“That’s ridiculous.”
“I agree. But oddly enough he’s staying away from the boy out of love.”
“That was my same conclusion,” Anna said, then lapsed into thoughtful silence.
“I could contact Miguel’s sister in Colorado and get the child’s address. If you wanted it,” Chloe added.
Anna looked dubiously at her mother. “Miguel would probably be furious.”
“Or grateful.”
Anna sighed. “I only want him to be happy.”
The sound of a motor had Chloe suddenly turning her head. She peered at the truck easing up the steep driveway. “Then I guess you’re not a bit interested in this visitor,” she said smugly.
At the sound of the approaching vehicle, Miguel tossed aside the newspaper and glanced out the window. What in hell was Dalton doing at his house? he wondered, then muttered another curse under his breath as he watched the young vet climb the steps and join the two women on the deck.
His business was down at the barns. Not here! If it wasn’t for Chloe, he’d go out there and tell the man to get back in his truck and make tracks. But she used his services from time to time, and anyway he had no right to dictate who Anna talked to.
Yet, as the long minutes ticked away and the doctor continued to linger, his blood began to boil. By the time Dalton finally left and Chloe followed him down the mountain in her own vehicle, Miguel was ready to eat nails.
When Anna came back into the house, he met her at the door. “Did you have a nice visit with the young doctor?”
She grimaced at the sarcasm in his voice. He’d been testy the past two days, but nothing like this. And because at this moment she needed him to be exactly the opposite, she lashed back at him.
“Not hardly! He wasn’t here to see me. He came to tell Mother the horse’s foot is sound again and she can resume running him.”
She stepped around him and started toward the kitchen. He followed on her heels. “That took you less than a minute to give me that information. Dalton was out there for thirty!”
Her brows arched haughtily as she glanced over her shoulder at him. “You were counting?”
“Don’t sass me!”
She whirled on him. “You really have some gall, Miguel! You tell me you can’t have anything to do with me and then act outraged if I talk to another man! You’re behaving like a...crazy man!”
Was it any wonder, Miguel thought wildly. Each time he looked at her, he wanted her. He had to constantly fight with himself to keep a safe distance away from her, and the effort was shredding his nerves.
He grasped her by the arm, and she gasped as his fingers bit into her flesh. “What do you expect from me, Anna? I’m human. I can only take so much!”
“Why don’t you try turning that around, Miguel. Just how much rejection do you think I can take from you? Maybe the next time the doctor asks me out, I’ll go!”
His dark eyes were suddenly blazing. “He asked you out!”
Anna wasn’t going to lie just to soothe his temper. Besides, she thought angrily, he needed to see the truth. He refused to open his eyes or his heart. Refused to trust her love.
“To the movies.”
“The bastard!”
“And what are you, Miguel? At least he isn’t pretending.”
Miguel couldn’t bear it. The feelings inside him were so raw, so achingly full for her he couldn’t stand to have them labeled as phony.
“You think I’m pretending?” he said through clenched teeth.
Her gaze was unwavering on his. “You’re not being completely honest.”
His eyes clashed with hers a few moments longer, and then without any warning his arms were around her, dragging her next to him.
“Why do you do this to me?” he whispered roughly against her lips. “Why do you make me love you?”
“You don’t love me,” she said hollowly.
His hands clamped the sides of her waist, crushed her hips against his. Anna felt every inch of her body begin to sizzle as the bulge of his desire told her exactly what he wanted.
“What do you know about it, Anna?” he demanded in a low growl. “You’re still a virgin.”
“That isn’t a crime! Sex and love are two different things.”
His lips twisted cruelly. “And how could you know? Maybe we should see just how much you want to love me!”
Her mouth opened to speak, but his lips suddenly captured hers, blotting out anything she might have said. She groaned a protest in the back of her throat and tried to push herself away.
Miguel’s hands left her waist, circled around her shoulders and drew her tightly to him. Instantly the strength and warmth of his body enveloped her senses, the rough search of his lips drew her into a dark velvety place where only pleasure existed.
She opened her mouth, accepted the probing search of his tongue. And then she was lost as the taste of him overwhelmed her. Nothing mattered except that he go on holding her, kissing her.
They were halfway down the hallway before Anna realized she’d moved anywhere. At the door of his bedroom, he propelled her backward. One step, two, five and ten. Then the back of her legs hit the side of the bed.
The jolt finally broke the contact of their lips, and she would have toppled sideways if Miguel’s hands hadn’t closed around her rib cage. He tossed her back onto the mattress, and she landed with a bounce.
For a moment sanity tried to swim through the thick desire muddling her mind. “Miguel, you’re going to tear your ribs apart!”
He planted his fists on either side of her head as he leaned over her and gazed down at her face. “Right now I don’t care if I ever breathe again.”
The rough passion in his voice was as erotic as the touch of his hand. Anna could not resist it or the longing on his face. With a groan she brought her arms up and around his neck, pulled him down to her.
His warm lips savored the soft skin beneath her ear, then kissed the throb of her heart where it pulsed wildly at the base of her throat. Her body arched against him, silently begging him closer.
