The Rancher's Request

by Stella Bagwell

  Concerned now, Juliet carefully took the girl by the shoulders. “Gracia, listen to me,” she said gently. “I would consider it a great honor to be your mother. You’d be everything I could ever want in a daughter. But a decision like that isn’t entirely up to you and me. Your father has a say in this, too. And we all need time to think about how being a family would change our lives.”

  Gracia opened her mouth with plans to argue that point, then just as quickly changed her mind and gave Juliet a knowing smile. “I guess you’re right. But I don’t want to be old and grown-up by the time Daddy decides to get married. I want to have you for a mother now.”

  The idea that Gracia placed that much affection on her was enough to sting Juliet’s eyes with tears. She tried to blink them away as she gave the girl a brief hug.

  Clearing her throat, Juliet said, “Sure I’m right. You wouldn’t want your father choosing your boyfriend, would you?”

  Aghast at that idea, Gracia blurted, “No!” Then giggled with afterthought. “He’d choose some nerd who was scared of his own shadow. I’ll do my own choosing.”

  “That’s how he feels about it, too. So just be patient. And in the meantime we can enjoy seeing each other as often as we can. Okay?”

  Gracia’s expression turned sober and after a short nod, she flung her arms around Juliet’s neck and hung on for a long moment. “I love you, Juliet. No matter what my daddy does.”

  Emotion swelled in Juliet’s throat, forcing her to swallow several times before she could manage to speak. “And I love you, too, Gracia. No matter what.”

  A few minutes later, Matt and Juliet left the ranch. Throughout the drive back to town they made sporadic small talk, but for the most part Matt was quiet. By the time they reached her place, she was growing concerned that something was bothering him.

  “You’ve been quiet, Matt,” she said as he parked the truck in the front driveway to her house. “Is anything wrong?”

  After switching off the motor, he turned to her. “No. I’ve just been…thinking about tonight, at the ranch.”

  The glow of a nearby streetlamp was enough to see his pensive expression and Juliet studied it carefully as she waited and hoped for him to continue.

  “It was nice having you there with my family. I never realized how much I missed having someone beside me—to share things with.” With a heavy sigh, he reached for her hand. “For a long time now Lex has accused me of being dead. And I guess maybe he was right to a certain degree. I can see now how much I’ve cocooned myself.” He lifted her fingers to his lips. “You’ve come along and made me see things I refused to face before, Juliet. And now—well, you’ve made me feel like a new man.”

  Shocked by his admission, she stared at him until her heart grew so full she could no longer keep her distance.

  Quickly sliding across the seat, she slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against the side of his neck. “Oh, Matt. You’ve made me feel all new, too. New and happy.”

  Groaning, he caught her face between his hands and brought her lips to his. He kissed her for long moments, a slow, thorough search that left her insides quivering with need.

  Once he finally lifted his head, she said, “You are coming in, aren’t you?”

  He gently pushed his fingers through the blond waves dipping near her cheek and she turned her mouth into his palm to kiss the calloused skin.

  “I shouldn’t,” he said ruefully. “Neither one of us has had much sleep. And we both have to work.” His mouth twisted as he leaned his forehead against hers. “But I can’t resist you,” he whispered.

  Juliet brought her lips temptingly up to his, then kissed him softly before she finally eased away from him to gather up her handbag. Matt followed her cue and the two of them quickly exited the truck. The way to the house was dimly illuminated by a streetlamp, making it fairly easy for her to find her house key.

  Once inside, she didn’t bother turning on a lamp. Instead, she took him by the hand and led him straight to her bedroom at the back of the house.

  The green glow of an alarm clock sitting on the nightstand was the only light in the room. It was enough to direct their path to the side of the bed and after that, their hands needed no light as they quickly did away with buttons and zippers. Clothing and shoes were tossed aside and then Matt was laying her on the soft, down coverlet.

  “You’re the first man to ever be in this house,” she whispered as he fit his naked body next to hers.

