So much for my plans.
Instead of greeting her properly at the airport, I’m stuck out here in the rain, knee deep in cactus and sludge, putting this damn ranch back together. Because, no, when Mother Nature finally decides to grace us with some moisture, we don’t just get a few sprinkles, we get a frog strangler!
“You about done over there?” Irritation laces my voice as I grouse at my brother Colt. He’s barely two years younger but the way he messes around, sometimes I’d swear it was ten times that. All day, he’s been crackin’ jokes about Isabella bailing on the whole thing before she even sees me, jilting me.
Like it’s so fucking funny that Jessamine is picking her up instead of me.
I love my family. They’ve always been there for me. They supported me when I married Lenora, when each of the boys came into the world, and God knows I couldn’t have made it without their support after Lenora’s death.
But they don’t seem to understand how much Isabella means to me. I’m not some wet-behind-the-ears kid. I wouldn’t have proposed unless she was the one.
Isabella’s the real deal. She’s everything to me. No way in hell am I letting her get away. The scary thing is, I felt this way the moment I met her at my college buddy’s destination wedding in St. Thomas.
I nearly didn’t go but Colt insisted he and Levi could handle things back here for one week. Damned near impossible to get off the ranch for more than a day at a time.
But I went. And thank god I did. Meeting her there was almost enough to make me believe in fate.
She was the maid of honor, and I was the best man. Yeah, corny as shit, I know.
But I’ll never forget the moment I first laid eyes on her.
Standing on the beach barefoot, blond hair swirling in the wind, a fruity drink in her hand. The dress she wore wasn’t much more than a tropical colored piece of fabric knotted above her breasts.
And she was laughing.
Laughing because the wind was creating havoc with the entire party. Table cloths were blowing away, the festive lanterns were swinging wildly, and she could barely keep her dress down to cover herself properly.
Other guests were unhappy with the chaos, irritated by the inconvenience of a few gusts of wind. A few of them ran inside.
But this gal. This woman.
Taking hold of her skirt, she happily chased the large floppy hat that had lifted off the bride’s head.
She chased the hat right into the ocean.
And laughed.
I had to get to know her. I needed that in my life. Laughter. Beauty. My gut tightened, and all I knew was that I needed her.
And damned if my luck hasn’t changed because by some amazing twist of fate, she’s mine.
She said yes.
And this weather is jackin’ everything up!
“The rest is gonna have to wait.” I toss my wrench into the toolbox in the back of my muddied-up Tacoma. “We need to get back.” The rain hasn’t let up and the skies in the west are dark gray. No sign of blue sky on the horizon today.
The persistent thrumming beat of the rain sounds on the roof of my truck.
At least none of the mudslides took out any of our cows. We got lucky today. Fences, we can fix.
It sucks to lose a cow.
Colt looks like he’s going to argue for all of five seconds, but he must have heard something in my voice. He nods and puts his own tools away before climbing into the passenger side. As soon as I turn the ignition, Colt flips on the heat. Both of us are soaked through. Hell, I’d bet that even my boxers are wet.
I put the truck in gear and creep toward the two-track road we came in on.
“You think Jessamine picked her up okay?” Colt adjusts the vents to blow on him. I can’t think about the wet and grime halfway up my Wranglers. Dirt’s a way of life. Sometimes it’s dust, other times it’s mud.
“She damn well better have.” My jaw clenches at the thought of Isabella stranded at the airport. I love her, but I don’t know her like I should. Like I will once we start our life together. I couldn’t blame her for being pissed at me, but I don’t think she will be. She looks and dresses like a fashion model but she’s not fussy at all. She’ll understand.
I glance down at my phone. Still totally worthless. Coverage is sketchy until I can get to within a mile the house.
She’s gonna need a pair of cowboy boots. Don’t know why that keeps coming to my mind, but I can hardly wait to see those legs of hers in a pair of boots. And I wouldn’t complain if they were wrapped around my waist either.
