by Em Petrova
“This was a mistake, Dalton.”
“Dammit, woman.” He gripped her upper arms and drew her close. “There was no mistake. I’m in love with you, and it’s not because I need a woman to put on this land. I love your stubbornness, like now. I love the way you toss hay even when I fear you’ll strain a muscle doing it. I’m proud as hell when I see you crawl out from under a machine, greasy and disheveled. And when you wrap your thighs around me—”
“Stop, please.” Her words were so pained, he couldn’t help but listen. He closed his mouth and waited. She withdrew from his hold and put those ten steps between them once again.
“I won’t let you believe this is a mistake. We aren’t a fling, Ryan, don’t you see?”
“We get caught up with each other. Lust is hard to control at times.”
“This ain’t only lust and you know it.”
She shook her head and placed her hat low over her eyes so he couldn’t see what color they were. Then she walked away, leaving him alone and nekkid on a plot of earth he’d never own unless she stopped being so hard-headed and gave in to what she felt. Because now that he’d admitted his love for her, he’d never be able to live here with any other woman.
Chapter Eight
The blue sky darkened a bit more with every step that carried Ryan away from Kade. Her chest was heavy and her feet heavier. She kept feeling his stare on her and glancing over her shoulder. But she was alone.
She didn’t know if that was more horrible or what she needed.
In the scorching, mind-blowing, soul-rocking heat of the moment of making love to him, she’d floated in heaven itself. Then as soon as he’d mentioned working together, her ass had hit the ground.
What had she done? Compromised a job she adored. After a few weeks here, it was more than Kade who made her happy. She fit in. As an employee, it didn’t often happen. The Daltons drew her into their circle with smiles and a warmth she hadn’t known since her father’s passing.
Maybe she wasn’t in love with Kade Dalton—she was in love with his family.
Wrapping her arms around her middle, she made her way toward the bunkhouse. Leave, or stay and face the man she’d just given her everything to?
I’m lying to myself. I’m in love with him.
A warm breeze tickled the hairs around her face, and she swiped them back with an angry hand. She and Kade had crossed a forbidden bridge.
Blown it up, more like.
Now every time their gazes met, she’d feel him moving inside her. When they worked alone, he’d want to put his hands on her. And God help her, she would want him to.
A shiver ran down her spine at the thick memories bombarding her. Each touch and look lived in her mind, overshadowing everything that came before. Kade Dalton had become the most important person.
She hurried into the bunkhouse and even that was tainted with his presence. He’d gotten drunk and passed out on her bunk. Then he’d awakened and watched her dress, and she’d let him see, loving his eyes upon her like a butterfly’s caress.
As soon as she closed the door, the silence settled and she missed the sounds of the ranch. Cattle, horses, child’s squeals. Even the homely sound of Mrs. Dalton’s wind chimes. The porch swing creaking.
She perked up her ears, straining to hear the four-wheeler engine, but heard nothing. She sank to her bunk and dropped her head into her hands. But they smelled so much like Kade’s masculine body, she lifted her face and fought a few angry tears. Number one rule on the ranch was don’t sleep with the boss, and she’d thoroughly trampled all over that one.
It wouldn’t be easy to find another ranch willing to take on a woman hand. And she couldn’t face tricking another rancher. From now on, she’d be up front about her identity. No wonder Kade had been so against her at first.
Unable to sit there with energy snapping through her system, she got up and strode from the bunkhouse. The wind was a constant as she tended some horses and checked in on the pregnant barn cat. No kittens yet, but she had no doubt the Dalton children would be all giggles and excitement when they saw the little fluff-balls.
She rounded a corner, empty watering pail in hand, and ran smack into Mrs. Dalton. The woman was sturdier than she looked—Ryan gave a humph.
“Oh dear. I’m sorry. I thought you were off with Kade.”
Panic welled in Ryan’s chest as she met the woman’s eyes. The woman who saw too much. Ryan placed a hand on her forearm. “It’s my fault.”