His fingers fumbled urgently with the buttons on her silk blouse, then finally the fabric fell away to expose pale plump breasts spilling over pale pink lace. The sight caused Miguel’s rough intake of breath, then with a self-deriding groan he lowered his head and buried his face between the soft mounds.
Anna’s legs wrapped around his, her fingers buried themselves in his hair and pressed against his scalp. With slow, exquisite torture his mouth moved over her silky skin until the barrier of her flimsy bra stopped his downward progress.
Quickly he reached beneath her and unfastened the clasp, then pushed the offending garment up and out of his way. The beautiful sight of her caused his breath to quicken, his eyes to light with inner fire. Her nipples were pink rosebuds just waiting for his mouth to bring them to full blossom. And he couldn’t deny himself or her.
By the time he lifted his head and nuzzled his cheek to hers, Anna was panting, gripping his shoulders with a need that was consuming her.
“I do want to love you, Miguel. Not with just my body but with every part of me. What else can I say, what can I do to make you believe me?”
Love him. Love him! No, it was too wonderful to be true. He couldn’t let himself believe, even for a few moments, that what she felt for him would always last. It was a risk his scarred heart just couldn’t take.
Slowly his head lifted, and his eyes were grave as he looked down at her. Her features were full of misery, and it cut Miguel deeply to think he was hurting her, that what he felt for her was actually causing her anguish. But it had to be this way, he told himself. Otherwise they were both bound for far worse grief.
He pushed himself away from her, wincing as the tenderness in his ribs joined the ache in his heart. “There is nothing you can do. Right now—” He stopped, turned his back to her and drew in a heavy breath. “I want you to pack your things and go back to the ranch house.”
“No!”
He whirled around. “Then I’ll do it for you! Because you can’t stay here another night!”
“Why? Because of what nearly happened just now?”
With a muttered oath he stepped back to the bed and jerked the sides of her blouse across her naked breasts. “It would have been a mistake, Anna,” he said flatly.
His words ripped through her like shards of broken glass. “Mistake! Did that feel like a mistake to you?”
“A drink of tequila is pleasurable, too. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you.”
Unmindful of her half-dressed state, she jumped to her feet. “You’re coarse and hateful! And if you didn’t have broken ribs I’d take great pleasure in slapping your face!”
“Don’t let my broken ribs stop you,” he snarled.
Fury whipped her hand back, but she didn’t follow through on his invitation. As she looked into his rigid face, it dawned on her that he was deliberately provoking her. He wanted to anger her, to drive her away so there would be no chance of him making love to her.
Her hand fell limply at her side, and she closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she tried to calm her racing thoughts. If he was that desperate to get her out of here there would be no use in her staying. She couldn’t make him love her, and for her to try to force him to have the sort of feelings she needed from him would only be demeaning to both of them.
“What’s the matter,” he sneered. “Afraid you’ll really hurt me?”
She quickly turned away from him and buttoned her blouse with shaking fingers.
“No. I’ve decided you’re right. You don’t want me here and I’m not...going to impose myself on you any longer. You can obviously take care of yourself. You certainly don’t need the aggravation I’m causing you.”
Not daring to look at him, she hurried out of the room. In her own bedroom, she began to throw her things into a canvas duffel bag. Tears were rolling down her face when she heard his soft knock on the side of the open door.
Her hands paused in their task, but she refused to turn and face him. The pain of looking on his face right now would simply be too great.
“Where are you going?” he asked quietly.
She swallowed and hoped her voice wouldn’t belie her tears. “Back to the ranch house. Not that it’s any of your business.”
“You’re right. It isn’t.”
There was nothing more she could say, and after a moment she heard his footsteps move away.
Once Anna knew he was truly out of sight, she sank down on the side of the bed, covered her face with her bandaged hands and burst into sobs.
A little more than a week later Anna walked into the study, tossed her purse on the chesterfield couch and flopped wearily down beside it. A few feet away at a large oak desk, Chloe looked up from her paperwork and peered over the tops of her reading glasses.
“Did you get the doctor paid?”
Anna groaned. She didn’t know why her mother had sent her on such a useless errand. She could have waited on a statement from Dr. Dalton and sent him a check in the mail. But she’d insisted on getting the bill taken care of immediately.
“Don’t call that man a doctor. I think Miguel was right about him. He thinks he’s a Romeo disguised as a veterinarian. And he’s not good at either profession.”
Chloe struggled not to smile. “What’s the matter? Did he ask you out again?”
“And again! I could hardly get away from the man.”
“You should be flattered. He’s considered a catch around these parts. Why don’t you go out with him?”
Anna grimaced. “Because I’m not interested in him.”
“Well, you don’t have to be interested just to get out and enjoy dinner or a movie.”
“I’d be miserable.”
Chloe sighed. “And what are you now? I can’t remember the last time I saw a smile on your face.”