  His hand paused on her shoulder and she knew her remark had surprised him.

  “Don’t you mean the first man to be in your bedroom?”

  “No. I mean the first to be in the house entirely,” she corrected as her hands hungrily began to roam his hard chest. “I haven’t had a male caller. Not since I moved here from Dallas. I guess you could say I’ve cocooned myself, too. And all this time I’ve been swearing I wouldn’t let another man get near me. I didn’t want to get hurt again, Matt.” She brought her hands to his face and stroked her fingers along his cheeks. “Please don’t hurt me, Matt. That’s all I ask.”

  Her throaty plea brought a groan from deep within him. “Oh honey, no. You don’t need to worry about that. Tonight and all the nights ahead there’ll be no talk of hurting. We have much better things to do.”

  Juliet had to agree. After all, it was way too late to be worrying about getting hurt. She was already in love with the man. The only thing she could do now was go forward and trust him to handle her heart with care.

  “You’re right, Matt,” she whispered as she nestled her head beneath his chin. “And all evening I’ve been thinking about us being together again. I guess that makes me a wanton hussy, doesn’t it?”

  “Absolutely,” he said with a chuckle.

  His response lightened her dark moment and the pleasure of being in his arms took control of her senses.

  Last night on the Sandbur the urgency of first coming together had made their lovemaking almost frantic, but tonight Matt seemed content to take things at a slower pace.

  His hands took their easy time stroking, exploring, touching places that made her groan with need and writhe in search of relief, all while he whispered adoring things in her ears. He spattered kisses across her forehead, cheeks and lips, then turned his attention to her breasts.

  Each rounded globe received the delicate trace of his moist tongue, the teasing nip of his teeth, until Juliet was aching with desire. Her hands gripped his shoulders, her fingers clung as she rode wave after wave of delicious heat.

  “Matt,” she gasped. “Matt, I can’t take much more.”

  “Oh yes you can, baby. We’re just now getting started.”

  With that his head made a downward descent and his lips skimmed over her midriff and across her lower belly. At the same time, his hand found the intimate folds between her thighs and then thrust a finger inside.

  A low, desperate groan began to vibrate in Juliet’s throat as her senses quickly spiraled out of control. She tried to hold back the powerful surges within her body. Tried to wait for each caress, each kiss. But the ache became too much and she began to cry out for relief at the same time his tongue replaced the tempting strokes of his finger.

  The incredibly intimate contact instantly pushed her over the edge and she arched frantically against him as pleasure splintered her body into tiny, glowing pieces.

  Above her Matt felt his loins tightening, begging to follow her to paradise. He waited until she’d caught her breath and then entered her with one desperate thrust. The hot sweetness of her enfolded him, tightened around him like velvet bands. Her hips rose to meet his and he knew she was ready to ride another wave.

  He tried to make the minutes last, to keep the ecstasy going on and on. But all too soon he was clutching her hips, driving himself into her as he lost his seed, his heart and soul.

  The end was draining for both of them and long minutes passed before they could move to the middle of the bed and snuggle their bodies comfor
tably together.

  Juliet rested her head upon his damp shoulder and wrapped her arm across his chest. The scent of his skin enveloped her and filled her with contentment. His hard body was the anchoring rock she’d often reached for but never found until now and the realization left her sighing with happiness.

  “You’re not going to leave now, are you?” she whispered drowsily.

  His fingers skimmed across her cheek and into her hair. “No,” he said huskily, then pressed his lips against her forehead. “Go to sleep, my darling.”

  Juliet didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to savor every moment of being close to this man that she loved. But exhaustion quickly overtook her and she drifted off before she could stop herself.

  Amazingly, she didn’t waken until early-morning light was streaming through a nearby window. Matt was nowhere in sight and the comforter had been spread over her naked body. The scent of fresh coffee was coming from the kitchen and since her coffeemaker wasn’t automatic, she knew Matt had made the brew.

