Her gaze drifted lazily over him. Just looking at him made every breath she took just a little bit more exciting. Having him in her bed, well, that was a dream come true. Whatever the cost to her heart, at the moment she just couldn’t pass up the chance to be with him.
You can do this. You’ve been crazy about him all your life. You can enjoy being with him, making love with him, and when it’s over, you’ll survive.
She shook her head to clear her mind, then said, “Speaking of the dogs, I wonder what they’ve been up to.”
Deke went to the door and opened it. Just as he’d suspected, Lightning and Lady were waiting for them. They jumped up in unison and shuffled with excitement. “Hey, guys!” His greeting was met with more prancing, then the dogs ran over to Mary Beth. Deke followed them and stood beside her. “If you want, we can go outside and work them a little before I leave.”
Her stomach in knots, Mary Beth gave both dogs a pat. “I need to freshen up a bit. Why don’t you go on out, and I’ll join you in a few minutes?”
Deke looked at her flushed skin and swallowed hard. All he really wanted to do was to drag her back into bed and make love to her, but that wasn’t an option. He needed to get on the road soon, needed to get his mind on the next competition.
Struggling between his promise and his desire for Mary Beth, he said, “All right. I’ll go on out and get things ready.” But he didn’t walk away. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her. Her lips were soft and pliable, and the way they clung to his made him groan. He forced himself to pull away. Without looking back, he left the room, the dogs in tow.
Mary Beth sucked in a deep breath. Oh, she was in trouble. She’d thought she could control her feelings for Deke, but after he’d revealed the turmoil of his past, she wasn’t so sure. Shaking, she hurried to finish dressing.
By the time she got outside, Deke had saddled two horses. They spent the next couple of hours working some of her cattle with the dogs. Mary Beth tried to focus her energy on learning about the dogs’ herding ability and not think about her ever-changing emotions about Deke. As she watched the border collies work, she was amazed by their skill all over again.
Afternoon approached, and the time for Deke to leave drew near. After spending the morning in each other’s arms, she’d feared that things would be awkward between them. She couldn’t have been more wrong. He’d seemed perfectly at ease with her, and she’d enjoyed being with him. Too much. She’d treasured every moment. When it came time for Deke to leave, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. As she watched him drive away, tears gathered in her eyes, and her heart ached. He’d said he’d be back.
She wanted to believe that he would.
Hot and sweaty, Mary Beth bedded down the horses for the night, then dragged herself into the house. She ached all over.
Entering the kitchen, she drank two full glasses of water, then summoned enough energy to feed Lightning and Lady. She thought fleetingly about finding something to eat for herself, but in the end was just too tired to put forth the effort. Right now she needed a hot bath. And rest. Lots of rest.
She went straight to the bathroom and filled her bathtub with water as hot as she could stand it. Her muscles were hurting so much it was all she could do to strip off her clothes. Literally crying out from the torture of raising her leg to get into the tub, she sank her aching body into the steamy water.
It had been a rough two days. With a bit of trepidation and a lot of reservation, she’d begun the process of seeding hay for the next year. Why she bothered was anyone’s guess. She hadn’t had a good crop this year. And she didn’t even know if she’d be here in the spring. Still, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to try another crop.
She’d spent the entire first day out in the field. The weather had started to change, and autumn had officially arrived. That night she hadn’t been too sore, so she’d tackled the second day of seeding with even more vigor. That had been a vital mistake. Now she was exhausted.
The reality was that, as she’d suspected, no one had answered her advertisement for help. It was time for calving, and she wasn’t going to be able to handle that alone. She needed to separate the spring calves from their mothers.
She’d toyed with the idea of calling Jake McCall and asking for help. In the end she decided against it. She felt awkward asking him for help since she’d slept with Deke.
As she crawled into bed, Lightning and Lady wandered into the room. She gave both dogs a pat, praised them for their hard work during the day, then watched them settle on the floor. Every time she looked at them she thought of Deke, and every time she thought of Deke she longed to see him.
