He realized he was speeding again, exhaled sharply, easing his foot off the pedal. Damn good thing he’d gotten rid of the Corvette last year. He’d only done it because of Nikki. She’d referred to the car as his coffin on wheels. Told him how cruel it was for him to come into her life and then be careless with his. Said it right to his face that if he did something foolish that ripped them apart, she’d hate him even in his grave.
She’d been good for him, made him give a damn again after his mother’s death. And he was a total ass because every selfish inch of him wanted only to be alone with Rachel. Of course he’d ask Nikki to go with them. If she did, fine, but that’s not what he wanted. Even after ten years, Rachel was like a soothing, addictive tonic. Being with her made everything better. His brain told him that was crazy thinking, but every other part of him clung to the certainty that accepting her friendship was the sanest thing he’d ever done.
The private road to the Sundance had been plowed. He took the turn easy, already feeling calmer knowing he was going to see her soon. She probably had another commitment. But he’d get to look into her pretty green eyes, bask in her smile, and if he was lucky, touch that silky soft skin of hers. His stupid heart started pounding like a junkie about to get a fix.
He parked his truck next to a small SUV and a red compact, rentals belonging to the guests, he figured. Then, instead of climbing out, he reached into his jacket pocket for his phone.
He hit speed dial for the cell number she’d given him. Then he put the phone to his ear and stared at the front of the house.
Rachel answered on the fourth ring, her voice a breathless whisper.
“Question,” he said, relaxed, sinking back against the leather seat.
“Um, yes.” Sounded like she was smiling.
“Your mama let you date, darlin’?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“What you have in mind.”
“Well, my truck does have a big backseat....”
An upstairs curtain moved. “Matthew Gunderson, is that you lurking outside my house?”
“Depends.” He tugged down the brim of his hat, thinking he might not mind a little phone sex as a warm-up. “You gonna call the sheriff?”
“Three’s a crowd, silly cowboy.” She laughed. “I’ll be right down.”
“Rachel, wait—”
She’d already hung up. Damn, why couldn’t she be like most women...walk and talk at the same time?
He hit Nikki’s number. He had to hurry and call her so she wouldn’t think he was blowing her off. They’d spoken last night because she’d been excited to watch the snow come down. But he’d been distracted by what Lucy had told him about Wallace yesterday when she’d stopped by the Lone Wolf with groceries.
It had been good to see her, though Matt hated that she was really showing her age. Three years ago, with his mom so sick, the weeks he’d spent at the ranch had been a blur. Or maybe Lucy hadn’t been so stooped and slow then. But she was still a spitfire, and they’d talked at the kitchen table for three hours while Wallace stayed locked in his office drinking.
Nikki didn’t answer. Odd, because she was rarely separated from her smartphone. He hoped that meant she was off having fun and left her a voice mail as he got out of the truck.
Rachel was already standing with the door open waiting for him by the time he made it across the gravel walkway. “Hurry up,” she said, her arms wrapped around herself and shivering. “It’s freezing.”
“It’s Montana and it’s February, darlin’,” he said, taking the porch steps two at a time, while reaching for his hat.
“Leave it on.”
“What?”
“Your Stetson.” She grabbed his arm when he stopped short, and drew him into the house.
“Because?”
She closed the door then turned around and leaned against it as if holding back the cold. “You know,” she said, that teasing glint in her eyes. They seemed darker probably because of her snug black sweater, which molded every curve.
Turned out he didn’t need phone sex to get warmed up. “Uh, nope, I don’t.”
She ducked to look behind him where the living room extended toward the den, then glanced toward the dining room and stairs. He hadn’t seen anyone but he heard voices.
“Are you here for Nikki?” she asked, which was weird because why would that be a secret?
“No,” he said, “for you. What’s the deal with the Stetson?”
She grabbed the lapels of his suede jacket and pulled him down while she pushed up onto her toes. “You’re too damn handsome for your own good,” she murmured close to his mouth, her warm sweet breath mingling with his startled exhale.
