Will’s body covered her, managing to connect with every inch of her, and his cock filled her up in a way she hadn’t even realized she missed. She no sooner started to come down from one orgasm than another grabbed her and tossed her up in the air again. His lips and tongue mimicked the actions between her legs, making her entire body an erogenous zone connected by those two areas.
As she rose into her third, or maybe fourth orgasm, he broke the kiss and shouted her name. If anyone on the ranch didn’t hear, it would be a miracle, but she didn’t care, couldn’t care. Not now. She might never be here again, at this lake or in his arms, but it was worth it. So worth it.
Finally he stopped moving and smiled down at her, his blue eyes alight with soft pleasure. “Maggie, you’re amazing.”
“I didn’t do a thing,” she protested as he withdrew from her and moved to lie at her side, gathering her close.
“Sure you did,” he said, spooning her, his no-longer-rigid cock nestled between her bottom cheeks. “You were there for the whole thing.”
True. “Okay,” she said, nuzzling her cheek into his palm, “but next time I want to do more of the work.”
“Deal.” He kissed the top of her head and let out a sigh. “Can we take a little nap before we eat, or are you starving?”
“I could sleep. I got all worn out watching you do all the work.”
He chuckled sleepily. “I told you I wanted you to watch. You did a great job.”
Chapter Seven
The sun stood halfway down the sky when Will awoke. It took him a moment to put together where he was and why, but when he did he sat up in a panic. Where was Maggie? Had she realized having sex with him was a huge mistake and headed back for the ranch house? No, surely he’d have heard the truck start, even that fancy quiet engine, way out here where the only noises were birds and the occasional cow lowing in the distance.
“About time,” came her cheerful voice from behind him. “I thought you’d sleep clear through to tomorrow.”
“Didn’t you sleep at all?” He’d been wiped out by their day. How often did a man go for a marriage license, frolic in a local pond/lake, make love to his long-lost sweetheart, and do it all on two eggs on a biscuit gobbled before dawn? He took lots of credit for making it this far.
“I did for a little but then I just got up and walked around. Glad you woke up though, sleepyhead. I’m starving.” She took his hat off the cooler and set it on the blanket then lifted the lid. “Holy heck! There’s enough in here for at least six people. Do you want fried chicken? Ham and cheese on a biscuit? Deviled eggs? Potato salad?”
“Yes.”
Maggie held up a sandwich in each hand. “Yes to which?
His stomach rumbled and he laughed. “Yes to everything. I could eat a horse.”
She passed him the two sandwiches and peered into the cooler. “No horse, but we have some more of Juliana’s shortbread in here for after. I can’t decide between ham and cheese and fried chicken. Ooh, what’s this?”
He knelt up and peered over her shoulder, swallowing a bite of buttery biscuit, baked ham, and Swiss cheese. “What did you find? Can I have some?”
Maggie giggled. “You really did work up an appetite. It’s just one of my old favorites. Nothing you’ll want.”
“I do. It must be great if you won’t share.” He reached past her, but she held the sandwich out of reach.
“You won’t like it.”
“I will. Give it to me.” He lunged over her and wrestled for the sandwich, both of them naked and after a moment he had less interest in the sandwich and more in the breast rubbing against his arm.
But he had principles. And he wanted a bite of whatever was so delicious. “Come on, Maggie. Don’t bogart that sandwich.”
She stared at him, eyes wide. “You did not just say that…hey! Cheater.”
He bit into the fat sandwich and chewed, triumph turning to dismay.
Maggie laughed so hard, tears ran down her cheeks. “I-I can’t believe you forgot my childhood favorite sandwich. You and Baxter teased me about it until I stopped eating it except in secret.”
He chewed. And he swallowed because he had it coming. “Peanut butter and sardines. You actually still eat this.” Despite his determination to man up, he shuddered.
“At least once a week.” She took a big bite and chewed with satisfaction. “At home. Where nobody knows.”
