by R. C. Ryan
“Letting go is always painful. But it’s the way of things. Birds push their young from the nest, not to be cruel, but to teach them to fly. And parents put their little ones on big yellow buses and send them off to school, so they can soar.”
“That’s not quite the same as allowing my four-year-old to go into the wilderness. Still…” She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
She smiled through her tears. “For being so wise. For being you.”
Nessa came racing into the kitchen, looking flushed and out of breath, her hair damp from the shower. “I just had a text from Matt. He’s asked me to meet him up in the hills to see how the house is shaping up.”
Ingrid looked equally excited. “Luke sent Mick ahead to pick me up and drive me to my ranch. Luke will meet us there on his Harley. And with Lily gone, we’ll get to spend a few days there, before heading back here. We’ve been neglecting my place, and it’s time to see to chores.”
Nelson, seated in his favorite chair, turned to Ingrid. “Seems like that’s been happening a lot lately. What have you decided about your ranch?”
Ingrid shook her head. “My neighbor, Bull Hammond, has made an offer to buy me out.” She explained to Ally, “When Luke and I met, I was running my father’s ranch and struggling to keep it going. Now that Luke and I are married, and living here while building our own spread, my closest neighbor wants to absorb my family land into his.”
She stared out the window at the distant hills. “Still, it’s Lily’s heritage, too. And I have to be certain it’s the right thing to do before I sign off on our dream.”
Ally caught her hand. “I guess I’m not the only one learning to let go.”
At the sound of a truck’s horn, Ingrid hurried from the room, calling, “Here’s Mick. I can’t wait for Luke to get to my place.”
Yancy looked up from the stove, where a big pot of soup was simmering. “What time do we have to be in town, Great One?”
Nelson glanced at his watch. “We’d better go.” He lumbered to his feet and slipped on a cashmere sport coat before adjusting a silk ascot at his throat. “Time for me to look like a proper Hollywood icon.”
Yancy turned to Ally. “Great One and I have an appointment in town that will last for a couple of hours.”
“A marathon showing of some of my greatest films,” Nelson put in.
“Oh, what fun. I bet the citizens of Glacier Ridge love having a celebrity living among them.”
Nelson gave a slight bow of his head. “And I’m happy to play that role in all its glory. I always give them as much time as they require for questions and answers and autographs after the movies play.”
“Which means,” Yancy added, “we won’t be home for supper. But I’ve made soup, and there are all the fixings for chicken and steak fajitas for supper.”
“Thank you, Yancy.” Ally dimpled. “I’m sure I won’t go hungry.”
A short time later she followed them out to the porch to wave good-bye before walking back into the house. The silence of the rooms seemed oddly out of place after so much activity.
She smiled, thinking of the excitement she’d sensed in both Nessa and Ingrid, knowing their men would soon be with them.
She thought of Reed in the hills. Though she wished she could see him, she understood his responsibility to the herd.
As Ally descended the stairs, she recognized the sound of an approaching vehicle.
Hurrying to the back door, she watched as a dusty ranch truck, with Reed driving, pulled into the barn.
Without giving a thought to what she was doing, she raced out the door and ran all the way to the barn before pausing in the open doorway.
Reed was just stepping down from the driver’s side. The sight of him took Ally’s breath away.
When he spotted her, he paused for the merest second. “I decided I needed to see you more than I needed to check on my herd.”
He stood where he was, studying her through narrowed eyes as she walked closer. He slipped off his hat, shaking the dust from it against his leg.
“I’m glad. I needed to see you, too.” She took a step closer, until they were mere inches apart. “It’s done.” She lifted a hand to his cheek. “It’s over. Really over now. And I can get on with my life.”
He closed a hand over her wrist while his gaze moved slowly over her upturned face.
His voice lowered with feeling. “I want you, Red.”
“And I want you.” She lifted herself on tiptoe to brush her mouth over his.
For a moment he went completely still. “You do?”
“More than I wanted to.”
“Good.” He nuzzled her cheek, her temple, before claiming her lips. “I’d hate to think I was the only one feeling this terrible need.”
“Oh, Reed.” Her arms encircled his neck and she dove into the kiss with a hunger that caught them both by surprise. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
His arms tightened around her, dragging her so close, she could feel his heartbeat inside her own chest. A heart that was thundering like a herd of mustangs.
He shot her a quick, sexy grin. “If I’d known you were going to greet me like this, I’d have never left.”
He kissed her again, savoring the clean, fresh taste of her. “Where is everybody?”
“Kyle and Lily have gone on a photographic safari with your grandparents and Burke. Nessa’s meeting Matt at their new house site. Ingrid and Mick are meeting Luke at her ranch. And Yancy drove Great One to town for a movie marathon.” She glanced around. “Where’s your uncle?”
“Colin’s meeting Anita at his cabin. Whenever she can get away from the clinic, that’s become their sanctuary from the world.” He gave a short laugh. “They think nobody knows.”
He framed her face with his hands. “So, it’s just you and me?”
“Uh-huh.” She drew his head down and poured herself into a kiss that rocked him back on his heels.