Where was he tonight, she wondered. Was he alone? Was he thinking of her?
Lightning and Lady began barking just as Mary Beth finished eating the last bite of her toast. Seconds later she heard the roar of a motor and was amazed at the dogs’ keen sense of hearing. Then her heart thumped. No, it couldn’t be Deke! Still, she jumped up from her chair, raced to the window and peered out.
“Of course it isn’t Deke,” she told herself as she watched a white pickup truck pull into the yard and stop in front of her house. “You’re wasting your time thinking about him. He’s in Lubbock, and he probably isn’t thinking of you.”
She recognized Matthew McCall as soon as he got out of the truck. Glad to see him, she walked outside to greet him, stopping on the porch as he approached. Each time she saw the youngest McCall male, she was struck by his resemblance to his father, from his chiseled face and sturdy built body, right down to the swagger of his walk. He’d filled out since he’d come to Texas to live and had grown at least five inches. He gave her an easy smile as he approached, and Mary Beth suspected that he must be driving the girls of Crockett absolutely crazy.
“Hello, Matthew.” She hadn’t seen him in a while, but she wasn’t exactly surprised by his visit. He’d stopped by occasionally, usually arriving by horseback because he’d been working nearby.
“Hi.” Matthew barely had time to speak before Lightning and Lady were vying for his attention. “Hey, who are these two?” He bent down to give both dogs his attention.
“Lightning and Lady. I just got them a few days ago,” she said, but she didn’t reveal they were a gift from Deke. She doubted that he’d told his family he’d been with her.
“They’re something.”
“They’ve been a great help.” Glancing at the truck, she said, “Driving now, huh?”
Matthew glanced at the shiny truck, then back to Mary Beth. “It’s not mine. Dad’s letting me drive it some, though. I can only go on the back roads by myself.” He shrugged. “I don’t have my license, yet.”
“I see.” Smiling, she leaned against the porch railing. It was nice to have someone to talk to. Better still to have a reason to put off starting her work. “How is everyone at the Bar M? I saw Ashley in town recently with the girls. They’re growing like weeds.”
Looking up at her, Matthew put a foot on the lowest step and leaned his arm on the railing. He adjusted his ball cap up slightly. “They sure are. Taylor is, too.”
“I bet they keep everyone busy.”
“Yeah, they do,” Matthew readily agreed with a laugh. “Russ and Lynn had a baby boy last month. They named him Shayne.”
“I’d heard they had a boy.”
“He’s real cute. Actually, it’s great having cousins. They’re all a lot of fun.”
“How are things at the Bar M?”
“Good. We’ve just finished seeding.”
Mary Beth tamped down the envious feelings inside her. The Bar M had the equipment and manpower to get the job done in the minimum amount of time. “I’ve planted, but my crops haven’t done well the past two years. I’m hoping to start separating calves from their mothers today.” It would be a daunting job that would take days.
Matthew straightened. “I heard you needed some help. Have you hired anyone yet?”
“No, I haven’t. Why? Have you heard
of someone wanting work?” she asked, and hope began to build inside her. “I’d be willing to take anyone, as long as he’s not an ax murderer.”
Matt chuckled. “Well, I’m not an ax murderer.”
She stared at him, her mouth dropping open. “You? Why on earth would you want to work for me? Your father owns one of the most profitable ranches in the county. I’m sure there’s plenty of work on the Bar M.”
“I’d be grateful if you gave me a chance. I’ll work real hard for you.”
She came down two steps toward him. “I know you would, Matthew. That’s not in question. But why would you want to?” Mary Beth fleetingly wondered if Deke had something to do with Matthew coming over to ask for work. Had he gone home and told his family about the horrendous condition of her ranch?
“I’m trying to earn some money for my own truck,” Matt explained. “Dad said he’d help me get one, but only if I came up with part of the money.”
His explanation put her at ease. Embarrassed to admit how bad things were for her, she told him, “I can’t pay that much.”