“You gonna tease me or kiss me?” His voice came out a gruff rasp. Her house, her rules, but only for a few more seconds.
“Kiss you.” She smiled. “Just not here.” She let him go.
He stumbled back a step and palmed the crown to keep from losing the hat. “To be clear...the Stetson turns you on, and without it, you’d kick me to the curb.”
“Something like that,” she said with a cheeky grin and moved toward the approaching voices.
“Funny,” he said, keeping his voice low. “I was thinking how I’d like to see you without that sweater.”
She jerked a look at him, her lips parted and her eyes blazing with desire.
He touched her hand. “Come for a drive with me.”
“Give me a few minutes.”
“Whatever time you need.” He smiled. “But take too long and I might start begging.”
“Tempting,” she muttered, then at the sound of the swinging door to the kitchen, pasted on a smile for the trail of chatty women streaming through the dining room toward the foyer.
Hell, seeing them reminded him. How, in the span of a second, could he have forgotten about Nikki? He’d have to include her in the outing. Rachel would understand. Or better he level with his sister. The risk there was that she could feel neglected and want to return to Houston.
“Hi, Matt.” It was a chorus. Several of the women obviously knew his name.
He recalled the tall blonde, Sandy, only because she’d gotten him a beer the other night. He whipped off his hat. “Mornin’, everyone.”
They were all smiles and fake tans, and they were probably very nice women but he still had to fight the impulse to run and hide in the barn.
Before any of them could strike up a conversation with him, Rachel called for their attention and started reviewing the day’s activities. Nikki and Jamie emerged from the back. He hoped they’d been hanging out in Cole’s office or else it was a good bet they’d heard him and Rachel.
Nah, it was all good because Nikki looked surprised to see him. He was just being paranoid.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” Nikki said, and motioned for him to meet her in the living room away from the others.
“I left you a voice mail.”
“We don’t have plans, do we?” she asked, glancing back, he assumed to Jamie, who’d waved then disappeared.
“No. I figured I’d check if you and Rachel were interested in taking a drive with me.”
“Is she going?”
“Said she would.”
“Good. I’m not.” She elbowed him. “I know you don’t mind.”
He shook his head, recognizing the mischievous gleam in her eye. She was hoping he and Rachel would end up doing a little boot-knocking. Hell, so was he, but he wasn’t about to admit it.
Nikki grinned. “I have a playdate with Jamie and two of the guests.”
“Doing what?”
“She’s showing us how to cross-country ski.”
“You don’t have the right clothes. You’ll freeze your backside off.”
“Don’t worry, Dad,” she said with an eye roll. “I have it covered.”
“You going shopping?” He reached for his wallet in his back pocket.
“Stop it, Matt.”
“What?”
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Her hands on her hips, she glared at him. “You try to give me so much as a dollar, I will be so pissed at you.”
“Don’t get your feathers ruffled. You can’t wear jeans. You’ll get ’em caked with snow. When it melts the wet denim will stick to your skin, then freeze again. And ski gear isn’t cheap.”
Some of her bravado slipped and she moistened her lips. “I’m not going to buy a bunch of clothes I can’t wear when I get home. If my jeans freeze, I’ll change.”
They stared at each other without speaking. Matt was aware that the others could hear them if they were so inclined. He didn’t need to say anything, since Nikki knew he was hoping she’d like Blackfoot Falls and consider eventually making the Lone Wolf her home. He also knew that her finances were tight. Being here meant she wasn’t making tips at the bar where she worked.
He dropped his gaze to his wallet. “How about I give you a few hundred, just in case?” he asked, quietly.
She sighed. “You want kids, go make babies.”
“You’re more ornery than a bull.”
“And yet you continue to forget.” She spun around and walked away.
