Jared's Texas Homecoming

by Patricia Thayer

  The silence was deafening, and at the same time, it was electrified with awareness between them. All he could think about was stripping out of his clothes and climbing into bed. No, that wasn’t exactly true. He wanted her naked and with him in that bed. Damn, he had to stop the direction of his thoughts. Grabbing his bag, he went into the bathroom and took a long cool shower, then dried off and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. When he’d finally come out, he found Dana sitting on the end of the bed, gripping her nightclothes in her fisted hand.

  She glanced up at him, but her gaze didn’t meet his for long before she looked away. She stood and tried to move around him, but he put a hand on her arm.

  “Dana, don’t look at me like I’m going to jump you. Give me credit for some self-control.”

  She pulled out of his grasp. “Excuse me, but this kind of situation is a little strange to me. I’m not used to sharing a room, or a bed with a man. So I’m not exactly sure on how I’m supposed to act.” She marched off to the bathroom and shut the door.

  Inside, Dana sank against the door and released a long breath. She knew she’d just made a big fool of herself. But how was she going to be able to get into bed with him?

  Dana reached inside the shower and turned on the water, hoping the warm water would soothe away her nervousness. It was only one night. She had to keep her mind focused on the auction tomorrow. They were going to find stock for the ranch. She had to be excited about that. Jared even said she could look at horses. Dana stripped out of her jeans and blouse, then her underwear. Pinning her hair up on her head, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. She’d always been on the thin side. Now her body was more rounded. She had long, firm legs that had a nice shape to them. Her gaze moved to her breasts. They were fuller since she’d had Evan. Her nipples had changed, too. They were darker, a deep rosy color. Her thoughts turned back to Jared again and the tips hardened into tight buds. With a groan, Dana climbed into the shower and cooled the water temperature, hoping to stop her fever.

  Twenty minutes later, she came out of the bathroom wearing her usual faded nightshirt and a pair of cotton panties underneath. On the far side of the bed, Jared faced away from her. Dana went to her side, slipped into the bed and turned off the bedside light. The only illumination came through a slight opening in the drapes.

  “Glad to see you made it out. I was afraid you’d drowned.”

  She stiffened, hoping he’d been asleep. “The water felt good.”

  Jared rolled onto his back. “Dana, I’m sorry about earlier. I had no right to say those things to you. Of course, you should be leery of me. You don’t know me that well.”

  “No, you were right,” she admitted, glad that it was dark and he couldn’t see her. “I had no reason to act that way toward you. You’ve been nothing but a gentleman.”

  There was a long silence, then he spoke again. “Was Marshall… Did he give you cause to be afraid?”

  “No. Marshall was always nice to me.” She closed her eyes trying to remember the father of her son. “Looking back now, I was the one who’d gone after him. Outside of ranch hands, who came and went, there hadn’t been many men in my life. Definitely none as charming as Marshall. I was young and I wasn’t exactly experienced. When he gave me a little attention, I practically threw myself at him.”

  “I don’t think your attention was much of a hardship for my brother.”

  Dana didn’t know if it was the dark, or Jared’s soothing voice that had her admitting things she’d always kept to herself. Even from Joy. “Thank you. But if Marshall were here, he’d probably say I was a pest.”

  Jared rolled over toward her and propped his head in his hand. He was close, so close that Dana could feel his heat. “Don’t sell yourself short, Dana. You’re a beautiful woman. Marsh would have never broken his vow to Jocelyn just on a whim. You had to mean something to him.”

  He cupped her cheek with his hand, making her turn toward him. Then he lowered his head and touched her mouth with his. The kiss was sweet and tender and over all too quickly. Then he was gone, leaving Dana aching for more.

  Dana was dreaming as she turned her face into her lover’s shoulder, inhaling his intoxicating scent. Snuggling closer, she brushed her breast against his solid chest and quivered at the contact. Her smooth legs tangled with his rough ones. She stroked her hands up and down his strong arm, then traveled to his broad back.

