Their gazes met for a brief moment. He couldn’t read what was in those beautiful eyes before she clapped her hands. “Now that we’re all here, Jenny and Johnny want to eat now and then play. So, everyone, please be seated and we’ll let the festivities begin. The decorations were all her idea.” Everyone cheered. “We want the birthday boy to sit up here by the cake.”
“Yay!” Johnny cried, and scrambled to the table covered in red paper with white number sevens that they’d cut out and pasted on it.
Jenny sat opposite him. “Come and sit by me, Buck.” There was a light in her eyes that touched his heart. In a very short time he’d learned to love Alex’s granddaughter. Nothing thrilled him more than to play substitute daddy to her. It occurred to him then that it would be easy to do so on a permanent basis.
Alex served the pizza and drinks. His sideward glance took in her profile and incredible figure. He had to hold back from grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into his lap so he could kiss the daylights out of her.
The discussion centered on the drive to the pasture and the calves. Carson wanted to know if Jenny had seen a blue-eyed one. That question prompted another discussion about the rarity of a calf being born with eyes that color. Pretty soon it came time for the dessert. Alex took the cake out of the box. A plastic figure had been set on it inside a minicorral. The frosted wording read Happy 7th Birthday, Johnny.
The boy’s smile was so wide, there was no more room for expansion. “It’s a cowboy with a pony like mine!”
Alex lit the red candles. “Okay—make a wish.”
He closed his eyes. “I wish Jenny and Alex could stay on the ranch forever!”
Buck stopped breathing.
Johnny blew out the candles in one go. The silence was deafening.
“Hey, sport,” Carson murmured, “in the future, remember you’re supposed to keep your wish a secret.”
“How come?”
“It might not come true if you say it out loud.”
“But I didn’t want it to be a secret.”
Buck watched Alex cut pieces of cake for everyone. He noticed her hands tremble as she passed the plates around. Johnny could have no idea how deeply his words had penetrated.
“Okay, sweetheart,” Alex said. “Start bringing his presents over.”
Jenny slipped off the bench and found one in the pile wrapped in white paper with gold ribbon. “I want you to open mine first.”
With cake icing clinging to the edge of his mouth, Johnny eagerly unwrapped the gift and pulled out a T-shirt with a snake on it. “Look, mom, it says Fred’s Dad.”
Everyone roared with laughter, including Buck.
“I don’t believe it,” Tracy blurted. “You couldn’t have gotten him anything more perfect!”
“Yep.” Carson nodded. “That tops anything I’ve seen.”
“It was my granddaughter’s brainchild, not mine.”
Everyone was still laughing as Jenny brought Johnny his next gift. “This is from Nana.”
“A box of caps!” he cried, after he’d torn off the paper. “I can shoot my gun two hundred times! Thanks, Alex!”
That set everyone off again. Soon he’d opened all the presents.
Just when Buck thought the fun was over, Alex made an announcement. “I have one more surprise. Jenny—there’s another bag with some gifts. Will you get them?”
Her cute face beamed as she did her grandmother’s bidding. To Buck’s surprise, she handed one to him. Then she pulled out the other one. “Hey—this is for me!”
“That’s right.”
They were wrapped in that same white paper with gold ribbon. When Buck opened his, he discovered a red T-shirt with the words Teton Valley Ranch Water Fight Champions printed on it in white.
He pinned Alex with his gaze. She’d remembered that night and had gone to the trouble to get them a prize before she’d even returned to the ranch. His heart beat unnaturally fast while Jenny tore hers open and lifted out the same T-shirt with a cry of delight.
“I love it, Nana!”
“So do I, Nana,” he half whispered.
She lowered her eyes. “You two deserved a prize.”
“Did you hear that, sport?” Carson turned to Johnny. “We’re declaring a rematch before this weekend is over!”
“Yeah. And this time we’ll win!”
* * *
“THE GUYS HAVE gone to play with the kids. Let me help you clean up.”
“Thanks, Tracy, but you don’t have to. It’s my turn.”
“I want to. Except for the time I told Johnny I loved Carson, I’ve never seen my son this happy. Your presence has brought a new element into Johnny’s life. His cousin was here a few weeks ago and they had a wonderful time, but Johnny has changed. He loves this ranch and is going in a different direction from Cory. You don’t know what this means to Carson. He so desperately wants Johnny to be happy here.”
“Carson’s an exceptional man. Johnny adores him.”
“I keep telling him that, but deep inside he still has some demons to conquer. And then along came Jenny. I guess what I’m trying to say is that Johnny has found a new life here and really feels it’s his home. He wants everyone else to love it, too.”
