Her Man on Three Rivers Ranch

by Stella Bagwell

  “So do you come over this way very often?” she asked.

  “No. I can’t remember the last time. I’m afraid when Emily-Ann told you I don’t go to town much, she was speaking the truth. I don’t go much of anywhere. Sometimes I go with Holt to a special cattle or horse auction. But for the most part, the ranch takes most of my attention.”

  Now she was probably thinking he was like her late husband, Blake thought ruefully. So driven to make money, he had no time for anything else. Lenore had definitely thought so, but his ex-fiancée hadn’t understood that his devotion to the ranch was all about family, rather than money. He could only hope that Katherine was different.

  She asked, “You like staying home? Or do you just not like getting out and socializing?”

  “A little of both, I guess,” he admitted.

  A dimple appeared in her left cheek and Blake was shocked about how much he wanted to press his lips to the soft little dent.

  “If that’s the case, then I feel very special that you left the ranch just to have a night out with me.”

  His arm slid around the back of her waist. “I’m glad. Uh, that I’ve made you feel special,” he murmured, then added in an even lower voice, “And that I’m with you tonight.”

  She looked up at him, and from the wary look in her eyes, Blake could tell she was feeling the same magnetic pull that was drawing him closer.

  “Blake, I like you very much,” she said in a soft, almost wistful voice. “But I’m not sure that I—”

  Her words ended abruptly as she quickly turned her head away. Blake caught her chin with his thumb and forefinger and pulled her face back around to his.

  “That you what?” he prompted. “Should be here with me? Like this?”

  Even in the twilight, he could see a stain of red darken her cheeks.

  “Something...like that,” she murmured brokenly.

  “Then maybe I should convince you that us being together is...very right.”

  He saw her eyebrows shoot upward, but that was the only reaction he noticed before he lowered his head and settled his lips over hers.

  The intimate contact seemed to momentarily stun her and she went stock-still. And then suddenly the rigidness in her shoulders eased beneath his hands and her soft lips yielded to his.

  The tiny signal of surrender was all it took for Blake to wrap his arms around her and let his kiss do all the talking.

  * * *

  Before Blake had arrived for their date this evening, Katherine had wondered if he might kiss her and then she’d promptly told herself she was letting her imagination get way out of hand. She and Blake were just now getting to know each other, she’d mentally argued, and it was far too soon for physical intimacy. Yet as soon as they’d left Nick at the Ralstons’ and started out of town, something had changed. Each word they’d spoken, every glance they’d exchanged, had seemed to be ripe with sexual tension.

  Now the hungry probe of his lips was causing her senses to spin like a tumbleweed racing across the desert floor. She couldn’t think beyond the heady taste of his mouth, the feel of his hard arms wrapped around her and the warmth of his body seeping into hers.

  This was too good. This was everything she’d ever wanted. Everything she’d never had or expected to find. But like a lovely dream, it would end. And she’d be left with little more than a memory.

  The desperate thoughts racing through her mind gave her the strength to break the contact of their lips and move a step away from him. Yet ending the embrace did little to ease her chaotic senses.

  As she stared out at the darkening canyon, her heart was beating fast, chanting a plea for her to turn back to him and reach for any kind of affection he was willing to give her.

  “Katherine, I—”

  Not wanting to hear an awkward apology for something that had felt so special, she quickly intervened. “You don’t need to say anything, Blake. The kiss was very nice. But I wasn’t expecting anything like this to happen.”

  “Why not?” he asked gently. “You’re an attractive woman. And though my family calls me a stuffed shirt at times, I’m not a cold fish.”

  Cold? The idea was laughable. His kiss had been as hot as the Arizona sun.

  “That’s not what I meant.” She forced herself to look at him and then wished she hadn’t as she felt something inside her begin to melt. “I, uh, thought this was going to be just a friendly outing.”

  “It is.” Turning toward her, he rested his hands on her shoulders. “We are...friends. And more...hopefully.”