  Dana strained to get nearer and was rewarded when he shifted on top of her. She eagerly opened to him, welcoming his weight. She shivered when he placed open-mouthed kisses along her neck. A gasp escaped her lips when his caressing fingers traced along her thigh, pushing her nightshirt up higher. The sound of his husky voice reverberated against her ear, telling her how much he wanted her.

  Dana wanted Jared, too. Jared! Suddenly realization of who she was with and what she was doing hit her. Her eyes shot open. Jared must have sensed her change of mood and raised his head. Neither his blue-eyed gaze nor his body was able to hide his aroused state.

  He gave her a crooked smile. “This is a pleasant surprise. Guess the bed wasn’t big enough after all.”

  Dana concentrated on slowing her breathing.

  Jared looked down at her. “I guess we need to decide what to do next,” he suggested, his voice low, sexy.

  How was she supposed to think when his hard body was pressed against hers? She nodded.

  His gaze moved to her mouth. “Should I go away, or should I just give in to temptation and kiss that inviting mouth of yours?”

  Dana’s heart started racing. She wanted his kiss. Oh, how she wanted his kiss. What could one hurt? She closed her eyes just as his lips touched hers.

  “Mom! Jared!” Evan called out as the connecting door flew open and they both jerked apart. Jared moved off Dana as she pulled the sheet higher around her.

  “Morning, sweetheart,” she managed.

  “Mom, Uncle Jared, aren’t you going to get up?” Her son was already dressed in his new jeans, shirt and boots. The front of his hair had been parted and combed, the back still tangled from sleep. She glanced at the clock. It was six-thirty.

  Jared hauled Evan up on the bed. “Hey, sport, give your mom a few minutes. This is kind of a vacation. Not everyone gets up before the sun.” He tickled the boy, glad that the distraction was cooling him off.

  Evan giggled. “Stop!”

  “Only if you go back into your room and give your mom fifteen minutes to get ready. Then we’ll go out to breakfast at a restaurant and see if their pancakes are as good as ours.”

  “’Kay.” He climbed off the bed. “How long is fifteen minutes?”

  Jared grabbed the notepad and pencil from the night table. He wrote down a number. “When this number comes up on the clock, you can come and get us.” He handed it to Evan and the boy took off. Jared got up and closed the door to give them some privacy.

  He turned back to Dana. Big mistake. She looked gorgeous. All mussed up as if she’d been thoroughly loved. But not quite. He released a breath. “Why don’t we just say that what happened here,” he suggested, motioning to the bed, “was a slip in judgment.” When he caught her hurt look, he relented a little. “I’m sorry, Dana. I didn’t mean for this to happen. But a beautiful woman in a man’s bed in the morning is a volatile combination.”

  Dana turned away. Hell, he couldn’t tell her the truth. That he wanted her in his bed. He couldn’t give her that kind of power over him.

  She got out of bed, her short nightshirt revealing long, shapely legs. He swallowed back a groan as she walked around, gathering the clothes she was going to wear for the day.

  Dana stopped and turned to look at him. “I don’t see that there’s a problem, since we won’t be sharing a bed in the future.” Her words sounded so final. Then she went into the bathroom and closed the door, leaving Jared aroused and hungry for what he could never have.

  Dana Shayne Trager.

  Chapter Eight

  Evan looked happy as they walk
ed around the stockyard, and Dana knew the reason. He was with Jared. The man’s patience with a four-and-a-half-year-old’s unending chatter bordered on sainthood. Of course, earlier in bed, Jared Trager had proven himself far from being a saint.

  Dana was still trying to recover from the nearly disastrous mistake. She wanted to blame it on being half-asleep. She’d thought being in Jared’s arms had been a dream. But the fiery touch of his hands on her, his hard body against her had been real. A surge of heat and panic rushed through her as she wondered what would have happened if Evan hadn’t interrupted them.

  “Land sakes, girl, are you hearin’ anything I’m sayin’? I’ve been talkin’ to myself for the last ten minutes.”