Alex’s eyes smarted. “Jenny couldn’t wait to come back. She’s been happier than I’ve seen her in several years. Her friendship with Johnny is very sweet. When your husband and his partners were inspired to do such a noble thing, they couldn’t have known how deeply their goodness would affect the children. The fatherless kids of the world need more selfless men like the daddies on this dude ranch.”
They stared at each other. “It’s true.”
She nodded. “I wish my daughter could have been the one to bring Jenny.”
“Your pain must be terrible at times.”
“In the beginning, yes, but time has brought healing. Jenny’s my joy.”
“So’s my son, who has a terrible habit of running his mouth when he shouldn’t. I’m trying to work on that with him. He mentioned you’re...not getting married. I hope that decision has made life better for you.”
“It definitely has. I didn’t love Frank the way I should, and Jenny never took to him.”
“Then I’m happy for you.”
“Thank you.” But now Alex had a new problem because Jenny liked Buck too much.
As for Alex’s feelings for him... She looked around. “Why don’t I help you take his presents and the rest of the cake to your car? Then we can go in and watch the kids until they’re completely worn out and want to go home.”
“That’s so nice of you. Do you mind if Jenny sleeps over again tonight? Johnny begged me to ask you.”
“She begged me, too. Do we have a choice?”
“Not with those two.”
Once they’d taken everything out to Carson’s SUV, they went back inside. Tracy gave Alex an impish look. “That giant slide looks fun. Shall we try it?”
“Why not?” She’d just seen Johnny go down it between Carson’s legs, followed by Jenny between Buck’s. Ross didn’t seem to be around. Being a Saturday night, he probably had plans with a woman.
Alex hurried up the steps behind Tracy. The kids saw them and waved. Alex sat and pushed off. Buck was there to catch her as she reached the bottom and helped her to her feet. The contact caused a jolt of electricity to run through her.
When their eyes met, she saw the unmistakable glaze of desire in his and reali
zed he’d been affected, too. The change in him from earlier in the day confused her.
His hand closed over hers almost possessively. “Come on,” he said in a husky voice. “Let’s you and I go down together this time. You first.”
The kids had already gone up again. Shaking like a leaf from his touch, Alex started up the steps once more, aware of him right behind her. When they reached the top, he sat first and pulled her down in front of him, encasing her legs with his. Hunger for him licked through her veins as his strong arms slid around her waist. The feel of his well-defined chest against her back sent shivers through her.
“Ready?” he whispered the word against her neck where his lips grazed the skin.
She nodded, unable to speak.
“Do you have any idea how wonderful you smell?”
A gasp escaped her throat before he pushed off. As they flew down the chute, she realized that without a doubt she was wildly in love for the second time in her life. No longer a witless teenager who hadn’t yet experienced life, she was a fully grown woman who knew exactly what she wanted. How deep the feelings of this bachelor ran for her, she didn’t know. But the chemistry was there and couldn’t be denied. He wanted her. And I want him. She couldn’t blame this on widow’s hormones, because she’d never been a widow, never been married and was never going to be.
At the bottom of the slide, Jenny begged Buck to go down with her again. It was fine with Alex, who stood watching in a daze. Her mind harked back to high school. There’d been chemistry between her and Kyle and she’d let it take over.
Now here she was again twenty-four years later, in danger of making the same mistake again with a man who only had to touch her to turn her insides to liquid. Was this to be the pattern of her life? Make love with a man once every quarter of a century?
She needed to decide what she intended to do. Tonight Jenny would be sleeping over at Johnny’s house again. Alex and Buck would have the whole night to themselves. Would she go home on Monday having known his possession? And then what? They’d both go their separate ways? She’d never see him again? The mere idea was enough to drive her mad.
She needed to get out of there. Get away from Buck so she could think. When he alighted once more at the bottom of the chute with Jenny, she turned to her granddaughter without looking at him. “It’s getting late and we have a big day tomorrow if we’re going to go camping. Tracy asked if you could sleep over again and I said yes, so I’ll drive you to Johnny’s house right now.”
Jenny turned to Johnny. “Nana says I can stay at your house.”
He’d been complaining that he didn’t want to go yet, but knowing that Jenny would be sleeping over got him to agree to it.
“Come on, sweetheart.” Alex took her hand and they walked out to the car.
“What about my T-shirt?”
“It’s in my purse.” Not looking back at the others, she drove out of the parking lot.
Twilight was turning into night. Crickets chirped in the pine-scented air. Lights twinkled between the trees and the last tinge of violet hadn’t quite faded in the western sky. All of it just increased her longing to be in Buck’s arms.
“Nana?”
Jenny’s voice jerked her out of her thoughts. “Yes? Did you have a good time tonight?”
“It was the best! Buck’s so nice. I love him.” Alex had expected her to talk about Johnny, but it was Buck who was on her granddaughter’s mind. “Johnny’s afraid he’s going to go back to Colorado. He doesn’t want him to go. I don’t, either.”
