The Rancher's Dance

by ALLISON LEIGH,

  “More the merrier,” Axel commented easily on his way toward the water’s edge.

  Sarah, however, was looking at her knowingly. “Your friendly neighborhood rancher-slash-builder, perhaps?”

  “Yes.” She shrugged casually. “All of the Venturas, actually.” She nodded toward Susan Reeves across the water. “That night at Colbys it looked like Stan was pretty taken with Susan. And Shelby will fit right in with all the kids here. She’s so shy, but this crowd’s not going to let that stand in their way. She’ll have a blast.”

  Sarah nodded, but she clearly wasn’t fooled. “You know I agree with Ax. We all do. The more the merrier. But are you sure you’re not getting into something…else?”

  Lucy wasn’t sure of anything and her cousin obviously knew it. “I just want to see them all have a good time,” she insisted. “Maybe see a smile on Beck’s face.”

  “Good luck with that,” J.D. murmured as she tore open a bag of tortilla chips and pulled out a handful. “Jake met with the guy a while back to see if he’d be interested in designing the horse barns out at our new place and he said he’d never met anyone so solemn.”

  “Beck’s working on Crossing West?” J.D. had met Jake Forrest when she’d worked as a horse trainer for him at Forrest’s Crossing, his thoroughbred farm in Georgia. He’d also been president of Forco, one of the largest textile firms in the country. But then he’d followed J.D. back to Wyoming and they’d gotten married, and now Jake’s sister had assumed the helm of their family business and he had turned his focus solely to horses. He still raced the thoroughbreds he bred, but now he and J.D. were building Crossing West outside of Weaver where it wouldn’t necessarily be thoroughbreds running in the fields but rescue horses.

  “Nope.” J.D. was succinct. “He turned Jake down. Didn’t say why.” She rolled her eyes a little and smiled faintly. “But as we all know, not many people ever turn down my husband. It’s just made him more determined than ever to get Beck on the project. Jake says he’s one of the most well-regarded architects of his generation, but he up and sold his entire practice a few years ago.”

  Lucy stared. She’d known he was an architect, but she hadn’t known that. Given the timing, she assumed he’d left his practice around the time his wife had died. “Well,” she spread her hands, “he said he’d come. So…I hope everyone’s okay with it.”

  “Of course,” Sarah assured.

  “Heck, yeah,” J.D. agreed. “My husband’s probably going to try to use the situation to his advantage, but maybe I can keep him otherwise occupied.” She batted her lashes.

  “Take off the shirt covering your swimsuit,” Leandra advised drily. “That usually does the trick.”

  J.D. laughed and did just that, whipping her oversized shirt off her head to reveal the shining aqua one-piece that showed off a figure just as whipcord lean now as it had been before she’d had Tucker nearly five months earlier. She tossed the shirt aside before sauntering toward the water.

  And they all laughed outright when Jake’s dark head swiveled in his wife’s direction like a heat-seeking missile.

  “They’re still newlyweds,” Sarah said.

  “You’re all still newlyweds as far as I’m concerned,” Lucy countered. The longest any of her cousins had been married was three or four years. She looked back through the trees when she heard footsteps crunching over the ground.

  But it was just Casey and Erik returning with the beer and her pulse settled back down again. They also had cases of soda with them, and for several minutes after that, Lucy kept herself busy helping them store the bottles and cans inside the coolers.

  She was sweating by the time she was through. She spread her own beach towel out on the bumpy ground that was made soft by the clover that grew thick and lush right down to the water’s edge, peeled off her T-shirt and toed off her sandals, and headed toward the boulders. Specifically the largest—and flattest—one that stuck out over the water. She grabbed the thick rope that dangled down from the tree branches above and felt the familiar, rough knots against her palms.

  Lucy looked from the trees where there was still no sign of Beck, back to the water where her cousins had all gravitated, splashing babies’ hands and tossing the older kids around. Before the hollowness inside her could get too deep, she took a bounding leap with the rope in her fists and swung out over the water, dropping through the surface with a splash.