“That you were off with Kade?”
Oh lordy, they were going to have this conversation. “That I bumped into you, but for Kade too.”
Maggie Dalton’s eyes weren’t blue like everyone else’s—they were spring green and not a hint of anger was in them. The breeze whipped the woman’s loose top and threatened to rip her sun hat from her head. Maggie put a hand on it to hold it in place.
“Seems you could use a strong cup of coffee. Come inside with me.” It wasn’t a question and Ryan gave a hesitant nod.
Helpless, Ryan followed her across the yard and into the house. As the door closed, she caught the faint sounds of the four-wheeler. Kade. I’m so sorry.
Once seated at the long wooden table with Maggie, a mug of steaming coffee in hand, she felt more confused than ever. When Maggie rested a work-worn hand on hers, Ryan started.
“You’re feeling all right?” she asked Maggie to avoid the other conversation they were sure to have.
“Yes, the doctor changed my medication and it’s working fine.”
“I’m so glad.”
“So is Ted. He’s a gruff old cowboy but a softy when it comes to me and his boys.”
Ryan wrapped both hands around her mug and sipped. With no response in her empty head, she waited.
As if guessing Ryan’s needs, Maggie went on, “I never would have believed it of Ted.”
Surprise snapped Ryan’s attention to Maggie.
A soft smile touched the edges of her lips. “We had a pretty rocky start, Ted and I. We went to school together, you see. And we disliked each other. Hate’s a strong word, but at times I did hate him.”
Ryan totally understood that.
“If you imagine a more ornery version of Kade, you have Ted in his early years. If we were in class together, we argued. Often we were stuck together working on projects and I wanted to drive him down a back road and leave him more than once.”
At Maggie’s fire, Ryan laughed and nodded. “The thought’s crossed my mind more than once too.”
“Oh yes, Kade is much like his father. And my guess is his heart is no different either.” Her eagle eyes probed Ryan. There was little point in looking away—the woman knew. She knew which chickens laid best, what grandchild put sticky handprints on her wall and that Ryan had left with Kade and returned alone.
She swallowed hard and stared into her black coffee. “It’s difficult.”
“Ted told me he loved me one day after we had a heated argument. I wanted to slap the words off his lips. Actually, I did.” A pink flush rose in her rounded cheeks and she flexed her fingers as if feeling the sting. “I couldn’t believe how his words impacted me. I hadn’t seen it coming.”
Neither did I.
Actually, after their encounter in Hank’s barn, she’d suspected. Unfortunately, she’d gotten pretty damn good at reading Kade’s soft expression. “What did he do after you slapped him?”
Maggie laughed. “He grabbed me and kissed me. I was sputtering mad at first. Then I realized why I was so mad—it wasn’t at him so much as at myself for not seeing it sooner. Just like the stallion bites the mare’s neck before they mate and the dogs snap at each other. It’s all forgotten because it’s meant to be in the end.”
Ryan almost groaned. She didn’t want to be compared to barn animals even if she did see the woman’s point.
“I saw the way he looked at you from the start, Ryan,” Maggie said softly.
Her coffee sloshed over the sides of the mug. Mrs. Dalton grabbed a na
pkin from the holder in the center of the table before Ryan could react and mopped it up.
“H-how did he look at me?”
“I’ve never seen that expression on my son’s face before, but I’d seen it on his father’s.”
“Kade did tell me he loves me.”
Maggie’s nod was sympathetic and Ryan nearly laughed at the notion.
“But I’m not mad at myself for not seeing it sooner, like you were with Mr. Dalton. I’m mad at myself because I’m supposed to be a tough ranch hand, and I’ve let a woman’s feelings blur my judgment.”
“So you feel the same as my son?”
Ryan got up so fast the bench wobbled. She scooted more carefully away from the table and carried her mug to the sink. “I’ve got chores to see to. Thanks for the talk, Mrs. Dalton.”
