The Texas Kisses Collection

by Jenny Schwartz

  The last of the day’s sunlight caught his hair and turned it gold. He wore it short, as if part of him hadn’t adjusted to civilian life. His nose showed where he’d broken it some time, and hadn’t had it reset properly. That imperfection only made his strong-boned face more appealing. An old white t-shirt hung off his broad shoulders above faded jeans that clung to his thighs. Solid work boots grounded him. He belonged here.

  He’d rented the house across the road at the end of spring, and immediately taken an active interest in the renovations at her house.

  She owed him. She hadn’t asked for his help, hadn’t explained her plans for the house, and yet, he was simply there, doing the jobs that she hadn’t the strength or skill to do herself. She hadn’t dared offer him money for his work, and hadn’t known how to repay him. He always casually dismissed her thanks, saying that it was summer and he had time.

  This was the first occasion that he’d asked for anything—and he’d asked for her company. A frisson of wary delight erased her tiredness.

  “My family’s ranch has a lake not far from the house, about a thirty minute ride.”

  His family’s ranch, the Sunburst Ranch. Josh’s grandfather, Hank, had told her so much about it during his regular hospital visits. The thought of seeing it for herself appealed. According to Hank, it was heaven on earth.

  And she’d be riding with Josh.

  So she gathered up all her courage, and dared to think of visiting heaven. “I’d like that,” she said quietly, accepting the invitation.

  His smile was blinding.

  She had to glance away. Her hope was painful in its intensity. The promise of joy almost overwhelming.

  He oughtn’t to look at her as if she were his hopes and dreams.

  Her gaze snagged on a red and yellow flower at her feet, its individual flowers ascended in a spire that was about as long as her hand, each individual flower chunky yet graceful. She had no idea what it was, although it was dotted through the straggly garden. Her lack of gardening knowledge was something she meant to rectify. She’d lived all her life in Los Angeles, had grown up in apartments and never known what it was to dig in the dirt. Over winter, she intended to study gardening books and next summer—

  Josh gripped her shoulder. A rueful smile crinkled the skin at the corners of his denim-blue eyes. “What were you thinking about so intently? You’d forgotten I was here.”

  No, she would never, could never, forget him. The thought was unnerving.

  She pointed at the unnamed flower. “What are these flowers called?”

  “Snapdragons.” He crouched easily and gently touched a flower. Pressure on its lip opened it. He released the flower and it snapped closed. “Snap-dragon.”

  She knelt, entranced, and tried the trick for herself. The flower had a barely-there, sweet scent. She looked up, delighted, smiling into Josh’s face.

  The smile died in his eyes, replaced by riveted attention. The man-to-woman kind.

  She forgot to breathe.

  He stood suddenly, surging up in a rush of movement.

  She blinked, disappointed. She’d misread his intentions. He was just being kind. Just…

  He clasped her arms and lifted her to her feet. His hold lingered. “You’ve not been in town long, so I want to tell you, you can trust me. Ask anyone. I’ll collect you for that ride at seven, tomorrow.” A searching gaze, and then, he flicked his fingers to an invisible hat in casual salute. “Good night, Bree.” He strode away.

  She watched his easy lope that ate up the ground. He vaulted over rather than open the gate in her low picket fence—another thing that needed painting. She sighed as he crossed the road, then touched a finger to her lips. She hadn’t been wrong.

  He had thought of kissing her, but he wanted her trust more than he wanted her kiss.

  The knowledge thrilled her. She mattered to him.

  He vanished into his rented house, and she turned to face her house.

  Her home. “Thank you, Aunt Joy,” she whispered.

  The old house was a large 1950s ranch house. It had been neglected in recent years, and Bree fancied that it was grateful for her activities; as if, like her, it yearned for life and company. She had wonderful plans for it—dreams that she’d thought impossible until her unexpected inheritance from her unknown Great-Aunt Joy.

  Josh’s grandfather, Hank, had known Joy, and Bree had listened avidly to his stories of her.