Against her mouth he whispered, “I hope you mean what that kiss is saying.”
“I do.”
His head came up sharply, and he studied her with sudden interest. “I’m dusty and sweaty and I smell like a trail bum.”
“You smell like a man. A man I’ve missed more than I would have ever believed. And if you don’t kiss me right this minute, my poor heart is going to explode.”
Sudden awareness sparked in his eyes. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”
With a muttered oath he backed her against the door of a stall and kissed her until they were both struggling for breath.
Against her temple he whispered, “Okay, woman. Who are you, and what’ve you done with the ice princess I left a few days ago?”
“Her ice melted. And so did her heart.”
With a growl more animal than human, he dragged her close and kissed her, while his big hands moved over her, kneading her flesh, pressing her to the length of him.
She returned kiss for kiss, touch for touch, nearly crawling inside his skin, unable to get enough of him.
Coming up for air, he caught the hem of her T-shirt and stripped it over her head. For the space of a heartbeat he simply stared at the silk-and-lace bra that revealed more than it covered. Then he reached behind her and unhooked it.
As it fell away, Ally felt the heat of his gaze. If looks could scorch, she was quickly burning to ash.
He leaned close to run nibbling kisses down her throat, then lower, over the soft swell of her breast before taking one already erect nipple into his mouth.
The heat was inside her now. Melting her bones like hot wax. Causing her blood to flow like molten lava. A pulse began throbbing deep inside, to her very core.
She couldn’t stop the little moan of pleasure that only seemed to inflame him more.
He dragged her close and kissed her like a man starved for the taste of her. His hands were in her hair, drawing her head back as he kissed her until they were both struggling for air. And still it wasn’t enough
. Their breath was coming hard and fast as they moved ever closer to the madness that was taking over their last thread of control.
She wanted him to take her now, quickly, to satisfy the desperate need building inside her.
Her voice, when she could manage a word over the fire raging inside her, trembled. “Now, Reed.”
Ally tugged his shirt aside with such force, buttons popped. Then she ran her hands over his muscled torso and gave a little hum of pure pleasure.
“Careful, Red. You’re about to send me over the edge.”
“That’s my intention.”
Instead, he took a step back, as though fighting for control. “Not yet, babe. Not when I’ve waited so long for this. For you.” He reached for the snaps of her jeans just as she reached for his. When her fingers fumbled, he helped her until their clothes lay in a heap at their feet.
His mouth covered hers in a slow, deep kiss. Without warning his fingers found her, hot and wet, and he took her on a wild, quick roller coaster, up and over, all the while watching her eyes as they went wide with shock and surprise, before her body shuddered.
“Reed…”
He gave her no time to recover as he dragged her close and kissed with such passion it had them both gasping for air.
“Wait.” Ally put a hand to his chest her breathing ragged.
He pressed his forehead to hers as he struggled for breath. “Red, if you’re about to tell me no again, I’ll die.”
“No. I mean… I don’t want you to stop.”
He gave a short, ragged laugh. “You just saved my life. You jump-started my heart. Feel it.” He pressed her hand to his chest. “I was about to go into cardiac arrest.”
Her breath was coming hard and fast. “You’re not the only one. After what you just gave me, I need a minute.”
“And I need you.” He dragged her into his arms and kissed her with such hunger, she melted into him.
His hands moved over her at will now, touching her everywhere, lighting fires wherever he touched. And she responded by doing the same, until they were so hot their skin was slick with sheen. And still they teased and tormented until the need became too great.
“Sorry, Red. I can’t wait a minute longer.” He lifted her off her feet.
She wrapped her legs around him, her greedy mouth on his, arms clinging fiercely to his neck as she opened herself completely to him.
Blind with need, he thrust into her, driving her against the door of the stall.
“Ally. Ally.” Her name was torn from his lips.
“Reed, I…Oh, I missed you. Reed…”
Hearts pounding, lungs straining, they took each other with all the force of a raging stampede, climbing, climbing, until they began a sudden free fall.
And reached a heart-stopping, shuddering climax.
Chapter Twenty-One
For the longest time they remained locked together, bodies fused, hearts pumping furiously.
Reed’s face was buried in her neck, his hot breath tickling her flesh as their breathing gradually eased and their heartbeats returned to normal.
Reed was the first to move. He lifted a hand to her face. “I think I saw stars.”
“Me too. But your face was in each one.” She sounded breathless.
“Yeah? How’d I look?”
“Sexy.”
“Good.” He gave a satisfied grin. “That was really…”
“Amazing.”
“Yeah.” His smile came. That wonderful rogue smile that always managed to tug at her heart. “So were you, Red. Amazing.”
“That was”—she traced the outline of his lower lip—“worth waiting for.”
He set her gently on her feet before taking her hand and tugging her down to a bed of straw, using their clothes as a cushion. He drew her into the circle of his arms and ran nibbling kisses over her forehead, her cheek, the tip of her nose.
