The Rancher's Prospect

by Callie Endicott

  “Are you sure? It’s been a long time since then.”

  “Of course I’m sure,” Josh returned, irritated. “You don’t miss something like that lying around. Nevertheless, I commissioned the geological survey ten years ago and specifically asked them to check for gemstones. They found nothing.”

  Tara’s throaty, sexy laugh almost finished him.

  “Experts miss things all the time. I saw a documentary once about treasure hunters who were looking for emeralds on an old Spanish galleon. In the middle of salvaging the ship, they discovered the rocks they were dumping back in the ocean were really uncut emeralds, each worth thousands of dollars.”

  “That’s different.”

  “Maybe, maybe not.”

  Setting his jaw, Josh sank deeper in the water, his frustration only partially due to her stubbornness.

  “I...” He swallowed. “Your bikini is unusual. It blends with your skin more than any swimsuit I’ve seen before.”

  Tara shrugged. “I visited the Riviera last year with someone who wanted to check out a nude beach. It wasn’t my thing, so I compromised with a bikini that wasn’t too obvious.”

  Perhaps it was his imagination, but her voice seemed to get huskier, as if she might be feeling the same heat he felt surging in his groin.

  “You didn’t object to other people being nude?” he asked.

  “To be honest, I couldn’t stop wondering if the men were using sunscreen on the vulnerable portions of their anatomy.”

  The answer was so unexpected that Josh grinned.

  “I mean, imagine how uncomfortable it would be getting sunburned down there,” Tara added.

  “Ouch.”

  “It sure wouldn’t be romantic,” she murmured, swimming closer. Her eyes darkened as their legs brushed together.

  Slowly he extended his right hand to cup her breast. All the voices of caution in his head were silenced as he slid a finger beneath the thin swimsuit. Her skin was slick with the warm mineral water, and he found the nipple, puckered and firm, nearly driving him insane.

  * * *

  TARA’S BREATHS CAME QUICK and shallow as both of Josh hands grew busy, teasing, coaxing, demanding a response. After a few moments, he pressed his lips to hers.

  The kiss was even better than the one they’d shared at the ranch office. She swayed closer, his erection hard and insistent against her abdomen.

  She reached down for some exploration of her own.

  “Be careful,” he gasped, “or I’ll have the kind of accident I haven’t had since high school.”

  He could have used that line on dozens of women in the past, but at the moment she didn’t care. He unfastened the top of her bikini and tossed it onto the grass.

  In the water her breasts swayed against his muscular chest while his fingers slipped under the bikini bottom to explore and probe. It was a toss-up as to which part of her body was experiencing the most pleasure. The sensations were torturously exquisite. As he tossed the bottom of the suit after the top, she tugged at the band of his boxer shorts, wanting to lose that barrier, as well.

  “I’ve got protection in my wallet,” he gasped.

  Tara hiked an eyebrow. “Why did you bring your wallet up the mountain?”

  “Habit.”

  Mutely, she nodded. He lunged out of the pool and fumbled in his back pocket, extracting a small packet.

  After he rolled the condom over himself, they tumbled to the grass together. In another moment he was inside her, moving slowly, setting a rhythm. Already acutely aroused, her climax came quickly and he finished soon after.

  He lay on top of her, a satisfying weight and a shield against the cool morning air. Nonetheless, Tara quickly wiggled free and returned to the warm water, Josh following close behind. He might have been hoping for a repeat, but she simply washed off bits of grass and leaves before hurriedly dressing. It was time to fix breakfast.

  Tara refused to look at Josh, not wanting to invite conversation, even when she tossed his boxers over a bush to dry. The sex had been good for her, and might improve with repetition. But she didn’t want to hear his evaluation, not when she recalled Pierre’s brutal assessment of her ability to please a man. In light of that, she would have stayed well away from Josh if she’d been thinking clearly.

