He swept down the hallway with her, hesitating only long enough to ask, “Which room?”
She raised her muzzy head from the soft fabric of his shirt and met his mesmerizing eyes. Her fingers curled into the shaggy hair on his nape, savoring the silky feel of the wisps against her skin. “Second door on the right.”
Jack shouldered his way into the guest room and set her on the sleigh bed. Perhaps it was the drugs lowering her inhibitions, but as she released her grip on him, she allowed her hand to trail slowly from his neck along his shoulder, then linger briefly on his chest. She could feel the steady thump of his heart beneath her palm, and her own pulse answered with hard, clamoring beats.
Glancing up at him with a shaky smile, she shifted her touch to his upper arm, giving a small squeeze of appreciation.
“Thank you.” Her voice sounded far too breathy and sensual, as if she were trying to seduce him, and she winced mentally. Clearly, he heard what she had, because his muscles tensed and something hot and hungry flared in his eyes. The predatory gleam in his gaze backed the air up in her lungs and doubled her heart rate. Her aching limbs and stinging wounds were forgotten as she held his stare for what seemed simultaneously an aeon and a flicker in time. Tracy couldn’t tell how much of her light-headed buzz was Jack’s effect on her and how much was the painkiller, but her head spun dizzily, nonetheless.
When she wet her dry lips, his focus dropped to her mouth, and his pupils grew to inky, fathomless pools. She both hoped and feared that he was going to kiss her. His desire was evident in the intensity of his stare and the quiver in his muscles as he hovered over her. A shiver of expectation sluiced through her.
In the end, though, he clenched his jaw and shoved away from the bed with an exhalation rife with frustration. Disappointment rippled through Tracy, and she sank deeper into the pillows, kicking herself for wanting things she shouldn’t. How could she be lusting after her cousin’s ex when she was still coping with the aftermath of her own late husband?
“I’ll get your bags,” Jack said as he stalked from her room, his tone deeper and huskier than usual. From unspent desire? she wondered. Within minutes, fatigue dragged her into a deep sleep and dreams of Jack carrying her through a swirling flood of black water.
* * *
The next morning, a thunderstorm woke Tracy. When a particularly close crash rattled the guest room windows, Tracy bolted upright in her bed and raked her hair back from her face. Her bedside alarm clock read 6:24 a.m. Knowing that the rest of the ranch residents were likely up and starting their day, Tracy tossed back the covers and staggered to the shower. Her muscles were predictably sore and stiff, and the hot water stung her healing scrapes. All in all, she knew she was lucky to be alive. If she’d fallen in traffic just as a vehicle sped by, she’d have a lot more than stiff muscles to worry about.
After her shower, Tracy joined Abra for breakfast in the formal dining room.
“I understand you had some excitement yesterday,” Abra said.
So Jack had shared news of her accident with the family. Tracy rolled her sore shoulders. “You could call it that, just...not the kind of excitement one likes to have.”
“But Eric got you all fixed up?”
“Yes, ma’am. He and Jack were both very helpful.”
Abra smiled brightly. “I have no doubt.”
Tracy passed the plate of scrambled eggs to her hostess. “What time will Greta be back today?”
“Somewhere around three this afternoon, I believe.” Abra pulled a face and shook her head. “Honestly, I think she should go ahead and move to Oklahoma City, rather than commute back and forth as she plans the wedding. But she hates to leave her horses. Sometimes I think she loves the horses more than she does Mark.”
Tracy grinned, assuming that Abra was teasing, but the crease in Abra’s forehead said otherwise.
When Big J arrived in the dining room, he greeted Tracy with a warm smile. “You all right this morning, darlin’?”
She showed him her raw palms and wrapped wrist with a grimace. “A little dinged up, but nothing I can’t handle. Still planning to make the most of the day.”
He tipped his hat to her. “That’s the cowboy spirit.”
