Afire
Successful rancher Cal Carson has been in love with his friend's daughter, Jenny, since he met her two years ago. He knows she's interested in him, but with one loss after another behind him, he's not willing to risk his heart again. He's sure Jenny is the one loss he wouldn't survive.
Young and sexy therapeutic riding teacher Jenny Busch has tried everything she can think of to make Cal see her as a woman. She knows he's interested, but he's kept her at arm's-length for years. She wants him--in every way--and she's running out of ideas.
When a forest fire forces Jenny's family to evacuate, Cal offers Jenny and her horses haven at his ranch. He doesn't know how he will resist her when she tempts him at every turn. Will he trust Jenny with his heart or break hers? An unexpected guest at the ranch forces Cal to see the future he could have with Jenny, but is he too late?
Genre: Contemporary, Western/Cowboys
Length: 48,993 words
AFIRE
Grace Jameson
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
AFIRE
Copyright © 2011 by Grace Jameson
E-book ISBN: 1-61034-128-7
First E-book Publication: February 2011
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter from Grace Jameson
Regarding E-book Piracy
Dear Readers,
There are so many wonderful, honorable readers that I regret having to include this reminder. To those who’ve paid for their copy of this story, thank you!
We have an image of pirates wearing eye patches and living on creaky boats. Today’s pirate is more likely to be in pajamas, safely ensconced on their comfy sofa. Forwarding, lending or copying this book is pirating and it is theft. Please ensure your book was purchased legally so that your favorite authors can continue to write sensual exciting tales for your enjoyment.
With deep gratitude,
Grace Jameson
DEDICATION
For Allison, Ewa, Fatima, and Lori—the most amazing women I know. I’m humbled and blessed by your friendship. Strong, capable and talented, I have no doubt world domination is but one pot of espresso away!
For N.L.—you are cherished.
To my own Cal…you wanna pick up the pace?! I’m waiting!
AFIRE
GRACE JAMESON
Copyright © 2011
Chapter 1
“Asshole,” Tim growled in disgust, listening to the slick newscaster’s breathless report. Jenny smiled for the first time in days as her brother ranted on, his arms waving angrily at the TV screen. “Look at him. It’s the worst forest fire in decades, it’s destroyed thousands of acres of forest and how many farms, people are being evacuated, and this ass-wipe is so excited he’s about to—”
“Hey!” his mother said sternly, though her lips quirked in a barely suppressed smile.
A well-time telephone ring interrupted what was sure to be yet another lecture about Tim’s foul mouth. Their mom constantly chastised Tim, but Jen suspected that Becky Busch was secretly amused by her son’s inventive language. Jenny left her family to argue over Tim’s limited vocabulary as she answered the phone in the kitchen.
“Busch residence.” Surprised silence met her greeting. “Hello?” She heard a throat clear then her heart skipped a beat at his gravelly voice.
“Hi, Jenny. Cal Carson here.”
An awkward silence followed as they both waited for the other to say something. After an uncomfortably long pause, Cal said, “I wondered if I could talk to your dad, Jenny.” The sound of his raspy voice always made her clit tingle, and now was no exception. With her fingers crossed behind her back, she lied shamelessly. “He’s outside. Can I pass on a message? Or...is there something I can do for—or with—you?” She purred.
“Um....” Cal cleared his throat again after another lengthy pause. “Heard on the news this morning they’re going to evacuate your area because of the forest fire. Just wondered if you wanted to come down here until it’s over? Uh, I mean, do you want to stable the horses down here? Or your dad? I mean, does your dad want to bring the horses down, not do you want to stable your dad.” She giggled at his heavy sigh of self-disgust.
Jenny was ecstatic about his call no matter how tortured the invitation, and she privately high-fived herself. The fire was an excuse to get close to her, and she was only too happy to play along.
“We’d appreciate it. The mayor formally warned us last night we’d have to evacuate in the next twenty-four hours. We’re taking the cattle to my aunt’s, but most of the local horse billets are already taken,” she explained, referring to the informal emergency buddy system that matched available pastures and stables with farmers in need. The billets were a practical solution to the province’s history of annual fires and floods. “I’d love to bring the horses down. We could go riding,” she said hopefully.
He chuckled. “Jenny, these old bones haven’t been in a saddle in a long time.”
“I’d be happy to get your bone back in the saddle,” she offered breathlessly.
“Jesus, Jenny,” he spluttered, though she suspected he secretly relished their word games.
“Oh, did you want my dad to visit instead?” she asked with feigned innocence. “He snores, you know. Like a basset hound. Mom complains. I don’t snore. Just moan a little in my sleep,” she murmured huskily.
