A Rancher’s Bride: The Stones of Heart Falls: Book 3

by Arend, Vivian

  “Is she planning on coming back early and getting the CSA gardens running?” Dustin asked. “Because, if we’re short on money, I don’t mind working double time to make sure we get that going.”

  Caleb nodded. “Ginny offered, but she’s in the middle of an incredible opportunity. If she cancels out of her journeyman experience now, she’ll never get another chance. I don’t want that for her.”

  “But what if it means she’s got somewhere to come home to,” Dustin insisted.

  Tamara held up a hand to assure him. “It’s on the list, Dustin. Trust me, we’re thinking of everything.”

  Dustin folded his arms across his chest. His expression was far more stubborn than Kelli remembered seeing. It had to be hard, at that point between being a boy and a man, to face the possibility of losing the only home he’d ever known.

  “We’ll give you the details later,” Luke said, “But I feel our income is going to rise after the week in Kananaskis.”

  “Any orders right now?” Walker asked.

  Kelli and Luke exchanged glances but had to shake their heads. “Maybe soon.”

  “It’s on the list,” Tamara promised.

  Why did that sound as feeble and patronizing as it had when she’d said the same thing to Dustin?

  “We have family in the south. If we end up selling Silver Stone, we’ll have enough money to buy in with Uncle Frank.” Caleb glared as Dustin made a rude noise. “Be civil, or I’ll kick your ass out of this room and give you the summary at the end the way we give the little girls.”

  Dustin looked slightly ashamed at Caleb’s reprimand, but it didn’t stop him from making a comment. “I’m not going to live with that man.”

  “Duly noted,” Caleb said.

  “We might be able to head north,” Tamara offered. “With the Coleman family amalgamating, it’s possible we might be able to do some sort of buy-in. We wouldn’t own land, but we’d still be able to ranch.”

  Walker was nodding slowly, but he and Ivy had exchanged a glance. “If we end up having to sell Silver Stone, I’ll figure out something else to do. Ivy and I will be staying here in Heart Falls to be close with her family.”

  Dustin swore.

  All heads snapped toward him as he rolled off the back of the couch to his feet. Fists smacked against his hips, and he glared around the room as if not sure who to take his frustrations out on. “So that’s it. That’s the only thing you can think of? Sell the ranch, move away. That’s bullshit,” he snapped.

  Caleb opened his mouth, but Ashton’s response was far more immediate and direct. The foreman reached out and caught Dustin by the ear, tugging him to one side as if the young man didn’t have three inches on him. “You talk like that one more time in front of the ladies, and I don’t care that you do think you’re an adult. I will wash your mouth out with soap and make you clean stalls for a month.”

  Dustin slammed his mouth shut, his lips compressed into a thin line, but he nodded briefly, and Ashton let go.

  Dustin took a cautious step away even as he looked slightly ashamed to meet Tamara’s eyes. “We can’t sell,” he said, his voice thick as if he was fighting tears. “We’ve got to stay together as a family. I promised. Silver Stone is the only connection I have to Mom and Dad.”

  He took off, darting down the hallway. A moment later the front door opened then slammed closed, and the room fell silent.

  Tamara let out a sigh. “He’s right. Leaving Silver Stone would mean leaving a lot of memories.”

  “Good and bad ones, if we’re being honest,” Luke said. “But I agree with Dustin that we need to do everything we can to try and stay.”

  More ideas were brought up. Caleb shared an update on where the oil and gas research was at—basically still in limbo, as the unobtrusive testing methods they’d chosen hadn’t yielded anything positive yet.

  They could sell off some land. They could rent out land. There were options, but none of them were about ranching or making the operation stronger.

  “Kelli, you haven’t said anything,” Tamara pointed out.

  Kelli blinked. “Why’re you asking me? I’m not family.”

  An exasperated sound shot from Luke, and he put his hand on her shoulder and tugged her toward him. “You’ve been here for over eight years. You are so family. And besides, you and I—”

  She cut him off, knocking his hand off her shoulder before he could say something he’d later regret. “I might live here, but it doesn’t make me family.”

