02 Buck Naked

by Desiree Holt

  “It’s coming along just fine, and I’m as settled as I can be for the moment.” He gestured toward the auction barn. “Added some good stock today to what’s already there. They’ll deliver it as soon as I finish getting the feed in and the pastures ready.”

  Barnes nodded. “I saw the lot. With what the Hayeses left, it won’t take you long to build the place back up to full strength. Hired on any help yet?”

  Buck shook his head. “So far it’s just me. I’m being very careful with my money until I get through the first year. But it’s almost summer, and I figured if this place was like all the other ranching towns I’ve been through, there’s a lot of experienced kids looking for summer jobs.”

  “That’s true. The Starks can be a good resource for you. I saw you talking to Amy a couple of minutes ago. Sharp gal.”

  Buck snorted a laugh. “No kidding. Got a tongue like a pitchfork.”

  Barnes chuckled. “Yeah, you wouldn’t want to get on her bad side. I’d get in her good graces if I were you.”

  Yes, if he could keep it objective and not insult her any more.

  “You, um, didn’t say anything to anyone about…”

  “What we discussed?” Barnes shook his head. “If you only knew the secrets stored in this old head. I keep confidences, son. And keep them very well. Although, like I said, I think you’d be better off just telling people.” He looked Buck in the eye. “Most of it, anyway.”

  “Yeah, well, the problem with that is once people know where to look and what to look for, it’s all over but the shouting.”

  “Your decision. But don’t shortchange the people around here. You’d be amazed at what they accept.”

  “Like you said, it’s my decision.” Buck shoved his hands in his pockets. “Buy you a cold one?”

  Barnes lifted an eyebrow. “I thought—”

  “Strictly soft drinks. But that doesn’t mean I can’t watch you enjoying one.”

  “All right then. Let’s go. And get some of that good barbecue. Too bad Amy left. They’ve got a band and everything. Bet you and she would look fine on the dance floor.”

  “Maybe some other time.”

  Or maybe never. If he once got his hands on any part of Amy Stark’s body, he wasn’t sure he could keep himself from tasting and touching every bit of it.

  Chapter Two

  “It looks like the honeymoon agreed with you.” Amy grinned at Reenie and Matt as they sat across the table from her, drinking coffee.

  The newlyweds were still living in the main house while their own was being finished two miles down the road. They expected to be moved in less than a month. They had returned the night before from two weeks in Hawaii, looking tanned and relaxed. And they still couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Matt had his arm around Reenie’s shoulders, and even holding her coffee she seemed glued to her husband’s side. The two of them exchanged a look so intimate it made Amy both embarrassed and jealous. She busied herself refilling their mugs, then sat as casually as she could.

  Matt burst out laughing. “Amy, are we embarrassing you?”

  She felt heat creep up her cheeks. “Of course not.” She winked at him. “Remember, Reenie and I were the ones who dragged your naked body back to bed before the big romance blossomed.”

  Now it was Matt’s turn to blush. Amy was sure none of them would ever forget his first meeting with Reenie, right here at the ranch. He’d come home stinking drunk, barged into the living room completely naked and passed out. He’d had to do a lot of talking to get Reenie to look at him as something besides a drunken slob.

  “Anyway.” She cleared her throat. “I got the bull for us. He’s being trucked in today. I thought you’d want me to wait until you got back and could see to the unloading. Besides, I wasn’t sure where you wanted to put him.”

  “Good thinking.” He nodded. “He’ll go in that double stall in the second barn. When he wants some air, he can just walk out into his own special pen.”

  “No mixing with the ladies until it’s time?” Reenie asked, laughing.

  “Absolutely. Gentlemen have to show some restraint.” He squeezed her shoulder, another intimate gesture that made Amy turn away.

  Amy ran her finger around the rim of her mug. “I understand you met our new neighbor. Buck Montgomery.” She made her voice as casual as possible.

  Matt looked at her with curiosity. “Yeah, I did. How did you know?”