Alex’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. That was news to her. She’d gotten the impression that leaving the ranch would be the last thing he’d do. “Maybe Johnny misunderstood.”
“No, he didn’t. He heard him on the phone.”
“Johnny shouldn’t listen in on other people’s conversations. I’m sure he’s wrong.”
“You sound cross.”
She took a fortifying breath. “Do I? I’m sorry.”
“Guess what? Buck has four brothers and Johnny has four uncles. That’s funny.”
“Because there aren’t any girls?”
“Yes. Buck says I can be his little girl anytime.”
Thank heaven the new house had come into view. At this point, Alex was afraid to say anything her granddaughter could misconstrue. Carson’s SUV was right behind them.
She stopped the car. “Listen, sweetheart—I’m going to say good-night to you here. I need to get back to the ranch house and call Mom. She’s been waiting all day to hear from me.”
“Okay.” Jenny undid her seat belt and leaned over to kiss her. “Good night, Nana. Johnny said he loved his party and he really likes you.”
Her eyes smarted. “Thank you for telling me.” She took the T-shirt out of her purse and handed it to her. “See you in the morning.”
With a nod, Jenny jumped out of the car and joined the others. Alex waved before turning the car around. She drove to the ranch house in turmoil. She didn’t see the truck Buck had brought to the party. Fiercely disappointed to think he might have joined Ross and headed out instead of wanting to be with her, she hurried inside the front door.
Willy waved to her from the desk as she passed him on her way to her bedroom in the rear. She did owe her parents a callback, but after what Jenny had confided to her in the car, she was too shaken to make it.
How could Buck consider going back to Colorado? After putting the past behind him, what would be the reason to change his mind? She’d believed him when he’d told her he loved his life here. Alex couldn’t figure him out. As much as she wanted to believe that Johnny was wrong about what he’d heard, that little guy was smart as a whip and had the inside track on what went on around the ranch.
The news shouldn’t matter to her, but it did. Everything to do with him affected her because she was painfully in love with him.
Too wired to sleep yet, she slipped out into the hall and set out for the kitchen. Buck had told her she should feel free to use it. Caffeine wouldn’t help her nerves, but it was coffee she wanted. After finding a jar of the instant stuff, she made herself a cup and microwaved it.
As she started back to her room to drink it, the overhead lights went on.
“Buck—”
He stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips, all male from his powerful thighs to the contours of his hard jawline. “Willy told me you’d come in. Since you weren’t in the bedroom, I hoped I’d find you in here. Why in the hell did you run away so fast?” he asked. “One minute, you were there, the next you were gone.”
“It was rude of me. Forgive me.”
Buck’s eyes wandered over her, missing nothing. “I didn’t think you had a rude bone in your body, so tell me what’s going on.”
“A lot of things,” she answered honestly. “Too many.” She drank part of her coffee before putting the mug on the counter of the island.
“Am I one of those things? Is that why you fled into the night?”
“I didn’t flee—”
“You could have fooled me. Am I so terrifying?”
She looked away. “You already know the answer to that question.”
“On the contrary. It seems to me the minute I touch you, you do a disappearing act.”
Her pulse was running away with her. “You mean, the way you disappeared on me during the drive over to the herd?”
His brows furrowed. “Explain that remark.”
He wanted answers
. She’d give them to him. “After I showed you the pictures in my wallet, you became a different person. Standoffish. Why? The night before, I thought we were enjoying ourselves. The chemistry felt obvious. But I can only think that in the light of day with certain proof before you, the idea of being with an older woman—a grandma—didn’t hold the same appeal.”
His eyes flickered with a strange light. “You couldn’t be more wrong.”
As long as she was feeling this brave, she would dare to say what else was on her mind. “Is it true what Johnny told Jenny?”
“About what?” He sounded impatient.
“That you might be going back to Colorado?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, as if he needed to plan his answer carefully. “You mean, for another trip?”
“No. Permanently. It’s evident Johnny was worried enough about it to voice it to my granddaughter.”
Buck rubbed his lower lip with his thumb. “He must have heard me on the phone with my father a couple of weeks ago. He’s had to slow down and wants me back home.”
Her heart lurched. “You must be so conflicted.”
“That’s putting it mildly, but not for the reasons you’re thinking.” He walked over to the island and looped his arms around her shoulders. “Look at me, Alex.” His mouth was only inches from hers.
“I am looking.” Her voice trembled.
“How do you feel about me?”
She groaned inside. “After what happened last night, it should be clear to you.”
His features hardened. “That was chemistry. According to you, I can turn it off and on at will. Let’s get past the discussion of our physical attraction to each other and dig deeper to find out what’s going on inside of you. Why would it matter to you if I go back to Colorado or stay here?”
Home to Wyoming Page 15