  The look of disbelief in his eyes was brutal. “Answer the damn question.”

  “Watch your language, Luke Stone, or Ashton’s going to be over here pulling your ear,” she snapped back. She twisted toward Tamara. “I think Luke’s right that we’re about to have good things happen with the horses. Not just from the contacts we made in Kananaskis Country, but honestly, I think by the time this racing season is over, we’re going to have more stallions earning their weight in stud fees.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I guess you could sell off more land around Heart Falls,” she suggested. “Even though that would break my heart, it’s probably the most valuable non-commercial land you own.”

  “Sell it for what?” Ivy asked, frowning slightly.

  “Houses. Big-ass acreages—or smaller ones. You’re close enough to Calgary you could be a bedroom community, or a nice quiet retreat for people in the arts.”

  Tamara nodded slowly. “People who work remotely don’t mind living a little bit farther out. I’ll write it down. It’s not something I thought of because it’s not my first choice, but we should consider everything.”

  Conversation continued, but the first chance Kelli found, she stepped from the room, stealing away as if she were headed to the washroom. She nabbed her boots as she went, sneaking down the hallway Dustin had stomped off.

  She closed the front door carefully to keep it from slamming and paused on the front stairs only long enough to slip her feet into her boots. She grabbed her suitcase from where Luke had placed it back in his truck then crossed the yard to her room.

  In the distance, Dustin was leaving the barn. He mounted his horse and headed toward the hills. She figured she knew what he felt like. That sense of being out of control wasn’t a pleasant one.

  Her room was cold and empty, as if all the happiness of the past week had been boxed up and shoved very, very far away. She’d had that brief moment of perfection, but it was over and now she had to do the next thing.

  She dumped her suitcase in the corner, grabbed her things and headed to the shower room. After putting up her spa sign to warn people off, she stripped and stepped under the water.

  And if she happened to be a little teary-eyed right about then, no one was ever going to know. The water running down her face was just from the tap.

  That was her story, and she was sticking to it.

  * * *

  Torn between what he knew was an important meeting that deserved his full attention, and the dire need to chase down Kelli—Luke shifted on the spot like a restless kid.

  He’d only realized Kelli was gone when he’d glanced toward the door and discovered her boots were missing. Caleb asked a question, and Luke’s urge to leave was reined in for another ten minutes.

  Until his restlessness got too pronounced.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Walker leaned in close and spoke softly. “Did you catch fleas while you were out of town? Stop fidgeting.”

  “I just—” Damn. What was he supposed to say? Blurting out the truth was fraught with danger.

  Walker slid forward slightly, frowning as he looked around and rapidly put two and two together. “Where’s Kelli?”

  “I don’t know.” Which pissed Luke off way more than it should.

  His brother glared harder.

  “Why are you asking me?” Luke demanded, forcing his volume down when Tamara frowned in his direction. Ashton and Caleb continued to go over the notes the foreman had written up, s
o Luke hissed an angry retort at Walker. “Maybe Kelli had something else to do, did you think of that?”

  “You two having a private meeting?” Caleb interrupted. “Because you know, this is only our livelihood we’re trying to save.”

  Dammit.

  Luke dragged a hand through his hair. “Sorry,” he ground out.

  Tamara eyed the room, craning her neck as she looked around him. “Where’s Kelli?”

  “She was here a minute ago.” Ashton looked up from his papers and turned to Luke. “Where’d she go?”

  That was the last straw. Luke all but snarled an answer. “How the hell am I supposed to know? The damn woman seems to have lost her fucking mind in the past two hours. I’m obviously the last person you should ask since I can’t even figure out what I did to make her turn tail and run when…”

  He suddenly realized he was not only babbling, he was bitching about things he most definitely shouldn’t be discussing in public. In front of his family.

