by Debra Holt
“What decision?” Did he detect the hint of breathlessness in her tone? She was certainly finding it difficult to breathe normally or keep her eyes from falling on the pair of magnetic male lips.
“To let me be your husband…in every sense of the word.”
Subconsciously, her lips parted a bit to form a response, but none came, and that was just as well. His mouth claimed hers in an easy conquest. His tongue met no resistance as it slid in to meet hers. One strong hand slid around her neck and under her hair to capture and hold her still as his lips drew upon the softness of hers. The fact that Chance could kiss like no one she had ever been kissed by before, and the fact that she could feel it to the very tip of her toes, registered in a foggy brain. It was lulled by an instant fever that sprang alive as his tongue danced with hers and his kiss became more demanding.
Josie was drugged by sensations she never experienced before, except for the last time they shared a mind-numbing kiss. Her hands, fingers splayed, met the hard, muscular chest, and she stepped closer, under the spell cast by his touch.
Chance’s free hand moved to her hip and slowly upward, the long fingers easily sliding underneath the hem of her sweater and finding the warm flesh of her back. His touch upon her skin sent a shock wave of tingles up her spine and sparked through her brain, enough to bring her to reality. Her eyes flew wide, her body stiffening. She stepped away, and Chance did not stop her. She fought to keep her mind clear and her breathing under enough control to speak. However, she didn’t get her chance.
“Sweet dreams, Josie.” Chance walked away first, disappearing into the kitchen.
Chapter Thirteen
The bed was huge and seemed to have grown since the first time she saw it. Josie changed quickly into a soft pink flannel gown and swiftly slid under the covers, pulling them up under her chin, turning onto her side, facing away from the empty pillows beside her. The lights were off, and she was profoundly glad for the darkness.
Her cheeks felt on fire still as she tried to block the scene from the dining room from her thoughts. What had come over her? She responded so eagerly when Chance kissed her. She had participated in it from beginning to the abrupt end. It would be ridiculous to believe otherwise. She was already in a precarious spot where Chance was concerned. Because her heart was fully involved, it made her vulnerable, and that was a feeling that frightened her. Her ears were tuned in to every sound, real and imagined, in the darkened room and the hall beyond.
A half hour later, there was a roll of thunder in the distance beyond the windows. In a few minutes, light raindrops could be heard on the metal roof overhead. The sound worked to soothe her nerves, until her eyelids became too heavy to remain open. Josie slept soundly, and she was not aware when Chance entered the room an hour later, moving silently across the bedroom, stopping to adjust the covers over her shoulder, before he turned and stepped away.
*
It was a while later that Chance entered the bedroom. Part of him hoped to find an eager bride waiting in their bed for him. What he found was an exhausted Josie fast asleep, curled on her side, her breathing slow and deep. He approached the bed with soft footsteps and bent to adjust the covers higher on her shoulder. With the softest of touches, he placed a light kiss on her forehead and then left the room.
The night air was needed to clear his mind and took a deep breath of it as he stepped outside. Not for the first time in the last couple of weeks, Chance knew what it was to second-guess himself. He had it planned out…or so he thought. It wasn’t going to be easy, he realized that. But he might have underestimated his self-control and patience level in some recent situations.
He was a married man. Josie was his wife. And it was their wedding day. He had tried his best to make it memorable for her. Now, he was sitting on the front porch, a full moon rising in the east after the storm clouds had dissipated. A romantic setting and he was alone. His bride was upstairs in their new big bed, having fallen asleep…upset with him. He tried not to move too fast…lose the ground they had gained in their relationship. Such as it was.
If his brother hadn’t shown up when he did, things might have been a lot better. But then, maybe it had worked out in his favor. He had taken a gamble with allowing Dev to take Josie out to dinner. He hadn’t bargained on the kiss, and it had taken everything in him not to put him on the floor. But Josie’s reaction had been interesting…and hopeful. It was all part of a gamble. He knew he had to go all in once and for all. If he hoped for a future for him and Josie, he had to put his heart on the line. He counted on the fact Josie knew what it was to keep her word once she gave it. She’d do her best to live up to her part of their “deal.” Only he hoped she would see that there were far more positives involved, and she could learn to truly trust herself and him.
There was hope. Kissing Josie had been more than he had ever imagined it would be. Her response gave him the impetus to remain hopeful…she couldn’t be indifferent to him if she could respond to him as she did. One day at a time. He had committed his heart a long time ago. Josie held it in the palm of her hands…hopefully, one day, she could find room in her heart for him. He had to pray for a lot more patience to get him through whatever was to come.
*
Josie’s eyes opened slowly. The first thing she was aware of was the fact she had slept deeper and more soundly than she had in years. She marked it up to the combination of champagne and other wine from the previous day’s events. The second thought was that she slept in a new bed, and she was probably not alone in it. Her hearing did not pick up any sounds nor did she feel any movement.
Glancing at the clock on the bedside table, she saw the alarm would be sounding in the next ten minutes. Carefully, she reached out and switched it off. Just as slowly, she eased from the covers and reached for the robe on the chair beside the bed. She hastily donned it and stood. Only then did she venture a look at the opposite side of the bed.
