He cleared his throat and managed to get his tongue to cooperate. “She’s not mine.”
Okay, not the best of explanations, but hell, he didn’t owe any.
“Of course, you’d try…wait…what?”
Brown eyes blinked up at him, confusion clouding the fire.
“The horse isn’t mine,” he repeated. “The Humane Society brought her in yesterday.”
More blinking.
“Oh.” Her shoulders relaxed. “You’re housing her?”
He nodded, anger starting to heat his blood. “She’ll be here until she’s healthy again, and the vet releases her.”
“That’s so sweet.”
Tears filled the woman’s eyes before she flung herself at him and crushed his body with her curves. The beauty’s about-face made his head spin.
On any normal day, he would’ve been pleased, damn pleased to have her fulfill a fantasy that had been running through his brain for months.
Him.
Her.
No air between their bodies.
But this morning was far from normal, and he was far from pleased.
Grasping her shoulders, he set her away from him. “Yeah, imagine that, a National Guardsman and sheriff who’s sweet. You must be mistaken.” He released her, fished the reflective sunglasses out of his shirt pocket and shoved them on his face. “Good day, ma’am.”
Warm fingers curled around his bicep and pulled hard.
“Kade, wait. Look, I’m sorry. I really am.”
He halted and turned to face the clinging designer. “Fine. Duly noted.”
“No.” She frowned. “It’s not fine. I accused you of something horrible, and I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Shit. Tears were filling her eyes again.
“I think it’s wonderful that you help out the Humane Society.”
He did more than that, but he wasn’t about to enlighten the crazy woman. “Thanks.” His tone gave away his less than sincere thoughts, but he didn’t care. He was ticked off. Damn high-n-mighty Pennsylvanian.
“Why are you so sensitive? I said I was sorry.”
“Why indeed.” He stepped closer then stalked the frustrating Yankee when she backed up. “Tell me, Ms. Wyne.” He didn’t stop until her back hit the front of a stall. “There are several other people who live on this ranch, did any of them cross your mind as being the culprit?”
Eyes round, she swallowed and slowly shook her head.
Kade bit back a curse. “Figures.”
He stepped away, and then changed his mind. Grasping the spokes on either side of her head, he pulled himself in and stared into her widening brown eyes. “Just what the hell is your problem with me, lady?”
She drew in a breath, her luscious mouth opening as if to respond; the action brought their bodies in contact in a hell of a delectable way. And son-of-a-bitch, if his body didn’t overrule his mind and take over the interrogation. Tightening his grasp on the bars, he pressed closer, rejoicing in her hitched breath and the way she trembled against him.
“Well?”
“I…” She swallowed, blinked a few times, then asked, “Wh-what was the question again?”
Damned if he knew. Christ, he was lucky to remember his own name with her soft curves brushing him, pulling him out of himself, busting his restraint, making his need a number one priority. And he never put himself first. Ever.
But when her hungry gaze dropped to his mouth, all bets were off. He had to know. Had to taste her.
With a curse on his lips, he bent lower, his attention pulled to the mouthwatering cleavage peeking out from the rounded neck of her brown T-shirt. Absently noting how the color matched her darkening gaze, he was about to finally get a taste of her sweet lips...
The loud snorting of a horse broke through his fogged brain.
Glancing through the bars, he caught sight of the skinny mare shifting its weight on sadly neglected hoofs. The same horse the woman melting into him accused him of abusing not ten minutes earlier.
Shit. With a jerk, he released the stall and stepped back.
What the hell was wrong with him? His lack of self-respect was disturbing. The designer, although sexy as sin, was off limits. A no-touch zone. Her opinion of him was too poor to ignore.
Setting his shoulders, he stared down at the blinking woman. “I have work to do.”
Not waiting for a reply, Kade stepped around her and into the stall with the female that needed him, and away from the one his body mistakenly thought it needed.
