Best of Cowboys Bundle

by Vicki Lewis Thompson, Barbara White Daille, Judy Christenberry, Christine Wenger, Shirley Rogers, Crystal Green, Nina Bruhns, Candance Schuler, Carole Mortimer

  “She hightailed it out of here a couple of years ago.”

  “Why didn’t she take Ashley with her?”

  “Big John wouldn’t let her.”

  “But if he doesn’t really care…”

  “Big John keeps what he wants to keep, one way or another.” Big John had given Chay a thousand acres of prime grassland, figuring that the land and the promise of having his own ranch one day would be the one thing Chay couldn’t walk away from. Big John had been wrong about that, he just didn’t know it. The one thing Chay didn’t understand was why the old man wanted to keep him around. They hadn’t exchanged two congenial words in the last fifteen years. It didn’t make sense, but then, Big John did a lot of things that didn’t make sense. Chay had stopped trying to figure the old man out years ago.

  Chay watched Ashley laugh at something Brandon said. Ashley was the only reason he stayed on at the ranch. He could have walked away from the old man. He could have left the thousand acres he owned without a backward glance. But he couldn’t walk out on Ashley. She needed somebody on her side, and Chay was all she had. He had loved Ashley from the moment Jillian brought her home from the hospital, had been her slave ever since the day her dimpled fingers first curled around his fourteen years ago. Once she learned to walk, she had followed him around the ranch, wanting to be wherever he was, wanting to do everything he did. He was still living in the main house back then and she was always sneaking into his bed at night. Years later, it had been Chay she had turned to for comfort when her mother packed up and left the ranch, Chay she talked to in the middle of the night whenever something was bothering her. Sometimes he felt more like her father than her half brother.

  He glanced at Dana when she tugged at his arm.

  “So,” she asked, “where were you?”

  “Just remembering when she used to follow me around like a puppy, copying everything I did. Treating me like I’m her big brother.”

  “I always wanted an older brother or even a sister, but my mom couldn’t have any more kids after I was born. Do you have brothers or sisters?”

  Chay hesitated a moment, and then shook his head. As much as he wanted to tell Dana the truth, he couldn’t do it. Years ago, Big John had made Chay promise that he would never tell anyone that Ashley was his half sister. Even now, Chay wasn’t sure why. He doubted Big John gave a damn what his neighbors or anyone else thought of him. Big John had had a brief affair with Chay’s mother. Since then, he had been married four times. None of his wives since Jillian had stayed around more than two or three years. The old man had sworn off marriage after the last one left. The last Chay had heard, Big John was keeping company with Georgia Cookson. Georgia owned a boutique in town. She was a voluptuous blonde, at least fifteen years younger than the old man.

  “Sad, to be all alone in the world,” Dana murmured.

  “Yeah. Looks like the party’s breaking up. I’ll go round up the girls.”

  “Okay.”

  She watched Chay move through the crowd. It was easy to follow his progress across the room; he stood head and shoulders above just about everyone else. Though she couldn’t hear what was being said, it was obvious that Ashley and Chay were having an argument. Judging from the sullen expression on Ashley’s face as she followed Chay across the floor, Dana guessed Ashley wanted to spend more time with Brandon. Dana couldn’t blame her. Brandon was a good-looking, clean-cut kid and seemed very nice.

  Once they were all in the limo, Ashley’s mood brightened up. The girls laughed and giggled on the drive back to Dana’s house, comparing notes on the boys they had danced with, occasionally making catty remarks about some of the other girls.

  Chay pulled up in front of Dana’s house. Getting out of the car, he walked around the front and opened Dana’s door for her.

  There were good-natured hoots and catcalls as he walked Dana up the steps to her door.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I had a nice time.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Hurry up and kiss her,” Megan hollered.

  “Yeah,” LuAnn said. “Get it over with so we can go home!”

  Chay laughed softly. “What do you say?”

  “We shouldn’t disappoint them,” Dana murmured.

  “No,” Chay agreed. “We wouldn’t want to do that.”