  The house had been built by Joy’s husband for his new bride. They’d hoped to have a large family, but the children had never come. When her husband died, and with the town expanding, Joy had sold off the land, but kept the big house.

  Bree mourned that she’d never met her great-aunt. There were family treasures in the house, but she didn’t know the secrets of them: photographs and old furniture, quilts and patterned china. If only her dad—but those were thoughts that hurt.

  She inhaled resolutely and squared her shoulders. She had to move forward. She’d been given the chance at a wonderful new life and she had to say “yes” to its opportunities, even the ones that were six foot one and appealingly, dauntingly friendly.

  Tomorrow, she’d go riding with Josh.

  Chapter 2

  Dawn broke early, flooding the world with light and bird song, but the wind was still and the air muggy. Clouds had gathered on the horizon. Bree dressed in jeans and a navy blue shirt printed with white and yellow daisies, laced her boots and grabbed a hat. She ate breakfast, conscious of anticipation knotting her tummy. One slice of toast would have to do, but she had a large mug of coffee. Nurses lived on coffee.

  She brought the mug with her as she wandered into the front living room. The house was way too big for one person, but once she’d finished the key renovations, she wouldn’t be alone. She smiled at her plans.

  Then her coffee sloshed as she realized that Josh wasn’t waiting for her to walk across the road at seven o’clock.

  His pickup reversed out of his driveway and into hers.

  She took a hasty, last sip of coffee, and put the mug down.

  “Morning.” Josh got out of the pickup as she locked the front door behind her. In a khaki shirt, jeans and boots, he looked more rancher than academic. He looked healthy and athletic, and he watched her walk towards him with every sign of appreciation. His smile was slow and approving.

  “Good morning.”

  Dew lay on the petals of the red rose bush by the path. A dozen more rose bushes lined the south-facing side fence, going wild. When the sun heated, they’d all release their perfume.

  Just now, passing close to Josh, Bree smelled freshly showered man. Her heart skipped a beat.

  He opened the passenger door for her. “I phoned Uncle Rick last night, so they’re expecting us. We can go straight to the barn.” He broke off, coming around and getting behind the wheel. “By the time we get there, they’ll be out working, but Uncle Rick is leaving Sadie, a quiet older mare for you. She babysits dudes.” The last word had a teasing tone.

  “I’m a Texan, now.” Bree touched the Western hat she had balanced on her knee. She’d bought it on moving to town; part of her promise to herself that her new life was here.

  “So you are.” He grinned, before giving his attention to the road.

  The country was beautiful, with the town soon giving way to rolling hills, both open and wooded. Bree wasn’t used to being a passenger, and she enjoyed the chance to stare as much as she wanted.

  Josh noticed her interest and pointed out landmarks. “I went to school with the Lassiters. Mike’s a pilot now. I remember when he tried to fly from the roof of the chicken coop.”

  “Ouch. Bumpy landing?”

  “Yeah. And no TV for a week as punishment for scaring the hens off laying.” He slowed, and turned in where a wooden sign by the mailbox announced, Sunburst Ranch.

  The long driveway was an indication of the ranch’s size, and the general impression was of established prosperity. Cattle grazed in the distance. Then the
driveway turned, emerging around a stand of trees, and the ranch house and work buildings were revealed. The ranch wasn’t just big, it was old and loved. Large oaks offered shade in among a green lawn that was splashed with color from carefully tended flower beds.

  Josh parked near a red barn.

  A ranch hand, ankle enclosed in a cast below cut jeans, greeted them from a seat in the sun where he was repairing a bridle. “Morning, Josh, Miss Bree.”

  “How’s the ankle, Carlos?” She’d helped set it after a horse had rolled on it.

  “Annoying.”

  Josh thumped the man’s shoulder in masculine sympathy. “Bree and I are riding to the lake.”

  “Want fishing gear?”

  She wrinkled her nose.

  The men looked at her, amusement unhidden.

  “I’m guessing that’s a no,” Carlos said, mock solemnly.

  “Unless you want to fish?” Bree asked Josh as they walked into the barn.

