by Duncan Leigh
Mike clicked his pen and slid it into his pocket. “And entertainment?” he asked, taking a plate. “What does a gal like yourself do for fun?”
On that note, Colt moved in to disrupt the conversation before their visitors had a chance to entice Emma back to the big city. “You should eat before your food gets cold.” He let his gaze tighten enough to put the man on notice to back off. “The boys’ll have the campfire going if ya’ll want to mosey on outside after.”
Turning to Emma, he asked, “You want to bring the fixin’s for s’mores out in a little bit?” He wasn’t about to leave her alone with these guys. Not for a minute.
Though she gave him a curious look, Emma followed his cue. Claiming she had a kitchen to clean and breakfast preparations to get underway, she left them to their meal. After a dinner that exceeded all its hype, the idea that Emma might one day wish to return to her life in the city weighed heavily on Colt as he joined the men from Beaks and Wings, Josh and several other wranglers at the fire.
“You like what you do?” Colt chose a seat beside Mike. Thanking heaven for a brisk breeze that kept the mosquitoes at bay, he stretched his legs toward the flames.
“Love it.” Mike grabbed a stick and poked the fire. “Next week, we’re headed to Canada. After that, who knows? There’s always a challenge. Like the time we…”
While the reporter launched into a story, Colt drummed his fingers on the log. Not too long ago, he’d always been on the go, too. But his ideas for the future had changed as his feelings for Emma had deepened. Now he could think of nothing better than settling down with her. Together they’d make a home for Bree. He looked up just as Mike finished regaling Josh with a story about the trials and tribulations of wildlife photography.
“Easy for you to say.” Bravado glowed from Dave’s face. “I didn’t see you skinning a tree over a gorge in order to get the shot of that bald eagle.”
“Good thing Florida doesn’t have cliffs.” Josh laughed and slapped his leg. “What we do have—we have roseate spoonbills and more ibis than you can shake a stick at. If we head out before sunrise in the morning, I promise you’ll get your cover picture for your magazine.”
Wanderlust filled the kid’s eyes. Colt wondered how long before the boy struck out, aiming to make his own way in the world.
“Before daybreak, you say? That’d be, what, four-thirty? Five o’clock?” At Josh’s nod, their two guests stood. “Guess we’ll turn in,” said Mike.
“You won’t stay for the s’mores?” Colt rose to his feet.
Dave patted his stomach. “After all that good food tonight, I won’t be hungry for a week.” He turned to face Colt. “She ever opens her own place, you let me know, man. I’ll make a standing reservation at her restaurant.”
“It’s a shame she’s stuck out here where no one will realize how talented she is,” Mike added with a sorrowful look. “You know, she could practically name her own price at any restaurant in Miami or Atlanta. They’d climb all over themselves to get her in their kitchens.”
“She’ll appreciate hearing you think so highly of her,” Colt responded, though the remarks sent a tremor of self-doubt down his spine. The guys made it sound as if, no matter how much Emma loved the Circle P—or him—she’d eventually regret not making a name for herself somewhere else.
But that wasn’t true, was it? Another shiver ran through him at the realization that, one way or another, he’d find out soon enough.
“Long day.” Emma stretched, working the kinks out of her back after a day filled with the kind of nervous tension she hadn’t experienced since leaving New York. Very aware of the brooding male presence beside her, the one who hadn’t taken her into his arms the moment she joined him at the fire, she spread her fingers to absorb warmth from the flames.
“What did you think about dinner?” She hated having to drag it out of him, but she couldn’t wait another minute.
“It was good.” Colt’s shoulders rose and fell in a shrug that was anything but careless.
“But…”
“But I thought you were going to lay off all the frills and stuff.”
She folded her arms across her chest. She’d worked extra hard to provide a memorable meal. And, from the comments Mike had made, she’d hit her mark. “Asking me to serve plain food, that’s kind of like asking a bull rider not to wave his hat.”
The analogy got Colt’s attention just as she’d known it would. “I scored that meal a ninety-three.”