  “I’m sorry, Bert.” She pulled the program from the back pocket of her jeans. “I guess I didn’t get much sleep last night.” The minute she said the words she knew what they implied. What could she say? After all, she and Jared were married—newly married.

  Bert gave her a grin, then turned toward the large corral to examine the stock. That was what Dana had to do, focus on what she was here for—to stock the ranch with cattle. But one tall good-looking man kept interrupting her concentration.

  When Jared and Evan caught up with them, she tried to keep her mind on business. She told Jared about the stock they’d chosen to bid on. He listened intently, then told her that the final decision was hers. It was she who had to make the decision about what was a fair price.

  A little nervous, but with Jared by her side during the bidding, she bought two young bulls, along with a dozen heifers and a small herd of yearlings. Although the Lazy S Ranch had always been a mama-and-baby operation, they needed to stimulate some revenue right away.

  “Yeah, Mom,” Evan cheered, clapping his hands.

  “We got a whole bunch of calves.”

  Dana smiled, feeling proud of herself. “Yes, but they aren’t pets.”

  “I know,” he said. “Can we go look at the horses now?”

  Dana had known this subject would come up sooner or later. She didn’t blame her son. She wanted to take a glance to see what was available, too. She glanced at Jared and he winked.

  “I think that’s a good idea,” he said.

  With Bert’s help earlier, Jared had already looked over the horses. He wasn’t an expert, but he knew more about horses than he did cows. Still, as much as he wanted to give Evan a horse, he wasn’t going to do anything to upset Dana. It was her decision to make if her son was ready for a horse.

  Jared studied the stubborn set of Dana’s jaw. So different from this morning when she lay in his arms, so eager for his attention. He could still feel the imprint of her soft body pressed up against him, arching into his touch. His gut tightened when he met her heated gaze. Damn, the woman had him in knots.

  He took her by the arm. “Come on,” he said, “let’s go see some horses.”

  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to check out the stock,” she said.

  Once they arrived at the horse corral, they looked around. It was the first time all morning that Evan had been quiet. Jared realized he was very serious about his search. The boy wasn’t going to pick a horse out too quickly. Jared admired the almost-five-year-old’s maturity. Maybe he was ready to handle the responsibility of ownership after all.

  Finally Evan singled one out. “Oh, Mom, look at that horse,” he cried.

  Dana turned to see her son pointing at a sweet, golden chestnut mare. She eyed the animal closely, admiring her straight back. The mare was well proportioned with no visible abnormalities. She was adorable. Her only drawback seemed to be her small size. But for what Dana wanted, she was perfect.

  Then Evan pointed to another horse, a bay filly. She was a beauty with an auburn coat and black mane and tail. This one wouldn’t be as easy to take home. Dana had no doubt that this pretty filly would bring a good price.

  “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” Jared said, coming up to the railing next to her.

  “Yeah, she is,” Dana agreed, feeling a tingle of heat as his arm brushed hers. “And she’ll go for top dollar.”

  Their eyes held a moment before she looked down at her program, searching over the rest of the horses up for bid. “Too expensive for me.”

  “You never can tell,” he said as he watched Evan go with Bert to look at more horses. “Do you see anything that might work for Evan?”

  Dana knew that it was useless to deny the boy. Some way, Jared was going to get her son a horse, so she wasn’t going to fight it. “That chestnut mare,” she said, pointing at the animal. “She looks like she’d make a good saddle horse. A little small for a full-size man, but perfect for kids.”

  Jared nodded. “Bert pointed her out earlier. Why don’t we circle her in the program and you pick out a few more and see if we can get a good price?”

  How many horses was he planning on bidding on? “How many horses do we need?”

  “Enough to get you started in your business,” he said.

  “We can’t afford it.”

  “We can’t afford not to,” he argued. “It’s a business investment, Dana. There’s no reason to wait. Besides, Chance mentioned he’d like to offer riding lessons to their guests, but they don’t have the room or personnel. This might be your opportunity to work out a deal with the Randells, but you can’t if you don’t invest in good stock.”

