She and Walt drew rein not far from the plane. The old foreman dismounted but said nothing. Both men looked at her.
At a loss, she figured she ought to be outraged by Zach’s audacity.
“What were you thinking—landing square in the middle of the pasture?” Arabella demanded, sounding more indignant than she really felt. “You could have killed yourself or some of the stock.”
Zach glanced over at a few lazy head of cattle grazing not far away. “They don’t seem as upset as you are. I told you I was a pilot. How do you like the little beauty I parlayed the rest of my winnings into?”
She spared the older-model red-and-white Cessna a quick glance. “I’m sure it’ll come in handy.”
“I hope so.”
His smile tightened the strings about her heart.
“But what are you doing here so soon?”
“I own this place, remember?” He shot an appraising glance up toward the big house on the hill. “Thought it was time I came to have a look around.”
Walt turned his back on Zach and began to mount.
“Walt, wait,” Arabella cried. “This is Zachary Richards. He...he’s the new owner of Heartbreak Ranch.”
“So I heard.” Walt nodded at Zach, who smiled in return. “I figure I’ll be seeing enough of him as it is. You better show him around without me, Arabella.” Without sparing Zach or her another glance, Walt headed back toward the corral.
“Zach, listen, Walt’s really a wonderful man. He’s run this place for years, so I hope you don’t hold his rude exit against him. It’s just that—”
Zach shook his head. “I know how he must be feeling. It hurts to lose something you love, doesn’t it, Bell?”
Avoiding his gaze, she looked out over the meadow, toward the hills she had ridden over so many times in the past. “Yes, yes it does.”
His smile faded. “How about that tour? I’ve only got a few hours, then I have to get back to Vegas.”
A few hours? She had to work fast. This was what she had waited and planned for. But now, face-to-face with Zach, she suddenly had terrible doubts.
What if he didn’t respond to her aromatic seduction? What if she was wrong and should have chosen another chapter in the journal? What if he laughed at her, scorned her? What if nothing on earth could make him want her again?
“Well?” he prodded.
He was waiting for her to do something, say something, but all she could do was sit there on her horse and stare down at him. He was wearing faded jeans, boots and an open-necked shirt. A dark lock of hair fell across his forehead in an incredibly sexy curl. She swallowed hard.
If Bella says I can do this, then I can, she told herself. She would just have to brazen things out.
* * *
ZACH WAS STUNNED by the difference only a few days at the ranch had made in Arabella. He had been concerned enough about what losing the place might do to her that he’d flown down to make sure she was all right. Now that he was here, he could see there was an openness about her that hadn’t been there before, a glow in her eyes coupled with a confidence that wasn’t all false bravado. She truly was at home here. She looked as if she could take on the world again.
They had reached the sprawling white ranch house and she was telling him something about his needing to paint when she opened the door, branded with a broken heart, and a huge white dog came bounding up. The dog nearly knocked him down. “Whoa,” Zach said, laughing. He looked up at Arabella. “Does he come with the place?”
The dog barked joyously and licked Zach’s hand. Arabella scratched the traitor’s head. “Definitely not. This is Toddy and he’s mine.”
“I never figured you to be a dog lover,” Zach said, studying her carefully.
For the first time since he’d found her again, her dynamite smile lit up her face. “Come on in, I’ll show you the house.”
It was strange, but the minute they walked through the door he felt immediately at home. Toddy ran ahead and then back, to be certain they were following, as Arabella led Zach from room to room, telling him about each one, letting him linger at each window to take in the varied, spectacular views.
Finally, they came to her own room. He indicated the scandalous painting of a nude on the wall.
“I saw that in your apartment. It’s not you, is it?” He squinted and peered close. The likeness was uncanny, but the oils had a yellow cast that only came with time.
“You think it could be?” she wondered, sounding almost coy.
“There’s a definite likeness.”
“That’s Bella, my great-great-great-grandmother.”
“Some grandmother!”
He walked around the room, his gaze drifting hungrily to her bed. It didn’t take much of an imagination to picture the two of them together tangled in the sheets, but it was going to take plenty of patience, and more than a little explaining, to wind up in bed with her again. He hoped he still had a chance.
It was past the time he had set for himself to leave, but whenever he mentioned taking off again, Arabella would suggest they tour the new barn. She was getting to sound like a broken record. A barn was just a barn, wasn’t it?
“It’s past time I leave,” he told her, glancing over to the meadow to where his plane sat waiting.
“There’s a lot more you haven’t seen,” she told him. “You really, really, really should see the new barn.”
“If I don’t get out of here while it’s still light, I’ll have to spend the night.” He watched her closely, waiting for an argument, but she appeared distracted as she stared off toward the barn.
“It won’t take long,” she promised eagerly. “I think you’ll find it interesting.”
“I’ve seen barns before, Arabella.”
“I want to show you the tack room before it gets too late.”
She had already started off across the road, headed for what appeared to be a shining new aluminum structure. Zach sighed and hurried to catch up.
* * *
IT WAS TIME. Arabella wasn’t going to accept any more delays. Already the sun was sinking behind the outbuildings as she led Zach up to the barn.
