The Divine Creek Ranch Collection Volume 4

by Heather Rainier

  The group parted suddenly on the dance floor. Lily turned and saw Clay and Del both walk toward her. She gasped when they both stopped and knelt on one knee.

  One of the women gasped and another sobbed as Clay removed a white velvet ring box from his pocket. Both Clay and Del’s faces were intense with emotion. Clay’s playful green-gold eyes and Del’s soulful gray-green eyes smoldered with love and desire for her. Clay opened the box to show her the ring, and they each held out a work-roughened hand to her.

  Clay entwined her fingers with his as he said, “I lost you once, Lily. Now I have you back in my life and I never want to let you go. Marry me?”

  Feminine-sounding sniffles could be heard all around them.

  Del claimed her other hand and said, “I love you, Lily. The day you came back into my life was the happiest day…until this one. Say you’ll marry me.”

  She pulled them to their feet and said, “Today was the start of the best part of my life. I’m free and I’m yours.” The men rose and crushed her between them, bestowing kisses to whatever part of her they could reach as she held on tight.

  Like the phoenix bird that Seth was tattooing for her and each of her men, Lily felt herself soar as she rose from the ashes of her old life.

  THE END

  WWW.HEATHERRAINIER.COM

  Divine Creek Ranch 11

  Sparks Fly! A Divine Creek July 4th Family Reunion

  Sheltered Jayne Sheridan, the town librarian, is ready to live the fantasies she writes now that she’s free from the shadows of her past. The art buff she meets in the library sets all her creative juices flowing.

  Well-traveled Seth Carter, Divine’s new tattoo artist, believes life experience and globe-trotting are overrated. He encounters Jayne in the library and thinks she’s too good to be true.

  Matchmaker Grace Warner has enigmatic Seth and her cousin Jayne in her crosshairs. All she needs is an excuse to bring them together. Add in a Fourth of July celebration and a reunion with the Divine Creek Ranch family and what happens? Sparks fly!

  Sparks Fly! is a sexy little romp that intimately reacquaints readers with all the beloved characters in the entire series and introduces Seth and Jayne, the main characters in the upcoming twelfth Divine Creek Ranch novel entitled His Tattooed Virgin.

  Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre

  Length: 52,981 words

  SPARKS FLY!

  A DIVINE CREEK JULY 4th

  FAMILY REUNION

  Divine Creek Ranch 11

  HEATHER RAINIER

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  July 3rd

  Jayne stared up at her determined cousins, Grace Warner and Charity Connors, from behind the checkout desk at the Divine Memorial Library. She recognized the tenacious looks in their eyes. Her mind raced, looking for any reasonable excuse. “I wasn’t planning on going to the Fourth of July parade. I have car trouble. One of my tires was low this morning.” Yeah…that’s it!

  Charity Connors rolled her eyes. “Pfft! That is so lame. Take it by Torvel’s Tire Center before you go home tonight. It’s time to rejoin the land of the living, Jayne.” Jayne knew they’d never give up. Too many times she’d felt like giving up, and it was nice that her cousins never did.

  “Come on, Jayne. This would be easier if you’d just agree to come. You know you want to,” Charity said, then snickered. “It’s just a question of how much pestering it takes to get you there. It’s only one day.” The blonde bombshell had a reputation for being stubborn, which Jayne could attest to, having known her and her sister for her whole life. They’d lost touch for a few years, but some things never changed.

  Grace gave her the puppy-dog eyes and then used the magic bullet. Ten-month-old baby Rose Marie. She lifted the precious, blonde-haired baby from her stroller to her hip, and in a baby-talk voice, Grace said, “Come on, Cousin Jayney. Don’t you wanna come with me to the parade?”

  Rose Marie had green eyes like her father but bore a striking resemblance to her mother. Jayne did her best to ignore the little pang in her heart as she smiled at Rose Marie and held out her finger, which the baby grabbed and tried to gum before Grace handed her a teething ring. It would be nice to spend some time with them.