  She didn’t think it was possible for her heart to beat any faster, but somehow it managed to kick into an even higher gear. “I don’t know what you mean by more, Blake, but I don’t think I’m ready for anything other than...friends.”

  Dusk was spreading dark shadows all around them, but there was just enough light remaining to see his gaze was studying her face. The intensity of it sent a shiver rippling down her spine.

  “You’ve been alone for a long time, Katherine. I’d think you were past ready to have a man in your life.”

  She began to tremble. Yes, she was past ready for a man’s love. But Blake wasn’t the right man. He’d gone for thirty-eight years without a wife or children. That proved he wasn’t in any romance for the long haul.

  “And you’re expecting me to believe you’re that man?” she asked, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper.

  “Why not? My limbs all work and so do my senses. At least, most of them. I also have a home and a steady income. What more could you ask for? Other than maybe a sense of humor. And I’m trying to work on that.”

  Her urge to both laugh and cry caused a garbled groan to slip past her lips. “Oh, Blake, you’re a wonderful man. It’s me. For the past seven years I’ve been on my own. I get lonely at times, but no one has broken my heart. And that’s the way I want things to stay.”

  “I don’t plan on breaking your heart, Katherine.”

  She sounded like an idiot. But she couldn’t explain that he was too good for her. Not because of his social standing. No, he was simply too good a man to get tangled up with a woman like her. A woman with so many emotional scars she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to give a man like Blake the love he deserved.

  “No. Not intentionally. But that’s not really important. We need to get off this subject and move on to something else.”

  Moving from under the grasp of his hands on her shoulders, she walked across the overlook and stared out at the night sky. But instead of taking in the beauty of the twinkling stars, she was reliving his heated kiss and the incredible pleasure that had flooded through her.

  If she was a brave, confident woman, she would’ve slipped her arms around his neck and showed him just how much she wanted him. But she wasn’t brave. She was still running from the past, and she knew if she stumbled the least bit, it would catch up to her.

  Her dark thoughts were suddenly interrupted as his warm fingers wrapped around her upper arm and tugged her toward him.

  “You think we should discuss the weather again?” he asked. “Well, I don’t. In fact, I don’t think we ought to talk about anything.”

  “Blake, I—”

  Before she could utter a protest, his hands were cupping the sides of her face and the tip of his nose was brushing against hers.

  “I think you want to kiss me,” he murmured. “Just as much as I want to kiss you.”

  She couldn’t deny the truth of his words and knew it would be futile to try. Especially when a reckless hand seemed to be pushing against her back, urging her to step into his arms.

  A split second was all it took for her common sense to lose the battle, and with a groan of surrender, she slid her arms around his neck and tilted her hungry mouth up to his.

  “I do want to kiss you, Blake. Very...much.”

  She’d b
arely had time to speak the last word before his lips swooped over hers and the passionate connection blotted out everything except the incredible pleasure pouring through every particle of her being.

  His kiss was rough, ravaging her lips with a ferocity that left her legs weak and her senses dazed. Each time his mouth lifted for air, she thought it was all going to end. Instead, the longer the kiss went on, the more steam he seemed to be gathering. Over and over, his lips explored hers, filling her with a heat so intense she was on the verge of melting right there in his arms. When his tongue slipped past her teeth and began to mate with hers, she groaned deep in her throat, while her hands clenched a tight hold on the back of his neck.

  The taste of his mouth filled up her senses and beckoned her body to arch into the hard warmth of his. At the same time, she felt his hands slipping down her back, cupping the cheeks of her bottom and drawing her hips tight against his.

  Through the haze of her desire, she could feel his arousal and was shocked to think the effect she was having on him was as strong as the fire that had ignited inside her.

  This couldn’t stop now, she thought. It was all too good, too perfect to end.

  But suddenly she felt his hands easing away from her hips, his mouth lifting from hers. When she finally found the strength to open her eyes, she saw his face hovering above hers and wondered why the mere space between their lips felt like a giant chasm.

