Midnight Ride

by Cat Johnson

  She heard the rumble of the tractor and her heart leapt. Tyler. “Oh, my God.”

  “What?” Rene sounded as panicked as Janie felt. “What’s happening?”

  “I think he’s here.” She ran down the remainder of the stairs and to the window. She spotted him bouncing along in the tractor seat, heading toward the hayfield. “He’s finishing up the haying. Rene, what do I do?”

  “Put on your prettiest dress and some lipstick, and go out there.”

  Her heart thundered. A sleepless night spent reviewing her conversation with Rohn about Tyler, all while missing Tyler horribly, had her emotions even closer to the surface than usual. “Lipstick isn’t going to make up for my acting like a lunatic.”

  “Not alone, no, but a good amount of cleavage and a sincere apology might.”

  Hell, maybe Rene was right. It couldn’t hurt.

  “Okay. That’s what I’ll do. I have to go.” Janie turned back toward the stairs, running up them. She didn’t know how much time she had. He’d work for at least a little while, she was sure, even if he had to go back to Rohn’s. Long enough for her to get herself together and intercept him before he got back to his truck and left.

  “Call me and tell me what happens.”

  “I will. Bye.” Her head spinning from all she needed to do in a short time to make herself presentable, Janie tossed the phone on the dresser and started to strip off her farm clothes.

  She ran to the bathroom. One glance in the mirror told her she looked like crap as yet another sleepless night showed clearly on her face. Reaching for her makeup bag, she dug for the cover-up that she hoped would camouflage the dark circles beneath her eyes. But the lipstick she slicked on her lips next wouldn’t help if he was past listening to her.

  What she was going to say still remained a mystery. What could she say after she’d flipped out on him? She’d have to figure something out, and soon.

  Janie reached for her mascara and thought better of it. The way her emotions were all over the place, there was a very real chance she’d cry off any eye makeup the way she had last night during dinner. Poor Rohn. She owed him one for being so sweet during that episode.

  The need to catch Tyler before he left pushed her forward, toward the closet. She stared at the selections for the second time in two days, only this time she glanced past the dresses she usually wore to church and landed on a little red cotton sundress. It was much too bare so she’d never worn it for service, but it would do when she needed to catch a certain cowboy’s eye.

  She pulled it off the hanger and held it in front of her, glancing in the mirror. The red floral print brightened her features, and the low cut showed a good amount of cleavage. Decision made, she slipped it over her head.

  Thinking she might as well go all out since she was pretty over-the-top already, Janie reached into the back of the closet and grabbed her good cowboy boots.

  As she sat on the bed to pull the boots on, her wedding ring caught her eye. She swallowed hard and stared at it. Rohn didn’t wear his wedding ring anymore. When she’d asked him at the restaurant how long it had been before he’d taken it off, he’d smiled and said about a year, but that he still kept it in the bedroom and looked at it every day.

  Reaching down, Janie slid the diamond and gold band set off her finger and saw the white indentation left where it had been for so long. Drawing in a bracing breath, she stood and put the rings on top of the jewelry box on the dresser. It felt like a big step, and she was about to take another one—if Tyler still wanted her.

  One more glance in the mirror and she turned for the door, hoping it wasn’t too late to win back the man she’d been foolish enough to push away.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Tyler raked the hay in the smaller of the two fields with Janie’s nine-inch tractor and had just headed back to the barn for the larger machine to start baling when he saw her. He’d been a little worried when she didn’t come out right away. A small doubt in the back of his mind had kept him from going to her first, thinking Rohn might have been wrong about her feelings. That maybe she was avoiding him.

  But she was there now, standing next to his truck and looking like a vision. Her dress blew in the breeze that ruffled her hair. She’d left it down and her hat off, and the closer he got, the more he wanted to bury his hands in her long waves and kiss her senseless. He held that impulse in check as he slowed the tractor to a stop and cut the engine.

  Daisy wagged her tail, hopping around between his legs. Whether the dog was excited by the prospect of someone new to meet, or she could sense Tyler’s anticipation, he couldn’t be sure, but the puppy practically vibrated with energy. If he could face the truth, he’d admit he might be shaking a bit himself.

  He climbed down and, once his boots were on the ground, reached back up for the dog, who was dancing in the seat. He supposed in her little puppy brain, she thought Tyler had taken much too long to climb down.

  “Hey.” Puppy under one arm, Tyler forced the greeting to sound casual. No need for Janie to know that he was shaking like a leaf.