With that, she went out of the farmhouse that felt so much like home and the woman who’d given her more comfort than her own mother had in too long. As Ryan opened the front door, wind blasted her. She pinned her hat in place, put her head down and went into the rising storm.
* * * * *
Kade’s horse was giving strong objections to his command to go into the wind. Maybe because the hot scents of ozone filled his nostrils. Or he could smell dust rising.
Scanning the horizon, Kade forged on. He had to get to the upper field where they’d placed a few mothers and calves.
With his rope in hand, he guided his horse at a faster clip. The horse tossed its head and Kade sank his heels into its sides. “Yaw!”
He had no idea what he’d do if the calves weren’t doing well in that upper pasture because he could only carry one home on horseback. He reckoned he’d try to gather them in a stand of trees and sit it out with them.
Glancing over the land again, he prayed he didn’t see one of his brothers riding out to do this very thing. But he saw no one, thank God. The weather wasn’t far from violent, and it had risen quickly, which was a sure sign of danger.
At least he’d seen Ryan go inside the house with his mother. They were likely tucked up in the kitchen together, safe and sound. A little of his worry cleared from his mind, but not nearly enough. He had no clue how to make things right with Ryan. He shouldn’t have had sex with her, but damn if he would take it back.
As he neared the fence enclosure, he tugged the reins. “Yaw!” Up and over he and the horse sailed. They hit the ground but Kade couldn’t even hear the hooves over the cry of the wind.
Two calves huddled in the far corner, tight against their mothers’ sides. A third trotted along the fence. Using his horse, he herded it toward the others. Then he went to find the rest.
Hell, when had the air become so thick with dust?
Wildly he rode, rounding up cattle and pushing them toward a small stand of trees where they could weather what looked like a dust storm. At least he had a handkerchief to tie over his face until it passed.
One calf was still too wobbly-legged to run fast enough, so he launched off his horse’s back, threw the baby over his shoulders and ran with it. The animal gave a loud mooo, tongue sticking out next to his ear. As he approached the small herd, the mother gave a throaty answer to its calf’s call.
Hunched in half to lower the calf to the ground, he glanced up at the cloud of black roiling across the field.
Yep, dust storm.
He couldn’t remember having one on the ranch, but his father had told the story. They’d lost very few cattle because their property had trees and three-sided sheds where they could hide.
Straightening, he stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled for his horse. It galloped toward him. A flash in the corner of Kade’s eye made him swing around.
His heart stopped dead.
Dust and terror choked the breath from him.
Ryan. He’d know that rider anywhere. He’d spent weeks staring at her bouncing in her saddle while fantasizing about her riding him. Now she was galloping full-tilt for the house.
But she’d never make it. The dust cloud was moving faster.
He whipped out an arm and grabbed the reins. His horse protested with a shake of its head but Kade swung onto its back and spurred it. Heart racing far faster than his mount, he kept Ryan in his sights. Or tried to. The thick air between them made it difficult.
“Ryan!” His shout was useless—she was too far away even on a still day. The only thing to do was intercept her. Judging by the direction she was riding, she’d just been to the one of the far pastures. Seeing to cattle, same as he was.
He leaned over his horse and thundered toward the woman he loved. He had to get to her. In the open like this, she wouldn’t have a chance of not breathing all that dust. It would pelt her sensitive skin.
His own mouth was desiccated by the particles already swirling around them. His horse wasn’t doing well either, but Kade had no choice now. Get to Ryan or they’d all be in bigger trouble.
As he got within two hundred yards of her, he yelled again. The wind snatched his voice, but she looked up.
His chest scalded with pure love and he was damn well convincing her that they were right together—right after he got her to safety. She turned her horse and rode toward him. If he wasn’t scared out of his mind, he’d triumph that she was coming toward him after what had happened earlier.
He waved his arm frantically, gesturing toward a dip in the land. A natural ditch. It was often full of water, but despite a few rains over the past few weeks, it was dry. He couldn’t see any other way—he’d put her in that ditch and cover her with his body.
