The Cattleman's Proposal (The Men of Mulhany Crossing Book 1)

by Helen Lacey

  Joley ha-ed him humorlessly. “Spoken like a true man.”

  He looked at her over the rim of the bottle. “That’s what I am, unless you hadn’t noticed.”

  Joley’s skin warmed. “I noticed. Hard not to. I was only meaning that it’s easy for a man to lay it at the feet of nature when he’s not the one actually having the babies.”

  “I’d like to think I had something to do with it,” he said and swallowed some beer.

  Her warming skin quickly turned into an all out inferno. Watching his throat close over, recognizing the dark desire in his eyes—it was enough to push her libido into overdrive. No man ever had such an effect on her. Not even Dale. Her no-sex deal suddenly didn’t seem like such a great bargain. Surprisingly, the idea of having children with Nate filled her belly with a kind of deep longing. A normal reaction, she supposed, considering every sense she possessed was on red alert around him. And he’d made no secret of the fact he wanted children. But she wasn’t about to drop at his feet with gratitude that he was considering her for the role. Not at all.

  “I’m not some brood mare you know, ready to pop out a couple of kids.”

  Nate placed the bottle on the table. “I don’t recall suggesting that you were,” he said quietly. Too quietly.

  So she could push his buttons if she tried. He wasn’t the all-in-control man she’d pegged him for. “Just making sure we’re on the same page.”

  “It’s a little too soon to be thinking along those lines. Let’s get through the next few days first.”

  He did a good job of covering his annoyance and Joley experienced a tiny spike of guilt. Deliberately rubbing each other the wrong way was pointless. Of course, rubbing each other the right way was something else altogether. She got a flashback of Nate dressed only in a towel on the morning after the wedding and her already soaring temperature jumped off the mercury. It was going to be tough struggling against her body’s needs. It was going to be even tougher resisting Nate’s offer of a life on Gwendonna. But she had to.

  “You’re right. Put it down to nerves,” she said as she stood and collected the plates but knew it was a lie. Because she wasn’t nervous around Nate. There were a whole lot of other emotions going on, for sure…but nervousness wasn’t one of them.

  “You’re not alone there,” he said as she moved into the kitchen and stood behind the granite bench top. “I haven’t invited a woman into my house since my ex-wife walked out. So I’m out of practice and don’t want to do anything to scare you off. I agreed to your terms, but I never said it was going to be easy.”

  It was quite the admission. More than she expected. “No, I don’t imagine it will be easy. In fact, you will probably be downright impossible to resist.”

  He chuckled and the sound warmed her through to her toes.

  “Just the same,” Joley said as she piled crockery into the dishwasher. “No more towels, okay?”

  “Towels?” He stood and passed her some plates across the bench.

  “Like at the hotel room.” She took the plates, kept stacking and didn’t look at him. “You know, when I woke up in your bed in my underwear. Towels,” she said again. “There’s only so much near naked flesh a girl can take.”

  “I didn’t realize I had your attention.”

  Joley’s gaze snapped up and she straightened from her insane hovering over the dishwasher. “Sure you did. At the wedding, I pretty much begged you to…well to, you know. And you turned me down flat.”

  “You were drunk.”

  “I know what I was,” she said quickly. “And I appreciate your restraint. Although, if we’d done it then we wouldn’t be having this conversation now, would we?”

  “I guess not.” He stilled and looked at her. “And now that you’ve reminded me about that pink underwear of yours, thank you very much, I think you should stop what you’re doing and make a run for it.”

  Joley didn’t move. There was no threat in his voice. Only desire and promise. It made her heady with a kind of sexual power. He wanted her. But he would only take what she was prepared to give.

  “Goodnight Nate,” she said finally and without another word walked from the kitchen and down the hall. It would be a long night for them both. Yet an hour later, as she slipped into bed after a shower and a few pages of a book, she was still smiling, and thinking of the man who in the space of one afternoon, was somehow making her forget every other man she’d ever known.

