The Second Chance Rancher

by Kate Pearce

  “Oh . . .” Daisy breathed out as his thumb settled over her bud, and suddenly nothing else mattered. “Yes.”

  * * *

  Jackson eased his finger lower, delighted and humbled to find that she was already wet for him. His dick throbbed, but he concentrated on the amazing taste of Daisy’s skin, and the slick promise of her secrets as she opened to him like a flower. He added his mouth to his probing fingers and she came apart, knocking off his hat to grab his hair and hold him exactly where she wanted him, which was just fine by him as he sucked and licked her.

  He speared two fingers inside her and she came again. He reached up and took the foil packet out of her unresisting hand, unzipped his jeans way too fast for safety, and covered his dick. He stood, picked her up, and in one swift motion eased her down over the hard column of his flesh, setting off another climax.

  “Jeez . . .” Jackson growled against her mouth as he gathered himself and thrust upward until he was fully inside her and her feet were planted firmly on his ass. He pumped once, twice, and then his climax was wrenched out of him, leaving him blind with lust and satisfaction as she came all around him.

  He braced his forehead against the wall and just held her, luxuriating in the rapid thump of her heart and her ragged breathing. When he regained some strength, he picked her up and walked her into her office, sitting her down on the high counter while he dispensed with the condom.

  She stayed where he left her, her bosom literally heaving and her thighs still slightly apart, which did all kinds of things to his libido. He approached her again, and her eyes widened as she took in the excited state of his body.

  “You can’t possibly be ready for more already?”

  “Daisy, that took less than five minutes,” Jackson said. “I can do better than that. You can do better than that.”

  He moved between her spread thighs. “And there were important pieces of you I missed the first time around.” He cupped her breasts, his thumbs finding her already hard nipples. “Like these.”

  She leaned into his hands, her fingers coming to rest on the back of his neck as he gently bit her through the cotton of her shirt and bra. While he kissed her, he worked the buttons free on her blouse and offered up a silent prayer when he realized her bra was a front loader.

  And then he forgot everything but the heat and weight of her breasts, and his need to kiss and fondle them while his other hand cupped her mound. She moaned his name, and he was suddenly as hard as a rock. He eased back, and she frowned.

  “What’s up now?”

  “Condom,” he explained. “In my other pocket. I always like to be prepared for all eventualities.”

  “Were you a Boy Scout?” Daisy inquired.

  “Eagle Scout.” Jackson covered his way-too-excited dick.

  “Of course,” she murmured. “You have to be the best at everything, don’t you?”

  “I certainly try to be, ma’am.” He slowly eased inside her. “Let me know how I’m doing with that.”

  * * *

  This time they both lasted a bit longer. Daisy didn’t have to worry about whether Jackson could bear her weight, and the table was at the perfect height for him. She came so many times, she started to wonder if she should be holding back, but Jackson soon put a stop to that. He was bossy as hell, and she didn’t mind it one bit.

  She closed her eyes and let the last climax ripple through her as he came as well, his breathing harsh against her throat as he leaned forward. She ruffled his hair, scraping her nails over his scalp, and he shuddered.

  He eased out of her, dispensed with the protection, used the small bathroom, and came back to her. His jeans were now zipped, his Stetson back in place. She blinked as he lifted her down and kissed the top of her head.

  “That was awesome.”

  “Yes, it was,” Daisy said as her brain decided to function again and she realized he was heading back toward the door. “Wait. Are you going somewhere?”

  He turned to stare at her, his brow furrowed. “I thought I’d get out of your way. You’ve still got half an hour to get lunch.”

  “Did it occur to you that I might want to have lunch with you?”

  He rubbed a hand over his stubbled chin. “To be honest, Daisy, seeing as I’ve never had this kind of relationship before, I wasn’t sure what the criteria were. Do I just have sex and walk away? Do we chat? What about foreplay? What about—”

  “Stop talking right now.” Daisy pointed her finger in his face. “I’m going to use the bathroom, and when I come out, I expect you to still be here, do you understand?”

