The Kincaid Bride

by Jackie Merritt

  “Is…is he going to leave it to you?”

  “Don’t know about that, sis. I’m not his only heir. You’re as entitled to inherit as I am, and don’t forget our cousin Lyle. Even though he’s a total jerk and I’d like to forget him,” Collin added disgustedly. “Are you planning to see Aunt Alice while you’re here?”

  “Probably,” Melanie murmured absently, her mind on something else. “Collin, discussing Granddad’s estate while he’s alive and thriving seems terribly callous, but since it’s come up, have you considered that any one of our newly discovered half brothers could lay claim to anything Granddad leaves to the rest of us? And please don’t think I’m worried about receiving a share of this ranch or anything else Granddad might own. But this has been your home for a long time, and you just said you’d like to live out your life here. What if everything Granddad owns—including the ranch—has to be split nine ways?”

  Collin looked shell-shocked and for a long moment stared at his sister in mute astonishment. “My God, why didn’t I think of that?” he finally said in a hoarse, unnatural voice.

  Melanie felt like kicking herself. She certainly had never counted on or even thought of inheriting from her grandfather, but Collin had, and now she’d given him cause to worry about the security of the home he loved so much.

  She tried to undo the damage. “I’m sorry I brought it up, Collin. If those boys, or men, or whatever they are, haven’t made contact with the family by now, they probably never will. And there’s always the chance that they know nothing of their father’s background.”

  “That’s really beside the point, isn’t it?” Rising, Collin went to the porch railing and stared out into the night. Finally, he turned back to his sister. “The thing is, Melanie, they’re entitled.”

  “Our half brothers?”

  “They’re Dad’s kids, same as us, and Granddad’s grandchildren, just like you, me and Lyle. They’re Kincaids.”

  “And they didn’t ask to be born, did they?” Melanie said quietly. “Collin, this could turn into an awful mess. I hope you know that.”

  “I do now.” Collin left the rail and stopped by Melanie’s chair to squeeze her shoulder. “I’m going to bed, Mel. Are you okay out here alone? It’s quiet and dark, but there’s really nothing to be afraid of.”

  “I’m not a bit afraid, Collin. I’ll sit out here a little longer, then go to bed, too. Good night.”

  “G’night, sis.”

  Being entirely alone on the porch did feel a bit eerie to Melanie. The big trees cast enormous, impenetrable black shadows across the front lawn, but dim lamplight spilled from several windows of the house, so Melanie wasn’t in complete darkness. It was the quiet that felt so foreign to her. Somewhere in the invisible distance, a dog barked, and if she listened really hard, she could hear the faint rustling of leaves from a high breeze.

  The night air was damp and chilly, and Melanie hugged the sweater she’d brought outside with her closer around her shoulders. Her thoughts drifted from one thing to another.

  Six half brothers, my Lord! Dad couldn’t seem to remember that he had a daughter. He was no father at all, to be perfectly honest—and yet he kept making babies. Poor Collin. He might have lived close to Dad, but he really didn’t know him, either.

  Eli Forrester, why are you so secretive? Melanie wondered. When people don’t talk about themselves, doesn’t that make them secretive? Yes, I think it does. Collin thinks so, too, but Granddad believes everyone is entitled to privacy…which they are, of course. But Eli has worked and lived on the ranch for four years. Any normal person would have gotten friendly enough with someone to tell their life story a dozen times in four years. I can only conclude, Mr. Forrester, that you are hiding something. And where are you tonight? With your lady love?

  Melanie heaved a sigh. Was Eli talking, dancing, making love? How could she have been so smitten by him when clearly he’d barely noticed her? The electricity of their handshake had apparently gone only one way—up her arm and straight to her heart.

  Oh, don’t be so ridiculously melodramatic, Melanie chided herself. Nothing touched your heart when you shook hands with Eli. What you felt was sexual attraction and not one thing more. And whatever you do, when he “escorts” you around the ranch tomorrow, keep your foolish head on straight!

