Rancher's High-Stakes Rescue

by Beth Cornelison

“Naw. He’ll learn soon enough. Didn’t want to get into that conversation until we can talk in person.”

  After giving her shoulders a hard rub, she started paddling again. As they drifted around the turn in the river, they reached a widening in the water where a still pool had formed in an inlet to the side of the current. Following Josh’s directive, they paddled to the flat, rocky bank below a bluff where trickles of runoff dripped in small rivulets. Trees grew out from the hillside, casting shade over parts of the natural pool, while the sun sparkled on ripples and dragonflies zipped over the surface of the water with a soft hum of their wings. Kate drank in the tranquil spot and smiled. “Wow. I need to get pictures here for sure.”

  “Agreed. This has always been one of my favorite spots. Piper, Zane and I would come up here to swim every summer when we were growing up.” Having removed his boots at some point, Josh hopped out as they drifted into shallow water and tugged the front of the raft onto the bank. She laid down her paddle and swung her backpack onto her arm. When Josh held out a hand to help her step out, she gripped his fingers and climbed from the rubber boat. Her legs ached from being cramped in the raft, and she stretched the muscles in her back.

  He took the pack from her, grabbed his boots from the back of the raft, then dropped it all on the bank, away from the water. Tossing his hat on top of the items, he took her hand again. “Come on. You’ll love this.”

  “Wha—”

  He set off at a jog, towing her with him as he sprinted up a narrow, rocky path that ascended the embankment to the top of the bluff. Cresting the hill, he led her out on an outcropping of granite where they had a view of the quiet inlet from thirty feet above the clear pool. Kate cast her gaze around the peaceful scene as a yellow butterfly flitted past. “Amazing. But my camera is in my bag, and my bag is down by the raft where you left it.”

  He walked even farther out, tugging her toward the edge of the rock. After pulling off his shirt, he tossed it aside, and while she gaped, distracted by his broad, muscled chest, he said, “There’ll be time for pictures later. First we swim.”

  Then, with a wink, he unzipped his shorts and kicked them off, as well, leaving him in only his navy boxer briefs.

  Distracted as she was by the sight of his nearly naked and toned physique, she almost missed his added, “And the best way to get in the water is to jump.”

  Chapter 7

  After a second of delay, his words sank in, and she blinked at him. “Jump?”

  “Yeah. It’s only about a twenty-five-foot drop. And the water’s plenty deep in the pool. We did this all the time as kids.”

  Her mouth dried, but she wasn’t sure if the aridness was due to trepidation over his proposed leap or his dishabille. “Look, Josh...I know what you’re doing, and I appreciate that you want to help me. But...I’m not jumping.”

  He paused, arching one eyebrow as he sent her a cocky grin. “What I’m doing is showing you the most fun you can have with your clothes on.”

  She returned a wry look. “Then why are you taking your clothes off?”

  His cheek dimpled as he smiled at her. “Because I don’t want to spend the rest of the afternoon in wet clothes.” He hitched his head toward the drop-off. “Come on. You can do it. It’s not a huge jump, but it is incredibly fun.”

  She twisted her mouth as she considered his suggestion. She’d had a favorite swimming spot near the family farm in Missouri where she and her brother had swung by a rope on a tree branch to hurtle themselves into the pond. They’d yelled like Tarzan and dared each other to attempt flips. The memory made her smile. Fear hadn’t dogged those summer days with her brother. Before...

  Her heart ached for the lost courage, but Kate shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  Josh’s expression reflected his disappointment in a flicker before he shrugged and moved to the edge of the drop-off. “Are you sure? I’d hate for you to pass it up and regret the missed opportunity later.”

  Kate felt her chest tighten with anxiety. Without knowing it, he’d cut to the heart of her inner turmoil. For years since her accident at the silo, she’d let so many things pass her by, including a high school class trip that included a ropes course and an opportunity in college to go skydiving. She’d listened to her fear, given in to her doubt and allowed moments to slip away that she could never get back. Chances her inner child, her free spirit cried out for, but her wounded soul squelched.