Colt doesn’t say anything for a few minutes. I’m not a big talker. I haven’t told my family all the reasons I’m in love with Isa. When I got back from St. Thomas, I simply announced that I was getting married again and they all better get used to the idea. A niggling of worry makes me uneasy. Maybe I should have tried harder to soften them up for her.
It’s just that I know how stubborn they are and I didn’t want to give them any notion to try to talk me out of it.
Out of her.
Because that just fucking isn’t going to happen.
But they’re…territorial.
“Why this girl, Tuck?” Colt asks as though reading my mind. “I mean, what’s so special about her? Damn near everybody’s expected you to get together with Cassidy.”
I steer around a big ass rock. “If you think she’s so great, why don’t you get with her?”
Just because the first woman I chose to marry died, doesn’t mean they get to pick the next. What the hell do they want from me?
For all of a second, my mind flashes back to my dad. It’s only been two years since he passed away. Just a year after Lenora. Wonder if my dad felt the weight of this family, this ranch, the way I do.
Probably more so.
Mom, Gran, my brothers and my only sister, Jessamine. They’re all adults but that doesn’t mean they’ve all grown up.
Colt’s probably the closest to me. Tries to take on some of the upkeep and running of the ranch. But he’s wild. I feel like he could take off at the drop of a hat. Colt brings me back to the present with a subject I’d prefer to avoid.
“Hell, Tuck. Cassidy’s been in love with you since high school. You know damn well she ain’t looking anywhere else.”
“Well she better start,” I answer. I’ve never given her any notion I felt the same. She’s just always been there. Was I supposed to kick her off the ranch because of her schoolgirl crush? Jessamine would love that. Me kickin’ her best friend to the curb. Especially when she’s always wanting to help out with the boys.
Colt shakes his head. “You really think some gal from San Francisco is gonna wanna settle down a hundred miles from the nearest Niemen Marcus?”
“Some gal isn’t going to want to.” I say through gritted teeth. “Isabella will.” Except by the time I pull into the ranch drive way, I’m not so sure. I see the house through her eyes.
A log cabin with a giant wrap around porch in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by ranch vehicles, some metal outbuildings and a shit ton of mud.
Jessamine’s truck is back. That means Isabella’s here. My heart skips about a dozen beats as I jump out and storm the door.
Except, I can’t just go racing inside. I’m covered in mud.
Just like the high heels shoved against the wall in the mud room.
The only person who would have been wearing that kind of shoe around here is Isabella. And they’re dang near good as ruined.
One thing I remember vividly about my Isabella is that she loves her shoes.
I have no complaints about them, myself. In fact, they’d looked sexy as hell on her in St. Thomas.
Not something you’d want to wear around a ranch, though.
Especially on a day like today.
I strip off my boots. Damn, my jeans even. Hang my hat on a hook and throw everything else into a pile. Wearing just my shirt, socks and boxers, I glance into the kitchen. Jessamine, Mom, Gran, and Cassidy are sitting aro
und the kitchen island. Pots on the stove, all of them drinking Diet Cokes. “Where is she?”
Mom looks uneasy but Jessamine’s smiling like a cat who just devoured a canary.
“She’s lovely.” My grandmother is the only person around here who isn’t acting all shifty-like. “Your mom showed her to your room. I think she’s resting up a bit.”
Not waiting around to hear anything else I take the steps two at a time, turn the corner in a flash and then throw open the doors to my room.
A giant lump forms in my throat.
She’s here. She’s in my bed, damn it, and she’s sound asleep.
My light. My sunshine.
She’s pulled up the afghan from the end of my bed and covered herself almost completely. Not so much though, that I can’t make out her golden blond hair peeking from the top and the sweet curves underneath.
I lock the door behind me. After a quick shower, where I happily notice Isabelle’s girly shampoo on the ledge, I dry myself off and then crawl onto the bed behind her.
When my arm wraps around her from behind, she sighs and twists around to look at me. I’ve missed those indigo blue eyes.
They’re a little red…and swollen. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!