  “Tyler, I’m so sorry.” Her voice broke on the apology. Janie took a step forward, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “I’m sorry for how I acted, and that I was so stupid, and how I wouldn’t go out with you. Just for everything.”

  He smiled. That was all he needed to hear. “I’m sorry, too.”

  “For what?”

  “For springing Daisy here on you. For pushing you into something you weren’t ready for.” He took a step forward, put the pup on the ground, and laid his hands on Janie’s arms. “I want you to know, I’m not giving up on you and me, but I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

  “I’m ready now.” Her answer didn’t quite convince him.

  He moved his hands down her arms and grasped her hands in his, wondering if she was really ready. Rubbing his thumb over her fingers, he felt something different. He glanced down and saw her wedding rings were missing. His gaze shot to her face.

  She must have seen his reaction. “I figured it was time I took them off.”

  Emotions ricocheting through him, Tyler pulled her closer. She was in his embrace in an instant, her arms wrapped around his neck, her lips pressed to his.

  The kiss could have easily led to his lifting her pretty little sundress up and claiming her right there against the tractor, but he wasn’t going to let that happen. They’d already begun this relationship backward. Time to get things back on track.

  He pulled away from her mouth. “I want to go on a date. A real one. Out in public at a restaurant, like you did with Rohn.”

  “Okay.”

  His brows rose. “Really? You’re not just saying that?”

  “No, I’m not. Though can I request we go to a different restaurant from the one he took me to? I don’t want to look like the kind of woman who has a date with a different guy every night.”

  “Fine. Wherever you want to go.” He kissed her again, only allowing himself a quick peck before he continued. “And I want you to meet my family. Come with me to Logan and Emma’s baby’s christening next month.”

  “Okay.”

  “And no sex.”

  “What?” Her eyes widened and her voice rose.

  He smiled at her surprise. “I know, it sounds funny, but I need to prove to you I’m serious. I want a real relationship with you, not just sex.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “No sex for how long?”

  “I don’t know. A month.” He shrugged. The furrow deepened in her brow and he laughed. “Okay, how about two weeks?” When she still didn’t look happy, he added, “How about we discuss the details later?”

  She cocked one brow. “Good idea.”

  The puppy wasn’t happy, either, but for a different reason. She didn’t like being ignored and jumped up to lean her front paws on Tyler’s leg.

  He grinned. “Someone wants to meet you officially. And don’t worry. I’m keeping her. I talked to my parents and to Rohn and they don’t mind if
I keep her at my house at night and bring her to work with me during the day. So I’m not trying to unload her on you.”

  Janie glanced down at the dog. “I’m sorry I overreacted the other day.”

  “No. I’m sorry I sprang her on you.”

  “You named her Daisy?”

  “I did.” Tyler reached down and picked up the pup. It seemed the only time she was content was when he was holding her. “After the daisies growing along the fence in your hayfield. And the ones on the dresser in your bedroom.”

  It was as if he could see the walls Janie had erected around her heart crumble. Then Daisy leaned over and licked her face, and he knew she was a goner.

  “She is sweet.” Janie raised her gaze to his. “So are you.”

  “I try,” Tyler joked, but he also needed to be serious for a moment. “Janie, I want you to know something. None of us knows how long we have on this earth, but as long as there is breath in my lungs, I will never willingly hurt you.”

  She was quiet for so long, he knew she had something to say. He put the puppy down again and pulled her to him. “What? Tell me.”

  Her eyes filled with tears again. “I’m so afraid of losing you.”

  “I know. But you won’t.”

  “I’m trying so hard to have faith, but you could meet and fall for someone else, and want to be with her instead—”

  “Nope. Won’t happen.” He shook his head, firm in his answer.

  “How can you know that?”

  “Because I’ve already fallen so hard for you, there’s no room left in my heart for anyone else.” The puppy whined at his feet. He laughed and tipped his head toward the dog. “Maybe room for her, but no other woman, Janie. Only you. It’s you I love. Nobody but you.”

  Now the tears did fall, sending long streaks down her face. She opened her mouth and he pressed a finger to her lips. “Don’t say it back just because I did. Don’t say it until you mean it, Janie. I can wait.”

  He was doing his best to give her the space and time to move slowly. Like Rohn said, she’d had a lot to deal with in her life, but he needed her to know that he was there for the long haul. If that meant he had to reveal his feelings and risk her not sharing them, then he’d do it.