Abra invited Big J to join them for breakfast, but he only poured a cup coffee and took a piece of bacon with him as he left for the stables. Tracy sensed an awkwardness between them and recalled what Greta had said about Big J’s indiscretion with Daniel’s mother, and Jack’s comment that Abra had traveled most of his childhood. None of her business, Tracy told herself as she nibbled her bacon.
A loud clap of thunder shook the house hard enough to make the china coffee cups on the table rattle. Abra frowned, as if the storm was insulting her personally. “What plans do you have today? This weather looks to keep us inside for a while.”
Tracy cupped her hands around her mug of java, savoring the rich aroma. “I brought a book to read, but if you have something I can help you with, I’d be happy to.”
Abra lifted a shoulder. “No. I have a few calls to make for the wedding, thank-you notes to write.”
After taking a gulp of coffee, Tracy pushed her eggs around her plate, wondering what Jack and his son were up to this rainy morning. “I’d like to spend some time with Seth today. Maybe we could play cards or a board game. Do you think Jack would bring him up to the house?”
Abra gave another mild shrug. “You’re welcome to call him. Jack’s house is number two on speed dial.” She nodded toward the landline telephone on the kitchen wall.
“Oh, thanks, but I have his cell number on my phone.”
Abra quirked an eyebrow, clearly intrigued and reading hidden meaning into that fact, but she made no comment.
Tracy managed to keep up a stilted conversation with Abra through the rest of breakfast, but when she finished eating, she excused herself to her room. As she walked along the upstairs corridor, she passed one of the mullioned windows that looked out over the front lawn and circular drive leading to the front door. She lingered long enough to enjoy the view, made all the more enticing when a golden ray of sun peeked through the departing rain clouds. On the lawn below, near a side door of the house, she spotted a familiar head of wavy brown hair and long willowy limbs.
Tracy blinked, startled to see Greta at the ranch. Had she gotten back early? Abra had said she wasn’t expected until closer to three.
Tracy raised her hand to knock on the window and wave to Greta, but the woman below gave a furtive glance over her shoulder, then darted in the side door, out of view.
Odd. Maybe Greta’s business in OKC had been cut short. Or, Tracy decided, noting how the decorative glass made slight distortions to the view, maybe it hadn’t been Greta at all, but a member of the household staff who had a similar hairstyle.
Dismissing the incident, Tracy continued down the long hall to the guest room, where she cracked open the windows to enjoy the cool breeze and pattering of the last drips of rain. She put away the clothes she’d bought yesterday, setting aside a pair of jeans to wear to her riding lesson this evening with Greta.
Once the morning downpour cleared, leaving the air smelling sweet and clean, Tracy decided to enjoy her novel by the pool. She changed into shorts and a tank top, then trooped down to the patio and dragged a lounge chair into the sun near the deep end of the pool. As Tracy stretched out on the lounge chair, her muscles protested with a dull ache. She thought about the bottle of prescription painkillers on her bedside table but didn’t like the idea of using the potent medicine unless she really needed it.
Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes behind her sunglasses and recalled the muzzy feeling the Demerol shot had given her last night...and the way her drug-muddled brain had led her to act. Her cheeks heated as she remembered how she’d draped herself over Jack, caressing his face and all but simpering for a kiss. Even now her head spun, thinking about the rough scrape of his day-end beard against her fingers and the hooded look of wanting in his eyes. How cou
ld she face him after her awkward advances?
Exhaling a cleansing breath, she tipped her head farther back and savored the warmth of the morning sun. She must have dozed off, because the next thing she was aware of was the slapping sound of running feet, then a loud splash. Fat drops of cold water rained down on her sun-baked skin, and she jerked upright with a gasp. Now fully awake, she shielded her eyes from the sun to bring the pool into focus. A small dark head broke the surface near her, and Seth grinned up at her, spiky lashes surrounding green eyes full of mischief.
“Did I splash ya?” he asked, with no sign of remorse.
She gave him a playful scowl and shook water droplets off her book. “You did. Scamp.”
He wrinkled his nose. “What’s a scamp?”
“A little boy who splashes unsuspecting ladies, then grins about it.” She gave him a lopsided smile and a mock growl.
