His Rodeo Sweetheart

by Pamela Britton

  A long time later she leaned back, sniffed, a part of her mortified that he’d seen her break down.

  “Better?”

  She nodded.

  “Liar.”

  She nodded again. He smiled, a tender smile, one that made her whole body go still. Something flickered in his eyes, something that caused a warning to scream through her head.

  Step away.

  She didn’t, God help her, she didn’t, and so when he lowered his head toward her own, she didn’t move then, either.

  “Claire,” he said softly.

  Whether he closed that final distance or she did, she would never know. All she knew was the heat of his lips against her own and the feel of his body pressed up against her chest was the sweetest slice of heaven she’d had in a long, long time. It started as the softest of kisses, one meant to reassure her and comfort her. But then it changed, and she let it happen because, Lord, it’d been so long.

  She’d forgotten about the way a body could tighten and tingle and warm with just a kiss. And so when those lips moved away and nuzzled her jaw and then the side of her neck, his teeth lightly nipping her, she let him do it. She even sighed when he cupped her breast. His other hand parted her shirt even more and she knew what he would do next. God help her, she welcomed his touch, her bra sliding over her sensitive skin until she was exposed to his view, but not for long. Oh, no. His mouth covered her and she thought she might lose it right then and there. How had she managed to forget the way it felt to have a man nip at her? Why hadn’t she remembered how good it was, or how exciting, when that same man used his mouth to tease and taunt her? Her body had become a live wire, one that sizzled in his arms.

  His hand shifted even lower. The sizzling turned into a burn. When he found her center it was all she could do not to cry out. She wilted. He pulled her to him and she let him carry her away and away and away.

  Her knees gave out.

  If he hadn’t been holding her she would have fallen to the floor. But he held her while she spiraled around and around and around until she slowly, gently returned to Earth.

  Her hands clutched his shirt. She hadn’t even noticed.

  What are you doing?

  The words were her first coherent thought. This was neither the time nor the place to be doing something like that. Adam was right on the other side of the door, for goodness’ sake.

  What kind of parent was she?

  She tried to slip away. His arms held her tight, his own head resting against the top of hers.

  “It’s okay,” he said softly.

  No. It wasn’t okay. She had no business indulging in pleasure, not with her son so sick. She was the worst sort of parent.

  “I need to check on Adam.”

  Chapter Nine

  He played with fire.

  Ethan rested his hands on the counter, staring at the granite surface. She was clearly at the end of her rope. Clearly vulnerable. Clearly in need of an escape, and he’d taken advantage of that fact. He shouldn’t have done that.

  Outside, the dogs started barking. He glanced up and out the window in time to spy a truck coming down the drive. Colt. Probably wondering what had happened to him. Thank goodness the man hadn’t come a few minutes earlier.

  He threw back his shoulders. He had no idea where Claire had gone, but he had a feeling she wouldn’t want to greet her brother. Not until she composed herself.

  The truck came to a stop near the kennels. Ethan headed out the side door.

  “There you are,” Colt said, a smile on his face. “I was thinking you might have gotten lost.”

  He forced a welcoming grin. “Nope. Just helping your sister out.” His smile collapsed beneath the weight of his guilt for a second. “Adam isn’t feeling well.”

  Colt’s smile slipped off his face, too. “What’s wrong?”

  “He’s got a fever. Pretty bad one, I guess.” And I just made your sister cry out in pleasure. “I just made them breakfast, but Adam didn’t eat hardly anything at all.”

  Colt nodded, heading quickly inside the house. Ethan headed toward the kennels. Fresh air. He needed more of it. Claire had probably heard him talking to her brother. She’d had time to compose herself, no doubt. If he was smart he’d start heading back to his new quarters, but he couldn’t just leave her after kissing her like that. They should talk. He should apologize. Hell, he should go get his head examined—for more reasons than one.

  Janus eyed him from his kennel. There were times, like now, when he missed his friend with an intensity that hurt. Physically hurt. It made his heart race, the tempo increasing until he found himself setting off in Janus’s direction. The dog greeted him at the gate.

  “Hey, buddy.”

  Janus ducked his head as if to say “hey” right back. Ethan scrubbed the dog on the top of the head before straightening again.

  “Foos.”

  The dog instantly moved to Ethan’s leg. He set off, waiting until he was in the clearing between the house and the kennels before ordering the dog to run. Janus shot off at a fast clip.

  “Sitz.”

  The dog sat. Hard, and when he turned to face him, he had what could only be called a canine grin on his face. It brought a smile to Ethan’s face.

  “Missed this, have you, buddy?”

  The dog had begun to pant, the excited kind of pant, eyes firmly fixed on him as he waited for the next command.

  “Hier.” The dog came at him. “Blieb.” The dog stopped, and Ethan was suddenly struck by the difference between now and the last time he’d put a dog through his paces. He’d been on another continent. In a war zone. Nothing but desert all around him.

  This was better. He took a deep breath and listened to the birds and the gentle rush of water in the nearby creek and the smell of the roses that grew along the edge of the house. This was much, much better.