He watched her race up the stairs without a look back. He’d hurt her pride. Again. It wasn’t as if he didn’t admire her independence and her hard work to preserve it. But he wanted so much to help make her life easier. The money—he had so much, and it meant nothing to him. Nikki knew that.
“Don’t worry,” Rachel said, coming to stand beside him as he watched Nikki disappear down the upstairs hall. “Between Jamie and I, she’ll have the proper clothes to wear. I’ve already laid a few things out for her to choose from.”
He glanced toward the foyer, saw that the guests had dispersed, then looked down at the top of her head and smiled at the purple streak.
She looped an arm through his. “You ready? Before Trace ambushes me and begs out of taking some of our guests on a trail ride.”
“Let’s get outta here.”
Barbara McAllister appeared at the top of the stairs, and they stopped in the foyer. She looked pretty in gray wool slacks and a cream sweater. Auburn hair similar to Rachel’s skimmed her shoulders.
“Wow, Mom, where are you going?”
She seemed startled. “I thought you’d left with the others.”
“They didn’t need me so I’m playing hooky with Matt for a while.”
“You look nice,” he said to Barbara.
“Thank you.” She blushed, just like her daughter.
“So where are you going?” Rachel asked again.
“To meet a friend, then run errands.” She hurried down the stairs, keeping her gaze on her feet. “I left a couple pairs of insulated ski pants on my bed for Nikki if she’s interested. They aren’t trendy but she is closer to my height than yours.” She reached the foyer and glanced at her watch. “I’m sorry. I really have to scoot.”
“Where’s your coat?” A slight frown puckered Rachel’s brows.
“Oh, right. I’ll go through the mudroom.” Barbara flashed a smile. “See you later.”
Rachel stared after her for a long minute. “That’s the fourth time I’ve seen her with makeup since Thanksgiving. And did you notice she never answered where she was going?”
Laughing, Matt slipped an arm around her shoulders. “You’re as bad with your mom as I am with Nikki.”
She squinted up at him. “You hush.”
He caught her chin, tilting it up, and pressed his lips to hers. They immediately relaxed, turned soft and yielding, and he considered that now might be a good time to sneak into her room. Then he remembered that Nikki and Jamie were in the house. Hilda was probably in the kitchen.
But when Rachel’s mouth opened, his mind went blank. The tip of her tongue slipped out to touch his lower lip and his entire body tightened with need. He caught her hips, bracketing the tempting curves with his hands, and pulled her into him.
She let out a sexy whimper that spoke directly to his cock. He sucked the throaty sound into his mouth, and shuddered when she melted against him. Her arms wound around his neck, and he’d moved his hands to her firm round backside before it struck him that he was pushing his luck. One of her brothers could walk in on them. He doubted they wanted to see Matt shoving up their sister’s sweater, looking for a taste of those sweet full breasts pressing against his chest.
With a great deal of effort, he loosened her arms from his neck and set her away from him. “We have to go.”
“Where?” She blinked away the dazed expression, then bent to swoop his hat off the floor.
Hell, he hadn’t noticed it had fallen. “I don’t know.” He raked a hand through his hair, then resettled the Stetson. “Out of here. Jacket?”
“Jacket,” she repeated, but plainly without understanding. She drew in a shaky breath, then her eyes lit with awareness. “Right. That way,” she said, hitching her thumb toward the kitchen, which led to the coat hooks in the mudroom.
“I’ll meet you at the truck.”
She just nodded and took off.
He walked with purpose, head down, straight to the truck. Moments later she joined him. She opened the passenger door and hopped in, her face flushed, her hair a mass of sexy curls, her eyes sparkling like it was Christmas.
“What took you so long?” Matt inserted the key sitting uselessly in his hand and ignited the engine.
“I was less than a minute. Jeez, I didn’t even brush my hair or grab my purse,” she said, grinning. “Or put on my jacket.” She tried to now, arching her spine as she pushed her arm into one of the sleeves.
His gaze moved over the thrust of her breasts, and without thinking he touched one through her sweater.
