Hearts Are Wild

by Patrice Michelle

  “No, I live in Arizona.”

  “Ah, so you’re used to the heat, then.” His Texas drawl coupled with his arresting gaze as he let it slowly roam over her lavender cotton T-shirt to her breasts before slowly returning to her face, made shivers course through her body. Damn, but the man just made her feel as if he undressed and caressed her. All with just one seductive, sweeping look.

  Her heart racing, she let go of his hand and turned to begin brushing Lightning. Boy, was it getting hot in here or what? “Yes, I’m very used to the heat.”

  Josh’s hand landed on hers and his chest pressed against her back as he said in a low tone, “Here, this is how you do it,” as he slowed her movements down, guiding her hand across the horse’s back, showing her the best way to stroke the hair.

  His cologne tickled her nose again as she let him show her his technique. When his chest brushed against her back, she resisted the urge to lean against him, but she couldn’t help closing her eyes and inhaling his arousing, masculine scent.

  “See,” he said above her, his voice soothing and calm as Lightning pawed the ground. “She likes the strokes slow and easy.”

  Lurid thoughts filled Sabrina’s mind at his mention of “slow and easy” strokes. Man, but she liked a man that took the time to understand what a woman wants, even if that “woman” was an animal. That just meant he’d be even better with the human variety.

  Lightning neighed again and turned her head, causing Sabrina to open her eyes. When she saw Josh put his hand out and the horse turn to try to rub her nose in his palm, she chuckled.

  “You sure have a way with women, Josh Kelly.”

  He chuckled in her ear, the sound sexy and husky. “I try my best to please the women in my life.”

  “I’ll just bet you do. How sorry were you that Colt snagged Elise?” she quipped as he let go of her hand and moved to stand in front of Lightning to rub the horse’s nose.

  Josh gave her a wide grin. “Elise who?”

  She laughed out loud at how deftly he’d avoided answering her question.

  “Josh?” she heard Elise call out as she rounded the corner and entered the stall. “There you are. I saw your horse and wondered where you went off to.”

  “Hey, Elise. I came looking for you and ran into Sabrina.”

  Sabrina watched Josh’s reaction to Elise with interest. His relaxed stance had changed to an alert one. Interesting.

  “Thanks for coming,” her friend replied. “I wanted to show you another bull. We’re hoping to trade for one more pleasure horse, like Colt did with Lightning. Interested?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Lightning was your horse?” Sabrina teased, amused that he’d led her to believe Lightning had taken to him that quickly.

  Josh winked at her as an unrepentant grin spread across his face. “She misses me sorely.”

  “Yes, Lightning was Josh’s horse. Colt traded a bull for her as a gift to me.”

  “Yeah, he one-upped me on that one,” Josh grumbled.

  “You got the bull you wanted,” Elise teased.

  At the look in Josh’s eyes, Sabrina thought, That’s not the only thing he wanted, Elise.

  “Come on, Josh.” Elise beckoned as she started to exit the stall. “I’ll show you our bull.”

  Turning to Sabrina, she said, “Hurry it up, slowpoke. Dinner’s almost ready and Nan’s cooking a special one tonight just for our guest.”

  Sabrina grinned. “Just for me?”

  “Yep.” Elise nodded. “So get a move on and head over to the kitchen. Nan always likes company while she’s cooking. I’ll meet you there once I finish up with Josh.”

  Josh pulled on the front of his hat as he faced Sabrina. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. Hopefully I’ll see you again.”

  There he went with that sexy drawl. She melted and thought with an inward smirk, You can bet on it, cowboy.

  Nodding, she said with a smile, “Nice to meet you, too. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” Even if I have to show up on your doorstep, Mr. Hunky Neighbor.

  Once Elise and Josh walked off, Sabrina finished up with Lightning and after washing up, made her way over to the kitchen.

  “Hi, Sabrina,” the older lady called out from her position near the stove. Her stark white teeth made a striking contrast against her dark skin as she gave Sabrina a broad, friendly smile.

  “Come on in and sit down a spell. Tell me how you’re enjoying your vacation so far.”