According to what she’d learned about bull riding, a ninety-three would take home the prize purse. “High praise from a man who once protested every change.”
Colt had softened his stance on tradition, developed a willingness to try new things. Not that he was the only one. She had a deeper appreciation for the customs that turned a house into a home, a piece of property into a heritage to be passed from one generation to another. She grinned up at him when he turned toward her. His blue eyes probed her own.
“You been studying up on rodeo, have you?” A smile played at the corners of his lips.
“I might have caught a few episodes on ESPN,” she admitted. “Some of those cowboys are h-o-t.” She fanned herself.
A large helping of green-eyed envy mixed with the humor in Colt’s eyes. “Never thought of you as a buckle bunny.”
“A what?” She laughed and prodded a muscular bicep.
“You don’t even want to know.” Colt cleared his throat. “Mike and Dave suggested your talents were wasted on the Circle P. That you could do better somewhere else.”
“I’ve had offers,” she admitted. After ruining the Circle P’s cookbook, she’d circulated her résumé. A four-star in Fort Lauderdale had offered full control of their kitchen, plus a nice salary bump.
“But I like it here.” She gestured toward the darkness beyond the fire. When Colt slung one arm across her shoulders, she peered up at him, batting her lashes like a doe-eyed schoolgirl. “If I’d known you back then, would I have been jealous?”
“Nah.” Colt rested his chin atop her head while they watched the fire. “Some of the guys, they knocked boots with every filly that gave them a come-hither look. Me, I never saw the appeal in all that casual sex. There were women—I’m not a saint. But I reckon I hadn’t found the right one.”
He paused then, his arm slipping around her waist while his long fingers possessed her from hip to breast, exactly the way she wanted. So softly, she almost missed it, he whispered, “I have now, though.”
“You trying to say something, cowboy?” She snuggled closer.
“Yeah, I guess I am. I love you, Emma Shane. I want us to be together.”
Tears stung her eyes. She blinked them back. She’d known from the moment Colt stepped in front of her, shielding his mom from the truth about the ruined cookbook, that underneath his gruff exterior, he hid a soft, tender heart. One she could love.
Her feelings had deepened with every second they’d spent together over the past month, every kindness he’d shown Bree. At some point—she couldn’t pinpoint when exactly—she’d realized she’d fallen head over heels for this man, though she’d been reluctant to say the words until she knew for certain he felt the same way.
Free to finally confess her own feelings, she exhaled slowly. “I love you, too, Colt Judd. More than I ever thought possible.”
She squared around, her focus locked on the flames reflected in his eyes as he slowly bent toward her. The kisses he feathered across her forehead were entirely unsatisfactory. She longed to have his lips on hers, and tipped her face to his. Still, he hovered over her, teasing her with his breath, his closeness. Just when she thought she couldn’t possibly wait another second, he leaned in for a kiss.
He tasted of vanilla with a touch of caramel that brought another round of tears to her eyes. Their tongues danced, and she twined her hands around his neck. She brushed her fingers through his hair, smiling as she recalled his insistence that the silky strands were in need of a trim. She inhal
ed. A feeling that she’d finally arrived slipped over her as she drank in a blend of sun and grass and Colt’s own scent.
When he eased beneath the hem of her shirt, she gasped at the feel of his work-roughened hands against her bare skin. Each hard ridge, each callus, stirred sensations she’d never known before as he trailed his fingers over her waist. One by one, he climbed her ribs while her breasts tightened in anticipation. It had been so long—too long—since she’d felt a man’s touch, and she gave herself over to the pleasure of each caress, reveling at being in the arms of the one she loved.
Soon, though, even that wasn’t enough. Not by far. The urge to touch, to feel his skin pressed against hers, grew so insistent she ran her fingers over Colt’s thin T-shirt. Her heart pounding, she traced a seam to his belt and tugged. Her breath grew shallow, and she moaned his name when she finally pressed her hand against the hard planes of his wide chest.