Sliding open the heavy aluminum doors, she gestured for Zach to go first. After leading him past rows of stalls and agricultural equipment, she stopped at the door to the tack room.
“This barn is state-of-the-art,” she said. “You should be pleased to have it.”
“Listen, Bell—”
“My dad’s roping saddle is in here,” she said. “You should see it.”
“I’ve seen saddles before, too.”
“Not like this. This one’s really wonderful. Good leather and, um, stitching. Great, uh, stirrups.” She ushered him inside and closed the door. Behind her back, she silently turned the lock.
“Hey. It’s dark in here,” he protested.
“I’ll get the light.” She flipped the switch but the room was barely lit by the low-wattage bulb. As it warmed, the essential oils drifted out.
“Oh, that’s not enough light, is it? You can’t
really see the saddle very well. Here.” With a hand that shook, she lit several candles she had made herself, using Bella’s ingredients. Their delicious aroma soon wafted about the room. She prayed they weren’t too obvious, but she wanted to inundate him with scents. If her plan was to work, she had to practically suffocate him with her fragrances.
“Candles in a barn?” he asked skeptically, studying the saddle.
“It’s aluminum, don’t worry. This barn won’t burn.” Turned away from him, she put her finger into a bowl of dried flower petals, stirring up the scents. Then, facing him, she loosened the neckline of her Western shirt, and tied a liberally doused red handkerchief around her neck. “Zach, I wanted to thank you for something. You were right. I...have been escaping my problems.”
“I know.” He blinked. “What’s that smell?”
She waved her hand, anxious to divert him. “Oh, the candles are sort of scented.”
She edged toward him until she was standing very close. “Just Egyptian rose, rose Maroc and a little Turkish rose.”
“Hmm, it’s fantastic.” He took a deep breath and his gaze dropped to her breasts. She could feel her nipples responding to his avid perusal, stiffening against the light denim of her shirt. “Where’d you get the...uh...candles?”
“Here and there,” she answered vaguely, not about to tell him. “You like the saddle?”
He turned his head to glance at her and said politely, “Yeah, sure.” Then he added, “It’s double-cinched, that’s good. And the high swells make long hours on horseback more comfortable.”
She’d almost forgotten his country background. But she realized she really didn’t want him focusing on the saddle. She wanted him focusing on her. Taking one of his hands, she massaged the palm. “Zach,” she whispered, “I’ve missed you.”
He blinked at her, and when another whiff of the mysterious scent drifted by, his eyes went a little fuzzy. “I missed you, too, Bell.”
At his admission, her heart leaped into her throat. “Did you? Oh, Zach, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, leaving you—both in Monte Carlo and in Vegas, but I was so afraid.”
Around them floated warm currents of heady fragrance. Arabella reached a hand toward the lamp, flicking it off. The room was bathed in a golden glow from the candlelight.
He shrugged. “Vegas wasn’t the same after you left. All the life went out of the town when you did.”
Arabella smiled tremulously. It was one of the most arousing declarations she’d ever heard. With slow steps, she backed toward the small bed, tugging him with her. “Maybe we could try again?”
He nodded, gaze unfocused. “That fragrance. It makes me—” He pulled her into his arms. “I want you, Bell. You smell so damn good.”
“And I want you, Zach. I’ve always wanted you, but I was afraid to follow my heart.”
“Afraid of what?”
“Of loving you too much and losing you.” She ran her hands through his hair. “Kiss me,” she demanded, sinking onto the bed.
Eagerly, he followed. “You’re always so bossy, Bell,” he teased. “Say please.”
He unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off his magnificent shoulders. She smiled.
“Please,” she whispered.
His hands worked on her own buttons, then went to her naked breasts.
She hesitated, looking down at his hands as he cupped her. “They’re not as big as Lily’s.”
“Whose?”
“When I saw you together in the café, I thought you were falling for her.”
“That little scene in the lounge?” He worked her jeans off until she lay gloriously naked. All that remained was the red handkerchief tied at her throat. “I was desperate to get any kind of a rise out of you, Bell. I even thought making you jealous with Lily might work. I don’t care about her. I never even touched her. All we ever shared was a plate of buffalo wings.” He kissed her again. “I love you, dammit. I’ve loved you since the day I first laid eyes on you.”
“Oh, Zach, I love you, too.” Arabella let her head fall back as Zach kissed along the line of her throat. The candlelight danced against the walls, played over their entwined bodies. Tendrils of scented smoke wafted around them. He left her long enough to tear off his jeans and then he moved over her and nibbled her ear.
“Zach,” she whispered, “do you suppose you could do that thing with your lips and teeth?”
His grin was white and very male in the candlelight. Moving his mouth down her body, he asked, “Like this?”
Arabella moaned, already lost in a heady swirl of sensuality and love.
* * *
EROTICALLY NAKED beneath the covers, Arabella nuzzled Zach’s neck. Her head was cradled on his shoulder, their limbs entwined. The candles she’d arranged around the room had burned down, but not out. The teasing, aromatic scents still lingered in the air of the tack room.
“Can you tell me now, Bell?”
“Tell you what?” She traced his lips with her fingertips.