  “Oh, no, you don’t,” Sabrina said as she picked up an apron and tied it around her waist. “I might be a guest but I like to do my fair share. How can I help?”

  “I like you, child.” Nan laughed as she turned over a piece of chicken to let the other side brown. Nodding toward the cooked whole potatoes sitting in a blue and white bowl on the table, she said, “Why don’t you mash those up and then add some butter, milk, and salt and pepper for mashed potatoes?”

  “Will do,” Sabrina answered as she picked up the bowl and turned toward the sink to mash them up with the utensil Nan had stuck in the bowl.

  As she began to mash the potatoes, voices outside drew her gaze to the open window. Elise and Josh walked up and stood talking outside. Josh put his hand on Elise’s shoulder as he said something to her, then laughed at her response. That smile on his face as he listened to Elise…yep, he definitely still had feelings for her friend. The knowledge made her a little sad for Josh. He must really feel torn to be so attracted to someone and not be able to have her.

  * * * * *

  Having dinner with Mace, Colt, Elise and Nan was a real treat. Her first few nights at the ranch she and Elise had gone out to eat and the other nights it was usually Colt, Elise and her eating together and sometimes Mace, but tonight they all enjoyed a special home-cooked meal with Nan, complete with her own homemade mashed potatoes.

  At the end of the meal, Colt had turned quiet as he picked up Elise’s hand and kissed the palm. “The next two weeks won’t go by fast enough,” he said, the look in his gaze earnest and totally engrossed in his wife.

  Elise smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “These two weeks will go by faster than you expect, I imagine, since you’ll be so busy following the rodeo to a few towns.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve got a distraction,” he grumbled with a half smile, nodding to Sabrina.

  “I’ve got to make sure the online store is working properly,” she reminded him.

  “Ooh, to have a man say that I was a ‘distraction’ and mean it in an entirely different way,” Sabrina chimed in wistfully with a swooning look on her face.

  “Elise, have you noticed what a distraction it is for me to have your friend here? I’m not gettin’ a lick of work done,” Mace piped in at her comment.

  Sabrina laughed heartily at the man. He really was a card at times.

  The phone rang and Elise got up to answer it while Colt said in a stern tone, “You’d better, little brother. You’re running the ranch while I’m gone.”

  “Ah, man, do I have ta?” Mace mock complained. He gave Sabrina a heated look and finished, “I was planning on playing chase.”

  “You mean that’s not what you have been doing?” Sabrina shot him a shocked look.

  “Nah, darlin’, I was just warming up,” he said with a wink as he pretended to tuck his denim shirt into his Wranglers as if trying to look good for a date. “Ah, but I still have my nights free.” He waggled his eyebrows up and down as he addressed her. “Wanna go out with me tomorrow to Rockin’ Joe’s? It’s my usual hangout on Thursday nights.”

  “Mace Tanner, you really are a piece of work,” Sabrina said, shaking her head.

  “Don’t encourage him. He just gets worse,” Colt warned in a dry tone.

  Elise hung up the phone and walked over to pick up hers and Colt’s plates as she said to her husband, “That was Josh. He’s going to come by tomorrow with the horse we wanted.”

  Turning to Nan, she smiled and said, “Go on in the living room with the guys and relax.
Sabrina will help me with the dishes. Thank you for another wonderful meal.”

  “But she’s the guest,” Nan said in surprise.

  “Who’s very grateful to be here and would happily do her part,” Sabrina said as she stood and moved her hands in a shooing motion. “Now go take a break.”

  Nan grinned. “It’s always nice to see the boys at the table.” She cut her gaze between the two men and finished in an admonishing tone, “It doesn’t happen near often enough.”

  “Hmmm, I think we’re being asked to make up for quality time. What do you think, big brother?” Mace asked with an innocent look.

  Colt stood. “Break out the Scrabble board. I don’t believe Nan’s delivered her special dose of whoopass on us in quite a while.”

  Nan gave a deep belly laugh, her large breasts bouncing against her full–figured frame. “Come on, boys. Let the master show you how it’s done.”

  Elise laughed as the men and Nan exited the room. She picked up the plates and began to scrape off the leftover food into the trash can.