“God, I’m sorry Isa.” I can’t keep myself from kissing damn near every inch of her face. The rain. The mud. Her shoes. She must be overwhelmed by it all.
Not a great first day.
My lips capture a salty tear. “God, what a mess.” She’s wearing nothing but a T-shirt and soft cotton pants. My hands run down her arms, over her back. I squeeze her soft ass and pull her up against me. When her mouth lands on my throat, I know neither of us can wait.
Nothing has changed. It’s the same as when we said goodbye. All the tension of the day ebbs away as my body homes in on Isabella. I’ve thought about having her a million times and now she’s here, her fingernails combing through the hair on my chest and then trailing a fiery line to the elastic of my boxers.
So much pent-up emotion, pent-up restraint. “I wanna take this slow but I don’t think I can.”
“Don’t.” Her voice sounds throaty with need. Need that matches my own. “I’ve been so empty without you.” God, her words make me even harder, which I wouldn’t have thought possible.
Isabella.
In my bed.
“You need fillin’ up?” I growl. “I’m more than happy to oblige.” Her barely-there panties are down around her ankles now and I’m good to go. We’ve already had the talk. Thank the gods, she’s on the pill, and we both know one another is clean.
A pounding sounds at the door. “Tuck!”
Jessamine.
“Tuck! Supper’s on! And the boys are starving. We’ve held dinner for you.”
Isabella and I just kind of freeze. “Fuck.” I whisper into her neck. I turn my head. “Give me fifteen minutes!” Damn my sister to hell right now.
But Isabella is touching my face. “The boys are hungry.” She’s smiling regretfully. I gaze down at this beauty and again question why the gods saw fit to let me even touch her.
“This boy is hungry.” My mouth is at her breast. Tugging.
She lets out a short laugh. “Tucker.” And then she makes that little moaning sound I’ve missed so flippin’ much.
We don’t have much time. No way am I stopping.
Besides she’s wet. Ready for me.
I settle in between her thighs and slide myself up and down her seam. Touching her reminds me of all the things I’ve wanted to do with her over the past month.
But for now, I’m gonna fill this gal up – just like she needs.
I glide in slowly at first, giving her time to stretch around me. So tight. So good. Her legs wrap around my waist. I slide in a little farther, listening to her gasps, waiting for her to beg me for more.
She’s clutching at my ass now, and I give her another few inches.
“Tucker. You son of a bitch don’t play with me now.”
Ah. Fuck yeah. One long thrust and I’m in to the hilt.
Both of us are full speed ahead now. Being with Isabella is different from being with any other girl. She takes as much as she gives. I’m as turned on by the feel of her hand in my hair as I am by the one digging into my ass.
She demands as sweetly as she offers up.
Both of us are taking right now. Both of us hungry as hell for the other.
I know she’s close and even though I’m fixin’ to go over, I need her to find hers first. I adjust my angle and listen for the hitches in her breath that have burned themselves onto my soul. Making this woman happy. Giving her pleasure – It’s everything.
“Tucker.”
I love the sound of my name on her lips, all breathy and caught up in desire.
Just before she lets go, I capture her cries with my mouth and increase my own pace. Her body milks mine until I have no choice but join her on the other side. “Holy. Shit.” I hold myself deep inside her.
I can hardly believe it.
This little gal.
This woman.
Is mine.
CHAPTER FOUR
Isabella
Lying in Tucker’s arms, I swear I would travel to the ends of the earth to be with him. I can handle a little mud. The ladies of the family pose a challenge, I must admit, but not an insurmountable one.
“We should get dressed. Be sociable.” I mumble the words against his lips, not making any move to get out of bed. My hands love the feel of his body. I didn’t realize how much I missed him until I woke up to find him behind me.
Tucker’s answer is to growl behind my ear.
Fantasies aren’t necessary, knowing Tucker James loves me. His love frees me, oddly enough. As though it’s confirmation that I’ve done something right in my life. At that thought I’m reminded of the song in The Sound of Music that the Captain and Marie sing when they finally get together. The melody tickles my memory… I love old movies. Musicals. I hum a little as Tucker inhales behind my ear.