  She came up shivering and shoved the hair out of her face. “Oh my God,” she choked on a laugh. “I forgot how freaking cold it is!”

  Beck could hear the laughter and the screams even before he parked his truck next to the haphazard collection of vehicles.

  “You’re doing the right thing,” Stan said, sitting next to him.

  Beck grimaced at his father. Spending the anniversary of his wife’s death like a hermit hadn’t made the day pass any easier the previous year or the year before that. But he seriously doubted that spending the day this year among people he barely knew was going to be any better.

  So why on earth had he agreed to come when Lucy had asked?

  “Daddy, come on.” Shelby leaned over the back of his seat as far as her safety belt would allow.

  And maybe the fact that she hadn’t whispered it was the reason why. She hadn’t been whispering for a week now, and the only thing different in their life was her ballet lessons with Lucy.

  He was grateful for that. But that didn’t mean he was happy about his daughter’s fascination with the woman. Lucy was still going to leave, sooner or later, and he didn’t want Shelby heartbroken as a result.

  And yet, here they were.

  He exhaled roughly, shut off the engine and got out. His father did, too, and opened the back door for Shelby while Beck grabbed the towels and the folding lawn chairs they’d picked up on their way through Weaver at the big-box store on the edge of town.

  Shelby chased ahead, poor Gertrude flopping by the ear she was clutching, and Beck had to bite back the words cautioning her to slow down. When he reached the clearing just a few seconds after her, the first thing he saw was Lucy.

  She was wearing a deep red bikini top and a pair of soaking wet cutoffs that hung so low on her bare hips that he couldn’t help but wonder if she was wearing anything else beneath.

  She was standing on an enormous, flat rock, clutching the end of a rope fastened above her and even as he watched, she let out a whoop and swung out over the water, her wet hair streaming in the air behind. And then she let go of the rope and sailed, shapely butt first, into the swimming hole. Which—a small portion of his working mind recognized—was more like a lake than a mere “hole.”

  She came up laughing and slicking her hair back from her face, and when her gaze turned in his direction, the sparkle in those aquamarine blues hit him square in the gut.

  “Hey!” Her head bobbed above the water as she stroked toward them until her feet must have been able to reach bottom and she began walking, rising out of the water like some sort of teenage boy’s fantasy.

  Or a grown man’s.

  “You did come.” She was smiling. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d changed your mind. I’m glad you didn’t.”

  The smile felt like it was all for him, but she looked downward toward Shelby and leaned over his daughter, dribbling water on her.

  Shelby giggled and squirmed and wrapped her arms around Lucy’s middle, hugging her tightly as her face beamed.

  “If you’re going to get wet hugging me,” Lucy told her, “you might as well get wet in the water. You have some catching up to do. We’ve all been in the water at least an hour.”

  Shelby’s head swiveled toward him. “Can I?”

  Beck swallowed his misgivings and nodded. “That’s what we came for.” It was just as much a reminder to himself as permission for her.

  In a flash, Shelby was out of her sundress and sandals and bouncing through the clover in the purple bathing suit she’d had on underneath. Her hand clutched Lucy’s as they splashed
into the water.

  His father’s hand closed over his shoulder for a second, squeezing. “This is a good thing,” Stan said under his breath. Then he, too, was heading off toward the lake. Not surprisingly, his aim wasn’t the water but the attractive Susan Reeves who’d leaned up on one elbow from the lounge where she was laying to watch his approach.

  Beck dumped the chairs and the towels on the ground and slowly leaned over to pick up Gertrude, lying discarded along with Shelby’s dress.

  Everyone was moving on.

  Everyone except him.

  He looked away from the merriment going on in the water and unfolded the chairs.

  “Here.” A bottle of beer came at him from the side and he looked up to see Jake Forrest holding it. “You look like you need it.”

  “Shows, huh?”