  Jackson took one look at her, raised his hands, and backed up to sit at her workbench. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Daisy washed and went back to collect Jackson, who was sitting meekly where she’d told him to.

  “Come on. I’m taking you to lunch.”

  She unlocked the back door and went out into a blue sky and bright sunshine. Traffic was already building up, and they had to wait quite a while to get across the street to Yvonne’s.

  Daisy found a small table at the back of the shop and sat down with Jackson, who hadn’t said a word since she’d told him to shut it in the shop. She raised an eyebrow at him.

  “You can talk now.”

  “I wasn’t sure,” he replied with his usual engaging smile. “As I said—”

  “You’re not sure how to manage this new relationship with me.” After telling him it was okay to talk, Daisy immediately interrupted him. “I think we should just try to be honest with each other. If I want you to hang around, I’ll tell you, and you can do the same with me.”

  “Sounds doable.” He nodded. “Would you be willing to come over to my place and spend the night sometimes, or is this strictly a workday thing?”

  “Spend the night?” Daisy blew out a breath. “I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet. If my brothers didn’t know where I was, they might freak out and come looking for me.”

  “Knowing your brothers, they might freak out and come looking for me anyway,” Jackson said. “I’d like to see you naked in my bed.”

  Daisy glanced furtively around to see if anyone had overheard Jackson, and saw that Lizzie, who was taking an order from a nearby table, was laughing her socks off. Daisy didn’t think it was because of the hilarity of the order she was taking either.

  “Can you keep it down, Jackson?” Daisy whispered. “I’m sure no one wants to hear about our potential sex life.”

  “I’m okay about it.” Lizzie appeared beside them. “I hear all kinds of stuff in here.” She winked at Daisy. “I promise I won’t tell a soul, especially one of your brothers.”

  Jackson shuddered. “Yeah, thanks. I’d rather cling to life for a few more years.”

  “What can I get you?” Lizzie inquired. “We’ve got some great specials today.”

  * * *

  Jackson eyed Daisy as she ate her salad with obvious enjoyment. His body was still humming and he just wanted to take her home, strip her naked, and start all over again. Although what Cauy would make of being abandoned with a herd of cows in a distant field didn’t bear thinking about.

  But he had to pace himself. Daisy wanted things kept light and easy, and as neither of those things came naturally to him, he’d have to follow her lead. He was a long-term planner and a plotter, and this uncertainty was probably good for him.

  “Was it okay?” He started speaking before considering the warning he’d just given himself. “The sex, I mean.”

  “For goodness’ sake.” Daisy put down her fork. “Do you want a score?”

  “Why? Did you have one in mind?” Jackson asked.

  “No, strangely enough, I was enjoying myself too much to think about such things.” She lowered her voice. “Did you not notice how many times I came?”

  “You were pretty impressive,” Jackson admitted. “I almost lost it a few times there.”

  She looked so pleased with herself, he wanted to lean over and kiss her soft lips. Then he’d be bac
k to asking her to spend the afternoon in bed with him, raising the wrath of not only Cauy but the Millers and possibly those wanting to purchase flowers from the shop.

  “I would like to spend some more time with you, though,” Daisy said.

  “In bed?”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re being way more specific about this than I anticipated. Yes, in bed, and maybe elsewhere, like on the couch, or watching a movie, or eating food?”

  “Like a real date?” Jackson asked dubiously.

  “Exactly.” She picked up her fork again. “How about Friday? You can pick me up from the flower shop and take me to dinner at the Red Dragon.”

  “And then can I take you home and ravish you?”

  She smiled at him. “Yes.”

  Jackson sat back.

  Mission accomplished.

  “Awesome.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Jackson, did you read that letter I left out for you the other day?” Cauy asked as he poured himself more coffee.

  It wasn’t yet six in the morning and the sky outside was a forbidding gray. They’d gotten up early to go help one of the other ranchers in the valley brand their cattle. As they had decided to ride over, it would take a while to get there, hence the early start.