  “They’re very close, aren’t they?” Sabrina asked as she opened the dishwasher and began to rinse the dirty dishes.

  “Yes, Nan helped raise Colt and his brothers when his mother left.”

  “Ah, now I get it.” Sabrina nodded her understanding at the family-like atmosphere she’d seen between Nan and the men.

  They worked in silence for a while until the dishes were all done. While Elise was making a fresh pot of coffee, Sabrina dried her hands with a towel and leaned against the counter. “Want to hear the little bet about men my cousins and I made?”

  Elise laughed as she finished pouring the water in the coffee machine and slid the pot in its holder before turning it on. “Knowing the stories you’ve told me about your cousins, especially Nicole, this ought to be good.”

  Pulling the chair out, she sat down at the empty table again, her green eyes alight. “Have a seat and do tell.”

  Sabrina sat down with a wide grin on her face. “Yep, you’ve got Nicole pegged all right but this time…the idea was mine.”

  “Now I’m really intrigued. Go on.”

  “Well, after we attended our aunt’s birthday party and were bombarded with constant questions by relatives as to why we’re not married yet, we girls decided to make a pact. For the next month, we decided we would disregard our normal reservations and apprehensions concerning men and ‘let ourselves go’ with the first man who tripped our trigger.”

  Elise chuckled. “Ah, now I know why you came to Texas.” She winked, then teased, “Going to catch yourself a cowboy, Bri?”

  Sabrina grinned. “Seems you did all right.” She shrugged, then brushed her long braid over her shoulder. “I’m not looking for Mr. Right to come from this adventure, but we made a promise to let go and not get caught in our normal hang-ups about men. So I’m bound and determined to stick with the plan. I can’t let my cousins show me up,” she finished with a challenging tilt of her chin.

  “Look out Texas men,” Elise said with a laugh, then leaned in and teased in a conspiratorial whisper, “Is Mace your ‘project’?”

  Sabrina shook her head. “I just love flirting with that man, but as good-looking as he is, he doesn’t ‘trip my trigger’, not like that tall, hunk-of-burnin’-love Josh Kelly does.”

  Sabrina held her breath and waited to see what kind of reaction she’d get from Elise with her revelation.

  Elise looked surprised, then her expression turned serious. “Josh is a wonderful man. He’s definitely a sweetheart who is also very sexy—”

  “But?” Sabrina interrupted her. “Why do I hear a ‘but’ coming?”

  A cell phone sitting on the counter started to ring, distracting them both. Colt walked in the kitchen and answered his phone.

  Before Elise could reply, Sabrina continued in a lowered voice while Colt walked out in the hall to talk. “I know Josh has a thing for you, Elise. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

  Her friend put her hand on her arm and said, “No, it’s not that, it’s—”

  Colt walked back into the kitchen with the cell phone in his hand, a serious look on his face. “Elise, it’s your mom, honey. Since our line rang busy earlier she called my cell phone. You need to take this call.”

  “Excuse me for a second,” Elise said as she rose and walked over to take the phone from her husband.

  Sabrina watched her friend’s face grow pale as her mother spoke to her. “Is he all right?”

  Colt put his hands on his wife’s shoulders and pulled her close as she listened to her mother talk.

  “When’s the surgery? I’ll be on the next plane out. I know he doesn’t want me to worry, but I’ll be there when he wakes up.” Her voice broke when she finished, “Mom, just in case… Tell Dad I love him very much.”

  Tears fell as she closed the cell phone. Colt immediately turned her in his arms and pulled her close. Kissing her forehead, he said, “I’m going with you, darlin’.”

  “But you can’t go. You’ve got all your travel plans made,” she insisted between sniffling.

  “Mace can go in my place,” Colt insisted. “You’re not going there alone. Just in case, I want to be there with you.”

  Elise hugged him tight and kissed him on the jaw saying, “I love you very much, Colt Tanner.”

  Sabrina’s heart swelled for her friend and the obvious love she and her husband shared. She stood up from the table when Elise let go of her husband, handed him the phone, and walked over to her.