  Janie reached up and, after kissing his fingertips, moved them from her mouth. “It’s okay. I made my peace with this, and with Tom. I think I can love the memory of him and still be okay with loving somebody else, too.”

  “Any chance that somebody could be me one day?”

  She smiled through the tears. “It already is you.”

  His heart full to bursting, he leaned down and gathered her as close to him as he could while standing.

  Giving in to the urge he could no longer fight, he ran his hand up her back and into her hair. He tugged her head back and took her mouth with the kind of kiss he’d been holding in for fear of scaring her. He claimed her mouth, but it felt like more than that. It was a promise of love, of their future.

  By the time he pulled away, they were both a little breathless.

  “Wow.” She let out a short laugh, her cheeks adorably pink. “You sure about waiting two long weeks before we have sex?”

  “Less sure with every second.” One more kiss like that and he’d lose all control. They might not even make it to the house if that happened. He squeezed her harder and groaned. He could feel her, warm and soft, beneath the thin cotton of the dress. “Maybe we could just wait until after our first date.”

  She laughed. “All right.”

  He drew in a breath through his nose. “What are you doing tonight?”

  “I think I might be going out to dinner with somebody.”

  Her sly look had him smiling as he asked, “Oh, really. Anyone I know?”

  “Some cocky cowboy I can’t seem to get off my mind.” Daisy yipped and Janie glanced down. “He’s got a real cute dog, though.”

  “Sounds like a hell of a guy.”

  “He is. I’m hoping he’ll be around for a long time.”

  Tyler leaned in low. “Just try getting rid of me.”

  “Never.” Rising up on tiptoe, she wrapped her arms around his neck and paused with her lips just shy of his mouth. Her eyes on his, she asked, “How early do you think restaurants open?”

  “Hungry?”

  “Not for food.” Her smile looked devilish.

  He grinned, lifting her up against him. “God, how I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Tyler.”

  After possibly the five most wonderful words he’d ever heard, he figured the day couldn’t get any better . . . and then Janie wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him like she meant it, and he realized they were just getting started.

  Read on for an excerpt from Cat Johnson’s next hot cowboy romance,

  Midnight Wrangler,

  available this December.

  Rohn had just stepped out of the truck when a woman who looked too familiar to be a stranger caught his attention. He squinted through the midday glare, frowning, until recognition hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest.

  A smile bowed Rohn’s lips. It had been a long time, but it was her. Yeah, she had changed a bit. She was older, a bit curvier, but he’d recognize her anywhere. From the blond curls that had tickled his cheek when they’d embraced, to the curve of the hips he’d held on to tight in the bed of his truck where they’d first made love, he knew her. Even twenty-five years later.

  In deference to the heat, she wore a tank top that showed enough of her creamy white skin that he could see she was still as fair-skinned as ever. Her shoulders were pink on top, proving that just like when he’d known her, she’d still freckle and burn rather than tan.

  Back in the day she would have been wearing cut-off shorts, Daisy Dukes that showed off her legs to such advantage that Rohn had been able to think of nothing else but having her thighs wrapped around him. Today she wore knee-length khaki shorts, but that didn’t stop him from picturing what lush curves were hidden underneath.

  Gone were the cowboy boots she used to love to wear every day on the farm, even in the summer. In their place were sandals that let her toes peek out.

  She stood with her back to him as she held the door open for an older couple walking out. When they stopped to say thank you, she turned her head enough that he could see her face.

  If he hadn’t been 100 percent certain before, he was now. He took a few long strides in her direction. “Can it be? Bonnie?”

  She turned at the sound of his voice. When her eyes widened, he knew she recognized him, too. “Uh, yeah. It’s me. I didn’t know you were still in town.”

  “Yup. Never left. I own a place not far from here. Cattle ranch.”

  “Oh. Nice. Good for you.”

  “Bonnie Blue Martin. Back in town. Wow.” It was still a shock. He’d been thinking about her just last week.

  She let out a short laugh but it somehow lacked humor. “I haven’t heard anyone call me that since high school.”

  “That’s good to hear.” Rohn cocked one brow. “I don’t know how I’d feel about some other guy using the name I used to call my girl.”

  ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

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  Copyright © 2015 by Cat Johnson

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  ISBN: 978-1-4201-3621-0

  First Electronic Edition: May 2015

  eISBN-13: 978-1-4201-3622-7

  eISBN-10: 1-4201-3622-4