“I’m willing to work for minimum wage,” Matthew said.
Her eyes widened. “Really? Are you sure? What does your father say about this? Like I said, there must be plenty to do at the Bar M.” Afraid he’d have second thoughts, she tried to hold back her excitement.
“It was his idea for me to come over. He saw your ad in the paper and thought it would be a good experience for me to work for someone else. All I have to do is keep up with my chores. So, how about it?”
Mary Beth couldn’t have asked for anyone better to come along. Though she’d put an ad in the paper, she’d been a little nervous about hiring a stranger. But she liked Matthew, and she could trust him. “You’re hired. When do you want to start?”
“How about now?”
With a relieved smile, she shook his hand. “You’ve got a deal.”
With the help of Lightning and Lady, they spent the remainder of the day separating calves. Spotting cows ready to give birth, they moved them to a pasture closer to the house. Mary Beth enjoyed working with Matthew, but she hadn’t been prepared for his fascination of his uncle’s exploits at the rodeo. He talked incessantly about Deke’s competing. While she tried her best to listen with indifference, Mary Beth shamefully hung on every word.
But when Matthew began talking about the women who hung around the rodeo, she had a hard time concentrating on work. According to Matthew, who obviously admired his uncle’s prowess with women, there were plenty of ladies at the rodeo flirting with Deke, willing to keep him company.
Her heart dropped. Well, what had she expected? They’d shared a mutual attraction, not an exclusive relationship. She clamped her teeth together. It hurt thinking about him with other women.
Lord, she was a fool. Deke wasn’t sitting in some hotel room pining for her, was he? No, he was out enjoying himself. And she was wasting precious time and energy thinking about him.
Still, she couldn’t seem to stop.
As she watched Matthew drive away late in the afternoon, Mary Beth heard the phone ring. The sun had already begun to set, and she suspected that it was Catherine, Matthew’s mother, wondering if her son was on his way home.
But it wasn’t Catherine’s voice she heard when she answered the phone. Instead, Deke greeted her with his usual teasing manner.
“Hey, sweetheart. Missing me?”
Mary Beth didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her entire body had gone still.
Get a grip!
“Hello?”
“I’m here, Deke,” she said, straining to keep her tone even and not let him know how thrilled she was just to hear his voice. “How are you?”
“Tired. I’ve been competing for the past few nights. By the time I get in, it’s late. I wasn’t sure when to call because I didn’t want to wake you.”
“I’m usually in bed early,” she agreed, trying not to react to the warmth of his tone.
“How are you?”
Mary Beth sat in a kitchen chair and propped her feet on another, knees bent. “I’m doing okay.” Well, she was, except that her heart was beating a mile a minute. “Did you know that Matthew is working for me a few hours each day?”
“Yeah, I talked to Jake a few minutes ago. How’s Matt doing?”
“It’s wonderful having him here. He’s been a lot of help. We started bringing in the calves.”
“Sounds like a busy day.”
Gnawing on her lip, Mary Beth hesitated, then said, “I’d better let you go. I’m sure you’re tired. I know I am.” She thought it best to keep their conversation short. Otherwise she was going to blurt how much she missed him.
“Okay, I’ll let you go, then.”
She whispered goodbye, then hung up the phone, feeling ridiculously weepy. Hearing Deke’s voice had been torment. She had to stop thinking about him every waking moment. She couldn’t give him the power to break her heart.
Over the next couple of weeks Matt helped her finish separating the spring calves from their mothers. Together they managed to get them weighed. Mary Beth didn’t know what she would have done without him or his company.
Deke called a few times, but she kept to her decision and talked with him briefly. She wasn’t going to pine away for him. She already cared about him too much as it was. This time when he left, he’d break what was left of her heart.
As if her heart was her biggest problem at this point. The ranch was in deeper trouble than she’d thought. Though she’d sold the largest part of her herd, she was still a thousand dollars short of paying the mortgage.