  Mulhany Crossing, population eight thousand, was a lovely town with an old world charm. The wide main street teemed with shoppers and pedestrians. Nate parked the truck outside the feed store and unclipped his seat belt. He was about as wound up as a spring and Joley knew it.

  “I have to order some feed supplies. Are you coming?”

  “Sure,” she said, shifting in her seat, which sent her flowery perfume straight in his direction. In hipster jeans and bright blue shirt, she looked sensational.

  Nate didn’t wait another second and got out of the truck. He waited until she slipped out before he clicked the automatic lock. Once inside the feed store she wandered off while he placed an order for hay and grain. When she returned to the service counter, he was finalizing the account. She had a pale felt hat in her hands and promptly plonked it on the counter.

  “I guess I should have one of those,” she said.

  Nate tilted his own hat back fractionally. “Good idea. Add it to the list,” he said to the young man behind the counter.

  “Oh, no, I don’t expect you to—”

  “Already done,” Nate said and ignored her protests as he dropped the hat on her head. “Suits you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Is there anything you particularly want to do while we’re in town?” he asked once the account was paid and his credit card returned.

  “Not especially. I could look around, but I’m also happy to follow along behind you like a good little woman.”

  Nate didn’t believe that for a minute. He ushered her outside and opened the truck passenger door. “Beside me would be better. Incidentally, if you have any special dietary requirements let Rachel know and she’ll pick it up for you when she’s in town.”

  Joley stalled by the door and half-grinned. “Do I look like a fussy eater?”

  “Is there a particular way I’m supposed to respond to that?” he asked and waited as she got into the truck. “Either way I’m screwed, right?”

  She laughed and the sound warmed his blood.

  “I guess,” she said as she pulled the seat belt across her breasts.

  He pushed the door shut and quickly moved around to the driver’s side. “You’re very beautiful. So, no more trick questions.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  Nate’s insides did a double flip. She was flirting with him and not bothering to be shy about it. Her mood had been building all morning. Over breakfast, she’d remarked about his haggard pallor and Nate knew she knew he’d spent the night staring at the ceiling and thinking about how much he wanted her. Her chirpy demeanor only exaggerated the fact he’d had minimal sleep.

  As he drove off, Nate felt her smile. “Enjoying yourself, are you?”

  “What?”

  “Feel like you have all the power?”

  She laughed softly but didn’t deny it. “Perhaps I’m simply in a playful mood.”

  “Nothing is that simple with a woman,” he said and geared the truck into reverse. “But, hey, I’m not complaining. If you think you can go the distance, of course. Once you throw down the gauntlet though, there’ll be no going back.”

  She laughed again and Nate saw the flash of challenge in her eyes. “And see who breaks first, you mean?”

  Nate didn’t know what the hell he meant. In fact, he wasn’t sure he knew what they were really talking about. Sex, he figured, because it was quickly becoming all he could think about when near her. “Something like that.”

  “I’m game,” she said, still smiling, still looking so lovely he had
to will some movement into his legs to get the truck back onto the road.

  A few minutes later, he pulled into a space outside the saddler’s shop. Joley jumped out quickly and followed him inside. Her interest in all things horses was immediately apparent and she quickly struck up a conversation with Marshall Harris and his wife Lynette. While Nate checked out the new breaking saddle Marshall was making for him, he kept an ear on her friendly chatter. Marshall had been his friend since they were boys and he knew his best friend would sum Joley up in a matter of minutes. I’ve met someone, was all Nate had told the other man, and she’s coming to stay for a while. Only that. Now his friend got to see for himself. And Lynette would waste no time in sharing her opinion when she had the chance.

  “Very nice,” Marshall said in a quiet voice once the two women moved into the clothing area and they were out of earshot.

  Nate lifted the saddle flaps and examined the wide stirrup leathers. “Yeah, you do make a good saddle.”