  Melanie was still thinking about the handsome foreman when she saw headlights on the long driveway between the ranch and highway. “Eli,” she whispered, thrilled in spite of her commonsense advice to herself that he’d returned so early.

  Maybe he hadn’t visited a lady friend after all!

  Four

  Melanie had a restless night, and when she finally did fall asleep toward morning, it was as though she’d been knocked unconscious. She slept through Garrett’s and Collin’s early rising, through breakfast, through Garrett’s talk with Eli, and through all the normal sounds and noises of a ranch coming to life for another day of work.

  Finally stirring, she blew her hair out of still-drowsy eyes and yawned. The bed that had felt so strange last night felt exquisitely soft this morning. Sunlight streamed through the room’s two windows. Melanie turned lazily onto her back and looked at the brittle old paper on the walls with its pattern of faded pink roses on a background that had probably once been cream-colored but now appeared tan and even darker in some places.

  Had her grandmother put up this paper? Decorated this bedroom? The furniture was a matched bedroom suite, constructed of very heavy-looking, darkly stained wood. Melanie thought of the light colors and textures in her apartment.

  “So different,” she murmured. “So very different.” Everything was different here, and it occurred to her that Collin had become a genuine cowboy. He even looked like their grandfather. A much younger version, of course, but at seventy-plus, Garrett was still a handsome man. And whom did she resemble? Sue Ellen in some ways, but did she also look a little like the Kincaid men?

  Still not fully awake, Melanie’s glance fell on the bedside clock. Her mouth dropped open. She’d slept until almost eleven? Impossible!

  Lying back and staring at the ceiling, she heaved a sigh and accepted the impossible. Goodness, the day was half over. If her granddad had asked his foreman to give her a tour of the ranch, Eli had probably long given up on her even showing her face outside.

  “Oh, well,” she murmured with another sigh, then decided that as long as she’d already frittered away half the day and Eli had undoubtedly gone about his own business by now, she might as well enjoy the uncommon leisure of having absolutely no demands on her time.

  She took a long shower and washed her hair. Things that she usually did in seconds, such as shaving her legs, were done at an unhurried pace. She even dried off slowly, applied moisturizer to her damp skin, then fussed with her hair for thirty minutes.

  Finally, she got dressed, applied makeup, made the bed, tidied the bathroom, and after almost two hours, she casually strolled from her bedroom and went downstairs.

  “Good afternoon, Irma,” she said with a laugh as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Gracious, you must have been done in!”

  “I couldn’t get to sleep last night, so I guess I made up for it this morning.”

  “You know, I have the same trouble in a strange bedroom. You’ll probably do better tonight. What would you like to eat, breakfast or lunch?”

  “Hmm, lunch, I think. But I can fix it. You’ve got enough to do without waiting on me.”

  “Well, help yourself, then. There’re all kinds of sandwich fixin’s in the fridge. And if you liked that cream of potato soup we had for dinner last night, there’s a little of that left you could warm up.”

  “Thanks, Irma.” Melanie crossed over to the refrigerator, opened the door and studied the laden shelves. She took out a bowl. “Is this spaghetti okay to eat?”

  “Sure is, but there’s not much in that bowl. Will it be enough?”

  “More than enough, Irma.”

  “Just put
the bowl in the microwave and set the timer for two minutes. Oh, if you’d like coffee, there’s still some in the pot.”

  “Thanks, but I’m not much of a coffee drinker. I’ll have a glass of orange juice instead.”

  While Melanie was in the process of heating the bowl of spaghetti, Irma looked out the window and exclaimed, “I swear! That Eli’s walked back and forth out there most of the morning. Looks fit to be tied, too. Wonder what’s bothering him.”

  Melanie’s heart sank. “I…I think he’s waiting for me.”

  Irma turned around. “For you?”

  “Granddad said last night that he was going to ask Eli to show me around ‘cause he and Collin had to attend a meeting. When I woke up so late, though, I thought for sure that Eli would have given up waiting for me and gone about some other task.”