She had no idea how in the world she was going to come up with the money. She rubbed her temple as her head began to throb. If she didn’t scrape up that last thousand, she was going to lose the ranch.
Mary Beth dropped her head in her hands. What was she going to do now?
Eight
Deke didn’t know what in the world was wrong with Mary Beth, but he was determined to find out. He took the turn to Paradise a little faster than the narrow road allowed. The truck kicked up gravel and clouds of dust, then he brought it back under tight control.
For the past couple of weeks he’d had a hard time concentrating on bull riding. Hell, last night he’d earned his lowest score ever! He had Mary Beth to thank for that. Thinking about her consumed all of his thoughts. He missed her. And he worried about her, dammit!
Though Matt was working a few hours a day, the rest of the time Mary Beth was alone to handle everything else on her own. There was plenty of hard, dirty work on a ranch—more than any woman should have to handle alone.
Deke thrummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he tried to analyze his feelings for her. From the first time they’d made love, he’d known she was a threat to his heart in a way no other woman had been. Even now, when his mind should be on the rodeo, all he could think about was her.
When you’re on the back of a raging bull, the last thing you should be thinking about is a knockout redhead with a smart mouth and a sassy attitude.
It was a miracle that he hadn’t been killed.
Maybe he would have had better luck competing if Mary Beth had paid him a little attention when he called her. It would’ve set his mind at ease to know that she’d been thinking about him, too.
Did she think about him at all? Did she lie awake at night and wish he was there with her, making love to her?
Hell if he knew. He’d made a special effort to stay in touch with her, wanting to hear her voice. But she’d kept their conversations brief and impersonal. She’d always seemed in a hurry to end his call, like she didn’t have time for him.
Well, he’d had enough. If she didn’t want to hear from him, all she had to do was say so. He could take it.
Yeah, right. So why are you making a pit stop at her house?
Deke shook his head. He’d talked with Matt several times since his nephew started working for her. At first he’d been relieved that Matt was there watch
ing out for her part of the time. But almost right away Deke had noticed that her attitude toward him had changed. Maybe she was embarrassed to let his nephew know about their relationship.
Relationship. Is that what they had? What did you call it when a woman stole your sanity? When you closed your eyes at night and dreamed of a green-eyed beauty that you couldn’t seem to forget? When you wanted that woman so badly you ached with it?
Deke pulled into the yard and skidded to a halt in front of Mary Beth’s house. With dust clouding around him, he jumped out, slammed the door and pocketed his keys. He rounded the truck, and Lightning and Lady raced up to him, tails wagging.
“Hey there you two.” They pranced around his legs, but he only glanced at them with a frustrated look. “Stay out here, guys. This may not be pretty.”
Deke tried to think rationally as he stalked toward the house. “Okay, calm down,” he ordered himself. “You’re not going to get any points by running roughshod over her. You know how stubborn she is.”
Great! Now you’re talking to yourself!
He took his Stetson off and slapped it against his thigh. Taking a couple of deep breaths, he rapped his fist on her door. A few seconds later it slowly opened. Deke stared at the woman who’d been driving him crazy for the past two weeks.
His gaze drifted over the swell of her breasts beneath her soft white tank top, then lower over those long, slim legs encased in snug jeans. Blood pumped furiously through his heart at the sight of her.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he said easily, ignoring the adrenaline rush that demanded he haul her against him and seal her mouth with his.
“Deke!” Mary Beth’s eyes widened, then she blinked. “What are you doing here?” Taken aback, she stood frozen in place. She flicked her gaze over the length of him. His navy-blue shirt was tucked neatly into his blue jeans. Her heart tripped over itself.
Deke grinned. He’d caught her off guard. Good. That’s the way he wanted her. Now they were even. “Came by to see my best girl,” he said as he studied her. Her hair cascaded around her face and fell to her shoulders in soft waves. His gaze slid lower, appreciating every luscious curve before returning to her face.
Her Texan Temptation Page 10
