Cole clenched his fists tightly. He wanted to interject. He wanted to apologize for her father. He wanted to comfort her and a part of him was afraid to hear the rest of her story.
She cleared her throat and looked up at him. “He stood there, so angry. He said in this slow voice, ‘Get on the damn horse or you will regret it.’ So I slowly shook my head. I don’t know if I was stupid or courageous, but I stared at him in the eyes and shook my head. I remember feeling like my voice was trapped inside, because usually our voices were trapped inside, our opinions silenced.”
He tried to swallow against the painful lump in his throat. “What did you do?”
She shook her head, a small smile curling the corner of her mouth. “I told him to go to hell.”
“You didn’t.”
She nodded. “I did. I found my voice, and I used it,” she whispered.
“Man, you have guts.”
She shook her head. “No, I was silly. Shortsighted. I thought I had guts. I thought I had courage. I thought I was strong. But no, I just had a mouth on me and that crazy invincibility that teenagers are blessed with.”
“What did he do?”
Melanie took a deep breath. “He practically threw me on the saddle, slapped the horse, and sure enough, that horse took off and I held on for dear life. I remember thinking I was going to die. I was already shaking so badly just sitting before we even moved. But when he moved…” She shook her head and stared down at the ground. He wanted to speak, but knew he had to let her finish.
“I remember thinking I must have been such a shitty daughter, that I must be so insignificant to him that he would do that to me. I held on for another moment, but the horse was as terrified as I was, and minutes later I was on the ground. One of the stable boys reached me before my own father. I spent the next week in the hospital. Broken arm. Lucky, I guess,” she said, shrugging. “But at least the weekend wasn’t ruined. They sent me off to the hospital with one of the staff, while Meredith and my parents made a great impression.”
She crossed her arms in front of her and took a deep breath. “He tolerated Meredith more. She was able to keep her mouth shut. And as you know, I have problems with that,” she said shooting him a sidelong smile. And she was so beautiful, her smile so heartbreakingly tragic that he didn’t know how he was going to reign in his own feelings while she told him the rest.
“He told me I talked too much, that the sound of my incessant rambling made him sick.”
Cole bit back every angry thought he had in order to let her finish speaking. He wondered what kind of ass wouldn’t be proud to have such a smart, accomplished daughter. He stared at her perfect profile, the fullness of her lips and the high cheekbones. She tucked her hair behind her ear and he waited. He wanted her to speak forever. He wanted to hear the sound of her voice, the wisdom of her thoughts, and the animated laughter that made him feel human again.
And then he regretted letting Phillip Anderson walk off his property without bashing his face into a wall.
As though she sensed where his thoughts were going, she shot him a half smile. “I know this sounds dramatic.”
“Don’t do that; don’t filter your memories for me,” he said, forcing his words over the lump of emotion in his throat.
She took a wobbly breath and gave him a little nod. “So now you know everything. You know why I couldn’t get on that horse. It’s silly, so stupid. I don’t know why I was ever scared of horses. I have no idea why I was so afraid. Something about their size or their speed. I know it must sound so dumb to you.”
He didn’t move as he watched the emotions flicker through her wide, tear-filled eyes. But he wanted her to know there was no shame in being afraid, and he didn’t want her to hide anything from him.
“Nothing you say is dumb. I’m sorry you were raised by such a bastard. I’m sorry for what you’ve been through. And I’m sorry as hell for making you feel like less of a person for not getting on a horse that day. You can talk my ear off any day, baby.” He pulled her into his arms, and she came willingly.
She nodded and drew a ragged breath. “I know. I’m guessing you heard about my sister from Gage?”
He shook his head, holding his breath. “Uh, no. What happened to your sister?”
“She’s here. She left. She left all of them, my parents, her fiancée.”
He shrugged out of his jacket and placed it around her shoulders. Her father’s words about Meredith echoed in his mind. Cole decided he’d tell Melanie tomorrow. Tonight he wanted her to feel safe; he wanted her sister to feel safe. And he’d do anything to make sure they were, for the rest of their lives. “Is your sister all right?”
Melanie nodded. “She looks tired, but a bit like the old Meredith. Quite the day, huh? First my crazy father, now my sister. My family is about as complicated as they get.” Her voice started out as being sarcastic but then wobbled at the end and she turned from him, placing her hands over her face.
“I don’t care how complicated your family is.”
“Really? You just lost a huge deal today.”
“Don’t do that, sweetheart. Not with me,” he said gruffly. Her lips parted and her chin wobbled. He turned so that he was facing her again. He wanted her to see his eyes when he spoke. He didn’t want any hiding, any misinterpretations. “You know who I am. What I believe in, what I value in my life. Three days before Sarah died, I looked into her eyes and lied to her. The only time in my life I’d ever looked someone square in the eyes and lied. But she begged me to move on after she died and find someone.” He squeezed her arms gently.