  Dana looked up at him, her heart beating triple time as he lowered his head. She closed her eyes as his lips claimed hers. Since there were four teenage girls in the car looking on, Dana had expected a quick kiss good-night, but Chay was in no hurry. His lips moved slowly over hers, his tongue lightly stroking her lower lip as his arms drew her body up against his.

  Dana leaned into him, grateful for his support as her legs turned to jelly. Her every sense was aware of the man holding her in his arms. She ran her hands up and down his broad back, a shiver skittering down her spine as she felt his arousal. She was grateful she was a woman. She might be every bit as hot and bothered as he was, but at least it didn’t show!

  She moaned softly, wondering how it was possible for one kiss to affect her so quickly.

  She stared up at him, mutinous, when he took his lips from hers.

  “I know, sweetheart,” he said, his voice low. “We’ll continue this some other time when we don’t have an audience.”

  Only then did she remember Ashley and her friends were watching avidly from the windows of the limo.

  Chay kissed her again, then, whistling softly, he descended the steps to the car and slid behind the wheel.

  Grateful for the shadows that hid her blush, Dana waved at the girls, then stood on the top step, watching the taillights of the limo grow fainter and fainter until they were out of sight.

  Chapter Seven

  T he next morning after breakfast, Dana put on a pair of well-worn jeans, a T-shirt and a pair of boots and headed for the garage. Inside, she found a handsaw and an old pair of work gloves. She glanced around the garage, thinking it could use a good cleaning. There were old tools and boxes piled in one corner along with bits of old tack and coils of rope. But cleaning out the garage was a project for another day.

  Pulling on the gloves, she went out to tackle the big old dead tree in the backyard. It was really a foolish endeavor. There was no way she could cut down the trunk or remove the stump unless she called a professional, no way she could cut off the highest limbs, since she didn’t have a ladder that was tall enough to reach them. On top of all that, she was only going to be here for less than two weeks, so what did it matter? In spite of all the obstacles, it was something to do.

  It took her two hours to saw off four of the lower limbs. She had never been much for hard physical labor, but she found the task oddly satisfying. And since the wood was so dry, it would make great firewood. Of course, she wouldn’t have much need for firewood anytime soon, since she would be back home long before winter set in.

  Deciding it was time for a break, she removed her gloves and went into the house for an apple and a glass of lemonade.

  Sitting at the kitchen table, her thoughts turned to Chay. Nothing unusual about that, she thought dryly, since it seemed that hardly an hour went by when she wasn’t thinking of him. Or dreaming of him, like last night. Oh, my, what a dream that had been!

  She smiled just thinking about it. They had been at the lake, just the two of them. In her dream, she had found the courage to overcome her self-consciousness and her modesty and go skinny-dipping with Chay. It had been glorious, exhilarating, though she couldn’t say why. She was naked when she took a bath, but swimming in the nude was completely different. Maybe it was the feel of the water moving over her nakedness. Maybe it was the touch of Chay’s gaze on her bare skin….

  She felt herself blush as she recalled how they had made love on a blanket under the bold blue sky. Of course, since she had never gone all the way, parts of her dream had been a little sketchy, but the buildup had been explosive.

  Pressing the cool glass to her forehead, she closed her eyes. If a dream c
ould get her that worked up, what would the real thing be like?

  She drank the last of the lemonade, put the glass in the sink and went out the back door, pulling on her gloves as she walked toward the old tree.

  With the lower branches gone, it looked even more pathetic than it had before. It looked taller, too, she thought, gazing up. There was a stepladder in the garage that would allow her to reach the next three or four branches.

  “No point in stopping now,” she muttered, and set off toward the garage.

  She was coming out of the garage, carrying the ladder, when Chay drove up.

  Her heart seemed to skip a beat the moment she saw him.

  With a wave of his hand, he parked in front of the porch and got out of the truck. “Hey, what’s the ladder for?”

  “I’m cutting down a tree in the backyard.”

  “I don’t believe it.”