  “Impressive.” He turned and found Colt watching him. “I’ve never seen them work before.”

  “Sitz,” he told Janus before turning back to Colt.

  “Why do you talk to them in German?” Colt asked. “I’ve always wondered.”

  “Because most of the pups come from overseas. They’re taught German from a young age. It’s just easier to keep using the commands in their native tongue rather than teach them a new language.”

  Colt nodded. “Makes sense.”

  Did he know what had happened? Had Claire told him? He didn’t think so.

  “Is everything okay in there?” Ethan asked.

  Colt shrugged. “She’s worried.”

  So she hadn’t mentioned anything, not that he thought she really would. “Has she heard back from the doctor?”

  “Actually, yes. He said this was all part of the process. We have to build Adam’s immunity back up again, and unless he keeps spiking a really high fever, not to worry. So she’s in there right now checking his temperature again and I’m sure she’ll be obsessing over it all day.”

  Ethan didn’t doubt it. He didn’t blame her, either. This was her son. He had a serious illness.

  “How bad was the cancer?”

  Sadness entered Colt’s eyes. “Right now? Not bad. They have it on the run. The problem is we won’t know for sure if it’s truly gone for a few more months yet. It’s a wait-and-see kind of thing.”

  What a horrible stress to be under. And he’d gone and kissed her as if there was nothing wrong with the world. What a putz.

  “Janus.” He waited for the dog to look up at him, then motioned for him to run. The dog galloped off. “Sitz.” He waited for the dog to sit before turning back to Colt. “What can I do to help?”

  The man in front of him might wear a cowboy hat. He might seem like a tough as nails cowboy, but Ethan could see the concern in his eyes.

 
; “Just do what you can around here. We could really use the help, what with my wife and I constantly gone and Claire off to the doctors at a moment’s notice. I can’t tell you how grateful we are that you showed up. It’s like a godsend or something.”

  For the first time all morning Ethan felt less like a jerk, but only just a little. He still shouldn’t have kissed her. What was he? In high school or something where he couldn’t keep his hormones in check? “Done.”

  “She likes to think she can do it all herself.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  “And she’ll work herself right into ground.”

  “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen, sir.”

  The formality of his address clearly caught Colt by surprise, but old habits died hard. “I’d appreciate that.” He glanced back at the house. “Maybe you can split your time between here and my ranch. If you’re okay with that,” he added quickly.

  “I’ve got all the time in the world.”

  Maybe he really was meant to be here. Maybe, for once, he was in the right place at the right time.

  * * *

  IT WAS THE longest two days of Claire’s life. She hovered between rushing Adam to the hospital and calling his oncologist every five minutes. When, after a long seventy-two hours later, his fever finally broke, it was all Claire could do not to break down and cry. Again. More shocking was that she didn’t want to call her brother with the news that Adam was better. No. The first person she wanted to tell was Ethan.

  How bizarre was that?

  She glanced out the window, because there he was. Outside. Working Thor. He’d been an incredible help the past few days. He split his time between working at her brother’s place and walking down the road to help her with the dogs. He checked in with her every morning and every night, too, keeping his distance, even though all she wanted to do when she opened the door was invite him in and...

  No. Not again. She would not be weak ever again.

  “Mom. Can I go outside?” Adam stared up at her with wide, green eyes, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His Hawkman blanket. Its dark blue color made his skin appear paler than normal. Then again, he had been sick for three days.

  “Oh, I don’t know, hon. You just got out of bed for the first time an hour ago.”

  “I know.” His green eyes implored. “But I’m better now. No more fever.”

  No more fever for now. It could come back.

  Stop.

  She had to quit thinking like that. She needed to focus on the positives in her life. Adam had gotten over an illness, a first for him since they’d stopped treatment of his leukemia. He hadn’t been rushed to a hospital. He hadn’t spent days in the ER. Still, her baby boy was sick and it broke her heart. Comma-shaped smudges cupped the bottom of his eyes. They made the green stand out even more. He needed color.

  He needed sun.

  “Okay. For just a bit.”

  His whoop of joy filled her soul with happiness. She shouldn’t be such a spoilsport, she told herself. She needed to let him go have some fun.

  “Five minutes,” she said, following him to his room where he quickly slipped on a pair of jeans.

  He might have been deathly ill yesterday, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he moved around, sliding one of his favorite comic book T-shirts over his head. He was out the door before she could tell him to brush his hair.

  Let him go. Don’t crowd him. He’ll be fine.

  She might have gone after him but her laptop chimed, and for a second she forgot about Adam and his illness in her rush to get to her computer in time.

  “Chance?” she said, smiling for the first time in days as her brother’s face came into view.

  “Hey, little sister, how’s it going?”

  Her brother looked tired, or maybe it was just the feed, or even the military uniform he wore. The pale colors enhanced the green of his eyes, but it made the exhaustion more evident by highlighting the smudges beneath his eyes.

  “Better,” she said. She’d sent him an email the other day telling him about Adam and how sick he was. She never had any idea when he would see things, but he must have gotten this one relatively quickly. “His fever broke last night.”

