A Rancher's Heart

by Vivian Arend

  I will change, she swore. No matter how tempted she was to act impulsively in the future, she needed to—

  Down in the pool, the swimming man had lasted longer than Tamara expected. Hypothermia wasn’t something to fool around with, and the water had to be bitterly cold.

  He was headed for the rocks, and she breathed a sigh of relief as he placed a hand on an outcropping and pulled himself up.

  Her sigh turned into a gasp, and she shot to her feet as the man fell backwards and disappeared beneath the surface. She hesitated for a couple of seconds before heading farther down the path, one eye on her footing and the other on the water surface.

  He didn’t come up.

  By the time she got to the bottom of the trail, Tamara was full-out sprinting, racing around the perimeter of the pool to the rocks he’d originally jumped off. She peered into the water, but couldn’t see anything.

  Swear words echoed in her head as panic tried to take control.

  There. Oh my God, there—the hazy shape of an arm.

  Tamara shouted for help as loudly as she could as she stepped out of her runners. She dropped her glasses on top of them then took a deep breath, moving to the edge of the rocks.

  No hesitation. She threw herself off.

  Icy-cold water compressed her chest in a vise. Her face went numb, bare skin tingling as if she were being chewed on by millions of tiny fish with razor-sharp teeth. Panic hovered.

  Had she been worried about hypothermia? Forget that—someone would cut their bodies from the ice years from now like preserved wooly mammoths.

  She peered around quickly, grateful she’d landed close enough to her target to see him. She snatched at the nearby limb, wrapping her fingers around a thick, solid calf, ready to pull him to safety.

  The foot shot out of her grasp straight toward her, connecting with her gut and hip hard enough all the air she’d been holding escaped in a sudden rush. An instant later, stars formed in front of her eyes.

  Her only goal was to get to the surface as quickly as possible, but her arms wouldn’t move. The only thing keeping her from dragging in a lungful of water was she’d been winded hard enough nothing seemed to work.

  The stars were fading from bright white points to dark black holes before she summoned every remaining bit of strength, kicking frantically toward the shimmering surface of the water.

  Her head broke free. She hauled in a breath through the pain. Gasping sounds echoed in her ears even as other noises registered. Someone else was coughing and sputtering.

  Tamara twisted to the right to discover her missing man had made it to the surface. Thank God. She was grateful and cautious. Panicky stranger close by in the water? Not what she wanted to deal with when she could barely breathe herself.

  She lay back and floated, keeping a watchful eye on the dark-haired blur. He was far enough away she could fend him off if he headed her way and tried to take her down.

  It hurt to take a deep enough breath to speak. “You okay?” she forced out shakily.

  A string of growled curses mixed with spitting and sputtering floated back to her.

  Well, then.

  Maybe he was embarrassed at having to be saved, but it was too cold to stay in the pool and deal with the jackass. She headed toward the shore where it would be an easy walk out of the water instead of a climb. No way was she attempting that rock face without her glasses.

  “What the hell were you doing?” His question came from a few feet away as she stumbled to vertical, the water up to her waist.

  Tamara turned to face him, hands rising to her hips. “Saving your ass? By the way, you’re welcome.”

  “Hauling me under water when I don’t expect it is saving my ass?” He took a step closer, his voice going even softer.

  Screw this. Tamara retreated farther up the shore. “You’re hypothermic enough to be delusional. You fell and didn’t come up. You were stuck in the rocks, and I pulled you out.”

  She slowed her pace, squinting toward the ground to follow the smoothest path to keep from stumbling. Dammit, why didn’t she wear contacts instead of glasses?

  The grumpy bastard didn’t respond, just stepped past her. That wasn’t as much fun as it might’ve been considering she was nearsighted enough that once he’d moved more than a few paces ahead of her, his naked butt was nothing but a spectacular blur.

  By the time she made it to the top of the rock, he had his jeans on and was jamming his feet into his boots. They still hadn’t exchanged more than a dozen angry words.

  Fine. She’d put on her glasses and take a good look at the guy so she’d know which ungrateful jerk to avoid in the future.

  “Your shoes are over here,” he grumbled, stepping toward the edge of the rocks.

  “Be careful. My—”

  She couldn’t see it happen, but there was nothing wrong with her ears. Breaking glass had a distinctive sound.

  He swore again. “Why the hell did you leave your glasses on the ground?”

  That was the last straw. Tamara saw red.

  All her resolutions to watch her temper, and all her great intentions to keep a new slate shiny clean here in Heart Falls, burned away under the weight of instant pissed-off.

  “You ever say thank you for anything? Also, you ever consider that when things go wrong, maybe it’s not someone else’s fault?” As she spoke she stepped toward him, anger shoving away the cold. She snatched the tangled remains of her glasses from his fingers, and took one final step so she was close enough to look him in the face as she delivered her closing retort. “Maybe it’s you.”

  His dark eyes burned as he stared back, square jaw set in stone. A trickle of water ran from his hair down his cheek, catching on the rough stubble on his chin. Straight nose, far too sensual lips for a man. It was a familiar face, and not one she could possibly avoid in the future.

  Because it was him. Caleb Stone, him.