  “I met him at the auction.” She didn’t see the need to tell him the flat-tire story, or the fact that just the short time she’d spent with him, only minutes, had given rise to erotic fantasies in her dreams that made her squirm when she remembered them. “He, uh, seems very nice.”

  Her brother leaned forward on his elbows. “He is nice. He bought the Hayes Ranch and plans to increase the stock and bring it back up to the level it once was.”

  “He must have a lot of money,” Reenie commented. “As we all know, ranching’s not cheap.”

  Matt shifted his gaze from his wife to his sister and back again, his face nearly expressionless. “I believe he had a nest egg he cashed in. He’ll be running pretty close to the bone for a while, but I have a feeling he’ll make a success out of that place.”

  “What do you know about him?” Amy asked. “Where did he come from?”

  Matt laughed. “Amy, if you’re so interested, why don’t you ask him yourself?”

  “Yes,” Reenie chimed in. “In fact, let’s invite him over for dinner.”

  Amy drained the last of her coffee. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea? I mean, he seemed nice enough, but what do you really know about him?”

  Matt snorted. “Damn, Amy, how much do I need to know to be a good neighbor? I’ve spent a little time with him twice, and I’m pretty sure he’s not an ax murderer on the loose.”

  “That’s not what I meant, I just—”

  “He’s a neighbor,” Matt stressed. “Since when did you become so antisocial?”

  Since I had an unwanted physical reaction to the man. And dreams that I can’t seem to control.

  “Fine.” She pushed back her chair. “Fine, fine, fine. Call him and invite him over. You can do your famous barbecue steaks.” She rinsed out her mug and put it in the dishwasher. “I have some errands to do in town. I promised Hank I’d ride fences with him this afternoon.”

  Hank was the oldest of their hands, the one who’d been here the longest. He’d been the one to put Amy on her first horse and to show her “which end of the cattle eats and which end shits,” as he’d so colorfully put it.

  “You know you don’t have to do that,” Matt pointed out. “You’ve got records to bring up to date and the monthly weight-gain reports to get out. And Hank just wants an audience for those tales he’s told a thousand times.”

  When their parents had decided to move to New Mexico, she and Matt had split up the responsibilities of the ranch. She took care of all the paperwork, which he hated, and he served as the actual foreman, supervising the hands and overseeing the daily care and feeding of the cattle as well as maintaining the fences and outbuildings. But when she was younger she had often ridden fences with Hank, listening to his stories. She figured by now she was the only one left who’d put up with them.

  “I’m good,” she told him. “And sometimes it just clears my head to ride along with Hank and listen to his bullshit.” She picked her keys up from the counter. “See y’all later.”

  All the way into town, she couldn’t seem to get Buck Montgomery out of her head. She’d hardly spent much time with him, and half of that she’d been royally pissed. But the image of the man just lingered in her brain, not to mention what thoughts of him did to her body.

  Wait. She was an intelligent thirty-year-old woman not given to stray erotic fantasies. Especially about men she hardly knew. It was bad enough when she fantasized about men she did know and they all turned out to be assholes. But lordy. There was just something about Buck Montgomery that set her pulse to pounding, h
er blood to racing and every hormone in her body to waving a flag.

  She reached the center of town almost before she realized it, and considered herself lucky to find a parking place on Main Street. The entire time she did her shopping, Buck Montgomery occupied her thoughts. She was so distracted by the time she stopped at the office-supply store, she picked out some items she’d purchased the week before. The salesman jokingly asked her if she wasn’t a little young for her memory to be fading. Finally, she decided to stop and get something to eat. Maybe a full stomach would make her brain behave better. But as she went to open the door of Bit and Bite, a hand reached out ahead of her.

  “Allow me.”

  There it was, that deep, rich voice that haunted her dreams and sent shivers skating along her spine. And made the pulse deep inside her body throb hard and fast.

  Buck.

  For a moment, she wondered if her mental musings had simply conjured him up. But then he pulled the door open for her with his lean, tanned hand and ushered her into the restaurant.