  “No. I just want some time with you.”

  She was still catching her breath from that unequivocal statement when he finished saddling two horses.

  “Ready?” He boosted her up.

  She wouldn’t say she was a natural, but the saddle didn’t feel too unfamiliar, and the brown mare stood quietly. She patted her neck. “What’s her name?”

  “Scout.” Josh swung into the saddle of a gray gelding, significantly bigger than her mare.

  But the two horses ambled out of the yard at a slow, matched pace.

  The air had a still, warm feeling to it, and she caught Josh looking at the sky.

  He saw that she’d noticed and reined in his horse. “The weather forecast said fine, but I doubt it. Do you mind a bit of rain or should I grab a jacket for you.”

  “I like the rain. I didn’t in the city, where it meant road accidents and delays. But here, the whole earth breathes it in. I like being part of it.”

  He nudged his horse, and hers fell in step, starting off again. “So, you think you’ll stay in Texas after the house is renovated?”

  “Oh yes.” She heard the fervor in her voice. She hadn’t told anyone of her plans for it, but now, she wanted to tell Josh. “I’m going to open a bed and breakfast for disabled guests.”

  “You’re going to run a B&B?”

  “Yes. For people with disabilities. Do you know how hard it is to find wheelchair accessible accommodation?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it.” He seemed stunned.

  “I think that the fact I’m a nurse will reassure some guests, especially parents of ill children,” she confided.

  “I expect it will.” He shook his head, sharply. “Gramps always told me—don’t assume. It makes an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’. I find the old saying truly annoying, but he’s right. I assumed you were renovating Joy’s house to sell it.”

  “No!” She stared at him in horror.

  He relaxed into a grin. “Don’t eat me. I think your plan is fantastic. I just hadn’t heard anything about it.”

  “That’s because I haven’t told anyone.”

  “None of the tradespeople asked you?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know if they even noticed that the fittings and layout were modified for the disabled. Maybe it’s because I have such a clear idea of what I want. I’ve been dreaming of running a B&B like this for years, but I thought it would be something that would have to wait. Great-Aunt Joy’s inheritance was…” She paused. “I cried buckets when I got the news and saw the house’s potential. Mom would have been so pleased.”

  “Your mom?” He ventured carefully.

  She blinked away a sheen of tears as the landscape shimmered a moment. “Mom was in a car accident sixteen years ago. Dad was driving. He blamed himself, and thought she did, too. When the doctors said she’d never recover, never walk again, he left.”

  There was muffled exclamation from Josh. “How old were you?”

  “Eleven.”

  The soft clop of the horses along the path to the lake and the sound of birds filled the silence.

  “So you became a nurse.”

  “Yeah. But I worked in the ER and that burned me out. I started to dream of how else I could live, what else I could do, especially after…Mom died two years ago.”

  “I’m sorry, Bree.” He nudged his horse closer and touched her knee.

  His hand was warm through her jeans. All sorts of emotions were welling up in her. She seldom spoke about herself, so sharing her story with Josh felt intimate.

  She focused on the lake, seeing the trees that shaded it and a rough wooden shelter near a table and bench seating. “I never knew Great-Aunt Joy. She was Dad’s aunt. But I’m so thankful to her. She gave me my dream.”

  “No. Joy gave you a chance at your dream. It’s your hard work that’s turning the chance into reality. I’m proud of you, Bree.”

  She liked that; liked that her story provoked not pity, but respect. “Thanks, Josh.”

  Rain interrupted the moment. She felt the drops on her face and tasted them on her lips. The smell of rain on summer ground grew intense.

  Josh glanced at her, grimacing comically, before his attention focused on something behind her. “Heck.”

  She turned. Clouds had massed on the horizon, gray-black with a hint of blue, back towards town. If it came this way, they’d experience more than a sun shower of rain.

  “I think we’ll only catch the edge of it, but just in case.” He kicked his horse into a canter.