  “I, uh, think we’d better stop,” he suggested as he drew in a ragged breath. “Before things get out of hand.”

  As far as Katherine was concerned, the kiss had gotten out of hand several minutes ago. But rather than use a bit of wisdom and step away from him, she’d chosen to throw caution to the wind. Now he was probably thinking she was some sort of sex-starved widow begging for any sort of physical attention he’d give her.

  Her cheeks flaming with heat, she backed away from him until the space between them made it impossible for her to touch him.

  “I don’t know what happened, Blake. I’m...mortified.”

  A frown creased his features. “Mortified? It didn’t feel like you were embarrassed to kiss me.”

  Groaning, she turned her back to him. “I wasn’t! That’s the problem. Another minute or two and we would’ve been tearing at each other’s clothes, unable to stop.”

  His features softening, he moved a step toward her, and though she screamed at herself to keep a safe distance between them, she couldn’t force her legs to move. Crazy or not, her body was aching for him, longing to feel his hard warmth wrapped around her.

  “It felt damn good to me, Katherine.”

  Good? She’d felt euphoric. But then, he probably already figured that out from the way she’d wrapped herself around him.

  He reached out and trailed his fingertips gently up and down her bare arm. “But you agreed to go on a date with me. Not get seduced. And I want us to get started off right.”

  “Started?” She practically screeched the word. “Right now I’m thinking the last thing we need to do is see each other again!”

  He moved close enough to wrap his hands over her shoulders. The warm strength of his fingers pressing into her flesh caused her to close her eyes and wish for the strength to resist him.

  “You’re afraid of the flash fire between us, aren’t you?” he asked gently. “You’re terrified that we’ll wind up in bed together and then everything will end in a heap of ashes. Right?”

  Shocked that he’d read her thoughts so perfectly, her eyes flew open. “Why should we do that to each other? Wouldn’t it be better if we just smiled and waved at each other from across the street?”

  Faint humor cocked one corner of his lips. “Waves and smiles are pleasant. But that’s not enough to satisfy me.”

  She clenched her hands tightly together in an attempt to stop their trembling. “And what do you think it would take to...satisfy you?”

  “Not what you’re thinking,” he mumbled, then with a hand against her back, he urged her in the direction of the truck. “Come on. I think we’ve seen enough of Yarnell Valley.”

  * * *

  “Would someone please pass me the tortillas before my eggs get cold?”

  The question came from Holt as a portion of the Hollister family began to eat a routine five o’clock breakfast in the Three Rivers dining room.

  Vivian, the eldest sister of Blake’s siblings, placed the container of warm tortillas within Holt’s reach.

  “Save some for the rest of us, would you?” she teased while sharing a conspiring wink with Blake, who was sitting next to her. “Reeva says this is the last batch of homemade tortillas she’s making. From now on, you’re getting store-bought.”

  Across from Vivian, Chandler, the second oldest of the siblings and the veterinarian of the family, let out a loud grunt. “That does it for me. From now on, I’ll eat breakfast after I get to town. Copper Canyon has homemade tortillas. None of those rubber discs.”

  Near the head of the table, Maureen spoke up. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Viv. Quit pulling your brothers’ legs. Reeva would never put anything store-bought on this table. The day she does will be the day she heads to the nursing home.”

  Blake and his brothers looked down the table at their mother. A tall, slender woman in her early sixties, her tanned complexion was a bit weathered from working outdoors in the Arizona sun. Her dark brown hair, threaded with a few streaks of silver, was shoulder-length but usually twisted up in a messy knot or pulled into a ponytail. She was still an attractive woman and very much a part of the day-to-day work on the ranch. She was also the glue that kept the family tightly adhered to one another.

  “Hell, Mom, you’re brutal,” Holt told her.

  She shot him a look that was meant to be stern but was anything but. “I’m going to be brutal if you curse at the table again.”