  Jake smiled faintly. He was holding a beer himself, and he sat down easily in one of Beck’s cheap lawn chairs as if he’d been invited. “Changed your mind about that job I proposed?”

  Beck bit back a sigh and sat, too. He didn’t really want the beer, but he twisted off the top, just for something to focus on. “No.”

  “I’d think a man like you would get bored playing around with small-time construction jobs like the room you’re doing for Cage and Belle.”

  “You’d be wrong, then.” Beck tipped the bottle to his lips and swallowed. “I grew up working as much construction as I did working on a ranch. It was only because of my late—” he made himself say the word “—wife that I got into architecture.” His gaze strayed back to Lucy, who was standing on one of the smaller boulders, this time with his soaking-wet daughter shivering beside her. “Is that water deep?”

  “Deep enough they won’t hurt themselves jumping in,” Jake assured. “Why’d you give up architecture?”

  Beck eyed the other man. “None of your business,” he returned just as evenly.

  Jake didn’t look fazed. Beck hadn’t figured the man would. He might have walked away from a fairly successful career, but he damn sure hadn’t ever run a company the likes of Forco, which employed people all over the country.

  He sat back in his chair. “My dad’s interested in your aunt,” he commented just to change the subject.

  “She seems interested in him. Is that a problem?” Jake sat forward suddenly. “Zach.” His voice was warning and one of the kids in the water guiltily set the frog he’d been holding behind a skinny girl’s head down on the bank. Jake sat back again and propped his ankle on his knee. It was obvious that he, too, at some point had been in the water.

  “No,” Beck returned truthfully. “Not a problem at all.”

  Jake was silent for a moment. “Would you at least be willing to come out and tour the property?”

  Beck’s hand tightened around the beer. Before he could find a more or less polite way of declining, a woman’s voice interrupted.

  “Stop looking so serious over there.” Her voice carried over the noise and a second later she slid onto Jake’s lap, a smile on her face. Beck recognized her as one of the women who’d been with Lucy at the bar that night. “I’m J.D.,” she introduced, sliding an arm around Jake’s neck.

  “My wife,” Jake provided, looking indulgent.

  “And you—” J.D. turned to look him in the eye “—are talking business. I can tell.”

  “So?”

  “So,” she drawled, “this is a day of fun.” Her bright green eyes shifted to Beck. “Fun,” she repeated.

  “Since when don’t you think anything to do with your beloved horses isn’t fun?” Jake asked.

  “Well, that’s true,” J.D. allowed with a grin. “But your sons are about ready to drive poor Megan into misery, so maybe you should get back in the water with them.”

  Jake sighed noisily as he lifted her off his lap and handed her his beer. “Fine.” He headed toward the water but glanced at Beck. “We’ll talk again.”

  “Talking won’t change my mind,” Beck said.

  But Jake just smiled faintly as if he knew differently before jumping into the water with a splash that reached all the way back to Beck’s feet.

  J.D. sat down in the chair that her husband had vacated and tilted the bottle to her lips. “Lucy’s not as tough as she appears,” she said after a moment.

  Beck jerked his gaze away from the woman in question, feeling his jaw tighten. “I beg your pardon?”

  J.D. looked at him. “She wasted two years of her life being strung along by a guy who never intended to give her what she deserves.”

  “I thought she was the principal ballerina.” He remembered her telling him that. And that the jerk had replaced her. And that she’d defended the guy’s actions.

  “I’m not talking about dancing.”

  Beck didn’t want to know what Lucy’s cousin was talking about. More to the point, he didn’t want to face the fact that he knew good and well what J.D. was talking about.

  “I just don’t want to see her getting hurt again,” J.D. continued.

  “She know you go around putting up warning signs?”

  “Nope. And when she finds out now, she’s going to want to strangle me.” She didn’t look unduly worried, though.

  “Can’t say I blame her,” he said mildly.

  J.D. smiled but her eyes were still serious. “Everyone always thinks she’s the tough New Yorker now, but those of us who know her best know otherwise.”

  “I knew I shouldn’t have come here,” he murmured.