Hopefully the horses could withstand the worst of it if they threw blankets over their heads.
Ryan saw his wave and took off for it. What felt like hours later, he was beside her. The black cloud was closing in. Fishing the hanky from his pocket, he whipped it around her face and knotted it behind her head. Her eyes were bright with fear above the cotton, and his heart rate tripled.
“Get down and cover your head.”
“No, the horses!” She yanked the saddle strap to loosen it. Then she pulled the horse blanket from under it. Damn, she was a smart little ranch hand. She’d make an amazing rancher’s wife, working alongside him. Their babies could ride as papooses.
She threw the blanket over her horse’s face and he did the same for his. Then he looked up in time to see—
Blackness. Blindly, he grabbed for Ryan and found her. He threw them into the depression and buried his nose in her sweet hair.
* * * * *
If she died, at least she had Kade with her. Total blackness surrounded them, and in the back of her mind she knew the horses were lost. Sorrow mingled with relief that she wasn’t alone. Kade’s weight atop her comforted.
He meshed his fingers with hers and she was able to pull his head down into the pocket of air in the ditch with hers. She burned to ask how long the storm cloud and debris would swallow them, but fear clogged her throat. So she focused on the rise and fall of his chest against her spine and his shallow breaths in her ear.
He’d given her his only handkerchief. He’d given her so much more—a chance to belong and his love.
Five minutes later, the world was still black. Panic spiked in her, and she struggled.
“Shh. It’s not that big. I could see the ends of it when it was coming toward us.”
She gripped Kade’s fingers and waited. All the while she tried to think of good moments—with her brothers growing up, with her parents on the ranch. Sitting with Charlotte and Hank, handing Hank Jr. his bear cookie. Holding Addie and finding a sense of belonging at the supper table.
Rolling with Kade and getting lost in his bright blue stare.
She twisted her head and said, “I love you.”
His answering moan told her he’d heard. It was enough. She clung to his fingers and waited.
Five minutes later when she opened her eyes for a peek, the atmosphere was lighter. Wind still blew hard, but the dust wasn’t as thick. They must be on the edge of the storm. She couldn’t w
ait to fill her lungs with pure, clean air and she prayed the other Daltons weren’t trapped as well.
She must have tensed because Kade murmured, “It’s okay, sweetheart. I got ya.”
Bringing his hand down around her, she reveled in his closeness. Now that she knew they’d survive, the future looked pretty damn bright.
“You sure do, Kade Dalton,” she responded and he nuzzled her ear.
* * * * *
“You’re damn lucky it wasn’t as fast-moving as most storms.” Hank clasped Kade in a man-hug.
Kade embraced him back but didn’t want to take his gaze off Ryan for too long. They’d made it back to the ranch after a solid hour in that ditch. Her horse had been lucky but not his. He’d removed the blanket from its head and after he’d started leading it home, the animal had collapsed. Eyes rolling, its breathing shallow. Kade had pulled out his pistol.
“Turn away, sweetheart.”
“No.” Ryan stood next to him, solidly supporting him with her presence. After he’d done the horrible job of putting down his own horse, Ryan had put her arms around him and offered comfort.
“I’m glad I didn’t pick up a man at the airport. This would look mighty awkward,” Kade had said but it didn’t relieve the heavy weight in his chest.
Kade looked to his other brothers. They’d been safely tucked in their homes with their families, but the minute the cloud had lifted, they’d ridden out to see to the cattle. Five dead wasn’t such a bad number in the scheme of things.
Ryan drifted to Kade’s side and he slipped his arm around her. Hank gave him a knowing chin-nod. “Go on to the house. We’ll take care of things.”
Kade wasn’t about to argue. He needed Ryan with a bone-deep ache. In his arms, straddling him, her wet heat clutching his cock.
She tugged his arm and he followed. They went to the only place they could be alone—the bunkhouse. When she closed the door behind them, he opened his arms and she collapsed against his chest.
“Oh God, sweetheart. If I hadn’t seen you in time…”