Empty. The only hint that someone might have been there, was a slight indentation in the top pillow. The covers were in place and seemingly undisturbed. There was an ambivalent mixture of feeling…both relief, and also disappointment. They blended to add to her confusion. Perhaps Chance had changed his mind about sharing a room? Don’t count on it. Josie ventured toward the bathroom and found it empty as well. She wasted little time in taking her shower and dressing in jeans, green work shirt, and brown boots for the day ahead. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she grabbed a heavy work jacket and headed downstairs.
The smell of coffee met her as she stepped into the kitchen. However, the room was empty. Her eyes went to the pegs beside the mudroom door, and she saw that Chance’s hat and jacket were gone. He evidently got an early jump on the day ahead. Just as well. It was to be business as usual. What did she expect? Nothing. As long as she kept that in mind, the less likely her heart would be hurt.
She was grateful for the additional time to prepare to face the man after the events of the last twenty-four hours and, in particular, the shared kisses. Grabbing a quick bowl of oatmeal and some toast, Josie downed a second cup of coffee and then bundled up against the cold of the morning. She stepped outside, pulling her hat onto her head, and sliding heavy gloves on her hands. The simple gold band still shone brightly and, while the engagement ring rested in its box upstairs, she had kept the band on her hand. She didn’t identify why it was important to her to keep it there. It just felt…right. Her breath was frosted in the early morning as the sun was just coloring the sky a brilliant pink in the east. A thin layer of dewy frost colored the ground a pale white around the buildings.
Once saddled, she and Cookie headed in the direction of the holding pens less than a mile from the main ranch compound. There was a good deal of activity. The men were penning the heifers that would be palpated that morning. Doc McGrew stood at the gate to the chute where each one would be placed. He was suited up and ready for the messy job ahead…his arm in a long plastic sleeve that reached almost to the top of his should
er.
Palpating of heifers was a necessary part of their business. Doc would reach his arm inside the cow and feel for the presence of a calf. The heifers that had been successfully bred would be culled from those who were not. Josie’s eyes did a quick sweep of the area and found that Chance was nowhere to be seen. She moved her horse forward. The next hour was spent in the culling process, so she had to concentrate harder than usual to keep her mind from wandering in directions it shouldn’t. Such as where was her new husband? Maybe he was bored with his new role already?
“We’re still short a couple of cows. Chance went off to locate them earlier.” This bit of news came from Tom as he rode up to join her. She had her answer. When, a half hour later, Chance had still not made an appearance, Josie swung into her saddle and told the men she would take a look for the cows herself. The rain the night before had left the ground a bit soggy in some places but nothing to impede her progress too much.
The sun was climbing in the blue sky, and the brisk morning air was losing some of its bite. She paused long enough to remove her heavy jacket and place it under the straps at the back of her saddle. Ten minutes later, Josie topped a rise and saw one of the cows. She was in the draw below and was evidently mired in a mud hole.
Reining in Cookie as close as possible to the site, Josie removed her coil of rope from the saddle horn and attempted to place the noose over the cow’s head. Twice, the cow flipped its head and the rope slithered off. On the third attempt, the rope caught and held. Quickly, Josie wound the rope around the saddle horn and tapped Cookie’s side to ease back, tightening the rope and drawing the cow toward the edge of the hole. Things were going fine until the animal decided to be stubborn and came to a standstill within a couple of feet from the edge.
Josie, exasperated with the cow, dismounted and moved along the taut rope. There was nothing for it but to ease toward the animal and hope to entice it a few steps more. The mud was just above her ankle when she stopped and grabbed for a better grip on the line. The animal steadfastly refused to budge.
“Come on, you stupid side of beef. I’m trying to help you.”
“Seems you’ve met your match.”
Josie’s head jerked toward the sound of the voice. Chance sat on his horse, a few yards away, watching with clear amusement on his face.
Naturally, he would choose to make an appearance when she was in a situation that was both maddening and embarrassing. How could she be taken seriously in running the ranch if she couldn’t control one stubborn cow? Josie shot him a look that should have wiped the amusement off his face. It didn’t.
“Did you find the other heifer?”
“Yes, I did,” he responded. “When I got her back to the pens, Tom told me you had taken off in this direction, so I thought I would see if you had any luck.” He still did not move from his horse.
Josie’s mouth thinned, and she counted in silence to ten. When she spoke, she tried to maintain an evenness that she was far from feeling. Her feet were slipping a little and she tightened her grip on the rope. “Do you think you might possibly help me out here?”
“I can’t believe it.” He straightened in the saddle.
“Can’t believe what?”
“You’re actually asking for help. See…it’s not that hard at all.”
“Forget it. I’ll do it myself.” She turned back toward the cow, but before she could take more than a couple of steps, a rope snaked through the air and landed perfectly over the animal’s head. Josie stopped and turned.
“Well? What are you waiting for?” Chance grinned at her.
Josie stomped back toward her horse and soon was in the saddle. This time, with two ropes around the errant animal’s head, their horses backing slowly, the reluctant cow emerged to stand at the edge of the hole. Josie and Chance both dismounted at the same time, moving toward the animal to retrieve their ropes. He removed his and then went to do the same for her.
