by Jennie Marts
Zane squinted through the snow. “You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Go save your dad’s nuts.”
“Thanks, brother. I’ll run an extra bale of hay out to the herd before I go, then be back in the morning to help you get ’em fed.” He tipped his hat to Harper and roared back toward the barn.
Logan gunned the engine and pulled alongside Harper’s rig. “Zane’s got to go check on his dad. You good helping me finish up what’s left of the herd in the south pasture?”
She nodded, as he knew she would. The woman had spunk, and he hadn’t seen her back down from a challenge yet. “Let’s go.”
He led, and they bypassed the road and made their way across the field. A large group of cattle were huddled together, which made it easier for the two of them to move them back to the closer pasture. As they led them in, Logan saw that Zane had moved in not one, but three giant round bales of hay.
The snow was getting thicker, and it was becoming harder to see. Harper pulled up next to him and shouted through the wind. “Did we get them all?”
He’d counted the ones they’d brought down from the north pasture and verified the number with Zane so he knew they needed to find another eighty head in the south pasture. But the group they’d just brought in only had fifty.
He shook his head. “No. We’re still missing about thirty head. Including Star.”
“The storm’s getting worse.”
He didn’t care how bad the storm was. He wasn’t losing a single head. And he sure as hell wasn’t losing thirty. He couldn’t afford to. “You can head back to the house. I’m not leaving them out there.”
She tucked her chin to her chest. “I’m staying if you’re staying. Let’s go find them.”
They headed back across the field, slower this time because the visibility had gotten worse. He yelled Star’s name as they rode into the pasture, but he couldn’t see a single other cow. In one direction was a stream, so they might find the stragglers near the water. The mountain rose on the other side of the pasture, and it was dotted with trees. The cows might have headed that way for protection from the storm.
Logan figured the trees were a better bet. He steered the quad that direction and heard Harper fall in behind him. He drove along the edge of the trees, straining to see through the white curtain of snow as he tried not to panic.
Increasing his speed, he plowed through the snow. His head was screaming at him to slow down. He knew he was pushing the quad to go too fast for these conditions, but he had to find the cattle. He stood up in the seat and shouted for Star again.
The front wheels of the ATV hit a patch of ice, and the quad spun out, completing a full circle before it tipped over as it slid into a ditch next to a tree.
Logan was pitched off and landed in the snow three feet from the overturned quad.
Harper cut the engine and jumped off her ATV. She ran to his side, falling into the snow next to him. “Oh my gosh, Logan. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” he muttered, sitting up in the snow. “Thankfully, I landed in a snowbank and wasn’t thrown into that tree. I’m pretty sure only my pride and my ass are bruised.”
“Well, your ass deserves it. You were driving way too fast for these conditions.”
He knew she was right, but her harsh words still rankled. “I know. And I’m the one who landed ass-over-teakettle in the snow.” He avoided looking at her as he pushed up and tested his weight on his legs. He seemed to be fine, but the ATV wasn’t. Its front wheel was wedged under the tree’s limbs. “Give me a hand, would ya? Let’s try to get it free.”
They pulled and pushed at the quad, trying to work it loose, but it was good and stuck, and Logan finally waved at Harper to give up. “Forget it. We’re not getting it out of this ditch today. I’ll have to ride with you, and we’ll come back and tow it out after the storm is over.”
He climbed onto her quad and she got on behind him, pushing her body snug against his. It was most likely for warmth, but the feel of her legs wrapped on either side of him sent a swirl of heat through his gut. If he weren’t so damn worried about his cattle, he might enjoy this a little more. But right now, all he could think about was finding the rest of the herd.
The wind was picking up, and the snow was swirling around them as he started the engine. Harper leaned forward and yelled into his ear. “I think we need to go back. This is too dangerous.”
“I can’t,” he yelled back. “I can’t leave the cattle out here.” His voice was edged with panic, but he didn’t know what else to do.
“This is crazy. We can’t see more than a few feet in front of us. The cows aren’t stupid. They’ll find protection or huddle together. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
He turned in the seat so he could see her face. “I have to find them. I’m sorry you got dragged into this, but I have no choice. I literally can’t afford to lose even one. I have to keep looking.”
She narrowed her eyes, studying his face, then nodded her head. “Okay, let’s keep looking. But at some point we need to head back and get warmed up. Your clothes are soaked. You won’t do anyone any good if you catch pneumonia.” She offered him a tiny grin. “And I can’t get paid if you freeze to death.”
He knew she was right. And he appreciated her efforts at trying to make him smile, but he didn’t have any humor in him at the moment. All he could think about was how disappointed his dad was going to be and how he was going to let down his whole family if he lost the cattle and any of them died.
Turning back around, he bent his head against the wind, put the quad into gear, and inched forward. They spent another thirty minutes searching the trees and the side of the mountain before Logan admitted defeat and agreed to head back to the barn. But he planned to drop Harper off and change into a pair of dry coveralls, then resume the search.