  “I...can’t.”

  He gave her a level, patient look. “You can. And you should.” He paused a moment, letting his comment sink in, then added, “If you change your mind, I’ll be down there waiting for you.” With one last puckish grin, he saluted her. “YOLO!”

  He took a small step back, pivoted, then took a long leap forward, off the bluff, whooping his delight.

  Kate rushed forward in time to see him splash into the water. A moment later he broke the surface, swiping his hair back with his hand, and giving another joyful hoot of enjoyment. He tipped his head back to gaze up at her, and his face split with a wide white smile. “That was better than I remembered!” He motioned with a big swoop of his arm. “Come on, Kate! The water’s only a little frigid.”

  She snorted a laugh. “Oh, yeah, that’ll change my mind. Telling me the water’s frigid.”

  “Only a little frigid.” He ducked under the surface again and came back up with his face tipped up so that his hair slicked back over his skull. Water glistened on his shoulders and dripped from his chin. “What do I have to do to convince you to jump? Huh?”

  She shook her head. “Josh, I’m just not ready.”

  “How about a reward?” he shouted up to her. “You jump, you get a prize.”

  She chuckled and shook her head. “What kind of prize?”

  “Oh, ho ho! So I’ve got your attention now with the lure of a reward?” As the sun beat down on his chiseled cheeks and stubble-dusted jaw, his expression radiated good humor and teasing. Her heart thumped harder as she gazed down at his handsome face and his tempting lips quirked in a lopsided grin.

  “No. I’m just...curious. What do you have to offer? A granola bar? A glow stick?” You. Her heartbeat became flustered at the possibility that flashed through her brain. “I have all the same things in my pack that you do.”

  “No, not a granola bar. Something better. But you’ll have to come down here to see what it is.” Was she just imagining the sparkle of mischief in his oh-so-blue eyes?

  A pang wrenched deep inside her at the idea of disappointing him. He’d been so kind and thoughtful the past two days. He’d truly taken care of her in every way. He’d comforted and encouraged her. Kept her warm, made her laugh, shared his private pain. She hated that her reluctance meant she’d let him down.

  Close behind that thought, something hot pricked her heart. Call it stubbornness or guilt or the desire not to fail in this moment.

  In an instant, determination surged in her. Acting quickly, before her fear caught up to her and stole her initiative, she scuttled back from the edge of the bluff and toed off her tennis shoes.

  * * *

  Josh’s heart sank as Kate disappeared from the top of the rock. Retreating again. “Kate?”

  He waited a moment for her to return to his view at the edge of the outcropping of rock. When she didn’t reply or reappear after a few seconds, he called again. “Come on, Texas. You can do it!”

  He tried to keep his tone light and encouraging, but in his chest, frustration weighed heavily on him. He’d felt sure he could help Kate find her lost spirit of adventure. He needed to know he’d done at least that much for her, since everything else about this trip, his new business venture, his attempts to help save his family from financial disaster had been such a failure. He needed a win, damn it! He needed just one thing to go—

  A high-pitched cross between a scream and a squeal pealed from atop the hill. His heart st
umbling with alarm—was Kate all right?—his gaze shot to the top of the bluff. “Kate?”

  Stripped down to her bra and panties, she came racing out to the edge of the bluff, took a running jump and hurtled out into the air. Her cry tuned up an octave and a few decibels as she windmilled her arms and tucked in her legs on the way down. She splashed into the water about ten feet from him, and without hesitating, he headed toward her before she even came back up to the surface. He realized he was holding his breath when, at last, she erupted from the water with a shriek.

  “Kate?”

  She shouted a curse and blinked the water from her eyes. “A little frigid, my eye! It’s freezing!”

  He couldn’t help himself. She looked so miserably cold, so irritated with him, so...breathtakingly beautiful, his relief and happiness burst from him in a belly laugh. He swept her into his embrace, their legs tangling as they treaded water, and he seized her mouth with his.