  She was pushing the tangled hair from her face and trying to gather enough energy to throw her legs over the side of the bed, when Matt strode into the room carrying a steaming cup.

  Dressed only in jeans and boots, his smile was a little sheepish as he eased down on the edge of the bed and carefully placed the warm cup into her hands.

  “I’m not very practiced at this,” he said. “So I won’t guarantee that it’s palatable.”

  Juliet wasn’t thinking about the taste of the coffee as her eyes took in his broad shoulders and wide chest, the patch of furry black hair growing between his nipples. The taste of him was far more interesting. But the coffee was what he was offering her now and with a grateful smile, she took the cup and lifted it to her lips. The drink was rich and strong, just like him.

  “I expect Juan is wondering why you weren’t in the kitchen this morning for breakfast,” she said after several careful sips. “I thought—I half expected to wake up and see that you’d left in the night.”

  Her eyes met his and with a gentle twist to his lips, he reached out and touched his fingers to her cheek.

  “Sunshine,” he murmured. “That’s what you look like this morning.”

  Incredibly, the sweet comment caused a blush to sting her face. “You’re being funny now. I know how I really look and it couldn’t be good.”

  His face solemn, his fingertips faintly traced the hollow beneath her eye, then settled at the corner of her lips.

  “I don’t know how to be funny,” he said. “You know that.”

  Her heart thudded with love and longing and she knew if she lived to be a hundred his touch would still thrill her.

  “Maybe I should teach you a few jokes,” she teased.

  Sighing, he dropped his hand, then bent over and reached for his shirt that was lying on the floor. As he slipped his arms into the sleeves, he said, “Lex is going to forget all about joking if I don’t get home. We’re supposed to gather cattle this morning and I’m late. Very late.”

  Glancing at the clock beside the bed, Juliet saw that she had forty minutes to get ready and drive to the newspaper office. If she hurried, she could do it in fifteen. The rest of those minutes she wanted, needed to spend with him.

  As he finished buttoning his shirt, Juliet placed her hand on his forearm. “What about breakfast? I thought I’d fix us something.”

  He cast her a rueful glance. “I’m sorry, Juliet. I’d like nothing better. But I’ve got to get going.”

  Sometime between last night and this morning, Juliet had decided she could no longer put off talking to Matt about the Ketchum article she was being forced to write. She wanted it out in the open, before their relationship went any further.

  “I understand. I just—” Uncertain now, she reached for his hand and wrapped her fingers tightly around his. “There’s something I’ve been wanting to discuss with you and I thought this morning we could—talk about it over breakfast.”

  A tiny frown marred his forehead. “If it’s something that important to you, then we don’t want to rush it through in a couple of minutes. We’ll get together again soon and then you can tell me all about it. Okay?”

  Juliet had to agree. Explaining her situation with Gilbert was going to take longer than two minutes. Especially if she wanted Matt to fully understand the problem.

  Nodding, she did her best to hide her disappointment and put on a happy face. “Of course. It can keep.”

  A flash of relief crossed his face only to be instantly replaced with vague concern as he leaned earnestly toward her and threaded his free hand through her tangled hair.

  “Juliet, this isn’t about you and me, is it? You’re still okay with the two of us being together?”

  Hope, love and fear balled together and stuck in Juliet’s throat. For a moment all she could do was nod, then with a little cry, she buried her face in the curve of his neck.

  “Oh, Matt. It’s more than okay. It’s—” She swallowed, then raised her face to his. “The best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  Relief washed over his face and he smiled. “That’s enough to keep me happy.”

  He placed a swift kiss on her lips, then quickly rose to his feet and stuffed the tails of his shirt into his jeans. As he raked fingers through his tousled hair and reached for his hat, Juliet wrapped the sheet around her nakedness and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

  “I’ll walk you to the door,” she told him.

  Tugging the black felt low on his forehead, he looked at Juliet and winked. “You don’t need to be dressed just for that task.”