  Jayne scoffed and rolled her eyes, trying to hide her amusement without much success. “Oh, all right. But only the parade and only because you used baby guilt. Evil wench.”

  Charity giggled and said, “We have lunch planned afterward at the ranch, and swimming, and then the fireworks out at Bowie Lake. You might as well bring your swimsuit because you know you’ll want to be there for all of it.”

  Swimsuit? Crap! What have I gotten myself into? “Um…I don’t own one. Oh, well. I guess I’ll—”

  “Just have to borrow one of mine,” Charity chirped, looking positively victorious. “You’ve lost so much weight, you can fit into one of them, no problem.”

  Jayne’s mind swirled back to the last time she’d been swimming with Charity. As a rule, Charity went with the more daring suits.

  Grace looked askance at her sister. “Charity, you’re scaring her, telling her that. Don’t worry, Jayne. Between the two of us, we’ve got you covered. Just bring sunscreen and a hat, and we’ll take care of the rest. Isn’t that right?” she asked her baby daughter. Rose Marie chortled when her mom blew a raspberry on her chubby little neck.

  Charity elbowed her sister. “We’re in a library. You’re being disruptive, heifer.”

  Grace snorted as she put the baby back in her stroller and she and Charity prepared to leave. “Heifer? I’m not a heifer, but that gal who was flirting with your husband at O’Reilley’s last night, now she was a heifer,” Grace said as they waved good-bye to Jayne and made their way through the metal detectors to the exit.

  “Nah. Skank ho is more like it. Heifer would be almost complimentary…”

  Jayne bit her lip to keep from laughing. She loved her cousin Charity, despite her lack of filter, and enjoyed that Grace seemed to take whatever she said in stride.

  The library was going to be closed the following day for the Independence Day holiday, along with all the other city and county offices. She’d hoped to have a quiet day to herself to work on her project. Looking around the tranquil solemnity of the library, she realized she had quiet pretty much all day, every day, except for Friday afternoons, which was Kookie Kid’s Club at the library. Those afternoons were anything but quiet. Still, she might manage to sneak away after the parade and accomplish something at home. She was sorting a stack of books on a cart when she felt the tap of a small hand on her elbow.

  “Mizz Librarian?” said a young boy of about nine years old.

  “What can I do for you, sweetie?”

  “Er, um. Um. We was…Er, um—um.” The little blond-haired boy swung his arms back and forth as he kicked the toe of his sneaker into the carpeting.

  Oh, Lord. What now? “It’s okay. You can tell me.”

  Ten minutes later, when she was done cleaning up vomit and felt nauseated herself, it was nearly time to close the library. She flipped the first two light switches, extinguishing lights in the far corners of the library, the traditional signal that they would be closing soon.

  She grabbed the first stack of books still needing to be returned to their place in the bookshelves and hurried to the young adult fiction section. Between herself and Rowena, the elderly assistant librarian, they had almost all of the books put back within five minutes. She returned to the cart for the last tall stack while Rowena handled the visitors who were checking out books.

  Jayne peered at the spine of an art book as she rounded a corner, heard a masculine gasp, and her world went topsy-turvy. Books thumped to the floor all around her as she took a tumble, landing hard on her hands and knees. Good going, klutz!

  “I’m so sorry,” a deep voice murmured beside her. Strong hands gently gripped her upper arms, helping her to right herself into a kneeling position. She swept her long brown hair from her e
yes and looked up at the man assisting her. Where did he come from?

  She hissed when she shifted, noticing the burning sensation in both knees where they rested against the rough, short-piled carpeting. The painful throbbing was forgotten as she looked up and lost herself in the most piercing blue eyes she’d ever seen. The beautiful eyes belonged to a handsome, serious-looking man in his mid-thirties. His neatly trimmed goatee and moustache framed sensual lips that made her fingertips itch to slide across them.