  She seemed startled by the kiss, her body stiffening briefly before she wrapped her arms around his neck. But he was the one who was shocked. He hadn’t expected the jolt of pure pleasure, the to-his-core electric charge. Sure, he’d been aroused kissing other women—and there’d been plenty of kisses in his past. But holding Kate, celebrating this victory over her fear with her, sharing this kiss filled Josh with something more than the physical.

  His brain was a bit too stunned by his reaction to analyze what he felt beyond the sweetness of the moment, the power of the connection and the desire to deepen the kiss. Which he did. Operating on impulse, his go-to mode, Josh slanted his mouth over hers and cradled the back of her head with a splayed hand. His legs scissor-kicked automatically, keeping them afloat while he explored the seam of her lips, the tip of her tongue with his own. Heat suffused his body, chasing away the chill of the water.

  Several moments later, she tore her mouth from his, panting for a breath. He allowed his gaze to travel down to her soaked bra, a simple, flesh-toned satin number that clung to her erect nipples, and the exposed curve of her breasts just beneath the surface of the water. Another wave of lust slammed him, and he couldn’t stop the growl of approval that rumbled from his throat. “Damn, Kate, you are one sexy woman.”

  She raised her green gaze to his and tugged up a corner of her mouth. “You’re not bad yourself, cowboy.”

  Her compliment sparked something at his core. He’d had women ogle him for years. In truth, he relished the attention. But knowing she returned his feelings of attraction was deeply satisfying in a way he’d never experienced before.

  He nipped lightly at the tip of her nose. “You did it.”

  She drew and released a deep breath before a bright smile lit her face. “I did it.”

  “I knew you could.”

  Her grin twisted in irony. “I didn’t.”

  “So what convinced you?” he asked, wiping drips of water from her eyebrow with his thumb.

  She chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t know. You. My old moxie. Who knows? I didn’t take the time to overanalyze it when the courage came. I just...jumped.”

  “I knew you had it in you.”

  Her expression softened. Warmed.

  He leaned his forehead against hers and whispered, “Ready to go again?”

  * * *

  Go again? Oh, yes. So long as what they repeated was that toe-curling kiss.

  She tipped her head to the side as she eyed him. “If I jump again, do I get another reward?”

  His crooked grin said that her request pleased him. “Count on it.”

  When Josh pulled away from their embrace, taking with him his body heat, she was reminded just how cold the water was. And of her state of undress. And his. A tingle shimmied through her as she skimmed her gaze over his chest and savored the brush of his hard, bare thighs against hers as they treaded water. She became awkwardly aware of the way her nipples had reacted to the icy inlet...and his touch.

  She was no prude, but coupled with the amorous kiss she’d returned, she worried that he would read her actions and responses to his overtures the wrong way. Or...maybe her real concern should be that he was reading her exactly the right way.

  Her body wanted him. Her heart might even be leaning toward further exploration of their sizzling attraction. But her head wasn’t on board yet.

  Josh was a womanizing flirt who lived three states away from Texas and whom she’d likely never see again after she and Dawn finished working on the McCall Adventure Ranch campaign. A fling with Josh would be just that. Another fling that went nowhere and left her at loose ends, possibly—no, probably—heartbroken. That sobering reality check more than the frigid water cooled her passions as they swam to the bank and sloshed out of the river.

  Barefooted, they picked their way over the rough ground, littered with rocks and stems. Seeing her careful, slow progress, Josh waited for her to catch up to him.

  “How about this?” he asked as he swept her into his arms, carrying her cradled against his chest.

  “Oh!” She looped her arms around his neck with a gasp. “That’s...good actually. I’m kind of a tenderfoot as well as a chicken, I guess.”

  “Nope. Not a chicken.”

  She scoffed her disagreement.

  “My mother liked to tell us, ‘Labels lie.’ If you keep calling yourself a chicken, you’re giving yourself permission not to prove otherwise.”

  “But what if it’s the truth?”

  He lifted a shoulder in dismissal. “You jumped, didn’t you?”