“Speaking of waiting”—he brushed a long, lingering kiss over her mouth—“the last time I was with you, I was afraid I’d have to wait forever. What caused this sudden change? Was it the fact that Glen is no longer threatening you? Is that what finally melted the ice?”
She shook her head. “Glen was never the problem. He had nothing to do with my unwillingness to make love with you, Reed.” She ran a fingertip over his arched brow. “My issues started long before Glen and his threats. Actually, it was your great-grandfather who helped me to see the truth.”
“Great One?” He looked at her as if he couldn’t believe what she was saying.
As quickly as possible, she told him about her midnight encounter with his great-grandfather. And though it was still painful to admit, she knew it was time to tell him the truth. All of it.
“I met Rick shortly after my mother died. She was the only family I had, and I was living alone in the home I’d shared with her. Rick and I were introduced by mutual friends. He was tall, dark, handsome, and looked really great in his uniform. I knew he was using a tired old line, saying how pretty I was and how much he needed a woman to come home to whenever his latest tour of duty was over. He didn’t promise me forever, but he promised me today, and it was enough for a woman who was feeling all alone and, honestly, scared to death of the future.”
Reed was listening intently. “Why did you think that made you a liar?”
She shook her head. “I’m trying to be honest with you, and with myself.” She took a breath. “In no time we were a couple, at least to our friends. And when I found out I was having a baby, I couldn’t wait to tell Rick.”
Reed watched her in silence.
“He went ballistic. He said a baby wasn’t in his plans, and he had no intention of playing the daddy game. Playing the daddy game. Those were his hateful words. And he accused me of planning the pregnancy to trap him.” She gripped her hands tightly. “I couldn’t believe he thought I would use a baby as a trap. I honestly thought once he held his son in his arms, everything would change. Instead, he let me know Kyle was mine. Only mine. Whenever he was home on leave, he insisted I get a sitter, and we went out alone. He started staying with a friend rather than at my place. And by the time he left for what would turn out to be his last tour, we weren’t even together anymore. He told me he’d found a new, young playmate with her own apartment. One who shared his desire to never settle down or burden him with children.”
“He actually said that?” Reed’s indignation flared like a torch. “Burden him?”
Ally touched a finger to his lips. “It’s in the past now. Think how sad it is to know he wasted the last year of his life rejecting his own infant son.”
“Does Kyle know any of this?”
She shook her head. “I’ve done all I can to keep that fact from Kyle. He was too young to even remember his father. If he thinks of Rick in the years to come, he’ll know only that he was a war hero who died before he could get to know his only child. Kyle never needs to know more than that.”
She moved on, telling Reed in detail about Great One’s reaction when he’d heard her story, as well as his kind words of wisdom.
Caught up in her narrative, Ally sat up, tracing a finger over and over Reed’s chest. “For the first time in years I feel free. Free of guilt and fear and, most of all, of being unworthy of love.”
“Unworthy?” He sat up. “Ally Shaw, I think you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever known.”
“But I’ve made a lot of mistakes—”
“Shh.” Reed drew her into his arms. Against her temple he murmured, “Right now, the only thing that matters is we’re here, alone, with the entire day to ourselves. Let’s not waste it on any more sad talk. Not when there are better things to do. Besides, I was so hot, I took you like an animal. Let me make it up to you.”
She pressed her mouth to his throat. “I guess I could be persuaded. Especially since we’re already naked and lying in the hay.”
“That’s the great thing about ranches. There are so many places for a guy to take his special girl.”
&n
bsp; “Am I your special girl?”
“You bet.” With great tenderness, he began to show her, in the only way he could, just how special she was to him.
As they lost themselves in the wonder of their fresh, new feelings, Ally could feel her poor heart, for so long battered and bruised, begin to ever so gently heal.
And all because of this thoughtful, caring cowboy, who knew just how to make a woman feel cherished.
“Come on, Red.” Reed sat up and caught Ally’s hand.
“Where are we going?”
“To the house to shower. I don’t know how you’ve been able to stand me for this long.”
She pretended to wrinkle her nose. “I was willing to make a sacrifice for the sake of some really hot sex.”
“As I recall, you attacked me before I had time to think how filthy I was.”
She laughed. “As I recall, cowboy, you did the noble thing and gave in without a word of protest.”
“Anything to please my lady.” He grabbed up their clothes.
“Wait.” She put a hand on his to stop him. “I’m not about to walk out of this barn naked. I need to dress first.”
“Why?” He was grinning. “You think the horses will mind seeing you in your birthday suit?”
“What if somebody drives up?”
“There’s nobody home. We’re miles from town. It’s like being alone in the universe.” He took her hand and started toward the house.
Though he strode forward without a care in the world, Ally kept looking around, afraid at any moment someone would drive up and catch them strolling around as naked as the day they were born.
Once in the house, they climbed the stairs.
Ally stopped outside her room. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Okay.” He was wearing a wicked grin.
Ally walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. Moments later, as she stepped under the spray and began to shampoo her hair, she felt arms around her and gave a yelp of surprise before turning to find Reed, laughing.
“What are you doing?”
“The same as you. Showering. I hope you’re willing to scrub my back.”