  “Well, it’s true!”

  “Here, let me carry that,” he said, relieving her of her burden.

  “Thanks. I could have carried it, you know. I’m not helpless.”

  “I never said you were,” Chay replied.

  In spite of her words to the contrary, she was glad she didn’t have to tote the heavy ladder. Made of wood, it was as tall as she was, and weighed almost as much.

  Chay grunted softly when he saw the tree. “Were you planning to cut down the whole thing?” he asked, glancing at her over his shoulder.

  “Hardly. I was just…” She shrugged. “Pruning it.”

  Laughing out loud, he put the ladder down next to the tree, then pulled a pair of leather gloves from his back pocket. Grabbing the saw, he climbed to the top of the ladder and began sawing the nearest branch.

  Dana watched the play of muscles beneath his chambray shirt. Being a modern woman, she should have been offended that he had so high-handedly assumed that he could do the job better than she could. Of course, it was hard to be offended when he was right. Then, too, letting him take over gave her a chance to watch him work, something that was extremely enjoyable.

  Standing in the shade, she admired the way his jeans molded his tight buns and hugged the length of his long, long legs. She admired the width of his powerful shoulders, the ease with which he cut through a branch as thick as her thigh, the way his muscles bunched and relaxed as he tackled the next branch, and then all the ones within reach in the time it had taken her to saw through one.

  She laughed softly. Sometimes it just took a man to do a man’s job, and my oh my, but Chay was all man.

  “What are you laughing at?” Chay asked, glancing down at her.

  “Oh, nothing.”

  “Uh-huh. We need a taller ladder. I can climb up a little higher and get the next few branches, but—”

  “Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea!”

  “Worried about me?” he asked with a wicked gleam in his eye.

  “What if I am?”

  “Just checking.” Climbing down from the ladder, he studied the tree for a few moments. “I think maybe it would be easier to just cut the tree down and then chop it up for firewood.”

  “Why didn’t you think of that sooner?”

  His gaze moved over her, long and slow and hot. “I had other things on my mind,” he said. “The way you were watching me nearly singed my back pockets.”

  “I wasn’t watching you!”

  “No?” he asked, a challenge in his eyes.

  “Well, maybe a little,” she admitted.

  He lifted one eyebrow. “Just a little?”

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake, just cut down the tree.”

  “All in good time. We need to discuss my payment first.”

  “Payment! What kind of payment?”

  “I’ll think of something.” His gaze lingered on her lips. “Let’s see…” He counted the branches he had already cut. “Nine branches.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “How about a kiss for each branch? That sounds about right to me.”

  “You’re kidding!” she exclaimed, but her stomach was already turning somersaults at the thought of his mouth on hers.

  “Too much?” he asked, smothering a grin.

  “Well, perhaps not.”

  “Okay,” he said in a brisk, businesslike tone. “Nine kisses and one glass of lemonade.”

  She was laughing now.

  The sound wrapped around Chay’s heart. It was good to see her smile and hear her laughter. “So,” he said, “do you want to pay up now?”

  “Do you want to collect your pay all at once?”

  He nodded. “I think so.” He pulled her into his arms. “Remember, we still have to discuss the payment for cutting down the tree and chopping it into firewood.”

  “I’m not sure I can afford that.”

  “I’ll go easy on you,” he murmured as he drew her closer.

  She swallowed hard. “Will you?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Trust me,” he said, and kissed her.

  Liquid heat flowed through her veins as his mouth settled over hers in a long, drawn-out kiss.

  He drew back, a mischievous look in his eyes. “That’s one.”

  She blinked up at him. “I’m not sure I’ll survive two.”

  “Sure you will, darlin’,” he said. “Just hang on tight.”

  To her amazement, each kiss was a little different from the last. Where the first was long and slow, the second was as quick as a flash of lightning and charged with electricity. The third was a delicious dueling of tongues, the fourth, fifth and sixth were a series of quick butterfly kisses on the tip of her nose and her eyelids. After the seventh, she lost the ability to think. She was drowning in an ocean of sensation, her whole body aching and alive and yearning for more than kisses. Much more.