He wasn’t ready to give up entirely. And he hadn’t checked the area on the other side of the pasture. An old cattle run fed into the far section, and there were a lot of trees where the cattle might have taken cover.
The back of his throat ached, and his stomach churned with nausea at the thought of losing the cattle. His shoulders were hunched forward, and he was focused on the road ahead as he drove back toward the ranch.
Harper pounded on his shoulder and pointed toward the pasture. “Logan, look! It’s Star!”
He peered up, his heart in his throat as he prayed Harper was right.
And sure as heck, she was. He couldn’t believe it. Coming from the other side, down through the cattle run, was his favorite bovine. And she was leading the rest of the herd toward the west pasture. Whether she heard him calling or smelled the fresh hay Zane had put out, he wasn’t sure, but he could not have been happier to see that dang cow.
He let out a whoop and sped toward the gate. Hopping off the quad, he pulled open the gate. Star lumbered toward him, and he counted all thirty of the missing cows plodding in her wake. He threw his arms around the cow’s neck, relief flooding through him. “You did it, Star. You brought the herd home. I’m bringing you an entire bag of marshmallows tomorrow.”
He released the cow, and she fell in step with the last stragglers as they trudged through the gate. After shutting it behind them, he turned back to where Harper was standing next to the quad, and took two steps forward and pulled her into his arms.
“We got ’em,” he whooped as he lifted her off her feet and swung her around. She laughed and cheered with him. “Thank God we got ’em. And thank Star, the freakin’ wonder cow.” He set Harper down and peered into her smiling face. “And thank you. Thanks for stickin’ with me and not giving up.”
Flakes of snow clung to her long, dark eyelashes, and her cheeks were pink from the cold. But the grin she wore told Logan she was just as happy as he was that they’d found the cattle. Her smile lit up her face, and he was struck by how insanely beautiful she was. H
e impulsively leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips.
It was a quick kiss that took them both by surprise.
Harper’s eyes were wide when he pulled back, but her lips had been soft and pliant. And she hadn’t pulled away.
His heart thundered in his chest—he knew it was a bad idea—but he dipped his head and kissed her again. This one slow and more deliberate than the last, and her lips parted with a soft sigh. A hot rush of desire surged through his veins, and he pulled her closer.
She melted in to him, giving back the passion he offered. Well, melted in to him as well as she could in the bulky coat and gloves.
A shiver ran through her, and he wasn’t sure if it was from the kiss or the blizzard raging around them. He pulled away and rubbed his hands briskly over her arms. “You’re freezing. We need to get back and get you out of these wet clothes. I mean…get you warm.”
A grin pulled at the corners of her just-kissed lips. “I’m getting pretty warm now.” Her voice was soft, and she said the words with a touch of flirtation, but her gaze was sultry as it met his—heated and full of promise.
Yeah, he was going back to his original statement. They needed to get back and get her out of those clothes. All of them. And as soon as possible.
“Come on,” he said, climbing onto the quad. She got on behind him, but this time it felt different when she pressed against his back and wrapped her arms around his waist. She tucked her head between his shoulders and used his back to protect her from the snow as he sped toward the barn.
Zane had left the main door open, so Logan pulled into the barn and parked the quad. Harper climbed off and stamped her feet as she waited for him. Her jeans were soaked and crusted with ice, and her feet had to be freezing in those stupid boots.
He pressed a hand to her back. “Let’s get inside.”
She rubbed her hands together, but instead of heading for the open barn door, she hurried to the office in the corner. “Just a second. I want to check on the kittens.”
He followed her into the office and could hear the kittens mewling.
Harper was lifting them from where they’d been cuddled together in the folds of the blanket on the sofa. “Their little bodies are freezing, and they’re yowling like they’re starving. I don’t see the mama cat anywhere. But I can’t believe she’d leave them like this.”
Logan had a hard time believing it too. “Maybe she got caught out in the storm.” Or she got caught by another animal. They were always losing barn cats to coyotes or to cars traveling too fast down the highway. But Nacho had been around a long time, and she seemed too smart for that.
“We’ve got to take them into the house.” Harper had all three clutched in her arms as she hurried through the barn.
The snow hit them hard in the face as they left the barn, and Logan stopped to pull the big barn door shut behind them. Several inches had accumulated and they trudged through it, heading toward the soft glow of the house.
A sinking feeling coursed through his chest as the yard light blinked out and the house went dark.
With the loss of electricity, the ranch was blanketed in silence, the only sound the whoosh of the wind and the soft swish of their boots in the snow.
“I’ll make a fire,” he said as they stepped through the door of the house. It was warm inside, but that wouldn’t last long without the heat coming from the furnace.
Harper stamped her feet, then headed for the kitchen. “I’ll feed the kittens.”
“I think Quinn left a little kitten chow in the pantry. You can put some in a pie tin and pour some table cream over it,” Logan told her as he shed his coat and gloves and knelt in front of the fireplace. He stacked wood and kindling in the grate and got the fire going before taking off his boots and setting them by the hearth to dry.