He laughed and padded away, calling, “Wanna swim with me?”
“Maybe later. I’m feeling kinda sore and stiff after my fall yesterday.”
He grabbed the rail of the ladder at the deep end and cocked his head. “Daddy says you tripped and fell in the street. I bet that hurt. Did ya skin your hands and knees? I do that a lot.”
Tripped, huh? She supposed the filtered version was better for Seth. Best not to worry the boy needlessly.
She held up her hands and bandaged wrist to show him. “A little scraped. But I’ve had worse. Just sore today.”
Seth poked at a beetle floating in the water. “Daddy says the best thing to do when you’re sore is work it out. Layin’ round will just make ya stiff.”
“Oh, he does, does he?” She could imagine Jack saying this to motivate his son to put away his video games or TV and get out in the fresh air. Hearing Seth parrot his father brought a secret smile to her lips that she bit her cheek to squelch.
Jack’s son nodded. “It works, too. When I get sore from ridin’ Pooh or mucking stalls, I take a walk, and I’m all better the next day.”
She didn’t bother to argue that his resilience probably had more to do with his youth than his father’s prescribed walks. Instead, she nodded. “That’s great, Seth. Maybe I’ll try that later.”
He hoisted himself out of the pool and padded to her, dripping. “Whatcha reading?”
She showed him the cover of her book. “A romance novel.”
Seth screwed up his face. “Romance? Does that mean there’s kissin’ and stuff?”
Tracy chuckled at his look of disgust. “Yeah. Kissing is part of romance.”
“Ew. Kissing is gross!”
She tweaked the boy’s nose. “Not if you’re doing it right.”
With effort, she kept her thoughts from straying to her near kiss with Jack last night. She could well imagine he was an excellent kisser. Knowing how he liked to take control of every situation, she could guess he’d take command of a kiss and leave his partner breathless and satisfied.
“Brett says someday I’ll want to kiss girls, same as he does,” Seth said, bringing her out of her musing.
“He’s right.”
“Daddy says I got plenty of time before I gotta worry about kissing girls.”
Tracy gave a lopsided grin. “He’s right, too.”
As if conjured by their discussion, Jack rode up to the back lawn astride Buck and gave a shrill whistle. “Seth, what are you doing up here? I thought you were going to help us sort the calves.”
The boy’s face brightened. “Oh, yeah. I forgot.”
Jack tapped back the brim of his black cowboy hat to send Tracy an appraising scrutiny. She was prepared for him to grouse about her being alone with Seth without his approval, but instead he asked, “How are you feeling this morning?”
The thoroughness of his gaze and the piercing intensity of his eyes were as intimate as a physical caress. Goose bumps rose on her skin, and her breath hitched. She needed a moment to gather her composure before stuttering, “I’m, um, some b-better.”
He jerked a nod. “Good.” Turning toward his son, he added, “Let’s go, Spud. You have to dry off and change clothes, and you’re wastin’ daylight.”
When Seth scampered over to Buck, Jack took his foot from the stirrup, allowing his son to use it for a step up. Jack caught Seth’s arm and helped swing him onto Buck’s back.
Wrapping one arm around his father from behind, Seth gave her a wave. “’Bye, Miss Tracy. See ya later!”
She returned the wave, and her heart gave a giddy flutter when Jack tapped his hat brim and gave her a nod in parting. Dear Lord, the man was sexy enough without embodying every tough-guy cowboy ideal she remembered from movies. He had the strong and silent archetype down to a tee. Perhaps she couldn’t understand Laura’s leaving the Lucky C, but Tracy had no problem understanding why her cousin had fallen for Jack Colton to start with.
Chapter 8
“We can do this another day if you’re too sore,” Greta offered later that evening, as they led Mabel and Scout into the corral for Tracy’s riding lesson.
“No, I’m game to give it a try.” Tracy found that she’d been looking forward to her riding lesson, partly because she’d enjoyed her last time in the saddle and partly because she enjoyed Greta’s company. “I’d wager aches and pains are all part of life for a rancher. If my hosts can work through the pain, so can I.”