  It was bad enough that they spent part of each afternoon alone, digging for sapphires while Walt rested. If Josh had any sense, he’d realize she didn’t want to talk about it.

  When she reached the campsite, Tara checked to be sure Walt was still asleep.

  His breaths were slow and deep, so there was little chance he’d gotten up earlier than usual and witnessed what had happened between her and his grandson. She shuddered at the idea.

  They’d come for sapphires, Tara reminded herself. Or more accurately, they’d come for adventure. Sex with Josh had been a different kind of adventure, and it would be silly to regret what had happened, but now it was time to focus on something else.

  * * *

  JOSH FLOATED IN THE warm water, gazing at the sky above him. Tara’s swift departure puzzled him. Why had she seemed so detached?

  Obviously he didn’t understand women any better than other men did. They’d given each other pleasure, and yet she’d immediately behaved as if it hadn’t happened. Of course, his actions after they’d kissed a few weeks ago might be the explanation. Tara could be trying to head off another “I’m not interested in a long-term relationship” declaration from him.

  He wouldn’t dare.

  Tara Livingston was a force to be reckoned with, and she wouldn’t hesitate to point out his hypocrisy. After all, he’d hurried into the mountains for his grandfather’s sake, not to have sex...yet he’d brought a wallet stocked with condoms with him. Bringing it had been habit, but she still might question him carrying protection when he’d claimed he wasn’t socializing that much.

  It wouldn’t do any good to argue that he’d faithfully carried protection ever since his brother had gotten a girl pregnant in high school. Jackson had ensured his younger brother was well supplied with condoms until he was old enough to buy his own—Schuyler being a town where a teenager couldn’t purchase them without rampant gossip ensuing.

  Still, even though making sure his wallet was stocked was automatic, deep down Josh knew he must have hoped for something at some point with Tara. Nor could he deny wanting a second time...or more; something about Tara had crawled under his skin and made him long for more.

  Trying to relax, he closed his eyes and drifted with the eddying currents, letting the minutes flow past.

  He’d forgotten how good it was to get away from everything. Perhaps he should build a small cabin here, either on this side of the ridge or the other where his family had usually camped.

  Unable to resist, he pictured being alone with Tara on the mountain, making love in one of the geothermal pools.

  Impatiently he shook the image from his head. Before long Tara would be heading for points unknown, and he’d be transforming the Boxing N into a top producer of organic beef. He would have to ignore the way she made him want to forget everything except making love.

  A movement caught his eye, and he turned his head. His grandfather stood at the water’s edge, his plaid bathrobe looking somewhat absurd in the wild setting.

  Walt dropped his robe and waded into the water, clad only in his boxers. It was surprising since he’d preferred bathing alone before now. The network of scars on his leg was still red, though some had begun to fade.

  Partway into the warm water, Walt looked up and slapped his thigh. “Don’t look if they bother you.”

  “They don’t, not the way you think. I’m just sorry you’re still in pain.”

  Walt shrugged. “It is what it is. Anyhow, my leg isn’t what hurts the most.”

  T
he buoyancy of the mineral water seemed to soothe his discomfort, and he strode back and forth, bending and lifting his legs in a rhythmic pattern.

  “This place is much better than the therapy pool at the rehab center,” Walt explained.

  “Did you know it was here?” Josh asked.

  “A man knows his own land. I deepened the pool and brought your grandma here every fall.” Grandpa gestured to where water spilled over a rock dam. It appeared natural, but time would have softened its appearance.

  “You took Grandma camping?”

  Walt’s face tightened, and he turned away to continue exercising. His face had closed, an expression Josh was all too familiar with.

  Discouraged, he got out and dressed.

  Back at the campsite he was greeted by the tempting scent of coffee. He hung his towel on a line they’d rigged and went to the fireplace.

  “What’s wrong?” Tara asked. No one could have told from her face that they’d made love less than an hour earlier.

