Midnight Ride

by Cat Johnson

  He intended to keep that promise. It was the neighborly thing to do, and she was the most enticing neighbor he’d seen in a long time.

  Chapter Six

  The sunlight sneaking through the blinds of the bedroom window pulled Janie out of that gray zone between being asleep and being awake. A state she was used to being in since Tom’s death, caused by worry keeping her mind working even when her body was exhausted.

  Hell, she hadn’t really slept since his diagnosis, so she should be accustomed to being tired.

  That made it easier for her to drag herself upright and plant her feet on the floor. She needed to get up, get dressed, and get moving. It was very possible she’d have a visitor this morning. She shook her head and smiled just remembering Tyler hiding in the bed of her truck. Breathless with his jeans undone and the color in his cheeks so high, she’d noticed his blush even beneath the parking lot lights.

  That cowboy was trouble with a capital T. She could see that right off. In another lifetime, one where she was ten years younger, he’d be tempting in spite of the trouble that surely came with him.

  She should have heard the story rather than agreeing to his helping with the fence instead. There was no guarantee he’d show to help her even after shaking on the deal, and that story of his was bound to be interesting. She’d be lying if she didn’t admit to being more than a little bit curious about what had happened leading up to their strange meeting in the parking lot.

  Odds were it had to do with a woman. When a man that good-looking and wild got into trouble, the cause was usually a female. Tyler certainly was both, handsome and wild, and the last thing she needed to be doing was thinking about him.

  She shouldn’t think about how the cowboy hat pulled low over his sky blue eyes only made his jawline look more chiseled. Or how his well-defined muscles had flexed beneath his T-shirt as he’d hoisted the fence post effortlessly into the back of the truck. And she really, really shouldn’t be remembering his hand sliding down his flat, hard stomach as he tucked that shirt into his open jeans.

  Damn. He was making her think things she hadn’t thought about in a very long time, and that had to stop. She’d never been a wild woman herself. She’d gotten married young to an older man. Things had been good with Tom, but the sex had never been romance novel–worthy.

  Sex hadn’t even been a thought in her head all through the rapid decline in Tom’s health. She certainly hadn’t thought about it since his death. She was too stressed over simply surviving. Maintaining the property and paying the bills occupied every ounce of her resolve.

  It seemed odd that one brief meeting with Tyler had her craving the wild sex she’d never known and had never thought she’d been missing out on. Fantasizing about a man, especially one so much younger than herself, was about as foreign a concept to Janie as being a widow at thirty-six and trying to hold on to the ranch alone.

  Stranger things had happened in her life lately than having inappropriate thoughts about a hot, young cowboy. Given that, she’d just chalk this up to stress. She decided not to worry about it, though it might be best if he did renege on their deal and failed to show up to help with the fence. She didn’t need the image of him sweaty and breathless from work adding more fodder for her libido’s already overactive imaginings.

  Her crazy thoughts were most likely caused by sleep deprivation. It was time to get her head on straight and get moving for the day. The best way she knew of to do that was to get her butt in motion and make some coffee.

  Simple enough, but even that was not without its challenges. Walking into the kitchen every morning and finding it empty had been the hardest change to get used to since Tom had died.

  He’d routinely been up before her. She’d married a man much like her grandfather. A farmer, born and bred. Tom had always been outside working with the hired hands, checking on the stock at sunrise. By the time she woke and had dressed, washed, and gotten ready for the day, which still was only about an hour past dawn, he and the guys would be on the way back to the kitchen in search of coffee.

  Considering how much she dreaded facing that empty kitchen each morning, it shouldn’t be a surprise to her she’d gotten into the habit of lazing around in bed. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw how late it was already.

  With no hands to cook for and not much in the way of stock on the property, there wasn’t usually motivation to get up extra early. Today, however, she did have incentive. Tyler could be arriving any moment. It would be rude to keep him waiting when he’d come to help her with the fence.

  Even though it was spring and the days could get hot, it felt cool this morning. Janie threw on a long-sleeved T-shirt, jeans, and boots, and then headed for the bathroom to finish getting ready.

  With the toothbrush in her mouth, she evaluated her reflection in the mirror and tried to see herself as a stranger—as Tyler—might. Her brown hair desperately needed a trim. It was much too long, past her shoulders. The last thing she’d thought about in close to a year was going to the salon.

  Her lack of sleep showed in the rings beneath her eyes—the green eyes with flecks of gold that Tom had always said first made him take notice of her all those years ago. She’d never believed him that it had been her eyes that attracted him.

  Back then, when she’d been barely twenty and he’d been just over thirty, she’d had a pretty great body, if she did say so herself. Barrel racing and tending to the horses on her granddaddy’s ranch had kept her in good shape. She’d been tan and toned, with sunny golden highlights in her hair and color in her cheeks.

  Tom had taken one look at her at the stock sale she’d been attending in Texas and swore he’d fallen in love that day. It had taken Janie a little bit longer than a day, but a few years later, after she’d graduated from Oklahoma State and was working full-time with her grandfather, Tom had asked her to marry him. She’d said yes. How could she not love a man who’d been willing to sell his own place and move to help her and her aging grandfather on his spread?