Brandi Wyne had come to accept she had good days and bad days. Today was starting out to be a bad day. A very bad day. Dammit. Why did her brain take a hike whenever Sheriff Kade Dalton appeared? Was it his strong, can-do, capable attitude? Thickly lashed, mesmerizing gray gaze? Tall, broad, deliciously muscled body? Lips that curled when he smiled? The sexy hollow between his square jaw and high cheekbones?
Oh, I don’t know. Hello…maybe all of the above?
Turning, she sighed and grabbed the bars still warm from his touch. Maybe it was his voice. She watched as he carefully approached the nervous mare, talking softly but firmly while he reached out to gently stroke the creature’s neck.
Brandi shivered. Yeah, definitely his deep, sexy voice.
The horse stepped closer to the sheriff/cowboy/soldier and gave a soft whinny. Was it wrong to wish she could change places with the mare and be the one his big, strong hand currently stroked?
Another shiver raced to her toes.
Well, if she’d stop stuffing her mouth with her foot whenever the gorgeous guy was around, then maybe she’d have a shot at replacing the horse. Or at the very least, avoid tripping and falling on her face, making a big fool of herself.
Okay, she may be stupid, but she wasn’t dumb. Before the debacle at the Harland County Fair back in April, she’d received many interested glances from the cowboy. Many. And she’d returned every last one.
Even now, her heart raced at the thought of enjoying one of her friend’s stuffed strawberries with the man. Kerri Masters had handed her the decadent dessert while Kade’s best friend, Connor, had called him over to help her share the confection. A whole swarm of mutant butterflies had invaded her stomach, and she’d been so excited to finally kiss the sexy, gray-eyed cowboy she’d been flirting with for weeks.
Until he’d approached wearing a National Guard uniform.
It’d felt as if she’d stepped on a rake. A really big one. With both feet. At mach speed.
Still, there’d been many a night she’d lain awake imagining what it would’ve been like to lick strawberry juice from his sexy bottom lip.
Great. Now she was hot in all the right places. But for the wrong guy.
Her gaze took in the horse-whispering man. Why did he have to be in the military? Wasn’t owning a horse ranch and being the sheriff enough? Okay, that wasn’t fair. Kade, no doubt, made a great First Sergeant.
One thing she’d observed over the past few months was how the man helped anyone, no matter how big or small the problem. He always put others first. And now that she had a moment of clarity, she realized how utterly stupid it had been to accuse him of animal abuse. He was a good man. A good sheriff. And despite what he may think, she really had nothing against the military. Heck, she wouldn’t have joined the Guard at eighteen if she had, and if it weren’t for…
She gave her head a quick shake to dispel the worn-out thoughts. That was the past. And unimportant. Only the here and now mattered. New job. New state. New friends. Brand new beginning, and Brandi was bound and determined to do the things she wanted to do. And she was, and enjoying life for the first time in far too long. No more taking orders. She was in charge now.
Bringing her mind back to the present, she refocused on the sexy soldier-sheriff still whispering to the now, much calmer mare. Big hand still slowly stroking, voice soft and low, the man could calm a charging rhino, especially of the female persuasion.
As she continued to inspect the lean, broad man,
one thing became abundantly clear. No matter what uniform Kade Dalton wore, he sure could fill it out. The tan shirt stretched across muscles rippling down his back and arms while the pants fit his hard form like a glove. A tight glove. A lucky glove. And yes, the man was hard, all of him, as their ‘pressing’ confrontation had recently confirmed.
All her good parts were tingling.
Again.
Dammit.
She didn’t want to be attracted to the man. He was a soldier. And off limits.
Before moving to Texas from the Poconos back east, she’d made a vow. Service men were no longer on the dating menu. From any branch. Been there, done that…had the scars. Every boyfriend she’d ever dated had been a soldier. How could they not be? Her stepdad was a Major in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and all four of her stepbrothers were Guardsmen. There was never a shortage of good-looking recruits coming in and out of her house while growing up. She’d always been surrounded by soldiers. Still, not all the soldiers she’d dated were bad. Just the last one. And he was bad enough to cure her of her attraction to any man in uniform.