  Clutching the sheet to her breasts, she tried to laugh and forget about the heavy concerns in her heart.

  “I think I’d better, or you and Lex will never get those cattle gathered,” she teased.

  “You’re probably right,” he teased back, then with a wicked smile, motioned for her to precede him out of the bedroom.

  At the door he gave her a lengthy kiss, then left the house without any more words of parting.

  Her heart full, Juliet watched him until he climbed into his truck and drove away. But once she moved away from the door and walked back into the bedroom where they’d shared such deep intimacies, her mind quickly began to spin with doubts.

  Maybe she was the reason he’d woken from a deep sleep and started to live again. He certainly seemed interested in reviving his sex life. But none of that necessarily meant he could ever love her. And even if he could, would writing the Ketchum article wipe all his feelings for her away?

  Unfortunately, the answer to that was going to have to be pushed aside until they met again.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mingo Sanchez used both hands to outline the shape of a curvy woman in the open space in front of his wheelchair, then turned questioning eyes on Matt.

  Normally, Matt was here at the Sunset Manor to pick up Gracia from her regular visit of Bible reading with her grandfather. But today she’d come home from school with a bit of a sore throat and neither one of them had wanted to expose Mingo to any unnecessary germs that might give him a setback. So instead of hearing his granddaughter read the Bible, Mingo had been sitting and listening to his eldest son struggling with the retelling of Job’s miseries.

  But after twenty minutes, the older Sanchez had made it plain he knew enough about trials and tribulations and had turned his attention away from the Good Book.

  Cocking a suspect brow at his father, Matt said, “Are you asking me about Juliet Madsen?”

  The older man smiled broadly and nodded, then reached for the paper and pencil lying ready on his lap.

  After a slow struggle, one word began to emerge. Date.

  Matt said the word aloud and Mingo smiled and pointed at his son. The meaning was very clear.

  Knowing there was no use in avoiding the matter with his father, Matt nodded. “Yes, Juliet and I have gone on more than one date. I guess that makes you happy, doesn’t it?”

  With ano
ther grin, Mingo nodded, then as quick as his struggling hand could, he scratched out another word. Love.

  For a moment Matt was taken aback by his father’s question. Even when he’d been a healthy man, Mingo had liked to tease both his sons about women and sex. But when it came to the more serious emotion, he’d always kept his questions and opinions to himself, unless his sons sought out his advice. Matt was surprised to see his father break his own rule this time.

  “Do I love her? Dad, it’s too soon to be asking me something like that. I like her very much. That’s a start, isn’t it?”

  Even as he said the words to his father, Matt felt like a fraud of sorts. Like wasn’t nearly a strong enough word to describe his feelings for Juliet. But love? He didn’t want to think his heart had ventured that far out on a limb, so far that he might never be able to yank it back from a fall. Yet he was beginning to wonder and ask himself if this desperate need he felt for the woman was something akin to that emotion. Three days had passed since he’d kissed Juliet goodbye at her house and he was already desperately hungry to see her again.

  Mingo frowned at him with obvious disapproval and Matt sighed.

  “Dad, a man isn’t supposed to just jump straight into the fire. He needs to ask himself if he can stand the heat, first.”

  Mingo rolled his eyes and Matt knew he wasn’t fooling his father or himself. He’d already jumped straight into the flames with Juliet.

  “All right,” Matt said crossly. “I’m crazy about the woman. But I don’t know if what I’m feeling is love. And you don’t, either.”

  His expression clearly full of disgust, his father simply stared at him. Matt wanted to throw up his hands and walk out of the room. But he didn’t. Mingo needed his son just as much as Matt needed his father.

  With a heavy sigh, Matt rose from the stool he’d angled up to his father’s wheelchair, then walked to the head of the bed and carefully placed the Bible where his father could easily reach it.

  Once he turned back around Mingo had something else to say and Matt watched dumbfounded as his father pointed to the wedding band on his finger, then folded his arms and made a motion as though he were rocking a baby.