by Ginna Gray
John looked as though he was about to challenge the claim – until he met Zach's stare. "Hey, sorry, man. I didn't know. I just wanted to chat with an old friend, that's all."
"No harm done." Zach released him, and the four men turned away and disappeared into the crowd.
"You know, Zach, if you want to build a rapport with our neighbors, that's not exactly the way to go about it," Maude Ann drawled.
"He'll get over it."
"What's up? Did we miss something?" J.T. asked as he and Matt joined them.
"Not really." Zach took Willa's elbow. "Let's dance."
"I'm sorry, I can't." She gave him an apologetic look. "I don't know how to dance. I never had an opportunity to learn."
"Then it's time you did. C'mon, I'll show you. It's easy."
"No, Zach, really, I can't." Panic fluttered in her chest, but he ignored her protest and tugged her toward the dance floor.
"Zach—"
"Just relax and follow my lead," he said, turning her into his arms. "You'll do fine, I promise."
Instead of assuming the normal stance, he wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her close, and at the first contact with his body Willa was lost.
With a sigh, she closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his chest.
His hands roamed up and down her back, molding her to him from shoulder to thigh. Willa shivered and gave herself over to him as he began to sway in rhythm with the slow music.
He was right, she discovered. It was easy. Their bodies moved together as though they were one person. The country and western song had a heavy, sensual beat, and as the singer crooned out the crying lyrics of love lost, a tingle shuddered through Willa.
The feel of Zach's body pressed against hers, moving to the provocative rhythm, was so erotic she felt as though she were melting. His body was warm and wonderfully firm, and the clean scent of him surrounded her, making her senses swim.
Zach lowered his head and rested his chin against her temple, and Willa sighed again and snuggled her cheek against his chest. Dear Lord, this felt so good, so right.
The song ended and another began, this one faster. Instead of releasing her, as she expected, he swung her into the dance, twirling her around the floor in step with the energetic beat, leaving her no choice but to follow.
Willa had no idea how long they stayed on the floor or for how many dances. She didn't care. Dreamily, she was aware of the other couples gliding by, of the looks she and Zach were receiving, but they didn't matter. Often one of the couples would be Kate and J.T., and now and then, during the slow dances, Maude Ann and Matt, but even they registered on her consciousness only remotely. Willa's whole world had been reduced to just her and Zach. She floated through the evening on a cloud of happiness and pleasure, her body vibrating with a delicious excitement.
Suddenly the music stopped and the band leader whooped, "Okay, guys and gals take your places. It's time for a line dance!"
Easing Willa back a half step, Zach raised an eyebrow, but she laughed and shook her head. "I don't think I'm ready for that yet."
"Okay, I guess you've earned a break." He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her off the floor.
When they reached the sidelines Willa's nerves began to jump again. Now what? she wondered. How did one behave with a man after they had practically made love on a dance floor? Or perhaps she was making too much of it. Maybe Zach danced that way with all women. The thought didn't set well, but she had to face that possibility.
Suddenly she felt tongue-tied and awkward. She had no idea what to say or what to do with her hands, but Zach solved the problem for her.
"Would you like something to drink? I think they have punch and beer."
"Yes, please. Punch would be lovely."
He touched her cheek and looked into her eyes, and the proprietary gleam she saw there sent a thrill rocketing through her. "I'll be right back," he murmured. "Don't go away."
"I won't."
Floating on air, Willa watched him walk away. Winding his way through the crowd toward the drinks table on the other side of the hall, Zach stood head and shoulders above most of the other men, and to her eyes he was by far the handsomest.
"Haven't you made a big enough spectacle of yourself without drooling over that bastard?"
Willa jumped and swung around. "Lennie. I didn't see you there."
Flanked by two of his friends, Lennie Dawson leaned against the wall a few feet away, glaring at her.
He straightened and stalked over to her. Up close she saw the wild look in his eyes and uneasiness trickled down her spine. He was simmering with rage.