  AKA, her new boss.

  Fuck my life.

  Chapter Two

  It seemed some things—like acting far too impulsively and putting her foot in it—would never change.

  Still didn’t think she was in the wrong, but there was no use fighting a battle she had no way of winning. She needed this job, and if that meant groveling, she would swallow her damn pride and do it.

  Tamara released a harsh puff of air and prepared to cut out her spleen.

  “I wasn’t drowning.”

  His words were a lot softer than she’d expected, and a totally different direction than the “don’t bother to unpack your bags because I wouldn’t trust you with my children if you were the last woman on earth” retort that she’d have understood.

  She stood in shocked silence.

  “There’s a cave near the base of those rocks,” he said, his voice still rumbly but no longer gravel-pit harsh. “Sometimes an air pocket forms in there, and I was checking it out. I had my head above water and was breathing the whole time. Sorry I scared you.”

  Huh.

  “Okay.” She curled her fingers around the skeleton of her broken glasses, and fought to keep a shiver from taking her apart. The physical reminder gave the needed distraction to head the conversation into solid, manageable topics. “You need to get dressed and warmed up. It’s far too cold to be out here half-naked.”

  “Agreed. We’d better both get home as quick as we can.” He caught her by the wrist and took the broken glasses from her fingers. “But I don’t think you can drive without these. Can you?”

  Tamara shook her head. “I have spares in my luggage, so don’t wor—”

  “You’re not hiking the trail blind.” Caleb folded his arms over his chest.

  “I’ll be fine,” Tamara insisted.

  He grunted, then turned and walked away so quickly Tamara was left once again in a foggy blur. She peered around until she found her runners, soft curses escaping as she alternated between stubbing her toes and stepping on sharp-edged rocks.

  Once her feet were protected, Tamar
a put her head down to pick a path best she could, but every third step another stone tilted, threatening to leave her with a sprained ankle, or worse.

  Suddenly he was back, solid legs forming a wall in front of her.

  “Maybe there’s something to that hypothermia thing.” He’d pulled on his shirt. “Fortunately, my ride can take an extra, and she doesn’t care if you can see or not. Come on, I’ll give you a hand.”

  She expected him to offer a literal hand to hang on to as they crossed to where he had his horse tethered.

  Caleb had other ideas. A gasp escaped her as he scooped her up in a firm hold.

  “I can walk,” she insisted even as her arms flew instinctively to curl around his neck.

  “Too slow. It’s cold.”

  Which effectively shut her up. She spent the next few minutes cuddled against an increasingly warm torso, heat rising between them as she tried to find an angle to hold her head that didn’t leave her staring straight into his face.

  It was better in some ways when he lifted her into the saddle, and in one smooth motion, mounted behind her because then she couldn’t see him.

  But she could feel him. Rock-solid thighs and all the rest, with her body nestled right up against his. Impossible to ignore exactly how much contact was made while riding double.

  He wrapped an arm around her waist, holding the reins confidently in the other hand. Landscape passed as nothing more than fuzzy masses of shades of green. She squinted to try to make out landmarks, but it was nothing but a collection of ranch-shaped blurred objects.

  His fingers were spread across her belly, body moving in an easy rhythm as his horse carried them along.

  With nothing much to see, it was either stay silent or come up with something to discuss. For a few moments she managed to keep her mouth shut. Only the silence made it too easy for her to focus on the rub of their bodies. They were both wet, and yet they could have been straight out of a sauna with the heat generating between them. The horse’s gait created a seductive rhythm that made her feel every moment of her past months of chastity.

  Tamara attempted to change position to open space between them, but all it did was rub her hips against his, and a low growl escaped him.

  She froze.

  He seemed to do a lot of that. The growling business. She didn’t want to think too hard about what it did to her insides.

  She’d opened her mouth to ask some inane question when he beat her to it. “Your truck and trailer. Are they at the lookout?”

  “Truck’s at the top of the hill. Trailer’s at the weigh station.”

  “My sister told you about the falls, did she?”

  Finally, something distracting. Tamara linked her fingers over the saddle horn and held on with a death grip, trying once again to ease their bodies apart the slightest bit. “Dare told me it was pretty, and I figured I had time to check it out before joining you. Is there a reason it’s called Heart Falls? Or is it just named after the town?”

  Caleb hesitated before answering. “If you stand on the rocks where I broke your glasses, the waterfall is the center and the lagoon curves apart into two rounds of a heart.”

  Tamara resisted making a comment about the anatomical incorrectness of calling anything heart-shaped. That kind of humour was usually lost on the nonmedical community. “Sounds a lot more romantic than what most old-timers would have picked to name a gathering place.”

  The horse sidestepped, and Caleb tightened his grip, pushing a touch too hard where he’d kicked her.

  A gasp of pain escaped before she could stop it.

  “What’s wrong?” he demanded.

  “Just a bit of a bruise.”

  He didn’t say anything more at the time, which was fine by her, and she took the opportunity to change the subject. “Since I’m here early, I don’t mind getting started right away.”

  “I don’t think you’ll be doing much of anything until we find you some glasses,” he pointed out. “We’ll get your truck. I can grab your horse trailer while I’m at it, if you’d like.”