Harper took off her gloves and scarf and gingerly set the three cats on the floor. She followed his instructions, and the kittens climbed over each other trying to get to the pie tin when she put it down beside them. A stack of his clean shirts was on the counter, and she grabbed a sweatshirt from the top of the pile. “You okay if I use this?”
“Sure.” He thought she meant for her, but instead she wadded it up and put it on the floor close to the kittens to give them a warm space to crawl into after they’d eaten.
The fire crackled and spit as he walked toward her. “Okay, now that you’ve taken care of the animals, it’s time to take care of you.”
“Me?” She swallowed. “I’m doing fine.”
“You’re freezing, and you’ve got to be soaked to the skin. We need to get you out of those wet clothes.”
The same impish grin curved her lips from before, and a frisson of heat shot up his spine. Her gloves lay on the counter, and her hands shook as she tried to unzip the coat. He wasn’t sure if that was from the cold or from his suggestion.
“Here, let me help.” He pulled the zipper of the coat down, and she shrugged out of it, then wrapped her arms around herself. “Normally, I’d suggest a long, steamy shower, but I don’t know how long the hot water will last, so we should probably just use the fire to get you warm.” He grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa as he led her to the fireplace.
Easing her onto the hearth, he set the blanket next to her, then untied her boots. He gently slid them off and rubbed her stocking feet between his hands. They were like icicles, but surprisingly, the boots had kept her feet pretty dry.
With the electricity out and the storm blowing outside, Logan felt cocooned in their own space, as if nothing else existed outside their circle of firelight. As though the rest of the world had faded into the darkness, and nothing else mattered except the two of them.
Harper must have felt the same. Her customary snark was absent. In fact, she wasn’t saying much at all. At least not with her mouth. But her willingness to let him lead her to the fireplace and peel off layers of her clothing spoke volumes. Her body was speaking to his, telling him she wanted—needed—this as much as he did.
She still wore the stocking cap, but her hair was soaked and dripping onto her shirt. He tugged the hat off and smoothed his hands over her head, twisting his fingers through the damp locks. The scent of her shampoo filled the air, and he wanted to bury his face in the velvety strands.
Her eyes were soft as she looked up at him, trusting, without a trace of her usual wariness. She was so beautiful.
He knew he should stop—should quit touching her—but even the slightest graze of his hands on her skin was making him feverish with need. And he didn’t want to stop.
He didn’t want to think and deliberate if this was the right thing to do or if this was a terrible decision. He just wanted to touch her, to feel her against him. All his senses seemed to have left him, and he didn’t care what being with her would mean or do to him later. He didn’t want to ponder where things would go or how long this would last.
All he cared about was right now, this moment, and this woman whose stunning green eyes seemed to dance and glitter in the light of the fire.
His hands rested on her shoulders. “Your shirt is soaked,” he whispered, unable to find his voice.
Her voice was husky and sent need surging through him as she said, “Then take it off.”
He swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous and shy. She’d given him permission to take off her shirt, and his hands trembled as he lowered them and fumbled with the top button.
Her gaze held his, but he had to look away, had to focus on the task although he was dangerously close to giving up and just ripping her shirt open.
He eased the next button through the hole, and his mouth went dry as the fabric fell back, revealing a black lacy bra, the color stark against the creamy skin of her chest. He wanted to dip his head and kiss the luscious slopes of her breasts, which were barely contained in the bra.
He flicked open another button, then couldn
’t help himself as he ran his thumb over the top lacy edge of the bra. Her breasts were lush and ample, and it took all he had not to pull the cups down and fill his hands with their weight.
Another button. Another. Then the last one that let the shirt fall completely open. He caught the slight inhale of her breath as he ran the backs of his fingers up the center of her stomach, then along the top of one breast before reaching her neck, then across to where he eased one side of the shirt off her shoulder.
His breath hitched as he gazed at her bare skin, then threaded his fingers through her hair. She tilted her head, just the slightest, giving him access to her neck.
This was it. Harper was here, baring herself to him, and all he had to do was lean down and take his fill of her. This was the moment to stop. Before things went too far.
Hell, her shirt was open, and he’d already skimmed the edges of her bra. It seemed as though things were already progressing into the “far” category. But he could still stop. He could still save himself from jumping completely in, save himself from drowning—in her.
Because if he did this, there would be no going back. Once he gave in, once he tasted her, grazed her skin with his lips, he would only want more.
He flicked his gaze to her, studying her face for a sign. All he saw were her sultry, hooded eyes as she looked up at him from under her lashes. The air around them seemed thick with excitement and uncertainty. Then her full lips quivered and parted, and he was lost.
Chapter 19
Harper held her breath, every nerve in her body tingling as Logan stared down at her, carnal hunger evident in his gaze. She knew he was debating his next step and looking to her for reassurance that taking that step was okay.
She had no idea if it was. Her head told her to slow down, to think about the consequences of what she was doing. But her body screamed Screw the consequences. She could worry about those another night.