"Did you think I wouldn't be here? That I wouldn't see you hanging all over that Mahoney character? Flaunting yourself in front of him?"
"I wasn't—"
"Don't lie to me. I heard all about that night you spent with him up in the mountains," he snarled. "The way you kept turning me down, I figured you were just playing hard to get, so I backed off to give you a little time to come to your senses. And while my back is turned you start cheating on me with one of Seamus's bastards. Just like the old man wanted."
Willa sucked in a sharp breath, but before she could deliver the blistering set-down that was on the tip of her tongue, Lennie raged on.
"Just look at you," he sneered. "You got yourself all floozied up for him, didn't you? You look like a painted slut."
"Why you rude, egotistic, overbearing twit. I don't have to stand here and listen to your insults." She tried to walk away but he stepped in front of her.
"I'm not through talking to you."
"Too bad, because I'm through listening. Get this through that thick head of yours, Lennie. What I do and with whom I do it is none of your business. I am not interested in you. Never have been, never will be. Not if you were the last man on earth."
Rage contorted his face. "You bitch."
Pain exploded in Willa's cheek as Lennie struck her across the face. Willa felt hands grabbing her to keep her from falling and heard the shocked gasps and murmurs from the people nearby, but before she could recover her balance Zach stepped between her and Lennie and smashed his fist into the other man's face.
"Hey!" Lennie's buddies yelped.
The blow sent Lennie flying backward. He landed hard on his backside at the feet of his friends, blood gushing from his nose.
Kate and Maude Ann pushed their way through the crowd and hovered protectively over Willa. "Are you all right?" both women asked.
Lennie struggled to his feet with the help of his cohorts. Wiping his bloodied nose on his shirtsleeve, he looked over the top of his arm at Zach with pure hatred. "C'mon, guys, let's get him," he snarled.
"Need any help?" Matt and J.T. stepped forward, flanking Zach on either side an instant before Lennie cut loose with a growl and he and his friends charged.
After that, everything happened so quickly it was almost a blur.
Zach blocked Lennie's blow with one arm and with his other fist delivered a punch to his stomach that doubled him over. J.T. elegantly ducked his man's first swing, sidestepped the second and felled him with a karate chop to the back of the neck as he stumbled past. At the same time Lennie's other friend came at Matt swinging an empty beer bottle, but a cane whack across his forearm sent the bottle tumbling to the floor and dropped the man to his knees, holding his arm and howling in pain.
Before any of the downed trio could move, Zach, J.T. and Matt jerked them up by the backs of their shirt collars, bundled them out through the open double doors of the hall and tossed them down the steps. Lennie and his pals landed in a tangled heap in the gravel-and-dirt parking lot.
Zach stared down at Lennie, his eyes glacial. At his sides his hands curled and uncurled, again and again. "I'm going to count to ten, Dawson." His voice grated from between clenched teeth. "If you're not out of here by the time I'm done I'm going to whip your sorry butt from here to Clear Water and back."
"That's … that's assault!" Lennie bluste
red. "I'll have you arrested!"
"One. Two."
"You all heard him," Lennie cried, addressing the crowd that had gathered behind Zach and his brothers. "He threatened me."
"Three."
"Threat? What threat? I didn't hear anybody threaten Lennie, did you, Harvey?"
"Uh-uh, not me."
"Me, either," several others chimed in.
"Four. Five."
"You dirty little coward," another man jeered. "You're the one who started it all."
"Six."
"That's right. If anyone files assault charges it oughta be Willa."
"Seven."
"All right! All right! We're going."
"Eight. Nine."
The three men scrambled to their feet and nearly fell over one another hobbling across the parking lot for Lennie's pickup.
Within seconds the red truck careered out of the parking lot, sending up a shower of gravel, then burning rubber as it took off down the highway toward town.
Zach turned and began pushing his way through the crowd amid a flurry of compliments and back-thumping. Following him, Matt and J.T. received the same treatment.
