by Finch, Carol
When she reached up to tug at the band of his briefs, Chance forgot to breathe. Couldn’t remember why he needed to. Her fingertips grazed his fierce arousal and fire sizzled through every part of his being. He was instantly at her mercy. Whatever she wanted, however she wanted it, her wish was his command, his greatest desire.
“Later, I’m going to figure out how to torment you to the same degree you tortured me,” she whispered as she pressed her palms to his chest and pushed him back to the bed. “But not now, Butler. You are definitely going to put out the fire you left burning....”
Her lips came down on his so hotly, so sweetly that Chance nearly lost the ability to think. Dazed and frantic, he groped for his discarded jeans, reminding himself that he’d better grab the foil packet in his pocket before he forgot everything except the hungry need to fulfill his long-awaited fantasy.
Impatient, Chance fumbled for protection and cursed every delay that prevented him from satisfying the ache of being so incredibly close to her, and yet so maddeningly far away.
Finally! When he had dealt with the protective preliminaries, he turned Alexa in his arms, and moved above her. He couldn’t remember if his knee ached or not. All he knew was that he’d spent sleepless nights dreaming about the possibility of this moment, wondering if he would ever know what it was like to share Alexa’s passion.
When he came to her, trying to restrain the hungry need that simmered inside him, she welcomed him into her silky heat, held him suspended in her arms. Chance discovered the true meaning of rapture. Sweeping, consuming, soulsplitting sensations assailed him. For the first time in his life he discovered how it felt to leap freely into oblivion.
There was no yesterday, today or tomorrow. He gave all that he was, the best of what he was, to Alexa. She accepted him, matched his ardent passion, as they tumbled through time and space—two souls merging as one. Ecstasy cascaded over him as shudder after helpless shudder seized him. Chance held on for dear life, clutching Alexa as tightly as she clung to him.
Later, when Chance could manage thought, he lifted his tousled head, refusing to move away, refusing to lose this marvelous sense of belonging, this sense of indescribable contentment. When Alexa pursed her kiss-swollen lips and her green eyes twinkled in the candlelight, satisfaction spilled through him. Chance knew right there and then that this night was far from over. Once hadn’t been nearly enough to appease him—or her, apparently. Once had fed the fire raging between them—a fire that demanded so much more.
And there was definitely more. Alexa had her turn with him—sitting up on the couch. She held a rose in each hand, drove him insane with her playful kisses and caresses, and he loved every minute of her titillating seduction. He repaid her for her teasing mischief on the carpeted floor, then on the dining table, just to see if he could.
He could.
They created memories of their wild, sweet passion in every available space in the bunkhouse.
And sometime before dawn they ended up back in his bed, reveling in slow, sensuous lovemaking that left them drifting off into exhausted sleep, cradled contentedly in each other’s arms.
Alexa awoke to see the sun glaring through the window. She glanced at the digital clock. Ten-thirty? Criminy, she hadn’t slept this late since she couldn’t remember when.
She stirred sluggishly, feeling a presence beside her. Alexa pried open one eye to see Chance propped on his elbow, his hand supporting his head. He was watching her intently, and she blushed at the thought of him studying her while she was asleep.
“Morning,” he murmured huskily.
“Morning.”
“Short night,” he said, and grinned rakishly.
Alexa turned a ferocious shade of pink. “Sure was.”
“I’m starved,” he whispered as he reached out to trace her lips.
“I’ll go up to the house and fix breakfast.”
He shook his head. “In the shower.”
She blinked, puzzled. “What?”
“I want breakfast in the shower. You and me. Then I’ll fix brunch at the house.”
“Demanding, aren’t you? I don’t deal well with dominating men these days. You realize that, don’t you, Butler?”
He nodded, his seductive smile still intact. “Please join me in the shower. I’ve had this water-world fantasy about you for days on end.”
Alexa let her gaze stray down his magnificent body, noting that his fantasy was beginning to affect his gender-specific equipment. She delighted in knowing she had the power to excite him without actually touching him, delighted in knowing how much it aroused him when she did touch him.