  “I just got shut out again,” Josh told her, following her cue. “Grandpa said something about Grandma Evelyn and I asked more, but he shut me out as usual.”

  “It’s hard for him to talk about her at times,” Tara answered quietly. “The pain goes so deep, I think he keeps everyone else out until he feels strong enough to deal with it again.”

  Josh raised his eyebrows. Tara hadn’t seemed the romantic type. “My grandfather—”

  “I know what you believe about their marriage,” she interrupted. “You probably think it’s crazy for someone like me, who knows so little about family and who hasn’t known Walt long, to think I know better than you do. But from what I’ve seen, the thing that hurts Walt the most isn’t his limp. It’s losing his wife.”

  Josh focused on his coffee, remembering what Grandpa had said at the hot spring pool about his leg not causing him the most pain... Did he mean his wife’s death? The possibility that he’d been wrong about their relationship began to knock at Josh’s brain. He wasn’t sure what he believed any longer.

  He finally looked up at Tara, trying to see beyond the weeks of conflict and frustration between them. From the beginning she’d represented one of his roadblocks to getting the Boxing N in better shape. Sexual attraction had been another complication—Tara wasn’t the kind of woman he’d ever desired, or even liked. The McGregors tended to be a passionate, sociable family, while she was coolly sophisticated.

  But he’d been wrong about her being a roadblock. Tara’s work in the ranch office was unparalleled. He couldn’t have done half the job in twice the time, and he knew it.

  “I’m not sure about anything right now,” he said slowly. “Except that you’ve been good for Grandpa.”

  Pink spots appeared on Tara’s cheeks. “Thank you.” She topped off his coffee cup and sat down with her own, keeping watch on the path to the hot spring pool. “I’m not a people person, but he’s a nice man.”

  “I think you’re more of a people person than you think. You knew what to say to Perry Whitlan at the hospital and you did a great job on the party. Folks in town like you.”

  “They like Lauren,” Tara corrected him. “They’re nice to me because of her. I mean, I don’t make friends, really. It’s my fault—I just don’t let anyone close...” Her voice trailed off, suggesting a vulnerability he had rarely seen in her before.

  “One of those outcomes of childhood?” Josh guessed. “Getting passed around because you were a sick child.”

  Tara shrugged. “Maybe. What happened when I was a kid definitely had an effect, but I take responsibility for what came after.”

  The sound of footsteps approaching was probably as much of a relief to her as it was to him. Tara got up and hurriedly checked on their breakfast.

  Grandpa came into camp, his limp less noticeable than on some days. He eagerly poured himself a cup of coffee and seemed to have a fair amount of energy.

  Although Josh believed the search for sapphires was ridiculous, he was beginning to understand why Tara had thought it was a good idea. Walt had more vitality and his physical recovery seemed to be accelerating. He certainly looked stronger and had better color in his face.

  Josh swirled the contents of his cup, thinking hard.

  He’d accepted that it was too late in the season to initiate a new breeding program; it would have to wait until the following spring. Either way he needed to buy more certified organic cattle. And while there were tasks on the ranch in need of attention, he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on them knowing Grandpa was on Smaug’s Mountain looking for sapphires. His grandfather might be doing better, but there were still risks. So maybe he should throw himself into the search. He could even bring some more food when he returned from getting the payroll done.

  Josh gulped down the rest of his coffee. Life was complicated, especially with Tara Livingston in the mix.

  * * *

  TARA WAS GRATEFUL that Josh hadn’t brought up their encounter at the hot spring pool.

  They ate breakfast and Walt insisted “we men” do the dishes, so Tara headed for the dig site to sift through more rocks and gravel.

  Unfortunately she discovered that peace and quiet couldn’t silence the voices in her head, so she determinedly pictured the photos she’d seen of raw sapphires. For the most part they weren’t impressive. The advice had been to pay attention to anything translucent, colored or glittery.