  The mare copied her stablemate, Bree gripped the pommel, and they reached the lake as a gust of wind swept low and set the water rippling. Josh tied the horses inside the rough shelter, and came to stand beside her at its edge where they could watch the rain hit the lake.

  It was as if the rain shut out the rest of the world and there was only them.

  Yet she didn’t feel confined. She felt free.

  “Coffee.” Josh produced a flask from a saddlebag and offered her a cup.

  She held it steady while he poured. “Mmm.” She inhaled. “Coffee. All that was needed to make this morning perfect.”

  He glanced up from his task. Their gazes locked.

  Shaken, she curled her fingers around the cup.

  Without a word, he’d forced her to admit that it wasn’t the coffee that made this moment perfect. They were making memories.

  She watched him pour his own coffee, stow the flask, and stand with a shoulder propped against a post; all his movements easy yet efficient.

  “Tell me about your plans for the B&B.”

  Josh could have stood all day, observing the play of emotion and enthusiasm across Bree’s beautiful face. That the B&B was a long-held dream was obvious. It was there in the detailed nature of her plans and in the half-wondering, awed tone of her voice.

  She still couldn’t believe her good fortune.

  He understood why. Life hadn’t been easy for Bree. He’d guessed that she was alone, but hadn’t realized quite how alone, or how fate had dealt her a tough hand. But she’d fought back, and he was proud of her courage, and a touch in awe at how her dreams were so selfless.

  The rain eased to drizzle, with the sun shining through it and turning the lake to silver. A summer wind rustled the leaves of the cedars. The mare stood on three legs, dozing. His horse stretched its long neck for grass.

  “I’m hoping to be open for Thanksgiving,” Bree confided. “Is Halloween big in town? Should I decorate the house for it?”

  “The kids would love it if you did.”

  She grinned, blue eyes sparkling. “Then I will. I’ll think of something spooky.”

  “I’ll carve you a jack o’lantern.”

  “Can you show me how?” Typical Bree independence.

  But he understood how she came to be that way: only eleven and suddenly her disabled mom’s carer. “Sure.”

  She gave him an impulsive hug.

  It shocked him, and judging by how her eyes widened, her impulsiveness shocked her, too. H
e recovered first and hugged her back.

  After a moment, her frozen stance softened and she leaned into him.

  Heaven. She felt like heaven in his arms. Exactly right. He readjusted his hold, content beyond belief to have her tucked against his heart.

  Of course, he wanted to kiss her. But this was Bree, and she wasn’t planning to leave town. He had time to woo her at her slow speed. He smiled to find himself thinking of “wooing”, but the old-fashioned concept had its own appeal. They were getting to know one another, and the more he learned of his pretty neighbor, the deeper he fell for her.

  Bree added a precious memory to the treasures of this perfect morning. Josh’s embrace made her feel secure, and yet, on the brink of an exciting adventure. She could cuddle into him, trusting his strength to hold her safe.

  His rubbed her back with a large, gentle hand. Then his chest lifted and dropped with a huge sigh. “I don’t want to be sensible, but we need to head back if you’re to make your afternoon shift at the hospital.”

  She smiled at him because remembering things like that were all signs of caring. Bree had been doing her own timekeeping long enough to appreciate his concern.

  “Word of warning, sweetheart.”

  Her soul sang at the endearment. Sweetheart.

  “If you smile at me like that, I’ll kiss you.”

  “Oh?”

  He smiled at her, just with his eyes. They were the blue of the rain-washed sky above. The clouds were gone. “Oh? doesn’t sound like a protest.”

  It wasn’t.

  Her eyes drifted shut as his lips touched hers. There was no awkwardness, only a sense of coming home.

  He kissed her lightly, yet definitely. He took his time and he made sure she enjoyed it, too.

  Pleasure flooded through her.

  Who could explain kisses? With the wrong person, they were yucky and hastily scrubbed away. But with the right person…she stood on tiptoe as Josh slowly ended the magic.

  “Smile at me often, Bree.” He kissed her fleetingly, a promise.

  She recalled his earlier words. If you smile at me like that, I’ll kiss you.