  “So? I was scared to the point of shaky knees. Still kinda am.” Although the quiver in her belly at the moment had more to do with having his arms around her and her body cradled against his bare chest. His skin was warm and smooth and glistened in the sunlight with diamond droplets of water. This chivalry should be in the promotional brochure, she thought with a secret grin. Women would buy out every trip. Her inner grin shifted to a frown, and a prick of jealousy poked her at the thought of Josh carrying any other woman.

  They’d reached the top of the hill, where tufts of grass, smooth rock and packed dirt made for easier barefoot terrain. He set her on the ground and rolled his shoulders to stretch the muscles.

  Muscles that flexed and rippled in the most delicious way. Kate pressed a hand to her belly where, in addition to butterflies jumping again, tendrils of desire curled as she recalled their kiss. Clearly she’d lost her senses. Kissing Josh when she knew nothing could come of it was tempting fate.

  Tempting...

  She released a slow breath. Yes, the word fit well. Josh was definitely tempting...

  “A chicken doesn’t do.” He had his arms akimbo, and his gaze drilled her. “You did. You did today, and you did yesterday. The fact that you were scared just makes you all the braver in my book.”

  The lack of teasing in his countenance stopped her. He had, in fact, a tender sincerity about him, and she caught her breath as he stared deeply into her eyes. This wasn’t flirting or patronization. She saw an earnestness and compassion that caught her off guard. Josh, it seemed, was much more than the adrenaline junkie, playboy cowboy she’d pegged him to be. She shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, labels lie.

  Josh stepped closer, and she shivered. Not because of the cool breeze that buffeted her wet skin, but because of the new insights she had about her traveling partner. In the last few minutes, she’d confirmed his incredible kissing talent, and she’d uncovered a depth and kindness to his personality that made him easier to like...and to fall for.

  She didn’t need any more reason to find him attractive. She was already struggling to keep her heart at arm’s length from his charms.

  “Now, let’s go prove how brave you are again. Together.” He laced his fingers with hers and led her to the edge of the bluff again.

  Looking down, she experienced another wave of heebie-jeebies. The height seemed so m
uch more from this vantage point. An intimidated squeak wiggled loose from her throat, and he squeezed her hand.

  “Together on three. Okay?”

  She met his eyes. Nodded.

  “When we jump, you have to say, ‘YOLO!’”

  She arched one eyebrow. “Why?”

  The corner of his mouth twitched. “It stands for ‘you only live once.’ And it’s McCall triplets tradition.”

  “I’m not a McCall.”

  “Today you are. Ready? One, two...”

  He’d distracted her with his talk of tradition, and she had no time to brace or balk before he squeezed her hand and shouted, “Three!”

  Her legs sprang forward as if on autopilot, and she shouted with him, “YOLO!”

  They splashed into the water, still holding hands, and the renewed shock of cold, a spike of adrenaline and a spurt of happiness shimmied through her.

  As she surfaced and gulped in air, a giddy giggle bubbled up in her chest. Using the grip he still had on her hand, Josh towed her close, and they laughed, while blinking at each other through wet, spiked eyelashes.

  Something hot and dangerous curled inside her as she reveled with Josh in the simple thrill of their leap, the beauty of the sunny day and the notion that for once, she’d conquered her fear.

  The water sloshed around them, the crest of the waves they’d created slapping the base of the bluff and rocky bank.

  “So...” Josh said, a devious twinkle in his eyes.

  She screwed her face in a teasing scowl. “So what?”

  “So...I think we’ve proven that you’re not a chicken.” He smoothed back the dripping ends of her hair and grazed his knuckles along her cheekbone.

  She hummed a low note of disagreement. “I set aside my qualms for a low-risk jump. One jump doesn’t mean I’ve miraculously overcome my childhood trauma.”

  “Two jumps. And point taken. But it is a start. An important step. Yeah?”

  She drew and released a deep breath, allowing the smile that budded in her chest to blossom on her lips. “Yeah.”