  Amy stood in the little entrance area, tongue-tied. How was that possible? She was never at a loss for words, but somehow, after their inauspicious beginning, she couldn’t seem to form a simple sentence. She looked up at him and saw a grin teasing the corners of his mouth, his eyes alight with humor.

  “How’s that tire holding up?”

  She blinked. “What? Oh. Tire. Yes.” God, she sounded like an idiot. “No flats today, thank goodness. The little lady doesn’t need rescuing right now.”

  He had the good grace to look embarrassed, but only slightly. “Well, I’m certainly glad to hear that. So, I assume you’re here because you’re planning to eat lunch?”

  “Um, yes. I just finished my errands and realized I’m hungry.”

  “Then let me show you I’m more of a gentleman than your first impression and buy your lunch.”

  She laughed up at him. “Okay, but I don’t impress easily.”

  Careful, Amy. This is a fire that can easily burn you.

  But even as she acknowledged that, she realized this instant, electrical attraction was stronger than anything she’d ever felt with another man. And from the heat in his eyes, it was obvious he felt it too.

  He guided her to a booth toward the back and waited until she was seated before he slid in opposite her. He took off his Stetson and placed it on the bench next to him, then fixed those onyx eyes on her. Amy realized she could easily get lost in those eyes. Her nipples hardened instantly, and she was sure he could see the pulse beating at the hollow of her throat.

  “That’s some fine bull you nabbed the other day,” he said, then burst out laughing. “Sorry. I must be out of practice if that’s all I can think of to say to a beautiful woman.”

  “It’s okay. Really. He is some beautiful animal. He’s being delivered today.”

  “And you aren’t there to welcome him?”

  She shook her head. “That’s really Matt’s bailiwick. I’ll see him when I get home.”

  They sat in silence then, as if neither of them could think of anything else to say. Fortunately, the waitress appeared with glasses of water and menus. Amy could lose herself studying the menu and try to collect her thoughts. Should she go for dainty or feed her appetite?

  Eat what you want, you idiot! Who are you trying to impress, anyway?

  She looked up when the waitress reappeared. “Hamburger medium well with bleu cheese and mushrooms, hand-cut fries and a chocolate shake.”

  Buck ordered the steak sandwich with fries and a soft drink. He studied her after handing the menu back to the waitress.

  “I have to say,” he told her, “I don’t remember the last time I had a meal with a woman who ordered real food.”

  “Then you must be eating with the wrong women,” she joked.

  “No kidding,” he muttered, his body taut with tension. Then he exhaled slowly and visibly relaxed. “Just glad to see you go for something more than rabbit food.”

  She grinned at him. “I’ve been known to eat a salad now and then. But I’m blessed with a high metabolism, plus I work it off around the ranch.”

  Silence instantly dropped between them with all the subtlety of a lead weight. Amy fiddled with her napkin, very aware of Buck’s careful scrutiny. Again, she wondered what the hell she was doing here, anyway. He was exactly the kind of man she told herself to stay away from—tall, very masculine, very sexy. Probably had a hundred women chasing after him. Well, she was tired of being one of the pack. Especially for a man like Buck Montgomery, who was now her neighbor.

  So why am I sitting here having lunch with him?

  Because my head said no but my body and my mouth said yes.

  She looked up to find him watching her with his mouth curved in a slight grin. Heat sizzled across the table with an almost visible snap. She squirmed slightly in her seat and searched for a new topic of conversation.

  “Do I make you nervous?” His deep voice vibrated though her, the warmth of it like a heated cloud surrounding her and washing over her skin.

  Amy cleared her throat. “Nervous?” She clasped her hands on the table in front of her, hoping Buck wouldn’t notice the tremors in them. “Not. Not at all. Is there some reason why you should?”

  “No. No reason. You just seem…fidgety. I wondered if it was me.”

  Yes.

  “Of course not.” She searched for a topic of conversation. “So, when did you buy the Hayes Ranch? I didn’t even know it had sold.”