"I'd like to shake you fellas' hands. He had it coming."
"Good job. Lennie Dawson ain't nothin' but a bully."
"That's right, he's been running roughshod over folks hereabouts for years."
"About time he got his comeuppance. Those friends of his, too."
Zach accepted the praise with gritted teeth and kept moving. "Thanks, but if you'll excuse me, I need to see about Willa," he said over and over with an edge of impatience.
He found her sitting on the sidelines between Kate and Maude Ann, holding a wet cloth to her cheek and looking shaken. A cluster of curious women fluttered nearby.
Zach hunkered down in front of her and took her free hand. "How bad is it?"
"I'm okay. Really," she insisted automatically. Willa did not quite meet his eyes, and he realized that she was more humiliated than hurt.
"Her cheek is bruised, but I don't think the bone is broken," Maude Ann supplied.
Zach bit off a shocking curse, then shot to his feet, pulling Willa up with him. "I'm taking her home."
"Good idea," J.T. agreed.
"Yeah, we'll all go," Matt stated, but when he cupped Maude Ann's elbow to lead her out she held back.
"Whoa. There's no reason for us all to leave. I'm sure that Zach can look after Willa just fine."
"I agree with Maudie," Kate said.
Their husbands gaped at them. "You want to stay? After what just happened?" Matt demanded.
"Of course. Darling, it's all over now and the evening is young." Now that the excitement was over the band had started playing again and Maude Ann nodded toward the couples who were beginning to take to the floor. "Besides, Kate and I want to dance some more. Don't we, Kate?"
"Oh, yes. Definitely."
"Good, that's settled then. Have a good time." Hooking his arm around Willa's waist, Zach wasted no time leading her away.
Matt and J.T. gaped at their wives with identical bewildered expressions.
"I swear, Maudie, I've never known you to be insensitive. That poor girl has been traumatized and hurt. I would think that you of all people would want to comfort her."
"Yeah, you, too, Kate," J.T. added. "It's not like either one of you to think of yourself first."
The women exchanged a look and rolled their eyes.
"Poor darlings. They really are clueless, aren't they?"
"Totally," Kate agreed.
"What does that mean? Clueless about what?"
Maude Ann patted Matt's cheek. "Kate and I aren't being selfish, darling. Or insensitive. Actually, we're doing Willa and Zach a favor. For heaven's sake, hasn't either of you noticed what's going on between those two? There's enough heat between them to melt a glacier."
The two men looked thunderstruck.
"Are you telling us…"
"I don't believe it!"
The brothers looked at each other and shook their heads. "Willa and Zach?"
* * *
On the drive home Zach gritted his teeth and silently cursed Lennie Dawson. He still itched to throttle the little weasel. Unconsciously, his fingers squeezed the steering wheel as though it were Lennie's neck.
He had been returning with a cup of punch for Willa and a cold brew for himself when he saw the little creep pull back his hand and slap Willa. Zach knew the image was burned into his brain forever. He couldn't remember ever being so angry.
He only wished he had done more to the bastard than punch him, he thought, tightening his fingers around the steering wheel once again. Dammit, no one hit a woman in his presence. Especially not this woman.
He glanced at Willa, and his rage spiked anew. She sat huddled on the far side of the bench seat in a defensive posture with her arms folded over her middle, her face turned away, gazing out the passenger window at the dark night. The blow she took had knocked her elegant hairdo loose, and now it listed to one side and sagged over her right, ear.
"You okay?"
She spared him only the briefest glance before turning back to the window. "Yes. I'm fine."
"Does your cheek hurt?"
"No. Not anymore."
Zach sighed and turned the truck in at the ranch entrance. Ever since leaving the Grange Hall he'd gotten the same type of uncommunicative response whenever he spoke to her. For the rest of the drive along the twisting, turning ranch road he remained silent, as well.