She froze, gasping, when the screened door of the bunkhouse squeaked open. With a raspy thud, a log collapsed into the fire. It sent up a shower of sparks. Not fifty feet from where they sat, the door slapped shut. Boots scuffed across the dry grass as she and Colt stifled giggles while they hurried to straighten their clothes.
“Mr. Colt. Ms. Emma.” Josh stepped out of the shadows, his bedroll in his arms. “Thought I’d stay out here tonight. Keep an eye on the fire. I probably won’t sleep anyway. I’m too worked up about tomorrow. Ms. Emma, we havin’ breakfast tomorrow? That dinner tonight was mighty fine, but I got a powerful hankering for your biscuits.”
Emma used the time while Josh rambled to steady her breath.
“What time, Josh?” she said, smiling at a secret joke. She’d set Doris’s blue tins aside lately in order to perfect her own biscuit-making technique. The ones she produced were lighter and fluffier. Better yet, the ranch hands craved them.
“Early.” Colt cleared his throat. “Josh says we need to hit the trail before first light in order to see the spoonbills when they take off.”
“I bet that’s something.” She tried to imagine thousands of birds taking to the air at one time, and failed.
“You should come with us, Ms. Emma. You won’t regret it, I swear.” Josh unfurled his bedroll a short distance from the fire.
She checked with Colt, who nodded his approval. “Okay, then, I think I will.” She eyed the young man whose presence had brought an abrupt end to Colt’s kisses. “I’ll need to get to bed, though, if I’m going to have things ready in the morning.”
Colt stood, pulling her to her feet along with him. “Guess we’ll leave you to it, Josh.” His arm around her waist, he took a couple of steps toward the bunkhouse before he turned back to the boy. “Good job today.”
The kid shrugged. “I had a great time. Mike and Dave, they seemed like they liked it, too.”
“You know, if these birding tours are a hit, guiding them might turn into a permanent job for you.”
“No more herding cattle?” The kid looked up, his eyes alight.
“Well, now. I wouldn’t go quite that far.” A deep chuckle bubbled out of Colt’s chest. “We are a cattle ranch, after all.”
“I reckon I could live with that.” Josh plopped down on the bedroll, one arm crooked behind his head. “Night, Mr. Colt.”
“Good night, Josh.”
Emma leaned into Colt. “That was a nice thing you just did,” she whispered once they were beyond earshot.
“From my dad’s notes, I knew he worried about the boy. Luke, too. He’s young and hasn’t exactly fit in on the Circle P. It’s good to know we have a place for him.” At the door, he paused before his eyes met hers. “You, too. I hope you’ll make this your home.”
“I’d like that,” Emma breathed, amazed at how things had changed since the day she and Bree had driven onto the ranch to find themselves in the middle of a funeral.
Not that long ago, she’d been sure she wouldn’t last any longer on the Circle P than ice in a glass of sweet tea. As for finding the love of her life, well, Colt hadn’t even been on her radar. But who knew that beneath all his bluster and endless moving around lived a man who wanted the same things she did—love, family and roots?
She leaned her back against the door. In a move that made her heart do a happy little dance, Colt propped one arm over her head. He bent to plunder her lips, drawing back far sooner than she wanted him to.
“If I asked to come inside…” he breathed.
“I’d ask what you were waiting for.”
Gold flecks heated the look he gave her. “You don’t know how much I want that, but not here. Not now.” The look he swung down the hall took in the rooms on either side of hers, rooms occupied by their guests.
“Sarah and Luke are due home next week. What say we get away for a while once they’re back? I know of a real nice B&B in Saint Augustine. We could spend the weekend—” he traced one finger along her cheek “—get to know one another a lot better.”
“A weekend?” Though his touch sent little shivers of pleasure racing down her spine, her heart thudded. Going away with Colt sounded like something this side of heaven, but she wanted more than a casual fling. She had to know if he did, too. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“Girl, I love you. More than the air I breathe. You mean more to me than all the gold buckles I earned on the rodeo. I want you in my life. You and Bree.”