  Marshall grinned. “I was talking about Joley. You said she was beautiful and well—”

  “That’s not what I said,” Nate cut in quickly and dropped his voice so the women wouldn’t hear. “In fact, I didn’t say anything other than her name.”

  Marshall grinned again. “Okay, so you didn’t say much. But I’m not wrong. She’s gorgeous. So, what’s the story with you two?”

  “No story,” Nate replied and turned the saddle over, thinking he didn’t like another man calling Joley gorgeous. Best friend or not. “She’s staying for a while. That’s it.”

  His friend raised a brow. “Is this some kind of compatibility test?”

  “Maybe,” Nate replied.

  “All logic, no love?”

  His friend knew he wanted a wife and family to share his life and Gwendonna. Nate shrugged. “We don’t all get what you and Lynette have.” Marshall perched his rear on a saddle rack. “You know, not all women are like Allyson.”

  Point taken. His old pal logic often reminded him of that. “And?”

  “And they don’t all lie. They don’t all rip your heart out.”

  Pep talk over. Nate swung the saddle back into position. “The cantle’s too high,” he said and pushed the stirrups into position. “Fix that and I’ll be back to pick it up next week.”

  “The cantle’s fine. And pick it up Saturday,” Marshall said and stood. “Lynette’s inviting a few people around home for a barbeque and will probably be telling Joley about it right now. So don’t bail.”

  Nate knew why his friend said that. He’d bailed a lot in the last few years. Going solo to dinner parties and barbeques only invited set-ups by his well-meaning friends. It wouldn’t take long for news to spread that Joley was staying at Gwendonna. People were naturally curious, but he wasn’t sure he wanted her to be subjected to prying eyes and potential gossip. That was the way of small towns. When Allyson had left he’d been poor Nate Garrigan whose wife walked out. His relationship with Joley would be a source of interest to those who knew him. Most of his friends were married with kids and he figured they wanted to see him that way, too. Marriage and kids were expected in a place like Mulhany Crossing. It kept the town going.

  “They’re such nice people,” she said.

  Out of the saddlery and back on the street, Nate’s hand bumped Joley’s as they walked and heat shot right up his arm. “They are,” he agreed and clenched his fingers.

  She told him about their invitation for Saturday afternoon. “I said we’d go. No point in putting off the inevitable.”

  “You mean the fact you’ll be on show?” Nate asked.

  “I forced you to sit through an evening with my mother, so I guess it’s my turn.”

  “Your mother was a piece of cake.”

  She slowed down and laughed. “Cake? What a great idea.”

  Ten minutes later, they were sitting in a corner booth at Lulu’s coffee house. A great idea too, Joley thought as she took a second bite of the most delicious banana cake she’d ever eaten. Lulu, a busty redhead with a friendly smile, re-filled their coffee and chatted to Nate about the new Quarterhorse filly she’d just bought for her younger sister. It took only a few breaths for Joley to figure that Lulu was Lynette’s cousin and that everybody knew everybody in Mulhany Crossing. Joley also didn’t miss how the other woman touched Nate’s shoulder as she left.

  “Old girlfriend?” she asked once Lulu disappeared.

  “Old friend,” he corrected and drank his coffee. “Why do you ask?”

  She shrugged and smiled sweetly. “Maybe I’m just checking out the competition.”

  Nate held his cup mid-air. “There’s no competition.”

  Her insides crunched. “I can’t quite believe that. I mean, you’re very…nice.”

  “I am?” He grinned.

  “Well…sometimes. When you’re not being an arrogant ass.”

  He laughed and it occurred to her just how close to the truth her words were. He was nice.

  “It’s not an easy life,” he said quietly. “I mean, living on a place like Gwendonna. It’s isolated and can feel lonely. What I want…” His words trailed off and he seemed to regather his thoughts. “What I need, is someone who can handle that isolation, but who also enjoys the lifestyle and the horses and cattle. And I want heat,” he said, even quieter.

  “Heat?” She sensed he wasn’t talking about the weather.