  In front of the man who Kelli said had basically adopted her. Pseudo-parental figures tended to be protective, and his brothers no less so—

  Lisa Coleman beat them all, and she hadn’t even been in the room the last time he’d looked.

  The woman was up in his face, twisting the front of his shirt tightly in her fist. “Luke Stone, did you do something to upset Kelli?”

  “No,” he retorted, catching hold of her wrist and wiggling free “I mean, maybe. I mean, hell, if I know.”

  “Luke, what’s going on?” Tamara demanded. “I thought things went well at the gala.”

  “Or did things go really well at the gala?” Lisa asked, brow raised.

  Luke ignored both of them and focused on his oldest brother. He met Caleb’s gaze. “Sorry, but I have to go. Not because this isn’t important, but because something is up with Kelli, and I have to find out what.”

  “Because you and her…?” The question in Caleb’s eyes wasn’t going away.

  “Yes, me and her,” Luke snapped, edging for the door because, screw this, he wasn’t waiting any longer. “Anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me later.”

  Then damn if Caleb didn’t roll his eyes. He hauled out his wallet and passed a twenty to Lisa before returning his gaze to Luke’s. “Well? What are you doing still here? Go find out what you did wrong.”

  Luke spun on his heel, cursing softly as he headed for the door. “Because it’s got to be my fault, of course.”

  “Come on, bro, you know this one. The truth is it’s always our fault,” Walker said cheerfully. “Ivy and I have to head out. We’ll catch up with you later so you can tell us what you did,” he called out before the door swung shut behind Luke.

  Luke loved his family. Every interfering, annoying, far-too-observant part of it. And while they had a huge issue with the ranch to figure out, he had a puzzle of his own to solve first.

  Kelli had left her room unlocked, her suitcase abandoned. Her favourite boots were dumped in a messy heap, and her riding coat still hung on the hooks, so he doubted she’d headed to the barns.

  Luke grabbed the one item he thought he might need from her room, then stomped around the building. His suspicions were confirmed when he spotted the Kelli’s Spa sign.

  His mental debate lasted less than three seconds. Luke used the master key in his pocket, relocking the door behind him.

  Water ran at full blast, echoing from the back shower room. The clothes Kelli had been wearing hung on the changing-area wall. He tossed his jacket aside, ignoring everything else as he marched across the tiled floor and through the entrance.

  Kelli stood under the water, back to him, head tipped down. Her hair hung in dark brown ribbons over her shoulders, water pouring over her naked body. She had one hand pressed to the wall as if it was helping hold her up.

  He uncoiled the rope he’d taken from her room, looped it in his hand and gave a low swing to set it in motion. Another loop, another, and then he set it free.

  The hemp rope flew toward her and over her head. Once it dropped past her shoulders, he tugged carefully.

  The instant the rope hit her skin, Kelli whirled. Her eyes popped open. “What—?”

  He pulled, stepping forward rapidly, sliding his hand up the rope to lock the loop in position and prevent her escape. “Don’t try to get away or I swear I will take you to the ground and hogtie you.”

  She glared as she covered her breasts with her hands. “Get the hell out of here. I put up the privacy sign.”

  “That sign is for ranch-hand Kelli. It doesn’t work on just Luke, or just Kelli, and it sure the hell doesn’t work now that we’re goddamn lovers. So”—Luke caught her against his body, ignoring the water streaming down and soaking everything including his boots—“you can finish your shower after we’ve had our conversation.”

  “What conversation?” Fire flashed in her eyes, her temper matching his own.

  “The one I was trying to have when you fucking took off. Maybe it was bad timing for the family to call a meeting, but that doesn’t explain why you were walking away from me.”

  “Because we’re home,” she growled. “We can be done now.”

  Luke jerked in surprise, squeezing her involuntarily. “You want to be done? You want what we’ve got to be over?”

  Doubt—and hope?—crossed her expression. “We said it was short term. We said that us being a couple was just for the duration of the gala.”

  “You said it, maybe. I don’t remember that part. I’m pretty damn sure that I didn’t agree on a time frame.”