Greta laughed. “That’s the spirit!”
After opening the gate to the corral, Greta tugged Scout’s lead, and Tracy followed, guiding Mabel in the somewhat muddy space. “So did things go well in Oklahoma City?”
Lifting her shoulder in dismissal, Greta closed the gate behind them and patted Mabel on the rump as she walked passed. “Well enough. We were interviewed for the society page of the Journal Record. Mark was named one of Oklahoma City’s most eligible bachelors a couple of years ago, so apparently it’s big news that he’s getting married.” She grinned as she unhooked Mabel’s lead and tossed it over a fence post. “Abra was thrilled when I told her about the article, but personally, I find all the attention our wedding is getting a bit overwhelming.”
“Your mother did seem to be enjoying the limelight at your engagement party.” Tracy shooed a fly that buzzed in her face.
Greta gave a snorting sort of laugh. “Yes, God love her, my mother is happiest when she’s the center of attention. My wedding would be a bigger media circus than Prince William and Catherine’s royal wedding if I let her have her way. The best thing to come out of this wedding so far is that I’ve gotten closer to my mother. Being her only daughter, I think she was hoping for someone a little less...well, tomboyish than I’ve been. Being allowed to help me choose a dress and flowers and china patterns has tickled her pink.”
“Well, if there’s anything I can do to help you with your wedding plans, please ask. I’d be happy to do anything I can.”
Greta angled a startled look at her that morphed into a warm smile. “Thank you, Tracy. I appreciate that.” She stroked her horse’s flank, then sighed. “As much as I love my brothers, I’ve really missed having a sister. When I saw the camaraderie my brothers had, I always felt like I was missing out on something, not having a sister to share things.”
Tracy nodded, swiping perspiration from her brow with the back of her hand. “I can understand that. I was an only child, and I wished I had siblings quite often, too.”
“Well, enough of that!” Greta waved off the discussion, which was turning too serious. “Let’s get you in the saddle, shall we?” She directed Tracy to a small platform with steps, telling her to walk Mabel up beside the three-foot-high deck. “It’s easier for beginners and short people to mount from there.”
“Oh.” Tracy’s cheeks heated when she remembered the intimate boost Jack had given her as she’d climbed into the saddle earlier in the week.
Once Tracy was astride, Greta instructed her to simply walk the perimeter of the corral, getting accustomed to using the reins to guide Mabel. Tracy had opted to wear the gloves Greta had offered,
to protect her scraped hands, and she flexed her fingers a few times, loosening the fit. After the first few circuits, Greta joined her, falling in beside Tracy at an easy pace.
“So what’s next on your agenda for the wedding? I meant what I said about helping.”
“I’ll remember that when the time comes to start addressing envelopes. We have hundreds to do!”
Tracy gulped. “Hundreds?”
Greta gave her a wry look. “Heaven forbid Abra leave out anyone she ever met. I told you this wedding was overwhelming.” She huffed in frustration, then said, “Next up is a lot of tedious paperwork including the prenup and having our blood tests done for the marriage license. Hardly the fun part of getting married. I much preferred the day we sampled cakes and hors d’oeuvres with the caterers.”
Tracy flashed a grin. “I guess so!” She sobered then, and Greta caught her scowl.
“What’s that frown for?”
“Well, I guess it just bothers me to hear people talk about getting a prenup. I mean, I can understand why some people feel they’re necessary, but...it seems to me if you’re marrying someone, it’s because you love and trust them. And if that’s really the case, a prenup agreement wouldn’t be needed.” Tracy furrowed her brow. “Is that totally naive of me?”
“Well, I agree with your sentiments, but I didn’t want to rock the boat when Mark suggested it. I really have no designs on his money, and when my father heard about the prenup, he was all for it and for protecting my interests in the Lucky C.”
Tracy dropped her gaze and shook her head. “I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s not my business.”
Colton Cowboy Protector Page 10