  “Chemistry,” he supplied, watching her with such intensity her stomach rolled. “Heat.”

  Well, they certainly had that. And part of her agreed with him. She wanted heat too. But she also wanted other things. “What if it fades? Sexual attraction can be unreliable…it can make you think things are real when they’re not.”

  His eyes darkened. “What’s more real than making love with someone?”

  Love. But she didn’t say it. Because he’d called it making love, when she knew he meant sex. “You’re talking about a moment…about a few minutes of passion and—”

  “Minutes?” he queried softly, cutting her off as he pressed his elbows onto the table and leaned forward. “Is that the kind of experience you’ve had in the past? I promise you I’m talking about more than a few minutes, Joley. I’m talking about spending hours, nights, days, being so physically connected with someone you don’t know when you end and they begin.”

  Joley’s entire body flamed. She might had flung herself across the table and begged him to show her exactly what he meant had they not been in a public place. His gray eyes never left her face and only the tiny pulse in his jaw offered any indication that he was as fuelled by the intensity of the moment as she was.

  “Nate…I…I—”

  “How’s your cake?” he asked quietly.

  Joley glanced at the plate and then back at him. She licked her bottom lip. “Sweet.”

  He smiled and she did the same, ignoring the feelings that were suddenly warming her body. And her heart.

  By Wednesday, Joley had her routine worked out. Get up early, have breakfast, work all day on the jobs she pestered Nate to give her, tumble into bed at an obscenely early hour after dinner and a hot shower. In between maintaining contact with the flight school and ensuring the business was still functioning without her. Of course, her office manager appeared to be keeping the place organized and by Wednesday morning she realized just how quickly they’d gotten used to being without her. The contract instructor was efficient and well-liked and it seemed her absence was going unnoticed.

  Patrick however bombarded her with half a dozen emails and she ignored each one. Ella left messages on her phone and Joley ignored those too. It was nearly one o’clock and she was midway through strapping down Nate’s big buckskin gelding, Shadow, when the equine transport truck turned into the driveway. She quickly put the gear away and led the gelding back into his yard.

  Ten minutes later Red walked off the truck and his lead placed in her welcoming hands. Nate spoke with the driver for a moment and as Joley led her horse towards the stables, the
big rig turned and headed back down the road.

  She tethered Red to a hitching rail outside the stables and unclipped his day rug.

  “Glad to see him?”

  Joley turned her head as Nate approached. “Oh, so much. Thank you.”

  “No problem. The driver said he floated well.”

  She rested her cheek against Red’s neck, happy she had a little bit of home with her now. “Nothing much stresses him. I’ll turn him out into the paddock and get back to work.”

  “No hurry. He needs to get accustomed to the place and the best way to do that is for you to stay with him for a while. The job will keep.”

  Nate walked off and Joley watched his long, easy stride.

  Day three, and she was as conflicted at ever. Because every day she liked Nate that little bit more. For one, he was a master at his craft. His approach to schooling, with a combination of old-style breaking and the more modern natural horsemanship techniques, was very effective. Joley watched on as even the most spirited youngster responded to his skilled hands and deep voice. She liked watching him work and in a matter of days learned more about horse psychology from him than in all her years of lessons and tutoring. He was also charming and had a quiet sense of humor, which she responded to. They liked the same kind of movies and had read many similar classics. Added in the fact she was so attracted to him, Joley was finding it increasingly difficult to not race into his arms. But she’d promised herself she’d keep her agenda clear. The flight school was all that mattered. Only, it had been days since either of them had mentioned the business. But it was there, under the surface, keeping company with the raw attraction that throbbed between them.

  That night, once the horses were all bedded down, dinner eaten and cleared away, she asked the question that had been on the edge of her tongue all afternoon.

  “Did your wife work the horses with you?”

  He was across the room, lounging on the sofa. “Allyson wasn’t fond of horses.”

  “Did you know that when you asked her to marry you?”