Anna pressed her fingers against her throbbing temples. The effort to ward off the veterinarian’s advances without being rude had worn on her already-frazzled nerves. As Dalton had flirted, all Anna had been able to think about was Miguel. His scent, his touch, the sheer pleasure it gave her just to be near him. No man could ever take his place.
“I know. I came home to get my bearings straight and look at me,” she said with self-disgust. “I didn’t know what pain was until Miguel got ahold of me.”
Chloe pulled off her glasses and laid them on her desk, then, folding her hands together, she leveled a stern look on her daughter. “Then why don’t you drive up to the honeymoon house and talk to him again. It’s been a week since you left. You haven’t seen him since. Maybe he’s changed his mind about things.”
Anna shot her mother a dry look. “If that’s the case, why hasn’t he let me in on it?”
“The man can’t drive,” Chloe reasoned.
“He has a cellular. All he has to do is pick it up and call me.” But he hadn’t even done that much, she thought miserably.
“You’re right,” Chloe was forced to agree. Then, drumming her fingers on the desktop, she said, “Then go out with Dalton. That should wake Miguel up!”
Anna left her seat on the couch. At her mother’s desk, she propped her hip on one corner. “I don’t want him to come to me out of jealousy. I’d never do that to him!”
“Then you’ll have to think of something else to make him sit up and take notice.”
Anna tilted her head back and stared desperately at the ceiling. “What would you do? What did you do when you fell in love with Daddy?”
“Well, it was the other way around with us, Anna. I was the reluctant one. I was scared to death because Wyatt was so different from me. He’d always lived in Houston, and I was certain he’d wind up leaving me after a few months.”
Desperate hope flickered in Anna’s eyes as her gaze whipped back to her mother’s. “That’s the same way Miguel feels about me! So what made you finally realize things would work?”
Chloe smiled with fond remembrance. “I guess when I saw what great lengths Wyatt would take just to make me happy, I decided he must really, really love me.”
Anna grew silent and thoughtful as she considered her mother’s words. After a few moments Chloe left her seat and walked around the desk. Taking her daughter’s hand she asked, “What are you thinking, darling? What are you going to do?”
Anna lifted her head and gave her mother a shaky smile. “I’m going to Texas. And if by some wild chance Miguel asks about me, don’t tell him anything about where I’ve gone.”
Light work. What the hell was light work on a ranch? Miguel wondered. There was no such thing, and he’d told the doctor so. But the man hadn’t relented. He’d insisted Miguel needed at least one more week before he could do anything strenuous.
Miguel was just thankful the doc had given him the okay to drive again. He hadn’t expected that being confined to the house for a few days would be such a hard thing to endure. But after Anna had left, his days had been nothing but pure hell. He’d tried to read, watch TV, listen to the radio, but all he’d ended up doing was staring at the walls thinking about her.
He missed her more than he would his own arm or leg, and he’d fought with himself to keep from calling her. Mainly because he was afraid she would come back to him and then he’d have to go through her leaving all over again.
It was better to forget her now, he told himself. Once she realized there was no chance for them to be together, she’d go back to her career. Where she belonged.
The ranch yard was unusually quiet when he pulled his Explorer to a halt and climbed out. As he looked around at the pens and barns and worksheds, he realized just how much he’d missed his work. A cowboy could stand a roof over his head for so long, and then he had to get back beneath the sky.
The pen of working ponies was empty, and the hands were nowhere to be found. They must be moving cattle, he decided, then jamming his hands in the pockets of his jeans he glanced at the stables across the way.
>
He wasn’t sure he could handle running into Anna just now. But he figured Chloe was inside the building and he needed to speak with her. She would want to know the results of his checkup and how soon it would be before he could get back to work full-time and Harlan could go back to seeing after his own ranch.
The stables were quiet, too. Miguel ran into the two cowhands he’d forced into becoming grooms and they both greeted him warmly.
“Mrs. Sanders says we’re bonafide grooms now,” one of them said proudly.
“Yeah,” the other one added, “nothin’ could make us go back to brandin’ calves. The next race Mrs. Sanders wins, we’re gonna be right there in the winner’s circle with her.”
“So you’re getting the hang of things now?”
They nodded in unison. “We’re real glad you put us here, Mr. Chavez. And we’re real glad you’re up and about now.”
Miguel thanked them both, then peered farther on down the long building. “Is Mrs. Sanders anywhere around?”
“Down in the tack room.”
Miguel nodded then quickly headed to find her. He half expected to run into Anna somewhere along the way, but she was nowhere in sight. She’d probably decided, now that her mother was back, there was no need for her to deal with temperamental horses, dirty stalls and heavy feed buckets.
“Miguel! How wonderful to see you!” Chloe exclaimed when he stepped into the tack room. She tossed the bit and bridle to one side and went to give him a brief hug. “We’ve missed you terribly around here.”
He smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry I’ve put a strain on things. But the doctor says I can begin regular work next week.” .
“I’m glad. Not just to have my foreman back, but glad you’re doing so well. You had us all very worried for a while. And Emily and Cooper will never forget that you saved little Harlan. None of us will.”
The Cowboy And The Debutante Page 14