  Hugging her, Elise said, “My dad had some heart pains and when he went to his doctor, they wouldn’t let him leave for fear he’d have a heart attack. He was on the verge of one with clogged arteries. He’s scheduled for emergency angioplasty surgery tomorrow.”

  Pulling back, Sabrina felt tears in her eyes. “Oh, Elise. I’m so sorry. I hope the surgery goes well. I’ll get out of your hair.”

  Elise held her hands and with a bright smile said, “Absolutely not! I’m only going to be gone for a couple of days. My dad’s as tough as nails. He’ll pull through this and I know him, he’ll love the fact I’m there, but I’ll be ready to come back when I know he’s out of the woods.”

  “Are you sure?” Sabrina asked, feeling like her friend was trying to accommodate her.

  Elise smiled and squeezed her hands. “Very much so.”

  While Colt used his cell phone to call and make airline reservations, Sabrina asked in a low voice, “You started to say something about Josh…”

  “Yes, I did…” Elise began, then paused. She met her gaze, then gave her a broad smile. Hugging her tight, she whispered in her ear, “Go for it, Bri. You only live once and life can be way too short.”

  Leaning away once more, she said with a wink, “I’m sure Josh would be happy to keep you company while I’m gone. I’ll call him in the morning before I leave and let him know to hold onto the horse until I get back. Then I’ll tell him, ‘but I do have this guest who might be bored out of her mind for a few days…’”

  “Um, I’d prefer not to look so obvious,” Sabrina replied with a chuckle.

  Elise laughed as she let go of her hands and moved over to the cabinets. Pulling down some mugs, she suggested, “Josh was supposed to come by tomorrow anyway. How about I don’t tell him that I’m going to be gone and when he arrives you can explain the situation? That work better for you?”

  “Much. What time was he supposed to stop by?”

  “He just said late afternoon. Are you going to get all spiffed up for Josh?” she asked with a grin.

  Sabrina batted her eyelashes innocently, then grinned. “What do you think?”

  Chapter Three

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Sabrina grumbled as she looked at her watch. “Leave it to me to pick a man who can’t even show up on time on the very first date.” With the Texas sun beating down on her, its heat making her skin sticky and wet, she must’ve uncrossed and recrossed her legs for the hundredth time while she sat on
the front porch top step. Leaning against the railing, she’d hoped she appeared to be just resting and not the wilted-flower-waiting-impatiently-for-Josh-to-show-up person that she was.

  Granted, Josh didn’t know it was their first date, but damn it, it was six o’clock and the man still hadn’t shown. Remembering she’d heard the phone ring fifteen minutes ago, she called across the porch through the screen door, “Hey, Nan, was that Josh that called?”

  The screen creaked as Nan walked out, tugging her large denim purse over her shoulder. “No, hon, he hasn’t called. That was my sister confirming our dinner plans.”

  Her chocolate brown eyes held an apology as she pulled her keys out of her purse. “I feel bad leaving, but I’m meeting my sister to celebrate her sixtieth birthday.”

  Sabrina laughed and shooed Nan on. “Go on, enjoy yourself. Don’t worry about me.”

  “I’m sure it’ll seem quiet around here without Mace,” Nan said in a teasing tone.

  “The man does have a certain charm about him. I already miss his banter,” she replied with a smile.

  Nan walked down the stairs saying, “That’s Mace…always the one who knows just what to say to the ladies.”

  “He’s got it down to a science, I believe,” Sabrina agreed.

  Nan nodded to the screen door. “I left you a dinner plate in the fridge. Just pull it out and heat it up when you’re ready.”

  “Thank you, Nan. Now go have a blast with your sister. You only turn sixty once.”

  “I’ve turned sixty for the past five years. It’s called ‘sixty and holding’,” Nan said as she shot her a wide grin, then winked before walking away to her car.

  After the older woman drove off, Sabrina waited another half hour for Josh. The wind kicked up, blowing her long hair around her and giving her a break from the oppressive heat. That was another reason she was so hot. She’d left her hair unbound. Glancing at her cream linen miniskirt and baby pink linen top, she frowned at all the wrinkles.