The way she was feeling this morning, she would have given him the moon if he’d asked for it. A shared shower sounded fascinating.
“Lead the way, cowboy,” she offered generously.
“No,” he contradicted. “We’ll go together. That’s the way I want it to be with us, Alexa. No one leads or follows. Equal footing.” He grinned. “Or as close to equal as I can get on this gimpy knee.”
When he drew her to her feet, she curled her arm around his bare waist, and he curled his around hers. Together they made another secret memory to cherish in private moments, when no one else was around....
Chance glanced out the window, realizing that he’d been hearing a bawling cow for the past hour and hadn’t gone to investigate. He’d been so content sitting in front of the television, with Alexa dozing on his lap, that he hadn’t paid the slightest attention. Easing away, he limped to the window to see a Limousin cow lying on her side in the corral.
“Alexa,” he called out.
She roused slightly, then came fully awake when Chance called her name urgently. “What’s wrong?”
Chance scooped up the work boots he’d left by the door. “Difficult delivery is my diagnosis. Do you know where the obstetrical chain and ratchet-style calf puller are, just in case we have to pull the newborn?”
Alexa was on her feet in a flash. She dashed out the door, headed for the tack room in Howard’s modern, metal barn.
Chance limped along at a slower pace, cursing the throb in his leg, wishing he could keep up—physically—with Alexa, and trying to tell himself it didn’t matter if he could, because she had accepted him, limitations and all.
Alexa reappeared with the silver chain and ratchet tool in hand. “Miz Elsie always has trouble with deliveries,” she said as she led the way to the corral. “She’s one of Howard’s oldest cows. I’ve tried to persuade him to sell her, but he insists that Miz Elsie always drops good calves.”
It had been years since Chance had pulled a calf during a difficult delivery, but he speculated that it hadn’t been too long for Alexa. Knowing Howard, he had his daughter-in-law providing the muscle for him. And why not? Howard expected Alexa to do everything else around here.
Calling softly to Miz Elsie, so as not to alarm her, Alexa approached. The cow bellowed and strained, but didn’t attempt to gain its feet.
“Damn, the calf is coming backward and upside down,” Alexa muttered. “I’m not sure it’s still alive.”
Taking the surgical gloves from her pocket, Alexa handed a pair to Chance, then slipped a pair on her hands. “Don’t risk hurting your leg,” she insisted. “This looks to be one hard pull.”
Together, they knelt down to loop the chain around the calf’s hooves. Slowly, steadily, they pulled the calf. Chance felt the strain on his knee the instant he dug in his heels and applied muscle. This unnatural birth was as hard on him as it was on the calf and mother cow. All of them would walk away gingerly from the experience, he predicted.
Several tedious minutes later, the newborn calf lay slumped in the grass—unbreathing.
Chance grabbed the calf by its legs, lifting it, then dropping it, forcing it to breathe. “Come on, fella, do us both a favor and suck some air,” he demanded.
Eventually, the calf’s ribs rose and fell. A feeble bawl broke the tense silence. Grinning triumphantly, Alexa gave Chance the high f
ive.
“Nice work, cowboy. Howard needs every calf he can get to keep his half of this ranch afloat.”
A strange sensation pooled in Chance’s belly as he stood aside to watch the Limousin cow struggle to her feet to cleanse her newborn. Working side by side with Alexa to bring new life into the world had the power to touch even the toughest cowboy.
Somewhere along the way, he and Alexa had become more than co-workers. They’d become friends and lovers. Chance wasn’t sure that was a good thing—given the complicated situation. He didn’t need to get tangled up in an emotional bond that might eventually pull his heart out by the taproot. He didn’t want to hurt Alexa, either. She was beginning to mean too much to him. Neither did he want to upset Howard, who had opened his ranch to injured cowboys.
Damn, as much as Howard annoyed him for taking Alexa for granted and singing high praises to an unworthy son, Chance was still grateful for a place to recuperate. Talk about mixed emotions!