  He crouched beside her and assisted her as she gathered the books into a stack, then helped her rise to her feet with his hands on her upper arms again. He was roughly six feet tall and clad in a black T-shirt tucked into faded blue jeans. He wasn’t the type she usually encountered in the library. Soccer moms and play-date groups were more her speed. She noticed that his straight black hair was long, reaching past his shoulders. He looked like he’d be more at home on a motorcycle, rock concert stage, or some exotic locale. That hair. How did I miss him in here?

  “I’m sorry I tripped you. I shouldn’t have been sitting at the end of the aisle like that. Are you all right?” He reached out a tentative hand and smoothed back an errant lock of hair from her forehead. Her knees and palms stung and throbbed like crazy, but that was nothing compared to the embarrassed heat that flooded her cheeks because someone had witnessed her graceless tumble.

  “Jayne? Are you all right?” Rowena asked from the head of the aisle.

  “I—I’m okay. Just clumsy,” she called to her coworker as she slid the tall stack of books onto the bookshelf beside her. She dusted off her hands and hissed when she brushed across a raw spot on her left palm.

  He grimaced and gently lifted her hand to inspect the damage. “You’re hurt.”

  A tingle zipped up her arm at the contact, and she shyly tugged it from his warm grasp. “I’m really fine, sir. The library is closing soon.” She glanced at him as she reorganized the stack of books, trying to ignore the painful tingle in her hands that warred with the distracting tingle located elsewhere.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t notice.” He held up a book on Japanese art. “I was involved in this book. Are you sure you’re all right? I can help you back to the desk if you need me to.”

  Gathering her scattered wits as the throb in her knees increased, she smiled and patted her stack of books. “I still need to put these up. I’m fine.”

  He gazed mutely at her for a few moments then nodded. “I’ll be up to the front directly.”

  Jayne gave him a hesitant smile and nodded, trying to get the trembling in her hands under control.

  He paused and squinted at her. “You look vaguely familiar. Have we met?”

  Oh, Lord. I’d remember you if we had, handsome! “No, I don’t think so. I’m relatively new in town.”

  Surprising her, he held out his hand. “Seth Carter. Pleased to meet you.” His voice turned her insides to jelly and she felt the tingle again as she slipped her hand in his and he shook it gently, mindful of the abrasion on it.

  “Jayne Sheridan. Nice to meet you, Seth.”

  He nodded, all the while maintaining eye contact. His serious expression was almost disconcerting as he stared deeply into her eyes. Heat crept up her cheeks at his scrutiny. After a moment, he blinked and a slight smile crossed his lips.

  When he released her hand, she lifted the stack of books from the shelf and he stepped out of her way to let her pass. Her hands trembled as she replaced all the books where they needed to be. She straightened a couple of shelves before turning to make her way back to the checkout desk. Rowena flipped two more light switches, casting the section Jayne was in into near darkness.

  She rounded the same corner and yelped when she ran right into Seth.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you as I rounded the corner.” Crap!

  Seth chuckled and grabbed her as she rebounded off a bookshelf and held on to her until she steadied. “We keep bumping into each other. You okay?”

  “Besides proving I’m a klutz, yes, I’m fine. Find everything you needed?”

  “Yes.” He released her arm as they walked down the aisle side by side. Rowena waved at her with three books in her hand as she disappeared down the romantic fiction aisle. Jayne made her way around to the deserted checkout desk and sat as he placed his books on the counter. She blindly reached for the books and her fingertips landed on his large, warm hand. She rolled her eyes and pulled her hand back as she looked up at him. “This is just not my day.” She caught a faint twinkle in his blue eyes which were framed by thick black lashes.

  Seth shrugged casually but she saw a teasing twinkle in his eyes. “Seems like it’s going pretty well to me.” He placed the books and his library card in her hands, and it was then that she noticed his arms. At first glance, she thought he had on long sleeves then realized that from the wrist up his arms were solidly tattooed with art that looked vaguely familiar. Realizing she was staring at them, she turned her attention to her job as she scanned the labels inside the books on Japanese art.