  His green eyes lit up. “That’s good news.”

  His mouth moved before the words arrived. She’d never quite gotten used to the effect—not with her husband, not with Colt and not with Chance.

  “It really is. He hasn’t gotten over an illness all on his own in over a year. The doctor said it’s a good sign.”

  Dr. Pembra, the oncologist, had called at the crack of dawn, but she hadn’t minded. In fact, she appreciated Children’s Hospital and their staff more than she could put into words. Between Dr. Pembra and Dr. Jones she knew she had the best team possible.

  “And that other matter? Is that still a problem?”

  Damn her inability to keep things to herself. She’d been desperate to talk to someone about what had happened with Ethan, and what better way to do it than by pounding her keyboard like some kind of teenage blogger? She must have been really desperate, she thought, but who better than her brother overseas? Although not for long, she reminded herself. He’d be home soon.

  “He’s still here.”

  A black eyebrow lifted. The three siblings were all dark. All had fair skin. All had green eyes, although Chance’s were more hazel than green. They took after their mother, and not a day went by that she didn’t wish she was still alive.

  “And is that a good thing or bad?”

  The picture froze for a moment and she waited with bated breath to see if they would lose the connection, but in a flash the image caught up with itself.

  “Actually, it’s been a good thing. He’s been a big help while Adam’s been sick.”

  Chance nodded. “Colt tells me he’s been a big help over at their place, too.”

  He’d talked to Colt? “You didn’t tell him what I told you, did you?”

  Chance smiled, the grin making his eyes light up in a way that seemed so very boyish despite the hell he’d been through overseas. One day some woman would fall for him hard. She just wasn’t sure he’d reciprocate the feelings. The military was his life. Always had been and always would be. No ranch life for him.

  “No, of course not,” he answered. “I wasn’t about to spread the news that my naughty little sister had gotten all hot and heavy with a houseguest while my sick nephew slept in his room.”

  “Oh, jeez.” She covered her face with her hands.

  She heard Chance laugh. “Hey. Relax. It’s not like you had sex. And even if you had, everyone needs to blow off some steam once in a while.”

  No, but she’d enjoyed Ethan’s touch just a little too much for comfort. “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  The lips moved before the words “Then why’d you tell me?” came through the tiny speaker on her laptop.

  “That was a mistake.”

  “Nah.” He shifted back in his seat, crossing his arms. A Gilly suit. That was what Chance called his outfit. “You needed someone to talk to about it.”

  He was probably right. She hadn’t known what to think about her lapse in judgment, but it was clear by the twinkle in Chance’s eyes that he thought it was funny. Heck, he might even approve.

  “I’m fine about it now,” she lied. “And it hasn’t happened again.”

  “Maybe it should.”

  “And maybe it shouldn’t.”

  Her brother knew her well enough that he knew when to let a matter drop. But just in case, she quickly launched into the latest happenings around the ranch. The last time they’d seen each other had been a month or so after Colt and Natalie had gotten married—a quickie marriage in their own backyard. They’d seen him for a day and she supposed she should be gratef
ul for that.

  “Hey, sis,” he said as she was about to go get Adam so the two could talk. “Don’t forget to take care of yourself.”

  “I am doing that.”

  “No,” he said. “I don’t mean getting rest—I mean living life.”

  “Chance—”

  “I mean it. Time for you to start relaxing and having fun.”

  He meant she should kiss Ethan again. “I do have fun.” Just not that kind of fun.

  But he ignored her. “Where’s my nephew?”

  She thought about pushing the matter, but the truth was she really wanted to escape so she fetched Adam from outside. Still, the next day, as she watched Ethan and Adam from her family room window, she wondered why she’d beaten herself up so badly. So what if they’d kissed? It didn’t mean she was an evil person. It meant she was human.

  She smiled at the way her son mimicked Ethan’s hand movements. It pleased her to see how well Thor was doing at picking up nonverbal commands. The dog had really come out of his shell since Ethan had started to work with him. With any luck she could still adopt the dog out to a willing family.

  “Mom. Mom. Ethan says we’re going for a ride.”

  She’d been so deep in her thoughts she hadn’t even seen her son break away from Ethan and head for the house. She spun in her seat.

  “Were you watching us?” he asked, coming to a stop near the open front door.

  “Close the door.” She shook her head, wondering when he’d ever learn. “And, yes. Of course I was watching. I don’t want you to overexert yourself.”

  “Mo-om.”

  She shook her head. “What’s this about riding?”

  Her son’s face filled with excitement, and she had to admit, he looked better. He hadn’t been outside very long, but just those few short moments in the sun had done him wonders.

  “Ethan said Uncle Colt said we could go riding this weekend. I guess Ethan hasn’t ridden in years. Did you know his dad is a cowboy? His parents live in Montana or someplace. They live on a big ranch. No power. No electricity. Just cattle.”

  No. She hadn’t known that about him. She suspected there was a lot she didn’t know about the man who’d kissed her so passionately.