And how the hell would Chance cope when he returned to the circuit and felt loneliness creeping up on him? He’d never dealt with a situation remotely close to what he was experiencing with Alexa and her son. Did he dare hope for more? How was he to handle this relationship?
Certainly not the way Dan Tipton had, Chance mused. He couldn’t bear the thought of putting Alexa through the same unhappiness she had discovered with Dan and his rambling way of life. Dan had cut and run when things got tough on the ranch. To Chance’s way of thinking that was a coward’s way out.
Maybe it was better to run first, to maintain a safe emotional distance. Any ties formed at Rocking T were dangerous to Chance’s peace of mind, and everyone else concerned.
Chance was still wrestling with those disturbing thoughts when he heard the truck pull into the driveway. He hadn’t realized he was standing so close to Alexa until she glided away, putting a respectable distance between them What they had shared ended abruptly, and Chance was forced to retreat behind the wall of pretense...and he told himself it was for the best.
“Mom! We’re home!” Zack hollered as he bounded from the truck.
Alexa waved her arms to gain Howard and Zack’s attention. “Down here!”
The old man hobbled downhill, while Zack sprinted to the corral.
“You should have gone to the rodeo with us,” Zack said excitedly. “It was really fun. Me and Grandpa—”
“Grandpa and I,” Alexa correctly gently.
“Yeah, we got to see the saddle bronc riding, the bull riding and some bullfights!”
Howard leaned his forearms on the fence rail and smiled in satisfaction. “I see Miz Elsie came through like the trouper she is.”
“She had considerably more trouble than usual,” Alexa informed him “Chance and I had to pull the calf. She can’t handle another difficult delivery like this one. This should be her last calf.”
Howard waved off her concern, as if her opinion was of no consequence to him. Chance gnashed his teeth. The old man needed a serious attitude adjustment.
“You just stick to your bed-and-breakfast and let me handle the cattle operation.”
Chance had to turn away to prevent from rushing to Alexa’s defense. He told himself he was a fool to become more involved than he already was.
Damn it, who did Howard think was doing most of the work around here? Alexa had proved to him that she could handle cattle, had done it many times before. She knew about livestock, but as usual Howard gave her little credit.
While Zack yammered about the rodeo contestants he’d met, Howard motioned his family toward the house. Chance was left standing outside the circle—where he belonged. That was where he had always been, stuck outside, he reminded himself He knew the role, knew his place at Rocking T. Too bad he had such a hard time playing the role established for him.
Chapter Nine
For two days, Alexa worked feverishly on renovations. The kitchen appliances were to be delivered at the end of the week, and she was down on hands and knees laying tile, while Chester provided instruction and assistance in his limited physical capacity.
“Chance stopped in yesterday to help me hang the ceiling fan in the dining room,” Chester said conversationally. “Nice man, that cowboy. Noticed the two of you were at the restaurant together Saturday night.”
Alexa’s hand stalled over the tile. If Howard got wind of her date, he would come unglued. Suddenly, Alexa was filled with wary trepidation. She had been so wrapped up in her struggle of conflicting emotion that she forgot to consider the possibility of being seen and having to explain her date to Howard.
Although she kept telling herself she was entitled to her own life, could do as she pleased, she knew she was kidding herself. Her life hadn’t been her own since she married Dan and moved to the ranch with her younger sister in tow.
“Howard wouldn’t like it if he knew,” Alexa murmured.
“Probably not.” Chester handed her another ceramic tile. “He’s got a regrettable fixation on his son. No offense intended, girl, but Dan wasn’t the saint Howard makes him out to be.”
“No offense taken. I’ve tried to convince Howard to get on with his life, but he is determined that Zack believes his father is here in spirit.”
“That leaves you in a bit of a fix, I’d say.”
Alexa glanced up at the spry old man. “A bit. But I’ll have the B-and-B to occupy me soon. Everything will work out.”
“Maybe, but a pretty gal like you shouldn’t settle for less. Won’t be as much fun around here without Chance cracking corny jokes, referring to that stepladder as Grace and lending a helping hand when we need it.”