He was breathing a little harder now. “You are hard on this old—”
“Who has a hard on?” Tim interrupted loudly from the living room phone extension.
She heard Cal’s sharp intake of breath and growled in frustration at her brother’s interruption. She knew Cal would be panicking now, worried about how much Tim overheard. And then how much he would repeat.- She grudgingly admitted to herself that he might have a point. Tim wasn’t exactly known for his discretion or good judgment, and he was now talking about Cal�
��s hard on in their living room.
“Sorry, Cal. I couldn’t resist.” Tim laughed at Cal’s alarmed silence. “Dad’s right here if you want to talk to him.”
“I thought your dad was outside,” Cal muttered.
“No, that’s just what Jenny told you so she could flirt with you longer.”
Mortified, Jenny yelled, “Shut up, Tim!” Cal was momentarily forgotten as the siblings began squabbling in earnest.
* * * *
“Jenny? Jenny, you there?” Cal shouted into the phone, trying to be heard over the yelling and threats of retribution.
An older female voice came on and greeted him warmly. “Hi Cal, it’s good to hear from you. How’ve you been?”
Lonely, he thought, “Fine, fine. Heard things may be getting hot your way, though, and wondered if you wanted to bring the horses and livestock down here.”
“Well, that would be wonderful. It means a lot that you’d offer. Nate’s arranged to billet the cattle at his sister Cathy’s ranch for the next month or two, so it would just be the horses that need stabling. Could Thorn and Rose bring the horses down tomorrow? Nate would need Thorn back to help move the straw, hay, and grain to Cathy’s, but Rose can take care of the horses herself.”
Cal grimaced unconsciously at Becky’s use of her twins’ real names. Becky and Nate were possibly the kindest people he knew, but they were also stubborn, if belated, holdovers from the hippy era. Becky was the very vision of Mother Earth, with her flowing skirts, gypsy tops, requisite Birkenstocks, and long loose hair, while Nate was obsessed with all manner of social and environmental causes. They believed his last name was a sign to give their children unique names, and Scarlett Rose and Thorn Busch were born. After a few tearful schoolyard incidents, Becky rechristened the kids Jenny and Tim, but at home, she still called them Rose and Thorn. That was the family legend. Personally, Cal wondered if a particular agricultural product may have factored into the decision-making process, but he kept that thought to himself.
Either way, he knew Jenny hated being called Scarlett Rose, and he made a point to call her by her preferred name. There were a lot of names he wanted to whisper to her, but he never let himself.
“Okay,” he said with polite resignation. He and Jenny alone on the farm for at least three weeks, probably longer, could only spell trouble. “I’ll see them tomorrow afternoon. I’ve got enough straw and hay, but some oats would be good. She can store all her tack here, too.”
Cal hoped for a few more minutes of Jenny’s honeyed tones but knew it was unlikely when he heard the twins still throwing words and glass at each other. He sighed when Becky said she’d pass on the message and wished her goodnight.
Cal hung up the phone and felt his stomach knot. Alone with Jenny. If he was honest with himself, he knew this was how it would work out when he called. Okay, it’s what he’d hoped would happen when he called. He knew Nate wouldn’t bring the cattle down, but Jenny had stabled the horses a few times before, so it was an obvious arrangement. It was also an excuse to be with her again, even if it was manufactured.
He looked at his weather-beaten hands and reminded himself of the fifteen year age difference. Why the hell am I torturing myself, he thought? Sure, she flirts a lot, but she wouldn’t be interested in something permanent with someone so much older. She deserved someone younger he chastised himself, someone to experience life’s milestones with. There was so much she hadn’t done yet, and he was comfortably settled.
But he couldn’t fight his physical attraction to her. And he didn’t try to when he was alone. She’d made it obvious she was interested in him, and he’d fought himself not to take her up on it. He knew she’d made sure he saw her walk to the shower in her black lace bra and panties. Thong panties. The short shorts she wore to clean the house and the braless halter top she told him was the only thing cool enough to wear in the intense heat spawned plenty of hot dreams. God, he loved that halter top. The clothes were totally impractical on a farm, but damn if they didn’t showcase her very toned legs and firm breasts. He also noticed that she didn’t let anyone else see her dressed that way. The show was all for him. And boy, he sure appreciated her effort. He groaned at the erotic memories and adjusted the growing bulge in his pants. How many nights had he fisted his cock thinking of her sweet, sweet ass on her daily walk to the bathroom? He resigned himself to another night of taking himself in hand and headed to bed.