  Irma shook her head. “Not Eli, honey. He’s a hard man to know, and I can’t really say that I do know him, but some of his traits are obvious. I’m certain that he’s one of those people who take responsibility very seriously, and I’m sure that his word is his bond. So, no, Melanie, if Eli told Garrett that he would show you around, then he’ll either do it or wear himself out trying.”

  The microwave dinged and went off. Melanie took out the bowl, found a fork in the cutlery drawer and sat at the kitchen table. Irma brought her a glass of orange juice and Melanie began eating. But she couldn’t stop thinking of Eli pacing the yard because of her tardiness and she finished quickly and brought her dirty dishes to the sink.

  “Just leave ’em, honey,” Irma said. “You probably should go out there and talk to Eli. And don’t forget to wear a hat. The sun is bright today.”

  Melanie raced upstairs to her room for a hat. She also grabbed her sunglasses and put them on. It wasn’t that she was afraid of facing Eli, but her stomach was in a knot for some reason, and she always felt a little bit invisible wearing sunglasses, which was ridiculous, of course, but still a longtime habit. Lastly, she tucked a pair of leather riding gloves into the back pocket of her jeans just in case.

  Then she ran back downstairs and through the house, pausing briefly in the mudroom to catch her breath before stepping outside.

  Eli saw her come through the door, and all the harsh words he’d been thinking—spoiled rotten…inconsiderate…selfish…a princess—softened considerably. She was stunning in faded blue jeans, a periwinkle-blue T-shirt, brown leather vest, belt and boots, dark sunglasses and a wide-brimmed straw hat. And the way she walked—purposefully, confidently and very, very sensually—further diminished his annoyance and, in fact, telegraphed Melanie Kincaid’s beauty and magnetism clear to the center of his bones.

  He strode out to meet her and politely touched the brim of his hat. “Hello.”

  “Hello, Eli. I must apologize. Granddad said something last night about asking you to show me around today, but I overslept, and when I finally did wake up it never occurred to me that you might be keeping an eye out for me. I’m very sorry.”

  He couldn’t see her eyes through her glasses, but she sounded sincerely contrite, and besides, how could a man stay resentful over something as trivial as a six-hour wait? Garrett had talked to him shortly after breakfast, and Eli had watched for Melanie in between chores and discussions with the men. He’d gotten impatient enough to punch something a few times that morning, but he was fine now.

  “Apology accepted,” he said. “Now, what would you like to see?”

  Melanie was amazed that he could speak without any inflection whatsoever. If he was irritated with her, he didn’t show it. If he wasn’t, he didn’t show that, either. In fact, she could read nothing in his voice or in the emotionless expression on his face.

  But was that a flicker of admiration in his fabulous blue eyes? The kind of admiration a man felt for a woman he found attractive? A thrill of response colored her cheeks a bit, but she managed to keep her demeanor unruffled.

  Then, coolly adjusting her sunglasses, Melanie said, “I’d like to see the fillies Granddad recently purchased if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “No trouble at all. This way.”

  At the fence around the horse pasture, Eli talked about the horses and thought about the woman at his side. Her knowledge about horses was as startling as her looks. She seemed to know a lot about bog spavin, bone spavin and other equine leg problems.

  When Eli pointed out the new fillies, Melanie took off her sunglasses for a clearer view and studied the young mares quite thoroughly before saying, “They look promising. Do you know Granddad’s plans for them?”

  “Broodmares, I believe, but don’t quote me on that.”

  “Well, mated with the right stallion, they could produce some outstanding foals. Especially that little gray out there.”

  “She’s sort of a favorite of mine. I call her Sassy.”

  Forgetting that her sunglasses were in her hand instead of covering her eyes, Melanie turned toward Eli. “Is she sassy?”

  Eli looked into her eyes and said softly, “Very.”

  Melanie looked into his eyes and said huskily, “You must like sassy females.”

  A sudden impulse to take her in his arms and kiss her senseless was almost more than Eli could control. He tore his gaze from hers and looked off across the field of horses, forcing restraint upon himself.