  When he withdrew his lips from hers, it took her a moment to realize that he was no longer kissing her.

  “Nine,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “I think I should have asked for more.”

  Dana shook her head. One more kiss, and she would have been pulling him down on the grass and begging him to make love to her. And she didn’t want that, wasn’t ready for that. Was she?

  “Hey.” He chucked her under the chin. “You still owe me a glass of lemonade.”

  “What? Oh, yes, of course.” Turning on her heel, she hurried toward the house. Space, that was what she needed.

  But it wasn’t to be. Chay followed her through the back door and into the kitchen, stood with his hip braced against the corner of the counter while she filled two glasses with ice and lemonade, then handed him one. She took a long drink, hoping to put out the fire that was still roaring through her. If his kisses could make her feel like this, what would making love to him be like?

  Chapter Eight

  T he memory of Chay’s kisses stayed with Dana long after Chay had gone home. Because he had work to do at the ranch, he had told her he would be back tomorrow to finish cutting down the tree, payment to be determined later.

  The thought of what that payment might be kept her awake into the wee small hours of the morning and followed her into her dreams when she finally fell asleep, dreams that featured a tall, dusky-skinned man riding across the prairie on a big black horse. In her dream, he rescued her from a horrible fate—on waking, she couldn’t remember what it was—then carried her away with him to a hide tepee pitched beside a bubbling brook where he took her into his arms and made love to her for hours and hours.

  She woke to the touch of the sun on her face, expecting to find him lying there beside her.

  She shook off her disappointment at waking in bed, alone.

  “Geez, get a grip, Dana Elizabeth Westlake!” she muttered. “Have you already forgotten about Rick? No matter how sexy Chay Lone Elk might be, he’s not for you, remember? You’ve sworn off men for life!”

  But she couldn’t stop thinking about him. Not through breakfast or while she was washing the dishes or in the shower or while she was throwing her dirty jeans into the washer. Th
e worst part was, even though she kept telling herself to forget him, she didn’t really want to.

  He hadn’t said what time he would be there today so, of course, no matter where she was or what she was doing, she kept going to the front window or the door, hoping for a sign of him.

  It was just after lunchtime when he drove up.

  As usual, butterflies erupted in her stomach at the mere sight of him. Today, he wore a pair of faded blue jeans and a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. She watched him slide out of the cab of the truck, her gaze drawn to him like the proverbial moth to a flame. And, like the moth, her fate would be sealed if she let him get too close. Reaching into the back of the truck, he pulled out a saw, not an old rusty handsaw like the one she had been using the day before, but a nice shiny new chain saw with a wicked-looking blade.

  He held it up and grinned at her. “It’s important to have the right tool for the right job.”

  “Looks dangerous.”

  He shrugged. “It can be.” He drew on a pair of heavy work gloves. “That’s why I’m going to be very, very careful.”

  She nodded. “Anything I can do?”

  “Just stay out of the way,” he said, putting on a pair of safety glasses.

  “I can do that.”

  With a wink, he walked over to the tree and set to work. Soon the air was filled with the whine of the saw. Wood chips exploded through the air. A bird hopped from branch to branch and finally, with an angry screech, flew off in search of quieter lodgings.

  It was while she was watching Chay cut through the trunk that she remembered they hadn’t discussed what his payment would be.

  Would he ask for more kisses? The mere thought made her heart race. Or would he ask for something else? Something more intimate than kisses? That thought sent a rush of heat to her cheeks. But of course he wouldn’t ask for that! She told herself she was relieved and tried to make herself believe it.

  Noting the way he was sweating while he worked, she went into the house to make a pitcher of fresh lemonade. She had made another apple pie the night before—because she happened to have a lot of apples, of course. She cut a large slice for Chay, a smaller one for herself, put the plates, two glasses filled with ice and the pitcher on a tray, and carried them outside, only then noticing the quiet. Was he finished already?