  “Would you? I hate to leave Stormy longer than necessary.” Guilt hit Tamara hard. “I didn’t mean to make extra work for you.”

  “It’s not a big deal. I’m the one who broke your glasses.”

  She sighed. “I’m the one who tried to save you when you didn’t need rescuing. Par for the course, I’m afraid to say.”

  An unexpected chuckle escaped him. “Oh? You go jumping into swimming holes all the time?”

  “More like jumping to conclusions, and yeah, I do a fair bit of that.” She didn’t mention how she’d vowed to change, because her tiger stripes were still firmly in place. “I’m sorry I messed up your quiet relaxation.”

  “You meant well,” he returned easily.

  Which made it worse, since that was exactly what she needed to change.

  He kept talking, his voice stroking her as they rocked together far too smoothly. “We’ll get you home and I’ll show you your room. There’s a shower in there, and you can get warmed up. Before you’re done, I’ll be back with your stuff. You can meet the girls during supper, but I don’t expect you to officially start until tomorrow. We’ll take it as it comes.”

  They were closing in on civilization, the broad shapes of barns and outbuildings becoming visible even with her terrible eyesight. “Thank you.”

  He grumbled for a moment. “You heard Emma doesn’t like to talk, right? She’s not mute, just quiet.”

  “Dare told me. I can handle that.”

  “I don’t want her fixed, or anything. So we’re clear—”

  God. “Who the hell did you have for a nanny before?” Tamara demanded. “Or did one of her teachers spout this bullshit?”

  Caleb sounded relieved and annoyed at the same time as he answered, “One of the babysitters wouldn’t let her eat until she asked for every item out loud. Sasha came to the barns to get me, pissed off as a wet cat.”

  Tamara liked Sasha already. “Good for her. Fixed.” She turned the word into a curse. “Don’t worry about me. I want to help, and I’m not into torturing children.”

  He made a low sound that didn’t say much while saying a whole lot. “I didn’t think you were. My sister thinks the world of you, and that carries a lot of weight. But the girls have gone through a ton of changes in the last couple of months. I don’t expect them to be thrilled you’re here at first. Let’s give it time. Hopefully it’ll work out.”

  He eased back. The horse responded instantly and came to a stop.

  Tamara swung her leg over and prepared to jump.

  Somehow Caleb dismounted first, his strong hands wrapping around her waist as he lifted her from the saddle and placed her on the ground as if she were a child.

  She wasn’t sure why his casual touch was so disappointing. Him ignoring the awkwardness between them was what she needed. This was a job position she was starting, and the last thing she wanted was for him to treat her like a potential date.

  He caught her by the hand to guide her forward. “Three steps up to a landing, then the door.”

  “I’m not that blind,” she said, but she didn’t drag her hand away because she couldn’t see that well, and the last thing she wanted was to fall flat on her face before even making it through the door.

  Tamara didn’t say a word about the fact they were both still wet—it was his house and if he didn’t mind her dripping on the floor that was okay by her.

  She’d clean up when she figured out where the mop was.

  Caleb led her down a hallway—yellow walls reflecting the bright light pouring in the windows—and opened the last door. “This is yours. Bathroom’s the door on the right, and you’ve got lots of closet space. The girls are in the two rooms to our left. I’ll show you the rest of the house later.” He backed up, those dark eyes moving out of her line of vision. “I’ll let you figure it out from here.”

  He was gone before she could say another word, leaving her to find her way through a blur
of walls and furniture into the spacious master bath.

  The shower felt amazing. Tamara stood directly under the pressure with it running as hot as she could for as long as she could bear.

  That had gone well…

  Not.

  So much for her good intentions. But maybe this was a better thing—if Caleb’s expectations were rock-bottom, the only direction she could go was up.

  It took some time, but once she’d finished and wrapped herself in an enormous towel, she was feeling mostly human. She leaned close to the mirror, wiping away the fog to peer at her face and drag her fingers through her hair. Until her stuff arrived there wasn’t much more she could do.

  She pushed open the door and glanced into her new home.

  A dark-haired little girl sat on her bed.

  Tamara slid forward, trying not to look too creepy as she moved into close enough proximity to check out the kid’s face. “Hi.”

  No answer.

  Okay. No talking, which according to Tamara’s sources meant this should be Emma. Daughter number two.

  “Do you know if your daddy brought my truck to the house yet?”

  Her lopsided ponytail swung as she shook her head. Then she stared at Tamara intently, her lips turned down, a distressed look in her eyes.

  Tamara took the chair across from Emma. “Is your sister around as well?”

  The little girl’s mouth opened for a second before she nodded.

  “Okay, that’s good. Your daddy said I’m not starting work as your nanny until tomorrow but I did want to meet you, and, here you are.” She held out a hand to Emma. “I’m Tamara. I’m very glad to make your acquaintance.”

  Emma stared at her fingers suspiciously before catching them and giving them a quick shake.

  “Your Auntie Dare told me you weren’t fond of talking, especially to strangers. Your choice, but since I’m new here, I’ll probably need to ask a bunch of questions. I hope even if you don’t feel like answering with words, you can help me in other ways.”