If it was commitment she was looking for, he’d delivered it. They kissed then, a kiss filled with promises that they’d fulfill another day. But later, as she tossed and turned on the narrow bunk, Emma wondered if she’d made the right choice. Oh, she and Colt loved each other. No doubt about that. But the owners of the Circle P might not be nearly so forgiving about the ruined cookbook or the other changes she’d brought to the ranch. She worried a fingernail, concerned that she might be out of a job the minute Luke and Sarah arrived back home.
And then what? Could she and Colt make their relationship work if she had to leave?
The answer still eluded her when the alarm beeped. Downstairs in the serviceable bunkhouse kitchen, she pushed aside her worries to focus on the job at hand. She was up to her elbows in biscuit dough when Colt tiptoed into the room carrying his boots. He paused only long enough for a kiss, but that was enough. It settled her nerves and swept away the vestiges of doubt.
While she slid trays into the oven, he headed out the door to help Josh saddle the horses. Boots thundered on the stairs by the time she plucked hot-from-the-oven biscuits off trays and slid them into insulated cases. She poured coffee into to-go cups while giving instructions on the rest of the breakfast preparations to a sleepy-eyed Tim.
Outside, the horses stomped their hooves. Their lips fluttered as they blew air like impatient old ladies while the riders mounted up. Confident in her new skills on horseback, thanks to the lessons Colt had given her, Emma swung into the saddle with an easy grace. The first streaks of pale light brightened the horizon as they set off.
The clear, cool air swept the cobwebs from Emma’s head better than the strongest cup of coffee. Riding alongside Colt made it easy to chalk her restless night up to useless worry.
Just as the sun climbed over the horizon, Josh reined his horse to a stop on a narrow beach at the edge of a lake that stretched as far as she could see. While Dave scrambled to the ground, camera in hand, Emma cast a wary eye along the shore, looking for alligators.
“Relax,” Colt’s voice whispered out of the darkness. “The horses’ll let us know if we have anything to worry about.”
She didn’t have a moment more to think about it. Frogs and gators croaked from the dark water, sounding for all the world like a convention of heavy smokers. The sun rose higher. The moment its rays glinted off the lake’s surface, thousands of birds stretched their wings. A whooshing sound filled the air as they took flight, their huge pink wings turning the sky a vibrant coral. Feathers drifted in their wake. One floated in front of Emma. She snagged it and put it in her pocket for Bree.
/> Josh waited until the last bird winged its way out of sight before he cleared his throat. “This is just a hint of what we have every winter. Imagine that,” he told no one in particular.
“It worked for me. You’ve outdone yourself, Josh.” Mike’s hushed tones drifted over the empty water. “You get the shot, Dave?”
“You betcha! That was awesome. Worth getting up for.”
Emma tried to picture the astounding sight magnified tenfold and failed. She glanced around at the saw grass and palmetto revealed by the rising sun. Suddenly, she knew she’d found a home amid all the stark beauty.
More than anything, she wanted to spend the rest of her life here. Raise her daughter here. Grow old with Colt here. Sure there were challenges. Things to learn and dangers to avoid. But she could trust Colt to keep her and her child safe. Just as, for the first time in her life, she felt certain she’d found the one person she could trust with her heart.
Chapter Twelve
A frown tugged at one corner of Colt’s mouth as he pulled a battered suitcase from beneath the bed. Empty stock pens and a last-minute scramble to fill them for last week’s rodeo in Tulsa had prompted a flurry of emails from the PBR. Their latest promised everything from first-class accommodations to a retirement plan if he’d come back to his old job.
While he couldn’t deny the ego boost, he shook his head. He was staying put. Buying his own place. Setting up house. With Emma, if she’d have him. In the meantime, though, the Parkers’ return meant he’d run out of excuses for staying on at the main house. He stacked clothes from the dresser into the suitcase until a soft whine snagged his attention.
“This is Chocolate.” Bree stood in the doorway struggling to hold on to one of Maize’s puppies.
“Did you name him that?” Colt swept a hand over the top shelf of the closet, making sure he hadn’t missed anything.
“Uh-huh. ’Cause he’s brown. Like chocolate.” The puppy clambered to lick her face. “Whatcha doing?”