  “Which letter?” Jackson yawned so hard his jaw cracked.

  “The one from the coin guy—you know, the person who was supposed to be finding out how much all those old coins Dad saved up were worth?”

  Jackson frowned. “I don’t know what happened to it. I left it on the table. Did you throw it away?”

  “Don’t blame me.” Cauy spread his arms wide. “I didn’t touch it.”

  “Doesn’t this coin guy have e-mail or anything?” Jackson grumbled. “Can I call him?”

  “He doesn’t do ’the Internet,’ but you can definitely go ahead and leave him a phone message. It only took him three months to get back to me the first time I called.”

  “How old is this guy?” Jackson demanded.

  “He sounded about ninety, but I could be wrong,” Cauy said. “January Morgan put me in touch with him through her contacts in the historical society. Mr. Perkins used to live around here. I guess Dad consulted with him occasionally when he was buying stuff.”

  They’d found the hoard of coins in an old filing cabinet taken from the abandoned silver mine, half on their land and half on the Morgan side. The mine was slated to be filled in after some dude ranch guests had gotten inside and almost trapped Cauy and Rachel Morgan in there forever.

  “Then I’ll have to look for that letter,” Jackson muttered. “What the hell did I do with it? I bet the coins aren’t worth much, but I’d love to know why Dad was keeping them.”

  “I wish I’d opened the damned thing when I had the chance instead of being all honest and leaving it for you.” Cauy finished his coffee and got to his feet. “No time to worry about it now. We’ve got to get going. Cattle won’t brand themselves.”

  * * *

  Daisy checked her laptop and reviewed her worksheet. She had another wedding coming up in two weeks at Morgan Ranch. Today she had a consultation up there with the bride-to-be and her mother.

  A message popped up from Ian on her cell.

  Have you got a sec?

  Daisy typed a thumbs-up, and her cell phone rang.

  “What’s up, Ian?”

  “Can you come out here Friday and Saturday the week after next?” he asked. He kept talking as if aware she was going to refuse. “We’ve got a couple of other VCs who heard about our product and want to get in early and meet us.”

  “Can’t you guys handle it?” Daisy asked.

  “You know what the gang are like. They’re amazing at what they do, but none of them can put it into words.”

  “Maybe it’s time they learned.” Daisy eyed the paper calendar on her desk and flipped through the pages. “At some point, I’m not going to be around to articulate every thought those geniuses have.”

  “I hear you.” Ian paused. “So can you come?”

  “Hold on.” Daisy checked out her plans for the weekend Ian was talking about. “Nope. I can’t do that weekend, but I can do the following Wednesday through Saturday. Will that work?”

  “I’ll find out. If they’re that keen to meet with us, I can’t see why it would be a problem. Thanks, Daisy. Love you.”

  Daisy ended the call and scribbled a cryptic note to herself in her calendar. She could drive into the Bay Area, or get on a plane from the small local airport. She preferred to drive, but sometimes the passes over the mountains were still blocked by snow even this late in the year.

  She stuck her pen behind her ear and stared at her laptop screen. She’d also need an excuse for leaving Morgan Valley, which meant she’d have to conjure up a flower show event or a class or something to stop her family from worrying about her. Daisy sighed. Sometimes she hated all the deception, but the thought of telling them what was going on when the start-up was at such a precarious point, and everyone was depending on her to get them through, was too difficult. She couldn’t let her team down. All of them had lost money on their first business venture, and they’d all put seed money down for the new one without hesitation simply because she’d been so passionate about the cause.

  Their new product would save people’s lives. If she had to explain why it was so important, she’d have to tell her family a whole lot of personal stuff she’d kept hidden from everyone.

  Daisy turned her calendar back to the current week and shut down her laptop. Keeping secrets was hard and getting worse every day. She put on her jacket, found her purse, and put her laptop in it. An afternoon spent with a bride-to-be would calm her nerves. Then she had a date with Jackson, which certainly wouldn’t calm her nerves but might make her forget her problems for quite a while longer.

