gelding into a trot halfway up the hill.
Paige stood beside Jake, watching as Gabe rode away. “I don’t think he was too happy finding us here instead of in the office.” Her eyes were dark, wary. With no sign of the animation that had filled them when she’d parked her quad, no sign of the passion when she’d kissed him.
“What he thinks doesn’t matter.” Screw what Gabe or anyone thought. This whole accounting business was turning out to be much more interesting than he’d thought possible. If he could just get Gabe off his back.
“Are you all right? You seem...upset.” She closed the distance between them, her arm raised as if she wanted to touch him. Comfort him.
Gabe had stopped at the top of the hill, turned back to watch them. Fuck. Was he going to be judged every little thing he did? Or didn’t do? He ducked beneath her outstretched arm and walked back to his ATV. “Why don’t you head back to the house? I’m going to retrace the route and look for my phone—in fact, when you get up to the house, could you call it until I answer?” Which should help him locate it quicker. Unless it was busted.
* * *
Paige pulled her borrowed quad into the garage and turned it off. Idiot. She’d screwed up. Leaped before she looked. Dad was right. She was impulsive and it could have cost her the Bull’s Hollow contract. Jake’s whole demeanor had changed once Gabe had appeared. There was no denying the tension between the two men, but if the gossip was true, neither Grady brother was happy to learn their father had left them another sibling, or that he was demanding part of their beloved family ranch. But she’d figured he’d loosen up once they were alone again. He hadn’t. Instead he’d turned inward, closed himself off. Sent her back to the house with instructions to call his phone. While the request was logical and would shorten his search, she got the impression he didn’t want her near him anymore. Was he embarrassed that Gabe had found him with her? Maybe the Gradys thought she wasn’t good enough for their family.
Not that he was the only one. Damn, she was tired of being the broken toy on the island.
At least she’d seen that side of him now rather than after they’d gone any further.
A white SUV with the Bull’s Hollow logo on the side door pulled into the garage beside her. The middle-aged woman driver peered through the tinted glass before rolling down her window. Paige hadn’t needed to see the photo in the office to recognize Jake’s mother.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m Paige Reynolds.” She got off the quad and ran a hand through her hair in a futile attempt to straighten it. “The new accountant.”
The woman’s expression relaxed; she rolled the window back up and climbed out of the vehicle. “I’m pleased to meet you, Paige. I’m Cissy Grady. Don’t tell me my boys told you to come up here all alone and left you locked out.”
Paige shook Cissy’s hand, noticing the hint of strength hidden beneath the passive exterior. Her resemblance to Jake was striking—the same shape of her mouth to the chestnut hair. Though Jake had to be close to a foot taller than his mother even with the straw cowboy hat she wore.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Grady. No, Ben brought me up here.” Although maybe the door automatically locked behind them and she was locked out. “Jake wanted to show me some of the ranch so he said it would be okay to use your quad. Which reminds me, he lost his phone out in the field and I promised to phone it to help him find it.”
Cissy’s entire demeanor lit up when she laughed. “I swear, between both my sons and the way they keep losing their phones, I must have to call them at least three times a week.” She dug out her phone from her purse. A shake of her head when Jake’s voice mail message started. Another call. On the fifth try, Jake answered.
“I’m going to start charging you boys a finder’s fee.” She paused as Jake said something. “Okay, see you then.” She ended the call and dropped the phone back in her purse. “All done. And as for the quad, feel free to use it whenever you want.” She touched the quad in an almost reverent gesture. “Eddy got this for me because he loved using one too, just like Jake, but I prefer to ride. Horses’re quieter, you know?” She gestured toward the door leading into the house. “Do you ride?”
Paige followed her in and found herself only a few doors down from the office. “Only my motorcycle. I’m afraid to admit that the only time I’ve ever been on a horse was when I was eight—it was at a fair.” Aunt Reba had taken her, much to her father’s disgust.