  Tara sighed, thinking how lovely it would be to find a sapphire. She didn’t own much jewelry, mostly a few tasteful pieces appropriate to wear to work. But she had two pairs of utterly indulgent sapphire earrings. One pair were blue solitaires. The others were long drops with stones in a rainbow progression. The jeweler had explained that sapphires came in all colors, even red—but then they were called rubies. Buying those earrings had been an extravagance, because they weren’t the sort of thing she wore socially or in her professional capacity.

  Perhaps she should get them converted into pendants and give one to Lauren on a gold chain. There had to be someone in Schuyler who could do the work. The jeweler in London would likely scream if he knew—he’d claimed that finding two sets of perfectly matched stones in so many colors had been difficult and expensive—but Tara didn’t care. What was money if it wasn’t used for things that mattered?

  “Find anything?” Walt called, startling her. She hadn’t heard the two men approaching.

  “Not yet.” Tara didn’t know whether or not she truly expected to find sapphires, but Walt had needed an adventure, and that had been good enough for her.

  The morning followed its usual rhythm as they dug, carried and sorted. Walt was optimistic, checking each newly washed set of stones with high expectations, only to cheerfully toss them in the discard pail and turn to the next set.

  Amazingly, Josh no longer seemed to be dragging his feet. Sexual satisfaction might account for the change, but probably not after the way she’d shut him out.

  Honestly, men were something she’d never understand.

  * * *

  A FEW HOURS after lunch, Walt left for his usual rest back at the campsite. Once he was gone, Tara grew nervous, wondering if Josh would think it was an opportunity to “get things out in the open” the way he’d done the first time they’d kissed. But she didn’t want to talk about sex. It wasn’t that she was a prude, but she had to admit that deep down she was a little old-fashioned.

  “We’ve got a good pile by the creek,” she said when they were alone. “Do you want to wash and sort, or dig and carry?”

  “Let’s both wash and sort. Midday sunshine is best for checking the stones, and the two of us can resupply the pile when Grandpa gets back.”

  She’d hoped for separate tasks to help minimize any discussion, only to decide that if Josh was determined to talk, he’d just push until he got his way. Besides, sh
e shouldn’t assume he wanted to bring it up at all...

  “Sure,” she agreed.

  She loaded a screen-bottomed box and dunked it under the small waterfall on the creek. Once, twice, three times and the stones seemed clean enough. So she sat on a log and started hunting, often stopping to admire the river-polished rocks. While not sapphires, they were beautiful in their own right.

  “What are you smiling about?” Josh asked, balancing his own box on his knee and starting to search.

  “I was thinking how beautiful these are, even if they aren’t gems.”

  “True. I’ve collected several to run through my rock tumbler. But this is the first time since I was a teenager that I’ve gone looking for anything except in a rock shop.”

  “A rugged outdoorsman like you? I’d have thought it was natural to dig for your own stuff.”

  “Too busy. I’ve been working cattle ever since college.”

  Tara cocked her head. “I know it didn’t pan out when you tried working with Walt, but why Texas?”

  “I decided learning a different style of ranching was a good idea,” Josh murmured thoughtfully. “My brother worked for years as a ranch hand before getting the Crazy Horse, and it became obvious I should do the same. Of course, it was somewhat different for him. Jackson had to earn his way back from acting like a fool during high school. Great-Uncle Mitch wanted him to prove he was reliable enough to run the Crazy Horse.”

  “Everyone seems to respect Jackson.”

  “Yeah, now. But he and his first wife got married when they were eighteen because Marcy was pregnant. She was a disaster. Much later Jackson found out that he’d gotten another girl pregnant, as well. He and Kayla are married now.”

  “Kayla is the one with dark auburn hair, right?”

  “Right. She’s a huge improvement on his first wife, but she has a business in Seattle, so they spend some of their time in the city. That would drive me nuts.”

  “What a surprise,” Tara commented. “Ranching is your one true love.”

  Josh seemed startled by her description.