  Holt shook his head as he piled a mound of chorizo and eggs onto one of the tortillas and folded it over. “Poor Reeva. That’s what she gets for years of service as the family cook. Her last golden years stuck away in an old folks’ home. That’s real appreciation, Mom.”

  “Who’s going to be stuck in an old folks’ home?”

  Everyone at the table, including Blake, looked around as Reeva stepped into the dining room carrying a dish of cottage fries.

  As she placed them at a spot on the table near Holt’s plate, he said, “According to Mom, you are. For serving store-bought tortillas.”

  The bone-thin woman with a single steel-gray braid hanging down the center of her back let out an unladylike snort. “Don’t you worry about it, Little Buck. I’ll still be going when you’re sitting in a chair with a blanket over your lap watching reruns of Stoney Burke.”

  Reeva marched out of the dining room and Holt looked over to Blake, as though he needed his older brother to defend him.

  “Why does she have to call me that? Nobody has called me by that wretched nickname since I was twelve years old. And who the hell is Stoney Burke?”

  Maureen leveled another stern look of warning at her younger son, then ruined the whole effect with a soft chuckle. “You have to remember Reeva is nearly seventy-two. Stoney Burke was a television series back in the 1960s about a saddle bronc rider. Sort of fits you, Holt, I’d say.”

  Holt threw out his chest. “Must have been a good-looking guy.”

  “He was.”

  Vivian groaned and rolled her eyes. “Always the Romeo,” she muttered.

  Picking up her coffee cup, Maureen leaned back in her chair. “Speaking of Romeo, how was your date last night, Blake?”

  Blake nearly spewed the mouthful of food he was chewing right back onto his plate. “Mom! I hadn’t told anyone about that—except you!”

  Unaffected by his reaction, she sipped her coffee, then smiled. “Well, it’s sure nothing to keep secret.”

  Chandler stared at Blake, wh
ile Holt appeared to be momentarily stunned.

  “My big brother on a date?” Holt finally asked. “Who’s the girl?”

  Blake cleared his throat. “Katherine O’Dell. Her name used to be Anderson. She’s a widow now.”

  “Katherine? Oh, yes, I remember her,” Vivian recalled. “She was a quiet, shy girl back in high school. I thought she’d left Wickenburg a long time ago.”

  “She returned to Wickenburg to care for her father,” Blake said, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed to have his siblings learn he’d gone on a date. He just wasn’t ready for a bunch of awkward questions. Not when he’d been sitting here mentally reliving every moment he’d had Katherine wrapped in his arms.

  The explosive passion between them had shocked Blake. To say the experience had left him rattled would be putting it mildly. Never had he wanted to make love to any woman the way he’d wanted Katherine. He was still wondering where he’d found the willpower to put an end to their embrace. And wondering, too, what might have happened if he’d allowed it to go on.

  “I remember hearing the old man died,” Chandler commented. “The bottle finally got him, I suppose.”

  A pang of regret passed through Blake. Compared to most, Avery Anderson might not have been an admirable person. But he’d been Katherine’s father and losing him had hurt her.

  “The man suffered a stroke,” Blake said bluntly.

  Chandler cast him a rueful glance. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  “You haven’t answered Mom’s question,” Holt interjected. “How was this hot date of yours?”

  His time with Katherine hadn’t been hot, Blake thought. It had been more like sizzling. A fact that had him wondering if he’d already burned his chances to build any sort of relationship with her.

  Looking down at his plate, he said, “Nice. And that’s all you’re going to hear out of me.”

  Holt let out a loud guffaw, which was a typical reaction from his younger brother. From the time he was a little scamp, Holt had been cocky, confident and all cowboy. He loved horses and women, in that order. And never took the latter seriously. Sometimes Blake wished he could be more like Holt. Then it wouldn’t matter if he ever had a wife or children. But his hopes and dreams were far different than Holt’s. Blake wanted a family of his own.