Her gaze lingered on the Texan, straightening up, giving the mare one last pat, lean forearm flexing in the process. As her mouth dutifully dried, she began to question that cure. Maybe the sheriff uniform cancelled out the soldier uniform. Yeah, that had to be it. That had to be why she lusted after the cowboy and hated herself for breaking her vow.
Still, that was no reason to take out her frustration on him. It wasn’t his fault she was weak. She chanced a peek at his face. Maybe he wasn’t mad anymore.
Silently exiting the stall, he secured the door, then turned to her. “Ma’am,” he said with a curt nod, before striding out of the stable.
Nope. Still mad.
Good going, Brandi. Way to piss off the local sheriff.
And who could blame him? The man obviously adored animals, and she had to go and accuse him of neglect. Hell, she might as well have accused him of harming baby seals. Good thing she hadn’t, though, or those cuffs jangling just above his fine ass could’ve been on her wrists right about now.
Was it wrong for that thought to heat her from the inside out?
“…Not at all.”
Brandi jumped, then twisted around to find Kade’s cousin standing in the doorway wearing a sharp, black pinstriped suit. “Oh, Kevin…you startled me.”
Striking blue eyes lit when he grinned. “Sorry, darlin’, didn’t mean to.”
He touched the brim of his black Stetson, and she wondered if all the corporate vice presidents in Houston wore one. Maybe it was a requirement his boss, Cole McCall, implemented. After all, she knew both drop-dead gorgeous men wore similar attire. Sort of a CEO cowboy thing. Her friends back east would drool a new lake if they were here.
Of course, Cole McCall was no longer on the market. Nope. That handsome cowboy had recently gotten married to Jordan, one of the two sisters she’d become fast friends with while working on their restaurant a few months back.
But Kevin, oh he was most definitely single. He loved women of all shapes and sizes and they loved him. Tall, dark hair, bright blue eyes, easy-going nature…yeah, he had women falling at his feet. Literally. She’d seen it happen on more than one occasion. Silly girls faking a fall just so he’d reach out and catch them. At first, Brandi thought the women pathetic, until she found herself fighting the urge to do exactly that with his cousin. What did that make her? A hypocrite?
No. Pathetic.
“I thought you heard me approach,” Kevin remarked. “My apologies.”
“No worries,” she reassured. “But I’m afraid I didn’t hear what you were saying.”
He shrugged and gestured with a nod toward the now empty doorway. “All I said was not to mind Kade, not at all. Abused animals make him hot, you know, in any angry way. Unlike you, darlin’.”
“Me?” Brandi laughed, body warming for some unknown reason. “No. I’m pretty sure I made him hot in an angry way today.”
“Oh? Really?” The handsome vice president raised a brow, gaze twinkling as he leaned against the stall, apparently more concerned about what transpired between her and his cousin than getting dirt on his expensive suit. “Do tell.”
She shrugged. “Not much to tell, except I kind of…sort of accused him of…that.”
Kevin’s gaze followed her finger, his blue eyes widening when he glanced at the mare. “Nooo!” He straightened from the wall, ripped the Stetson from his head and slapped it against his knee. “Oh man…I knew I shouldn’t have bothered with that second cup of coffee this morning. Damn, I missed everything.” His gaze shot back to her. “Tell me. I need to know. What happened? What’d you say? What’d he say?”
Brandi laughed again. She couldn’t help it. The cowboy’s enthusiasm was funny. “Well, it all started when I heard the mare as I was walking past the stable to go ride my horse.” Her morning routine. She stopped by most mornings to ride the horse she boarded here at Shadow Rock, and it was always without incident. Until today. “I peeked in, saw the poor thing and got really angry.”
“Yeah, how anyone could neglect their horse is beyond me,” the handsome cowboy said as he set the Stetson back on his head.
“I agree. And you could imagine how disappointed I was to find a neglected animal on this property. I mean, you Dalton’s aren’t the type.”
“Yet, you accused Kade.”
She sighed, more than a little disgusted with herself. Okay, a lot disgusted with herself. “Yes, I did. But in my defense, the mare is practically all skin and bone.”
“True.”
“And on your property.”