She froze, but didn’t push him away. She looked over at him, the desire in her eyes matching his own. He indulged himself a moment longer, felt her nipple harden through her bra and the soft wool. How long had he wanted to see her naked, feel her body hot and needy moving beneath his.
No, he hadn’t thought about her steadily over the past decade, but the years didn’t seem to matter once he’d laid eyes on her again. Right now it felt as if Rachel had always been the woman he truly wanted. The ache in his belly and the longing in his heart made all the others seem like substitutes. He hadn’t used them. They were all more than willing. Some of them too willing to slip between the sheets of a bull-riding champion. That aside, he hadn’t once understood his yearning to find a surrogate for the woman he’d never be able to have.
“Oh, boy, we really should go.” Rachel’s chest heaved unsteadily beneath his hand. “Like five minutes ago.”
The truck was idling. Good thing the engine was quiet, although who knew what kind of attention they’d drawn. He lowered his hand and glanced around. No one in sight. Cold temperatures kept most of the men inside the barns and stables, or readying the calving sheds. And his windows were heavily tinted, but no need to feed speculation.
He reversed the truck, and noticed Rachel scanning the front of the house, probably hoping no one saw them.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have touched you like that. Not here.”
Laughing, she finished shrugging into her jacket. “Thank you for the qualification.”
“Full disclosure, darlin’.” He turned his eyes to the driveway and away from temptation, before he made a complete ass out of himself. “I’m touching you again. You can count on it.”
10
RACHEL ADJUSTED THE VENTS, aiming the heated air away from her face, away from her, period. Her cheeks were flushed since she couldn’t stop thinking about him touching her, and her body was still throbbing where he already had. She shivered anyway.
“Cold?” He reached for the controls.
“No.” She swatted his hand. “I’m roasting, thanks to you.”
He smiled slyly. “Should’ve left the jacket off.”
She groaned when she saw that she was hugging the quilted down fabric to her chest as if it would protect her from him. “And I fo
rgot my gloves. I assume we’re getting out at some point.”
“Take mine.” He indicated a pair sitting on the console. Definitely not work gloves. These were made of fine brown leather, and not something one found in Blackfoot Falls.
“They’re too big. Anyway, you should be wearing them.”
He just shrugged. “We can go back for yours.”
“No way. I was lucky to escape the first time. So, where are we going?”
“Up to Weaver Ridge. I want to have a look at the cabin and piece of land my mom left me.”
“Oh.” She vaguely knew the area. His mother was a Weaver and the land had been in her family forever, just like the McAllisters’ and Gundersons’ land. “Too much snow, don’t you think?”
“Only four inches last night.” He waved at the driver of the oncoming truck. “I think that was Roy Tisdale. He still a deputy?”
“Yes, he’s been investigating the thefts around the area.” She sighed. “Our missing horse trailer among other items.”
He shot her a glance before negotiating the curve that would take them west to Weaver Ridge. “Your trailer was stolen?”
“The big one. An Exiss.”
“Damn. When?”
“Last August. Since then other ranches have reported missing equipment and saddles. And the strange part is that it all started with Mrs. Clements misplacing a four-wheeler. She called Noah—” Rachel turned to look at him, her breath catching at his rugged profile, the way his light brown hair curled at his collar. He used to wear it so short she’d thought his hair was straight. “Did you know that Noah Calder is our sheriff?”
“Yeah, I heard he came back. He worked as a cop in Chicago, right?”
She nodded. “I don’t know how he did it. First the army, then college, a job in Chicago...he was gone a long time. Coming back had to be quite an adjustment. Blackfoot Falls is still...”
“Blackfoot Falls,” he finished when her voice trailed off, his attention firmly on the road ahead. They were approaching the foothills. He needed to focus on driving, yet she sensed his mood had shifted. Did he think she was dissing Blackfoot Falls? “Tell me more about the thefts,” he said. “Was anything recovered?”
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