“I always knew it was a horrible idea. Now I know it for sure. What is wrong with you?” Reaching into the cooler he withdrew a bottle of lager and used it to rinse the fishy, peanut taste from his mouth. “Tell me there’s not jelly on there.”
“Of course not. That would be nasty.”
Another swallow started to return his good humor. “What a relief.”
“Honey,” chortled his naked sweetheart. “Jelly would not work at all.”
No, jelly would be a really bad idea. Luckily everything else in the basket consisted of normal, human food and he gobbled down a couple of pieces of chicken, sandwiches, salads, fruit, cookies, and anything else he could find.
Finally, he lay back on the blanket with a satisfied sigh. Maggie, who’d done her share of damage to the goodies, joined him. “Will, do you eat that much food every day and still look like an underwear model?”
He chuckled. “No. Remember, I just got back here. My former employer did not have anyone like Juliana in the kitchen. The food was decent, and we always had plenty, but it didn’t taste like hers. It’s good to be home.”
Right at that moment he had everything he’d ever wanted. Honeysuckle Ranch to care for, a belly full of amazing food. And Maggie Lynn McAfee.
Holy shit, Maggie was going to be the sole owner of Honeysuckle Ranch very shortly. He’d be working for her. Unless she decided to sell it.
Would she?
His contract was with the ranch corporation her parents set up years before their deaths. So if she turned around and sold it, he’d be obligated by contract for a full year with who knew who? Suddenly, his stomach ached.
He wanted to ask, but didn’t. Maggie rolled onto her side and let her hand rest on his chest, and he tried to force away his worries. He had no guarantees past today. But today might have to be enough.
“Will, what’s wrong?” He’d suddenly fallen silent and couldn’t blame it on the sandwich. He’d eaten a whole lot of things he liked better since then.
“Nothing, darlin’, just full.” But his mood was not the relaxed happy one he’d experienced until a few moments ago. He’d been enjoying the best day he’d had in years, as long as he could keep his mind off Baxter.
She stroked his chest, her palm silky against his coarse chest hair. “Do you think we should head back? We’ve been gone a long time.”
“Pretty soon, yeah. Let’s let our lunch settle for a few.” He rested his hand over hers. “What do you think would happen if we did marry, Maggie Lynn?” She froze and started to withdraw, but he held her there.
“Are you serious?”
“I can’t spend this much time with you without wondering what it would be like to see you every day.”
“I knew it was a mistake to do this. But I thought it would only be me that ended up heartbroken. Will, you live here. I live in California. I’m not a ranch girl. I can’t even sit a horse.”
“You left Honeysuckle because you can’t ride a horse?”
She managed to retrieve her hand and sat up, arms wrapped around her knees. “Don’t be ridiculous. I have a life in California. A job. A career.”
He stayed on his back, not wanting to do anything to overwhelm her. Just having the conversation was hard enough. “I know you do. And I don’t have a solution. Can’t we find a compromise? Can you find a teaching position in Texas? Maybe somewhere within a few hours of here?”
“It isn’t that easy to get hired, especially with the type of literature I teach. Less than a half dozen schools in the country even offer classes like mine. And I stand a good chance of tenure th
ere. Do you know what that means?”
“It means you’ll stay there forever.”
Her voice lost animation. “Yes, I guess that is what it means.”
“Okay, forget about you and me for a moment. What about Honeysuckle Ranch?”
“What about it?”
A cloud covered the sun and a cool breeze wrapped around them. Maggie fetched her clothes and got dressed, and he jerked on his jeans and T-shirt. The intimacy of the afternoon faded, the distance between them returning as if they lived in different states. Which they did. What had ever made him think, even for a moment, they might find a way to be together?