“Chester?”
“Yeah?”
“Hand me another tile.”
“And keep my nose out of your business?”
“You’ve got it.”
Chester chuckled. “Sorry. Living with my wife for forty years must have caught up with me. Mildred thinks nosing into somebody else’s business in a natural-born right.”
“How is Mildred doing these days?” Alexa asked, anxious to switch topics of conversation.
“She’s fine. Says they couldn’t get along without her at the hospital, so she refuses to retire. I keep waiting for her to give up her position as chief nurse so we can do some traveling. If she stays on the job much longer, I’ll be too old and feebleminded to remember where I’m going and my eyesight will be useless for sight-seeing.”
Alexa sniffed at that. “Old, my foot. You can still climb around on rafters with the best of them. I’ve seen you do it—”
“Hey, watch what you’re doing, girl,” Chester erupted. “That last tile you laid isn’t square. I don’t want to look down the seams of grout and see a flaw on this dining room floor. Pull up that tile and scrape off part of the mud beneath it.”
Things were back to normal, Alexa mused, sighing thankfully. Chester was in his usual form of supervising the construction project, without touching upon sensitive subjects.
Alexa had seen very little of Chance the past few days. Howard had him riding fences and repairing sections where the cattle had reached through barbed wire to chomp on the johnsongrass that filled the ditches. The restlessness plaguing Alexa prompted her to pack up Zack for a drive into town. She didn’t want to be alone with memories and futile longing.
What she was afraid might happen had happened. Her growing affection for Chance occupied her thoughts and she wrestled with her emotions more often than she preferred...
“Hey, Mom, where are we going?”
Alexa jerked her thoughts back to the present—and her attention to the road. Daydreaming while driving was dangerous business.
“I thought you said we were going to pick up Aunt Debs, then swing by the park. This isn’t the way to Aunt Debs’, is it?” Zack asked as he surveyed their surroundings.
“Sorry, that’s what happens when you don’t pay attention to your driving,” she murmured. “When you lollygag you miss your turn. Don’t forget that when you’re
old enough to drive.”
“Are you okay, Mom?” Zack asked. “You sure haven’t talked much since me and—” He halted abruptly. “Since Grandpa and I came back from the rodeo. Chance hasn’t said much, either. I asked him ten questions this afternoon before he finally answered one.”
Alexa wondered what occupied Chance’s mind. Was he becoming restless, anxious to go down the road?
Howard had mentioned that Chance planned to ride at Fort Worth Rodeo the upcoming weekend. Howard had also mentioned that Chance’s name had come up dozens of times during the trip to Tulsa. Although Howard hadn’t come right out and said so, she knew the old man was concerned that Zack was getting too attached to Chance. In Howard’s book, anyone who overshadowed Dan’s shining memory was a threat.
For everyone concerned it was best that Chance gathered his gear and left Rocking T. That was what was best, but Alexa’s heart twisted in her chest at the prospect of telling Chance goodbye forever.
Time was running out for her. Blessing though it probably was, Alexa knew she was going to miss Chance terribly. He’d taught her to smile again, taught her not to take every facet of her life so seriously. He’d brought joy back into her life and had made a place for himself in Zack’s heart.
The anticipation of opening the bed-and-breakfast wasn’t as intense as it had been. Far as Alexa could tell, her work was going to be a miserable substitute for the sensations that channeled through her when she became the recipient of one of Chance’s roguish smiles.
Damn that cowboy! She had accepted the limitations of her life—until he came along.
Alexa pulled into the apartment parking lot to see Deb waiting. Deb was dressed in blue jeans and a ragged T-shirt that had various colors of paint splattered on it.
“Howdy, kiddo,” Deb said as she climbed into the truck.
“What happened to you, Aunt Debs?”
“I spilled a little paint,” she informed her nephew. “There’s more on me than on the canvas.” She cut Alexa a quick glance. “Yoo-hoo, anybody there?”