“I can get my own rope, thank you.”
Chance stepped back and waited for her to do so. Josie had just cleared the animal’s head when the now-freed animal decided to exercise its freedom. With a toss of its head in Josie’s direction, it caught her off balance as she took a step forward. In a split second, Josie found herself flat on her backside in the mud hole. The cow went trotting away.
Chance stood on the bank, his shoulders shaking visibly beneath the heavy coat. The brim of his hat was pulled low, but the uptilt of the corners of his mouth was a giveaway. He was laughing at her!
“You think this is funny?”
That only added fuel to Josie’s discomfort and growing anger at both the cow and the man. She moved to hoist herself up and immediately found her hand slipping. She ended up making a muddy splash.
There was no control now, as Chance could contain his laughter no more. He did step forward and, with an arm and hand outstretched toward her, he managed to speak, “Grab my hand.”
Josie looked at him and then at his hand. She gave a brief smile and took his hand with one of her mud-covered ones. Taking a good grip, she leveraged herself up and took a step forward as she pulled swiftly on the hand she still held. There was a muttered oath. Then Chance took the place she had just vacated when his foot slipped in the mud. Josie had perfect timing to take advantage of it. From her stance on the dry land, she was the one who stood laughing at the site before her. The mighty Chance Braxton, with a priceless expression on his face, looked at her with a definite gleam of anger.
“Now, that is funny.”
“Laugh while you can. Payback will be mine.”
Josie was in her saddle before Chance made firm land. She gave him a smart wave and headed to round up the cow and complete the job. Chance was not far behind.
*
It was another two hours before Josie was able to head Cookie toward the barn and home. She finally gave in when Chance threatened to haul her off her horse and put her in a truck and have one of the hands drive her back to the house. Neither of them had taken time to do anything about the mud-covered clothing because all hands were needed when they reached the others.
It wasn’t the first time either of them had worked in such conditions. However, the moment things slacked up, Chance told her to go to the house and change. Making a scene in front of the ranch hands was not something she wanted to engage in. Although they didn’t appear interested in the tableau playing out between her and Chance, she knew they couldn’t help but hear it. She gave him a final look that told him she was not at all happy with his high handedness, but she would suck it up this time and do as he ordered.
As she entered the welcome warmth of the house, she realized it might not have been such a bad idea after all…coming in out of the cold, where a light drizzle had begun to fall just as she made the house. Her clothing was caked in dried mud, and she stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of herself in the mirror in the small half bath downstairs. She had streaks of mud on her face and even in her hair. She looked worse than something a cat would drag in. No wonder Chance found her amusing.
Her jacket, hat, gloves, and boots were left in the mudroom. By the time she reached her bedroom, she had the shirt off, and the jeans soon followed. The dirty clothing went into the clothes hamper as she passed into the bathroom. Within a few minutes, she stood under a hot stream of water in the glass-tiled shower. Her chilled limbs began to warm, and renewed circulation began to return to them. She shampooed her hair and stood for a while longer under the showerhead.
With reluctance, she shut off the water and reached for the fluffy blue towel hanging on the rod next to the door. Drying off, she wrapped the towel around her and stepped out of the shower. Just as she reached for a hand towel to wipe the steam off the mirror, the door opened behind her and she swung toward it, her hand automatically going to the folds where the towel was tucked in to secure it.
“What are you doing? Can’t you knock?”
Chance seemed totally nonplussed at her presence or her obvious
discomfort. He acted as though a half-naked woman in his bathroom was a perfectly normal occurrence. He moved into the room, causing Josie to back up until she couldn’t go any further due to the vanity behind her.
“It should be obvious what I’m doing. Since I’m coated in mud, I thought a shower would be appropriate before I have to leave to attend a meeting in town. I had hoped to get here sooner, in order to conserve water.” He began removing his shirt as he spoke.
Josie tried to keep her focus on his face and what he was saying. It was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate, given the fact that his broad-shouldered, muscular chest, with its light smattering of fine hair tapering down to disappear below the button at the waist of his jeans, kept drawing her eyes downward like a pull from a magnet. It was definitely steamier in the room by the time he reached for and undid the belt and drew the zipper downward.
“Conserve water? Can’t you wait until I’m done in here?” Did her voice end on a squeaky note? She licked her lips in nervousness.
“Conservation of water in a drought season is very good, haven’t you heard? I thought we could share the shower. Only you were faster than I anticipated. But don’t let me stop whatever you were doing.”
With that, the jeans went to the floor, leaving him clad only in dark navy briefs that definitely caused her blood pressure to shoot through the roof and impeded her breathing. Chance stepped closer to where she stood, his arm reaching above her for a towel from the shelf behind her. His arm touched her bare skin, and she felt as if a live wire had flicked over her. A shiver went down her back.
“Are you cold?” he asked, his eyes falling on hers, and letting her know that he already knew the answer to the question.
“I prefer to have my bathroom to myself.”
“Which you would have if you hadn’t pulled me into that mud hole. Guess you brought this on yourself. Little girls who play with fire can get burned.”