  Dana knew that was all speculation. And what if she failed? “But the money…”

  “I told you the money’s not a problem. This is an investment and I know your riding stable is going to take off. With a little more work on the barn, we can take in boarders.”

  Dana couldn’t help but feel excited. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to see what kind of deals we can get.”

  Jared smiled victoriously. They gathered up Bert and Evan, then they took their seats in the stands. As the time neared, Dana grew more nervous. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, because she wasn’t going to go crazy with the bidding. She had a limit on what she would spend.

  When the little chestnut came up for bid, Evan jumped up. “Look, Mom, there she is. It’s Goldie. I want her.” He swung around to look at his mother, his expression serious. “And I don’t care if other kids ride her. And I promise to feed her, brush her and keep her stall clean.”

  Goldie. Oh, no, he’d already named the horse. “We’ll see, honey.” When the auctioneer started the bidding, Dana joined in. As the price began to climb, she hesitated, then she caught the hopeful look in her son’s eyes. She lifted her number in the air and held her breath until the auctioneer announced “Sold.” Evan cheered and hugged her. She glanced at Jared, and he, too, looked pleased.

  A few horses later, the bay filly was led into the corral. She was a beauty tossing her head back and prancing around the ring. With the amount of mumbling going on in the crowd, Dana knew that several people were interested in her. The bidding started a lot higher than Dana had expected and she wasn’t going to last long. The big boys were playing, and she wasn’t in their league. She tried to hold back her disappointment as she saw the beautiful animal slip from her grasp. Then suddenly Jared took the number from her and raised it when the auctioneer called for more bidding. It went higher still, and he kept up until it began to drop off. Dana remained frozen until the bidding was over and Jared was the new owner of the bay mare.

  “Jared! You shouldn’t have spent so much money for a saddle horse,” she cried.

  “I know enough about horseflesh to know an exceptional one when I see it. I have no doubt that she’ll produce some great foals. You should talk to Chance about breeding her. Who’s to say you can’t sell a foal or two?”

  “Yeah, Mom,” Evan said, his head bobbing up and down. “Jared knows a lot of stuff.” The boy grinned.

  “Now we both have horses. Can we go get Goldie now?”

  “Not yet, son,” Jared said. “We have more horses to see.”

  He couldn’t be serious. “Jared, no,” she said. “You’ve spent enough.”
/>   Jared leaned down and whispered in her ear. “You’re cute when you get all bossy. But as long as we’re here, we need to concentrate on buying a few good saddle horses. You need at least one more. I’ve told you to buy what you need.”

  Dana couldn’t believe it. It was like her birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. Was she truly going to be able to open her stable? “Okay,” she sighed, “but only one more. If you try to talk me into any more than that, I’m out of here. And remember, you still have to live with me.”

  Jared tried not to grin. “One more,” he agreed, then glanced at Bert. “We better make it a good one.”

  Dana didn’t trust her judgment when it came to men. She just had to put a halt to it before it all got out of control. Ever since Jared appeared in her life, she hadn’t been able to control anything, especially her feelings. After this morning, she’d known she’d lost that battle, too.

  Jared pulled the truck into the drive around seven that evening. He felt good. He hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. He smiled as he looked at Evan in the back seat. He was awake, but barely. The kid had had a busy few days. Jared climbed out, reached into the bed of the truck and took out the bags, then headed to the house.

  When Jared came back outside, he saw Chance leaving the barn. He’d stopped by to keep an eye on the place and feed the horses. “How was your trip?” he asked.

  “You can tell me tomorrow,” Jared said, “when the horses arrive.”

  Chance frowned. “Horses? You bought Evan more than one?”

  “We ended up buying three. One is for Evan, the other two are Dana’s. An auburn filly and a dapple gray gelding. I think you’ll like the bay. She’s a real beauty.” He pulled the papers out of his pocket and handed them to Chance.

  He looked them over, then released a soft whistle. “She cost you enough, but a classy lady usually does. She came from a good farm and has very impressive bloodlines. It seems a waste to just use her for a riding mount.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Jared said. “I suggested to Dana that she might be interested in breeding her with one of your studs.”