  When she handed him his card back, he focused those blue laser beams on her, and she felt herself flush again. His lips were just full enough to be sensual, and when he gave her a slight smile, her body bloomed with heat all over, including the aching spot between her thighs.

  Whoa, babe! No lusting in the library!

  Jayne smiled back and hoped to remember him accurately so that when she took up her pen and her notebook she could record his beauty, for there was no other way to describe him. The trimmed goatee that surrounded his sensual mouth gave him a rakish appeal, and she wondered how that scruff would feel on her inner thighs. Her panties became damp at the thought, and she unconsciously squeezed her thighs together and shifted in her seat.

  She struggled to keep her tone steady as she said, “Mr. Carter, these books will be due back on the seventeenth of July.”

  When she handed them to him, he gave another slight smile as he nodded at her. “Call me Seth. I hope your knees and your hand are okay. Sorry for tripping you.”

  Jayne smiled at him and shrugged as she ignored the throb from her injuries. “A little antiseptic and a Band-Aid and I’ll be fine. It was my fault for not watching where I was going…both times. Have a good evening.”

  He nodded and backed away from the counter. The writer in her wanted to stop him and wrap her arms around his wide shoulders so she would remember what he felt like tonight when she wrote. For a split second, she considered clandestinely shooting a picture with her camera phone, but such unladylike behavior would most certainly be frowned upon. Another library patron piled their books on the counter as he backed away.

  Seth walked through the doors but paused as she watched. He turned and gazed back at her, the serious yet sexy look on his face causing the heat to rise in her cheeks once again. When he caught her eye, that slight smile made another appearance before he continued on his way and the automatic doors slid shut after him.

  Jayne watched his ogle-worthy backside through the glass doors as he strode down the sidewalk, his feet shod in brown cowboy boots. She felt incapable of tearing her gaze from his long legs and his ass. His shoulders were broad, and the muscles were outlined under the snug knit of the T-shirt, tapering to a trim waist. He moved with a grace and fluidity that told her Mr. Carter was very comfortable in his own skin. Drawn back to the task at hand, she wondered if she had drool on her chin.

  “Miss Sheridan? You okay?” the woman asked as she pulled her keys from her purse.

  No, I wasn’t for a long time, but I’m getting better every day. When was the last time I reacted to a man like that? “Oh! Yes! Yes, I’m fine. How are you?”

  Jayne was actually glad now that Grace and Charity had been so persistent. It was time to rejoin the land of the living. Her battle-ravaged body was testifying that it was ready too. Come hell or high water, she was finally going to live some of what she’d been writing.

  * * * *

  After stopping for a cold dri
nk at the old-fashioned drugstore across the street from the library, Grace sat in the driver seat of her blue Escalade, scrolling through the contacts on her phone. She looked at Charity with what she felt sure were completely guiltless eyes. Charity giggle-snorted and tickled Rose Marie after buckling her into her car seat and said, “It’s like an addiction with you, isn’t it?”

  Grace smiled widely and shrugged. “I’ve never seen two people who were more right for each other, and did you see? Fate is trying to bring them together!” She gestured at Seth’s Harley-Davidson motorcycle at the other end of the block as he placed his library books in the saddle bags and climbed on. She knew a beautiful brunette would fit perfectly on the back of that bike. “I’m just helping out the universe by bringing those two within range of each other, that’s all. We wouldn’t want some ‘skank ho’ to claim him, now would we?”

  “No, we can’t have that. Now let’s get you and your big boobs home.” Charity climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door as Grace started the Escalade.

  “Bi boos!” Rose Marie crowed from the backseat of the Escalade. Grace gave Charity the stink eye as Charity snorted with laughter and reached back to Rose Marie to give her a baby high-five.

  Grace wrinkled up her nose and muttered, “I think you’ve been spending too much time at my house lately.”

  “You adore me and you have a pool. The attraction is obvious.”

  “You’re just lucky she already says ‘Da-da.’ If ‘big boobs!’ was the first thing that Jack, Ethan, or Adam ever heard her say, they’d know who taught it to her.”