  “About a month ago. It’ll take me a while to get it into shape, but I’m working at it.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by the delivery of their food. Using the condiments took up a minute or so. Amy took a healthy bite of her burger and moaned in ecstasy.

  “Still the best I’ve ever eaten,” she said around a mouthful of food.

  “All their food is good. I eat here whenever I come into town.”

  There was more silence as they consumed their lunch. Amy kept her eyes on her food, but she was more than cognizant of the heavy-lidded looks Buck kept giving her. She wondered what was on his mind. At the auction he hadn’t seemed all that interested in her, polite and nothing more after their rocky start. Yet now he seemed to be seducing her with his eyes from across the table.

  When she finished the last bite of food, she patted her mouth with the napkin and leaned against the back of the seat.

  “You missed a spot.” He moved his hand toward her and then jerked it back.

  “A spot?” She frowned.

  “Mustard. On your lower lip.”

  Amy patted her mouth with her napkin and looked at the yellow smear on the white cloth. How embarrassing.

  “I’m not usually a slob when I eat.” She ran the napkin over her mouth again.

  “But then I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of catching that last little bit on your lip.”

  I should just get up and leave before I get myself into trouble. This was a huge mistake.

  “I’m curious.” She crumpled her napkin and set it on the table. “How did you happen to pick this particular area to settle in?”

  He shrugged. “I looked at a lot of places. A lot of ranches. This area seemed to suit my needs the best.”

  “What did you do before? Did you have another ranch somewhere? Or work on one?”

  His face sobered as if someone had wiped a cloth over it. “For a couple of years.”

  “And before that?”

  His eyes now were cold and hard. “I did…other things.”

  Amy had no idea what that meant, but the mood at the table had definitely shifted.

  “Well.” She lifted her napkin, patted her mouth again nervously to give herself something to do. “I’m glad you found what you were looking for. I wish you good luck. You know you can always call on Matt for anything. Advice if you need it. Or whatever.”

  Buck lifted an eyebrow. “Not you? You run the place with him, right?” Was he teasing her? Throwing her words from th
e auction back at her?

  She managed a smile. “Only if you have trouble with your computer or the software. I handle that end of the ranch. Mostly.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  The waitress dropped the check on the table and Buck expertly palmed it. The expression on his face hadn’t changed, but his eyes suddenly looked darker than midnight, as if unpleasant memories were crowding his brain.

  And what’s that about?

  “My treat,” he told her. “I did invite you to join me, right?”

  “Oh. Well, then thank you.” She slid out of the booth. Then she remembered her discussion with Matt and Reenie. “I suppose you’re busy this weekend, but if you’re not, we’d like to invite you to the ranch for dinner Saturday night. Nothing fancy. Just barbecue steaks.”

  “Are you hoping I’m busy or hoping I’m not?” His eyes, which a minute ago had been hard and black as coal, now came to life with a sparkle. “Is that a left-handed invitation? Did your brother have to bribe you to agree to it?”

  She chuffed a laugh. “I guess it did sound that way. Sorry. And after you paid for my lunch. Okay, Mr. Montgomery, we would love to have you join us at Stark Ranch on Saturday for dinner. Very casual. About six o’clock. Will that work for you?”

  His face relaxed and he chuckled. “Why, yes, Miss Stark. That will work for me just fine.”

  “Good. We’ll see you then.”

  She made it out the door as gracefully as she could and down the street to her truck. But once inside the cab, she leaned back against the leather and let out a long breath. What on earth had she been thinking about? Buck Montgomery was dangerous to her. He had the power to make her break every one of her resolutions, the most important being don’t get involved with a man who moved in a cloud of testosterone and seemed to command all the space around himself.

  And what was all that about his background? She’d asked a simple question and he’d frozen up on her like an engine in Alaska. Shut her out completely. The mood at the table had shifted as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice on it. She almost hadn’t asked him to dinner, but she knew if she didn’t, Matt or Reenie would. Maybe if they got him to relax, he’d loosen up a bit.