“I told her what she needed to hear. I would do anything to give her peace before she moved on. But I swear to God I sat and I lied. I never wanted to love like that again because I was so broken. I never thought I’d recover. I never thought I’d be a whole man again.” He stopped talking long enough to wipe the tears from Melanie’s eyes, to clear his throat, needing his voice to be clear.
“And then you entered my world, Mel, and blew everything apart. And I know now. I’d risk it all for you. I’d go to hell and back for a day, a night, a lifetime with you if you’ll have me. You make me want to believe in forever again. I want to grow old with you, sweetheart. I know how to feel and I’m a man who’s not afraid to love. And if you’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of our lives loving you.”
Nothing could have prepared him for the emotion that coursed through his veins. He would never underestimate the woman who stood in front of him, or the power of the love he had for her. She’d made him love and live again. She made him believe in the future, in the power of hope. Everything inside him, every part he’d closed off, every part that had been saved only for Sarah, reopened when Melanie melted into him. She bunched her hands around his waist, taking a fistful of his shirt, and she buried her face into his chest.
He pulled back slightly, only enough so he could see her face. He wanted her to know he knew who he was kissing. He wanted her to know he was thinking only of her, not of Sarah. Her.
“Mel,” he murmured. Her lips parted, and he could feel the faint tremor that ran through her. “I want you to know how badly I want you. I want you to know it’s you I see in front of me, your lips I want against mine forever.” He leaned down, hovering for a moment, shocked by his own self-control when he still didn’t kiss her, but it was imperative she knew going into this that she was the only woman on his mind. He wanted to linger here, in this space, where only Melanie existed, where it was only her scent filling him.
Melanie placed her hands on his chest and he shut his eyes briefly, reveling in the blood that rushed through his body at her touch. When her hands reached his neck he opened his eyes and took her hand in his, lifting her palm to his lips. He breathed her name against the warm skin and slowly tugged her into him, until her breasts pressed against him, and he could feel the rapid rise and fall of her chest. He bent to kiss the tender spot of skin under her earlobe and then took the lobe between his teeth, his hands goin
g to her waist as she leaned into him. He kissed a path until he finally took her mouth under his, and she tasted even better than he remembered.
He thought he’d been living, thought he was whole, but he was wrong. Standing here, with Mel in his arms, he knew this was living. With each kiss, with each caress, he knew that now he was alive. He held her to him, his hands buried in her silky hair, his need to be close to her all-encompassing. Her hands climbed up his chest, every muscle clenching with response at her gentle touch. She fed his hunger with each kiss, and she breathed life back into his soul.
“I love you, Cole,” she whispered against his lips.
“I love you, too.”
“And you should also know you passed that hero test with flying colors, yet again.”
“Glad you think so,” he said, smiling against her hair. “I should probably let you know that I did lie about something.”
She pulled back, looking at him with a raised brow. “You?”
He nodded, resisting the urge to smile. “The exotic-dancing thing. There was no way I was ever going to let you do that. I was planning on walking into that place, giving them your name, and telling them that if they ever hired you I’d break their legs.”
Her mouth dropped open. For a second she looked outraged and then a mischievous smile tugged at her gorgeous mouth. “I should be saying that’s horrible, but uh…” She paused long enough to lick her lips and it sent a jolt of awareness through him. “Since we’re doing this complete honesty thing, I should probably tell you that’s kind of a turn-on.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “That’s good, because I know this little cabin not too far from here.” He buried his face in her neck, capturing the shiver that stole through her.
“So you take women up to this cabin of yours and seduce them?”
He grew serious and kissed her, long and deep, with all the love he felt for her. “Only you, Melanie. Only you.”
About the Author
Victoria James is a romance writer living near Toronto. She is mother to two young children, one very disorderly feline, and wife to her very own hero.
Victoria wrote her first book when she was ten years old—it was filled with betrayal, scandal, and all the deception a fifth-grader could dream up. She knew that one day when she “grew up,” she’d be a writer.
But first, Victoria attended Queen’s University and graduated with a degree in English Literature. She then earned a degree in Interior Design, got married, and opened her own business. After the birth of her first child, she began pursuing her life-long passion of writing.
Her dream of being a published romance author was realized by Entangled in 2012. Victoria is living her dream—staying home with her children and conjuring up happy endings for her characters.
Victoria would love to hear from her readers! You can visit her at www.victoriajames.ca or Twitter @vicjames101 or send her an email at [email protected]
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Table of Contents
Other books by Victoria James
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
About the Author
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The Rancher's Second Chance Page 17