  Melanie’s heart skipped a beat; Eli Forrester liked her! The chemistry she felt around him wasn’t only one-sided. He was as affected by her as she was by him. How very incredible that something like this should happen on her grandfather’s ranch. Heaven knew that she hadn’t come to Montana looking for romance. She’d hoped for and envisioned long, heartfelt conversations with Garrett and spending as much time with Collin as he could spare. But on her first whole day here, they had gone off—on business—and left her in Eli’s care.

  So instead of becoming closer to her family, she was feeling feverish and sexually challenged by a stranger—who, oddly enough, didn’t seem like a stranger at all, even though she knew so little about him.

  Putting on her sunglasses once again, she began a slow stroll along the fence of the horse pasture. As she was certain would happen, Eli fell into step beside her. Melanie’s entire body throbbed with awareness of the man walking with her, and she wondered if he was enduring the same bittersweet agony because of her.

  She had to find out more about him, so she said boldly, “Collin said you never talk about yourself. Why is that?”

  “I can see you’re not shy about saying what’s on your mind,” Eli said wryly.

  “It’s one of my positive traits,” Melanie drawled.

  “Nosiness is a positive trait? Since when?”

  “I hardly think evasion and secretiveness are more positive traits than curiosity.”

  “Curiosity is just a nicer word for nosiness.”

  “And you are cleverly turning the tables on me to avoid answering a simple question.”

  “I have the feeling that very little about you is simple, Miss Kincaid.”

  “Isn’t that strange? I have the same feeling about you, Mr. Forrester. I can go a step further, in fact. You would like everyone to think you’re just a good old country boy, but you’re not. You went to a good college—”

  “As you did,” Eli cut in.

  Melanie sent him a glance and continued. “You went to a good college…I would guess a school back east, possibly an Ivy League school. I doubt if Granddad or Collin have met many Ivy Leaguers, but I’ve known some, and underneath that rough, tough cowboy persona you try so hard to project is a polished, sophisticated man. I would bet anything that you grew up in a city.”

  They were passing behind one of the equipment sheds, and everything fled Eli’s mind but her impudent and much too accurate summation of his life. She was utterly bewitching, and he completely forgot who she was and his decision to keep his hands off her. Moving quickly, he took her by the arms and pinned her up against the windowless back wall of the shed with his own body.

  “You’d
bet anything?” he challenged. “Are you so sure of that?”

  Melanie’s heart started beating at a furious pace. He was much bigger than she was, and his body was hard against hers. She wasn’t afraid of him. Quite the contrary. Nothing in her life had ever caused the overwhelming excitement she felt with Eli Forrester pressed against her. Instead of wriggling away from him—or even trying to—she leaned into him and seductively moved her breasts against his chest. She saw something flare in his eyes—a light, a flame—and she knew at that moment that she would go as far with Eli as he wanted to take her.

  “Yes,” she whispered throatily. “I would bet anything. Would you?”

  “What would you want from me if you won?” His lips were but a breath away from hers, and his voice had grown hoarse.

  “What would you want from me if you won?”

  “What do you think?” He ran one hand down her side to her hip, then up again to her breast. “You are too damned beautiful,” he muttered, and covered her mouth with his in a hungry, devouring kiss.

  She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back in the same impassioned way, opening her mouth for his tongue, rubbing herself against him, letting the hot tide of desire sweep through her as never before. Her hat got in the way and Eli flicked it away. His own hat got in the way and Melanie pushed it from his head and ran her fingers through his hair.

  He pulled the hem of her T-shirt from her jeans and went up under it to caress bare skin. Gasping for air, they finally broke the succession of kisses and looked into each other’s eyes.

  “Where can we finish this?” Eli asked thickly.

  “You know the ranch better than I do,” Melanie whispered.

  “Are you saying yes?”

  “I would lie down right here if it wasn’t broad daylight and someone could come along and see us.” She searched the seemingly endless depths of his eyes. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  “I’m just surprised.”

  “Why? Don’t women usually respond to you?”

  “Don’t even mention other women while I’m holding you.” After a second, he added softly, “I’ve never met one who compares to you.” After another short pause, he said almost angrily, “But this is crazy.” Suddenly, he stopped touching her and backed away.