Another of Cissy’s light laughs. “Oh, honey, forgive me for being a snob, but I don’t count that as real riding.” She opened a door revealing a closet and hung up her jacket. “Are you happy with your room? Because if it doesn’t suit you, just say the word. We have enough rooms around for you to choose from.”
“I haven’t seen where I’ll be staying yet.” Surely they’d be putting her in one of the smaller bedrooms down the hall from the office. Sparse rooms designed for workers, not special guests, she’d guessed.
Cissy tsked. “Those boys. I tried to raise them right, but sometimes they forget their manners. Have they at least given you a tour of the place?”
“I’ve seen the office and the kitchen.”
“Come with me then. I’ll give you a proper tour since you’re going to be staying with us for a bit.”
Cissy led her back into the massive vaulted central room filled with white leather furniture and glass tables straight out of a designer magazine. “This is the living room, not that I live here much. It’s just too big for one person, you know? But if you want to sit here and read or anything, make yourself at home.”
Bypassing the spiral staircase to the second level that overlooked the main floor, Cissy led her toward another huge room with a vaulted wood ceiling reminiscent of a hunting lodge, complete with stuffed stag heads on one wall. Like the living room the western wall overlooking the lake was entirely glass. A massive pool table disappeared in the corner, while leather chairs—these ones a soft brown—were grouped around a sixty-inch flat screen TV on the wall opposite the fireplace. “This is the Great Room. You can probably tell it’s the boys’ favorite room. And of course my in-laws’ cronies loved to shoot the breeze here over cocktails when my mother-in-law entertained.”
The woman’s light tone turned bitter, making Paige blink. Wow. No love lost for her in-laws obviously. Which made sense considering the tales she’d heard of George Grady.
“Thank you for letting me stay here. I figured I’d be staying in one of the ranch hands’ quarters.” She’d pictured being ushered to a bunk house. If they still existed these days. Or maybe one of the single-wide trailers that dotted the road off the highway.
“Lord have mercy, I’m rattling around in this place all alone, talking to myself for the sake of hearing my own voice. It’ll be nice to have someone else around in the evenings. Come up and I’ll get you all set.”
“How many bedrooms are there?” Paige asked as they climbed the stairs to the balcony.
“Ten in this part of t
he house, though there are a couple spare rooms in the wing by your office.” Cissy paused at the top of the stairs. Though she’d averted her face, a hint of bitterness once again tinged her tone. “My mother-in-law is a very socially conscious woman. When they entertained and had guests stay over, she’d divide people into those who could help her out and were worthy of the better rooms, and those who weren’t as worthy.”
She huffed a breath and faced Paige. “I’m bein’ ugly, aren’t I? Agnes and George’s marriage was more like a merger—they were both very open that he married her for her money, and she married him because her father was in politics and wanted the connections George could give him in the agricultural community. And don’t get me wrong. If she liked you, she’d move heaven and earth to help you, but where you stayed in her house was definitely determined by your social status.”
“I don’t need anything special. A bed and a place to keep my clothes will be fine.”
“Where’d you get to, darlin’?” Jake’s voice echoed off the ceiling and down the hall.
“We’re up here, honey.” After raising a wondering eyebrow at Paige, Cissy leaned on the railing, calling downstairs, as Jake appeared in the hallway leading to the office. “I was just going to show Paige her room.”
Heedless of the clumps of mud left by his boots, Jake took the stairs two at a time. “Hey, Momma.” He grabbed his mother in a quick hug and brushed a kiss over her cheek. “How was Gram?”
“Oh, her usual grumpy self.” Cissy snatched his ball cap off his head. “What have I told you about wearing a hat indoors? Honestly, honey, Paige is going to think you were raised in a barn.”
“Sorry, Momma.”
Paige bit her lips against the laughter bubbling up, especially when color rose on Jake’s cheeks. And yet...jealous much? This was how she’d always wanted a relationship with a mother to be, one she’d been denied for far too long.
“Now I was just giving Paige a tour of the place.” She swatted Jake’s chest. “Which you and your brother should have done right when she arrived.”