Will stepped into his boots, planted his hat on his head, and shut his heart back behind the wall where he’d kept it for eight years. Together, they packed the food wrappings and containers back in the cooler and loaded it and the blanket in the truck. He opened the door for her and stood there in the opening for a moment before closing it and moving to the driver’s side. It had been a beautiful afternoon. Perhaps the best of his life; maybe even better than their last one at the lake…pond…whatever. And he’d never been more devastated.
He hadn’t realized he’d held out a hope for the future with her.
Maggie tucked a lock of unruly hair behind her ears and dug in her purse for sunglasses. Will could read her expressions far too easily. He always had. And while she struggled through the next few days, or however long it took to watch her brother die, she’d be too easily swayed. How easy it had been to pretend nothing mattered while throwing herself into her work and city life. But at night, when she sat alone in her apartment, the memories flooded her. She’d come so close to calling him so many times but allowed pride to stop her.
“I am the worst sister in the history of the world, you know.” The words surprised even her. “My brother didn’t do anything to deserve my desertion, and if I hadn’t gotten his letter, he might have died without my even knowing until the family attorney contacted me to let me know I had no living relatives left. He could have died alone.”
No sunglasses could hide the tears coursing down her cheeks.
“Don’t blame yourself, Maggie.”
A bitter smile curved her lips. “Who else should I blame, Will? Baxter begged me to see reason, but I was so angry our parents left him in charge of the place, I couldn’t see straight.”
“Wasn’t he running the ranch anyway?”
“That’s not the point. It was one more way they showed me they had no faith in me. I worked hard, got great grades in school, helped around the house, got my PhD for heaven’s sake, and all they cared about was my brother who could sit on a horse like he was born to it while I, their klutzy daughter, fell off every time. ATV Girl.”
“Maggie, you’ve mentioned the horse thing a lot over the years. Fact is, you’re not nearly as klutzy as you were before. You haven’t tripped over your own feet or anything else. Is it possible the eye surgery might have helped?” They bumped down the road but, shut inside the air-conditioned truck with the great shocks, her teeth weren’t rattling this time.
“I suppose. They corrected weak muscles and enabled my eyes to work together. Apparently, it doesn’t work well on adults, but it did on me.” She laughed, but without happiness. “Ten percent…my chance of having perfect 20/20 vision. Same chance of Baxter dying of his cancer. This family is so screwed up.”
“We need to get you on a horse.”
She blinked. “My riding a horse is not the answer to our problem.”
“No, but wouldn’t you like to find out if you can do it?” He reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “It might be fun.”
“And I am not as flexible now—I mean as when I was a kid. If I fell off, I’d probably break a bone or maybe more than one.”
“Chicken?” They approached the barn now, and he turned off toward the big garage on the other side of the house. “Buck buck buck.”
“You’re hysterical, you know that?” Maggie shook her head. “I bet you’d love seeing me hit the dirt like I used to before I gave up trying to ride.”
“No, darlin’,” he said, driving into the cavernous building and turning the engine off. “I’d never be happy to see you hurt. Or embarrassed. But I know it’s a sticking point for you, especially since you still mention it after all these years. And I think it’s time to find out if maybe your eyes working together better has improved your balance. Maybe your vision hampered your ability to ride.”
She leaned her head back into the leather rest. “Dare me?”
He grinned at her. “Double dare you.”
“It’s not going to change anything, but what the heck. All I have to lose is my intact bone structure. Maybe some brain function.”
“Let’s go check in on Baxter and see if he’s up to coming down to watch the show. If not, we’ll just do it below his window. Entertain the sick guy.”
“Aren’t you sweet.” This time she waited until he came around to open her door then slid to the concrete floor. Resting her forehead on his chest, she sighed. “I wish things were different, Will. I wish we could figure out a way to make things work, but I don’t know how.” She looked up at him. “There is no one but you for me. But our lives are just too different.”
Chapter Eight
They crossed the yard toward the back door hand in hand. Maggie should let go and not touch him again, but he seemed like the only solid part of her life. If she didn’t get back to California quickly, her chance at tenure would fade, but tenure sounded a lot more like prison than it had before.