Zach parked the pickup out back and they entered the house through the kitchen. The instant they stepped inside, Willa murmured a quiet, "Good night," and headed for the front hall and the stairs, but he put a hand on her arm and stopped her.
"Willa, wait. Let me take a look at your cheek."
"That's not necessary. It's okay."
"Humor me."
Only the dim glow of the light above the stove that Maria had left burning for them illuminated the room. Zach flipped on the overhead light and cupped her face with both hands and tilted it up. Frowning, he inspected the red mark on her left cheek. "It's red but the skin isn't broken." He lightly touched the puffy area with his forefinger. "Does that hurt?"
Willa shook her head.
Merely looking at the angry red splotch brought Zach's anger rushing back. "Dammit, why did he hit you?"
"Lennie has a bad temper."
"Yeah, so you said before. But what set him off tonight?"
"Does it matter?"
"It sure as hell does to me. So tell me."
For a moment he thought she wasn't going to answer. Then she hitched one shoulder. "He was jealous. Of you."
"I see." Zach's thumbs stroked along her jaw, the tender underside. "And does he have reason to be?"
The deep timbre of his voice sent a shiver of longing through her. Willa stared at the plaid pattern of Zach shirt. His nearness was having its usual effect on her system, making her head swim and her pulses pound and filling her with trembling awareness. She wanted so much to lay her head on his chest and feel his arms enfold her again, but she didn't dare.
All evening she had been floating in a foolish, rosy-colored dream, but Lennie's sudden appearance had brought her back to earth with a thud, reminding her that a future with Zach was not in the cards.
"Willa?"
She tried to turn her head away, but he wouldn't let her.
"Look at me," he commanded in a husky whisper.
There was no place to go, no place to hide. She couldn't even summon up a spark of defensive anger. Defeated, she slowly raised her head and looked at him helplessly, knowing that all she was feeling was there in her eyes for him to see.
Something flickered in the green depths of his eyes, something hot and intense. She felt his sudden stillness, the faint tremor in the hands cupping her face.
"Willa." This time he whispered her name like a caress. He examined her face, feature by feature, then his gaze dropped to her mouth, and his eyes grew hea
vy-lidded as his head tilted to one side and began a slow descent.
Watching him through the screen of her lashes, she waited, her heart pounding, wanting his kiss so much she could barely breathe, and at the same time aching with sadness at the futility of it all.
As his lips closed over hers, Willa moaned and stepped into the kiss, wrapping her arms tight around his lean middle.
Releasing her face, Zach slid his arms around her and pulled her tightly against him. All the quivering awareness, all the pent-up longing that had been building between them throughout the evening, throughout the long, busy spring and summer, exploded. He kissed her deeply, passionately, as though he would devour her.
Willa responded in kind, holding nothing back, greedily giving and taking all the pleasure she could in these few glorious moments, knowing that all too soon it would be taken from her.
Her hands clutched his back, roamed frantically over the broad expanse. Innocently, driven almost mad by the need to touch him, she snatched the tail of his shirt loose from his jeans and slipped her hands underneath. With a sigh of satisfaction she ran her palms over his bare flesh, glorying in its warmth, its firmness, her fingers alternately clutching and kneading.
A low groan vibrated from Zach's throat and he tore his mouth from hers. "I want you," he rasped. "Dear heaven, how I want you."
"I–I want you, too."
"Then come upstairs with me. Now. Let me make love to you."
The husky words vibrated with so much passion a shiver rippled through her. "I want to, Zach, but … how can we, when this is probably what Seamus planned?"
"The devil with Seamus. I've been giving this a lot of thought. Hell, I've hardly thought about anything else since that night in the line camp. I finally realized that if we deny this thing between us just because we suspect the old man plotted to get us together, then he's still controlling our actions, and we end up hurting only ourselves. It would be like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
"This has nothing to do with Seamus, or this ranch, or with the two of us being in close proximity day to day. It's not as though you're the only female in the area. I've met a few others since I've been here. I even took a couple of them out.