  “You didn’t say no.”

  “If you’re talking about when you laid down the law on the way to the gala, I couldn’t get a word in edgewise,” he roared.

  “Because you were being an idiot.” Her volume was as high as his, but a hint of a smile twisted the corners of her lips.

  “And you’re being one now,” he retorted. “So we’re even, and I forgive you, like you forgave me. But this. Is. Not. Over.”

  Then he kissed her. He hauled her against his body, letting the fire raging in his gut flow up and out and over them both.

  Instantly soaked as he stepped farther under the spray, Luke adjusted her in his arms. Kelli wrapped her legs around him and clung like she was never going to let go.

  Then they were moving together, her hands jerking his shirt open, buttons flying out to bounce across the tiles. Luke loosened off the rope enough to let it slip past her hips and out of the way when he lowered her to her feet for long enough to strip off the rest of his clothes.

  Kelli helped drag his jeans down, jerking a condom from his back pocket. Ripping it open and covering his aching cock, her hands were firm and yet delicate. His pants were caught around his ankles, locked in place by his boots. He shuffled four feet forward to the tiled seat in the corner and sat, dragging her after him.

  She crawled on the ledge, straddling his thighs. When she would have gone immediately to move over him, Luke took charge. He lifted her to her feet until she stood directly over him, then pressed his mouth to her sex so he could drive her wild.

  The way she made him feel—dirty and needy and very much alive.

  “Luke.” His name was a moan of pleasure and a request for more, so he answered. He increased the tempo of his tongue, slipping a hand up her thigh until he could tease her pussy while he tormented her clit.

  His other hand he used to anchor her against him. Fingers pressed hard to her ass. The softness of her skin, the flexing of her muscles, the taste of her against his tongue—

  She quivered, and he all but roared as he dropped her down, lifted his cock and lined them up.

  Kelli caught his shoulders under her hands and slid into position as if settling on a favourite horse. She adjusted her hips slightly, and his cock sank deep. She sighed contentedly as if ready to go for a long, hard ride.

  He could oblige. He could so fucking oblige.

  They moved together. Luke thrusting upward, pulling her hips
in a rapid rhythm; Kelli leaning in to make sure her breasts rubbed the bare skin of his chest at every opportunity.

  He took her mouth again, teasing his tongue past her teeth and fucking her hard as she tangled her fingers in his hair and squeezed her hands into fists. She was squeezing him inside her as well, and the tingle in his balls raced up his spine and headed for detonation.

  They came at the same moment. Kelli ground her hips onto him, letting out a series of noises that made him grin even as they tipped him over the edge. Shooting into the condom, aching goodness raced through his shaft and set his entire system rocking.

  Aftershocks bumped him, her body quivering over and over until a chuckle escaped him. She whimpered a little, the sound turning into laughter as she kissed him again, stroked a hand down his face, and pulled back to stare into his eyes.

  He took a deep breath. “We’re not over,” he informed her.

  “So I take it.”

  “And you’re not allowed to march off and not tell me what’s wrong.” May as well try to get all the rules in place he possibly could at one time.

  “You’re not allowed to make assumptions,” Kelli retorted.

  Luke fought to get his boots off without letting her out of his arms, kicking them away and ridding himself of his jeans so he could slide back on the bench and cradle her more comfortably. “Look who’s talking.”

  She made a wry face. “Okay, we both screwed up.”

  “But we made it right,” he pointed out. “Are we okay, again?”

  Kelli nodded, stroking a hand up his chest and past his head. Her naked breasts bounced in front of his face in a terribly distracting manner.

  “Your family must think—” Her eyes widened then met his again in panic. “Luke, you got out here awfully fast. What did you tell your family?”

  “That we’re a we,” he admitted, ready to duck if she swung at him. “Not much more—I had a woman to track down before I went into details.”

  For one horrible moment he thought she would protest, but instead she shrugged slowly, shoulders lifting the slightest bit as she raised her hands to the wall again.