  “Well, actually,” J.D. allowed, “I think the fact that you did is pretty great.”

  He gave her a look. “Really.”

  She lifted a hand. “I just wanted to make sure you know she’s got a soft heart. So tread carefully, would you please?”

  “I’m not treading anywhere.”

  “Ah.” She stood up and looked at him. “Now that would be a real shame.” Leaving the beer sitting on the lawn chair seat, she turned and ran swiftly into the water.

  Beck pinched the bridge of his nose and wondered yet again what he’d gotten himself into.

  Water droplets fell over his arm and he looked up to see Shelby standing beside him. Her hair was clinging to her face and shoulders and she was shivering. “Ready to be done?” He started to reach for one of the towels he’d brought but she shook her head, looking horrified at the very thought of it.

  “Come swim with us,” she said instead.

  Beck sighed. Maybe the sooner he did, the sooner they could leave. Being around these people was no better for him than being alone would have been. And he had no real desire to let his bad mood affect anyone else. “Okay.”

  His daughter beamed at him and raced back to the water, jumping in without a second’s hesitation.

  Possibly because Lucy was standing there waiting, her arms outstretched to catch her.

  Go on now. The soft voice whispered inside his head.

  Sure. Now Harmony’s voice made an appearance. He damn near told the voice to take a hike. But he finally rose and pulled off his shirt and with a running start, he cannonballed into the water.

  When he came up from the cold depths, his daughter was clapping and Lucy was smiling, looking strangely mischievous. “Ready,” he heard her whisper to Shelby.

  His daughter nodded. And before he knew what hit him, both wet bodies launched themselves at his shoulders, pushing him back under water.

  His arms shot around them both and he kicked to the surface. “That’s ganging up,” he told Shelby who was giggling wildly. Then he tossed her one-handed into the air. She shrieked and hit the water with a splash.

  Which left him only one other wriggling perpetrator caught in his arm and all he could think when he turned his attention on Lucy was that it was a good thing the water was as freezing cold as it was. “This the way you treat all your guests?”

  Her legs felt silky as they brushed against his. “Only the really special ones,” she assured breathlessly. She pressed her hands against his shoulder and her back arched away from him
in her struggle to break free of the arm he had clamped around her waist.

  She was a lightweight out of water and the water only made her more so. He lifted her as easily as he had Shelby until she was over his head.

  “Don’t you dare.” Her hands scrabbled at his arms.

  He pitched her into the drink.

  She came up sputtering, her chin just above the water. “You know, my swimsuit top came off down there.”

  “Did you find it?” He couldn’t see an inch beyond the dark surface of the water.

  “Yes.”

  “Pity.” And then, when her eyes widened with surprise, he laughed.

  Chapter Seven

  Lucy stared. “You’re laughing,” she said stupidly.

  “It has been known to happen.” He was still smiling, showing off a dimple in his cheek and a glint in his eyes that just begged to be smiled back at in return.

  So she did.

  Giddily.

  And what if she did look a little goofy, or that she did hover there, treading water, staring and smiling just a little too long into his face?

  He’d not only smiled.

  He’d laughed.

  And she felt as if some miracle had occurred, right before her eyes, and she wasn’t even sure how it had come to pass.

  “I wanna swing from the rope,” Shelby interrupted, swimming over to Lucy and wrapping her arms tightly around her neck. “Can I?”

  Lucy kicked a little harder to keep her chin above water. Shelby felt like a wriggling, wet fish next to her. “That’s up to your dad,” she told her.

  “Please, Daddy, can I?”

  Beck looked over to where the rope dangled above the flat boulder. “I don’t think so.”

  “Please?” Shelby reached out with one arm and grabbed his shoulder. Since the girl still had her other hand wrapped in a stranglehold around Lucy, she found herself nearly face-to-face with the man.

  He was treading water, too, and their legs brushed again. Long and slow and distractingly.

  Almost as if he’d done it deliberately, which he surely wouldn’t have.