* * * *
He finally gave up on the pretense of sleep before dawn and set about preparing the house for Jenny’s arrival. I’m not trying to impress her, he reasoned to himself, but there’s no reason for her to think I’m a slob. He laundered the satiny green bed sheets he bought when she stayed last year and made up her bed, taking extra care to smooth the wrinkles out and plump the pillows. Fresh towels were on the dresser and a jar of Jenny’s favorite candy—Jelly Belly Jelly Beans—sat on the bedside table. He vacuumed and finished with a quick peek under the bed to make sure no dust bunnies had come to life. Satisfied, he headed downstairs to tidy up the kitchen and see what kind of food he had on hand. Wilted lettuce, stale bread, and two-day-old leftover pizza convinced Cal to run into town for groceries.
An hour later, Cal put on a pot of coffee while he unpacked the groceries. He’d mocked his own eagerness all morning, and three hours after getting up, he scolded himself to just relax. Cal poured a cup of the very strong coffee Jenny favored and sipped the invigorating bitter brew with satisfaction. He settled in with his coffee and the newspaper, but conceded defeat fifteen minutes later. He hadn’t read a word.
Cal headed to the large barn and greeted the farmhands. He spoke with his foreman, Eduardo Galvez, about the day’s work and listened to his suggestions on how to divvy up the chores. He reflected again how lucky he was that his foreman was also his best friend. Not only was the man organized and utterly trustworthy, but he’d brought Cal into his own family and buoyed him up at a time when he didn’t even cared he was drowning. Eddie’s natural affinity with animals made him an obvious choice for foreman, and Cal relied on his judgment in all aspects of running the ranch. Eddie’s brother Antonio also worked on the farm, and his irrepressible, mischievous personality kept them entertained.
Cal let his gaze drift over his ranch while Eddie talked about the day to come. Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the large stone farmhouse was surrounded by magnificent views of snowcapped mountains and lush farmland. A beautiful stone horse stable matched the farmhouse but stood largely empty because it couldn’t support the large herd of cattle. When Cal bought the farm, he worked with a contractor to build a sizeable, functional barn that blended with the stone buildings. The two-storey, hip-roof barn was perfect. Large enough for daily milking, it also housed the herd of ninety cows in winter and had a segregated space for his successful breeding program. Built diligently over the past five years, the breeding program was well-respected, and breeders from around the province paid handsomely for his prized bulls’ sperm.
With the day organized, Cal and the men set into a familiar rhythm of herding the cows into the barn, cleaning the stalls, and laying fresh straw. Cal checked over each animal for signs of injury, infection, or impending calving while Antonio and Eddie washed the cows’ udders and started the milking machines. The whole process would take almost three hours, and they would repeat it in the late afternoon.
Despite telling himself he wasn’t eager to see her, he found himself checking the time again and again anyway. Finally, Cal went back to the great stone farmhouse to shower and change into a dark green t-shirt and his favorite faded jeans. He threw on an uncharacteristic splash of cologne and glanced in the mirror. He froze at his reflection, banged his head off the unforgiving glass and wondered what the hell he was doing. When was the last time he’d showered during the day? And he couldn’t even remember when he bought the cologne, let alone when he’d last had occasion to use it.
Cal headed back to the stables, distracted by his anger that
her opinion mattered to him. After checking that the horse stalls were ready for their boarders and adding a thick layer of straw to each stall, Cal left the stable and headed outside to wait for her truck. He cursed himself again for acting like a nervous kid, but was startled out of his thoughts when Eddie asked, “Are those for me?”
Cal looked where Eddie was pointing and felt like an idiot when he realized he held a small bouquet of wildflowers in his hand. From the bemused looks on his friends’ faces, they thought he’d lost it, too. His face turned red, and he mumbled something about just wanting some color in the house.
Tony leaned in, took a deep breath and said in an exaggerated drawl, “He smells purdy, too.”
“Old Spice?” Eddie nodded with feigned disillusionment.
“Nah, smells expensive,” the kid answered, smiling. In a stage whisper, he added, “And someone cleaned the house. There’s no laundry in the kitchen, and it looks like he went grocery shopping this morning, too. I found, like, real food in the fridge. Well, if you’re a rabbit.”
The brothers laughed at Cal’s discomfort, and he grumbled that they could go fuck themselves.
Eddie was openly amused. Grinning widely at Cal, he said to Tony, “Well, let’s see if we can piece the clues together. No sleep, real food instead of the usual peanut butter and week-old pizza, a new shirt in a lovely shade of green.” Eddie winked at him and continued, “Cologne and flowers for the house.” Eddie’s grin broadened. “When’s she supposed to get here?”
Afire (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 1