What was not to like about her job? She taught classes on subjects she liked to students she liked and for the most part enjoyed the life she’d built. Perhaps the emotional impact of Baxter’s illness combined with seeing Will after all these years pushed her off her even keel.
“Look, Will,” she said, pausing outside the kitchen door. “We had a wonderful afternoon and relived a lot of great memories. I have to go back to my life before very long, and it might be best if we didn’t repeat today. It’s too confusing.”
“I—”
The door opened and a hand reached out and dragged Maggie inside. “Mija, you were gone so long. We barely have enough time to get ready.” In a flash, she was swept upstairs to Baxter’s bedroom, followed by a bemused Will.
Baxter sat, dressed in a suit and tie, in his chair by the window. “Where have you been? Everyone will be arriving in less than two hours. Did you get the license?”
A horrible feeling rose from the pit of her stomach. “Sure, we did. Like we promised. We were having a picnic, by the lake. What is going on?”
“Your wedding is at sunset. Juliana has spent the day making arrangements and inviting the whole town.” While they conveniently picnicked, out of the way? No, it was impossible. “It’s going to be the wedding of the year.”
Will stood by the door, but Maggie rushed to her brother’s side. “Baxter, honey, there’s no wedding today.” Was he delusional? Was it the course of the disease?
“Sure there is, Mags. I told you I wanted to see you married before I died and, let’s face it, there’s no guarantee how long I’ll last. I’m very sick.” His pale cheeks and shadowed eyes made it unnecessary for him to remind them. “So I set it all up for this evening. Are you surprised?”
She dropped to her knees and took his hands in hers. “Baxter, listen to me. We aren’t getting married today. There’s a three-day waiting period for marriages. And even then, it takes time to put these things together. Can’t you just let this go for now?”
Will joined them and sat in the other chair. Last time they’d been here, she’d been sitting in his lap. That caused all this craziness. Making people think they were involved. It would teach them to try to draw a little comfort from an old friend.
“Baxter, we’ll get married in time.” Will nodded, calm and together where her head spun. “It just can’t be today. It’s illegal, buddy.”
“No, it’s not. Senator Ames pulled in a fa
vor from a judge and got some kind of exemption. He and Dad were old friends, you know.” He looked from Maggie, who knelt in front of him, to Will. “Dying man’s last wish sort of thing.”
“I don’t think they can do that,” Will told him.
Baxter shrugged. “Well, they did. The judge will perform the ceremony himself, everyone is coming, we’ve even got a band, and there are tents and…well, just look.
Together, they stood and peered out the window. A crew set up big white tents across the front lawn, unloading dozens of chairs and tables. Closer to the house, a florist truck parked next to a caterer’s van.
“Baxter,” she choked out, “what have you done?”
His smile lit up his shadowed eyes and made her heart ache. “My best friend and my sister together on Honeysuckle Ranch. I’ll be able to die in peace now, knowing the ranch is in such good hands. You guys have made me so happy.”
Will eyed them both but said nothing more, leaving it for her to destroy her brother’s last days. Well, she couldn’t do that. If he wanted her to marry Will, if it would give him some measure of joy in his last few days, she’d march down the aisle of his choice. They’d figure out how to undo it when Baxter was no longer with them.
“Wow, Baxter. I’m just so…so…”
“Surprised?” he finished for her. “Pleased?”
“Stunned.” She sank down and landed flat in Will’s lap on the chair again. What the heck. “I’m just stunned. You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble for us.”
“It’s the first thing I’ve done that’s made me happy since I got sick. I knew getting you both back here was a great idea. I just didn’t realize you were already in touch. Will, why didn’t you tell me?”
He goggled like a fish, useless, and she stepped in. “We weren’t sure things would work out, but now it’s all so wonderful we don’t know what to do. I guess get married.” Hopping to her feet, she bent to kiss her brother on the cheek. “I’d better go find something to wear.”
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