“Also true,” Kevin agreed. “But why in the world would you think Kade, of all people, could be responsible?”
Good question.
She lifted her shoulders again. “He was the first person I saw in the stable, so I guess I assumed the mare was his.”
“Ah, so it had nothing to do with the fact he’s in the Guard?”
“What?” Brandi reeled back, shock rolling down her spine. “No, of course not. What does that have to do with anything?”
“You tell me.”
She studied the handsome man. The crazy handsome man. He was off his rocker. “There’s nothing to tell.”
“Come on, Brandi. Everyone knows you did an about-face a few months ago…the very second you discovered my cousin was in the military.”
Heat raced through her body and settled in her face. Mostly because it was true. Dammit. She just hadn’t realized everyone else knew. Not a comforting fact. Neither was the thought that maybe that really was the reason she’d assumed the horse had belonged to Kade and not the other three adults living at Shadow Rock.
Shoot. She leaned back against the stall. Just because the last man she’d been attracted to was in the Guard, and a cruel ass, didn’t mean the handsome sheriff suffered the same affliction.
“Look, I realize you’re new to Harland County,” Kevin said. “But you have eyes. I think you’ve been around my cousin enough to see he’s a fair and just guy. He would never stand by while someone or something needed his help. He’s the first to rush in…well, actually…” The cowboy snickered. “Now that Jordan’s back, he may be second.”
Brandi smiled in agreement. The former L.A. cop possessed the same attributes the VP just mentioned. Come to think of it, Jordan and Kade were very similar. First to spot a problem. First to offer a solution. First to offer a helping hand. The kind to stand up for those who couldn’t stand up for themselves.
Heroes.
And she’d just accused one of animal abuse. Way to go, Wyne. She would never have accused Jordan of such a thing. Brandi wasn’t sure what that said about her, but she knew it wasn’t good.
“Ever since we where kids, Kade always had an affinity for animals and hated to see them abused. I think it was because of his upbringing.”
Brandi’s heart dropped. “He was abused?”
“Not exactly,” Kevin repl
ied. “Neglected, well, actually more like abandoned.”
“How awful.” Her gut twisted tight.
Kevin nodded. “Since it’s common knowledge I see no harm in telling you about it.”
Stop him. The sane thing would be to stop the guy. She was not interested in Kade, therefore had no real reason to hear or care about the sheriff’s childhood. And yet, her mouth remained clamped shut as her head moved up and down in concurrence.
Stupid head.
“Kade’s dad and mine were brothers,” the cowboy in a business suit began as he leaned back against the wall again. “My uncle was a Marine, and when he died in the first Gulf War, Kade’s mother—and I use the term loosely—moved to Shadow Rock with Kade. A few weeks later, the woman took off with a rodeo clown, and the two were killed in a car accident.”
Air funneled into Brandi’s lungs and her heart instantly ached for the little boy. To lose both parents so young and so close together was just tragic. “That’s horrible. How old was he?”
“Eleven.”
Her stomach clenched tighter. Only a year older than she had been when her mother married her stepdad. It had been a lonely, confusing, scary time. Young Kade surely had felt the same way. At least she’d had her mother for a little while longer. Not much, but she was grateful none-the-less.
“But Kade loved it here. He took to the ranch as if he’d been born on it, and enjoyed helping my father out no matter the chore. When my dad died in a freak ranch accident, Kade was as devastated as all of us, if not more.”
“I’m so sorry. How old were you?”
“Thirteen, Jen was nine and Kade was fifteen,” Kevin replied. “He stepped into my father’s boots, so to speak, and took over as many of my father’s chores as he could, doing them before and after school. I helped, too, of course, but it wasn’t enough. The ranch began to suffer both physically and financially. So, I got a job at Foster’s Creamery in town, and when he was old enough, Kade joined the Guard. The extra money made a big difference.” He shrugged. “Along with a loan from the Masters and the McCalls. They originally wanted to pay off the debt, but my mom didn’t want charity, so it was turned into a loan, on the condition Kade, myself and Jen went to college.”
Her Uniform Cowboy (Harland County Series Book 3) Page 2