  * * *

  “Hey, Cauy, Jackson,” Adam Miller greeted the brothers as they tied up their horses at the fence. “Nice to see you out here helping your neighbors.”

  Cauy nodded at Adam. “Shep asked me to come and I was happy to do so.”

  Jackson admired Cauy’s calm expression. The fact that Cauy was nervous as hell because he was standing on the very ground his real father had grown up on didn’t show on his face at all. He also wasn’t rushing off toward the ranch house to see if his “grandparents” were there. Jackson wasn’t sure he would’ve shown such restraint, which was probably why Cauy had only let him tag along after a stern talking-to.

  Last year, Cauy had finally found out that his real father was a seventeen-year-old guy named Benjamin Gardin, who’d been walking out with their mother, Anita. He’d died when a tractor trailer had rolled over on top of him. leaving Anita pregnant and alone.

  It also explained a lot about how Mark, Jackson’s father, had treated his eldest son, driving him to leave the ranch at sixteen and not return for almost twenty years. Jackson unzipped his jacket and followed his brother and Adam toward the barn, where the smell of coffee overlaid the more regular smells of horseshit and straw.

  The elderly woman dispensing the coffee looked up with a smile as they approached, and then clutched at her heart, almost dropping the pot.

  “Oh my stars!” She was staring right at Cauy, who looked calmly back at her. “Shep! Look who’s here!”

  She put down the pot, came around the table, and drew Jackson’s laconic brother into a fierce hug. “Why didn’t anyone tell me how much you looked like my Ben? Shep! Where are you? Our grandson is here!”

  “I’m right behind you, Marjory. Now why don’t you put the boy down and let him get his bearings?” Shep advanced on the brothers, and even Jackson could see the likeness between his brother and the older man. “Thanks for coming, Cauy. We appreciate it.”

  Marjory reluctantly released Cauy, but hung on to his sleeve. “Now, when we’re done with the branding, you come and visit with me in the house, do you hear me?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Cauy smiled at her. “I’d love to do
that.” Marjory went back to pouring out the coffee, and Shep disappeared into the barn. Jackson touched Cauy’s shoulder.

  “You okay?”

  “Sure.” Cauy’s smile was resigned. “Who wouldn’t want to provide Morgan Valley with the best gossip ever?”

  Jackson looked around the circle of cowboys and recognized faces from every ranch in the valley. Seeing as Marjory hadn’t even attempted to lower her voice, he was pretty sure everyone in the vicinity who hadn’t already worked it out had heard her declare Cauy was her grandson. By tomorrow, the news would be all over town.

  “At least you got it all over with in one hit,” Jackson said encouragingly. “Now everyone knows.”

  “Yeah.” Cauy sipped his coffee. “Gee. Thanks.”

  It took Jackson a few minutes to work out that there were three Miller brothers present at the branding: Adam, Danny, and Evan. Kaiden worked as a carpenter and helped out part-time on the ranch, and Ben ran the Miller place with his dad and Adam, which meant he was busy all the time.

  It was a long time since Jackson had branded anything, and rather than make a complete fool of himself, he’d decided to volunteer for cutting the calves from the herd and running down escapees, tasks well within his ability and unlikely to cause any serious holdups or harm.

  He and Cauy barely had any cattle yet, so going to all the other ranches and polishing up on their skill set was really helpful. When Shep divided them up into teams, Jackson ended up with the Millers, who showed him how skillful they were at every task put in front of them. He had to bet Daisy knew her way around a horse and all the jobs related to running a good ranch.

  “Hey! Jackson!” Evan Miller shouted at him. “Yo!” One of the calves was making a run for it, so he wheeled his horse around to cut her off. Rocket was as fast as his name, and Jackson was secretly proud of how fast he reacted. None of the Millers looked very impressed as they swiftly dealt with the calf and sent it bawling back to its momma. He had no doubt Daisy would be getting a report on her boyfriend’s skill set from her brothers, and he doubted he’d make more than a C average.