“You smell amazing.”
“I look a mess.” I’d lain down earlier with wet hair.
“My mess.”
God, I love this man. “You should have seen me at the airport.” A giggle escapes. I can somehow laugh at all of it now. “I wore my favorite Manolo Blahniks for you! They looked so good Tucker. And I bought the cutest skirt ever… and my silk blouse. You owe me, buddy.”
He looks so sad for a minute that I hurry to kiss him again. “I’m kidding, babe. I’m just so happy to see you finally.”
“I know.” His eyes darken to an evergreen shade. “Everything went all to shit today. I saw the shoes.” His mouth twists into an apologetic grimace.
I trace the little creases at the corners of his eyes. “You’re worth it.” And then I squirm. I hate to think of his sons waiting around to eat while we… “At least I’m cleaned up now.” I pluck some dried mud out of Tucker’s hair. “Or I was.”
He sits up and runs a hand through those silky sable strands, completely unaware of how hot he looks. “Where’s your luggage?”
I’m tugging my T-shirt over my head. Shit. I was gonna need to put on a bra. “As far as I know, it’s still in the back of the truck.”
Tucker’s face takes on a stormy expression. A ticking in his jaw gives away his displeasure at my words.
“They’re kind of big.” I shrug. “I didn’t expect your sister to drag them inside for me.”
But he’s shaking his head. “Why in the hell didn’t she just pull the damn truck up to the door?”
Ah, something I’d wondered about myself. But I’m not sure where the lines of this battle have been drawn. I’ll wait and see. Hopefully, opinions and perspectives will change after a few days.
I’ve been told I’m quite lovable by all my friends. Not being liked is not something I’m familiar with. But Tucker looks worried and he has nothing to worry about.
I walk on my knees across the bed so that I can run my hand along his jawline. Forc
ing him to meet my gaze, I pick my words carefully. “They don’t know me, Tuck. Give everyone a little time.”
But he’s still pissed. “That’s no excuse for bad manners.” Tucker kisses me, almost absentmindedly before opening a drawer and pulling on a clean shirt. “I’ll be right back.”
“You aren’t going to give her a hard time?” I don’t know why I’m trying to protect that woman, but I have a feeling him defending me can only make it worse.
“I’m gonna go get your luggage, sweetheart.”
I smile. I don’t want him worrying over this. “My hero!” And with a wicked glint in my eyes I add, “Now I won’t have to go down to dinner commando.”
He pauses doing up the buttons of his shirt for a moment, and he can’t contain his grin. “I reckon I could rethink the luggage thing.”
I throw a pillow at him. “Luggage. Now.” I don’t want him to leave. I want him to strip off his clothes and climb back into bed with me. It’s just that there are a few people downstairs we probably ought to be concerned about.
Most notably, Little Tuck and Leeland.
I’m going to be a freaking stepmother!
Tuck tosses the pillow back at me. “I want to buy you some boots.” All I think about with his words is how I can pair them with my new silk teddy. I’ve never been this wanton, this… horny. Only for Tucker. Only for this man.
He’s still not thrilled with his family. He pulls on a pair of faded jeans and stuffs his shirt tails into them before buttoning up. My eyes devour him.
I’ve done my fair share of dating. Suits, mostly. A lawyer, a financier, even a movie producer once.
None of them have even come close to stirring the levels of emotion in me that Tucker does. Maybe it has something to do with his relationship with the land – the physical nature of his work. Or maybe we’re just meant to be. Fate. Destiny and all that.
I know when Tucker says something he means it. He’s real. He’s honest. He doesn’t play games.
I wouldn’t be here with somebody who did.
He never would have told me he loved me if he didn’t feel it in the core of his being. He wouldn’t propose if he had even an inkling of doubt.
Mile High Madness: Six Colorado Contemporary Romances Page 36