“Why you ran. I don’t want any more secrets between us.”
She stared at him. She had come home and faced her fears and memories and now they were behind her; it was time she told him all of it.
“My parents died when I was sixteen. There used to be an old wooden barn. Daddy always said he was going to tear it down and replace it with a modern aluminum structure. He said the old one was a fire hazard, said it was dangerous. He said somebody was going to get killed in there.” The telling of it still hurt, but now it was a bittersweet ache, not a terrifying, soul-shattering nightmare.
A beat of time passed. “The barn fire took them both?” Zach stroked her bare shoulder.
“Mother ran in after Daddy when he wouldn’t leave the horses inside to die. They were trapped—” She shuddered, but he was holding her so close, she felt his warmth seep into her. “I saw my mother run into the barn after Daddy, heard her screams. Walt held me back. It was hell, watching the fire, knowing they would never walk out of there alive. When it was over, I was in shock. They said I was traumatized. I was in and out of hospital therapy for two years and never came back to the ranch at all. When I was eighteen, I checked myself out of the hospital and took off on my own.”
“That’s when you started gambling?”
“That’s right. It was the one skill I had outside of ranching and, luckily, I was real good at it. I wanted to leave every memory of my life here and the tragedy behind.”
He placed his hand beneath her chin, raised it until he could look into her eyes. “God, Bell. You were so young to have suffered so much.”
“When I fell in love with you in Monte Carlo, it all came back. The love, the loss. I don’t know how to explain. All I know is that faced with the intense feelings that I had for you, I panicked and ran. Have you really forgiven me, Zach?”
His smile was heartbreakingly sweet. “Marry me and I’ll spend the rest of my life assuring you that I have.”
“I’ll hold you to it,” she said, smiling up into his eyes through unshed tears, “every day of my life.”
“Bell, there’s something I’ve got to tell you now, something that you have to know.”
She laid her hand over his heart and felt it beating sure and strong. “You can tell me anything.”
“I never intended to keep Heartbreak Ranch for myself. I won it for you.”
Arabella raised herself on an elbow so that she could look him square in the eye. “What are you talking about?”
“You were playing like hell during the big game. You couldn’t have beaten a five-year-old at a game of hopscotch that night. I could see what was happening, knew you stood in danger of losing the ranch. That was when I knew I had to beat you and everyone else just to get hold of the deed to give it back to you. Sam helped me win for you, Bell. After all, you’re his descendant as well as Bella’s. He wanted the ranch kept in the family.”
She shook her head, astonished. “You used Sam Heart’s advice to help win the ranch for me? That’s unbelievable.” She smiled, then laughed. “And it’s wonderful. Bella would have loved it.”
“Bella? The one with the nice tush in the portrait?” He kissed her soundly and gave her a swat on the bare bottom in the bargain. “I’m hungry,” he said suddenly.
“You’re always hungry.”
“This time for food.” He gave her a mock leer, slipped out of bed and stretched. “It’s dark outside. What do you say I sneak back to the house and grab us a plate of chicken or something?”
Arabella couldn’t bear to be parted from him, even for a few minutes. She threw his boxer shorts at him and drew on a silk wrapper she’d hidden earlier. “We’ll go together.”
They held hands, scampering and laughing like naughty teenagers all the way across the yard and into the deserted house. Thankfully, everyone had retired, and they made
it unnoticed. In the living room, Zach paused to gather Arabella into his arms and give her a long, luxurious kiss.
Arabella sighed, allowing him to lead her toward the kitchen. But when they were almost there, a creaky floorboard upstairs caught their attention. The house abruptly felt cold.
Zach and Arabella stilled and watched as a smoky mist took shape at the top of the stairs, and another at the bottom.
Bella Duprey, Queen of the Courtesans, stepped forward and paused at the top of the stairs. She wore a red velvet gown that hugged her impressive figure. She took the stairs slowly, regally, until she reached the middle landing. Then, she stopped and looked over the railing at the wavering vision below.
“Sam,” she whispered. He was wearing the same checkered wool suit and gold brocade vest he’d worn that night so long ago.
Arabella gasped and clutched Zach. He put an arm around her and pulled her close to his side. They watched.
“Bella,” came the masculine voice. “It’s been a long time, but you’re just as I remember you. Beautiful as ever.”
“You always were a flatterer, Sam.”
“I was also a fool. Listen, Bella, I admit I had plans to humiliate you—but those plans took a turn I could never have guessed. You see, my dear, while I was busy wooing you, I was falling in love with you. I never should have made that bet. I...wasn’t going to go through with it.” He put his foot on the first stair.
“And I’ve always regretted what I did to you,” Bella said, emotion in her voice. She stepped down off the landing.
“What do you say we put it all behind us and start anew?” Sam suggested, taking another step up.
“I say...I love you, Sam Heart, for all eternity.” Grabbing her skirt, Bella flew down the stairs and into her lover’s arms.
Below them, Zach smiled in masculine appreciation and Arabella sighed.
And then, a strange and wonderful thing happened.
The broken-heart brand burned into the front door slowly cleaved together.
* * * * *
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