  What a difference the years made. No more sun for her. Nowadays she put on sunscreen and wore a hat, and tried not to look too closely at the changes in her figure. And as far as family . . . one by one she’d lost the most important people in her life. Her mother gone. Her father moved away across the country. Her grandfather, gone. Tom, gone. And here Janie still was, holding down the farm, alone.

  She rinsed her mouth and stared some more at her reflection. Widowed or not, she was only thirty-six. So why did she feel more like fifty? Thank God she didn’t look as old as she felt. At least she didn’t think so. Not yet. Hopefully, she’d keep it that way.

  With a sigh, she washed and dried her face and slathered on some moisturizer—the kind with built-in sunscreen. Just because she was a widow, that didn’t mean she didn’t care about getting wrinkles from sun damage.

  Janie considered putting on makeup, but the urge only lasted a few seconds before she rolled her eyes at herself for even having the notion. If Tyler showed up at all, it wouldn’t be for a social call. She wasn’t entertaining company today. She was having a ranch hand over to give her some help. However she looked would just have to be good enough.

  Honestly, how ridiculous could she be? She was heading outside to fix a fence. That she was even worrying about her appearance at all was crazy.

  Flipping off the bathroom light made it impossible for her to criticize her reflection any longer and put an end to her internal debate. She thrust all thoughts of makeup out of her head and turned toward the kitchen, where the coffeepot awaited her arrival. She needed to be quick about it, too. It was later in the morning than she’d planned.

  Facing the counter, she poured whole beans into the grinder and hit the button that started the machine whirring as it pulverized the coffee with a noise loud enough to wake the dead.

  Though if that were true, Tom would be walking through the door about now. He loved his morning coffee more than anything else. Possibly even more than he�
�d loved her. It was one reason why even though they’d made do with the stove that had been here since her grandfather’s day, they had a top-of-the-line grinder and coffeemaker.

  The day she’d purchased the machine, she’d had to have the instruction booklet out just to figure out how to brew the first pot. The memory made her smile even as she felt the kitchen’s emptiness more keenly than usual.

  The grinding finally complete, she grabbed the carafe and filled it with water from the sink. This morning, just in case Tyler did show up, she didn’t set the machine to brew the minimum number of cups for just herself. She made a full pot. It wouldn’t go to waste since she could always microwave it later and drink it herself if he didn’t show.

  A punch of the BREW button and she was done with her part in the task. Nothing left for her to do but wait and maybe think about food. As unhealthy as all the experts said it was, she’d gotten into the habit of not eating until lunchtime since Tom’s death. It just didn’t seem worth making breakfast for only one person. Of course, today she had someone to cook for. Tyler might be hungry after she and he finished working on the fence....

  Janie stopped herself from opening the refrigerator door and taking out a pound of bacon. She was thinking way too much about this wild cowboy she’d known for all of twelve hours. The truth was he might not show at all.

  With a huff of annoyance at herself and her obvious innate need to tend to a man—any man, apparently—she turned to get a mug out of the cabinet next to the sink.

  A dark shape, its bulk blocking the window of the back door, caught her eye. Startled, she jumped, but managed to hold in the scream that threatened to sneak out past the hand she’d pressed to her mouth.

  Logic replaced fright soon enough and she recognized the cowboy hat and the cowboy beneath it. Living alone had made her jumpy. She wasn’t used to company. She moved toward the door and swung it wide.

  “I’m so sorry I scared you again. I seem to keep doing that. I didn’t mean to.” He bowed his head in a move that would have looked contrite on anyone else. On Tyler, with a cocky smile lighting his face, it only made him look amused.

  “It’s okay. I was expecting you. I just got startled, is all.” Janie figured it was simply a symptom of living alone after having people around the place for so many years.

  “This here’s Colton.” Tyler stepped to the side and hooked a thumb in the direction of the blond cowboy behind him. Not only had Tyler arrived as promised, but he wasn’t alone. Good thing she had made that extra coffee.

  “Howdy, ma’am.” The man introduced as Colton tipped his hat to her in greeting. “We spoke on the phone yesterday.”

  “Yes, we did.” She had to wonder when ranch hands in Oklahoma had gotten so young and so handsome.

  They certainly hadn’t seemed so when she’d had a crew working here. Then again, her husband had done all the hiring. Tom had always chosen older, plainer, married men to work for them. It seemed Rohn leaned toward hiring a crew way younger than she was used to having around her own place.

  Janie realized she was being rude, leaving them standing in the doorway, and took a step back. “Come on in, both of you. And thank you for calling and letting me know about the fence. I appreciate it.”

  “Not a problem.” Colton dipped his head. “I didn’t think it would be good to chance having your cows break out and somehow get in with our bulls.”

  She laughed. “I don’t know about that. Considering the bulls on your property, I might have me some prize-winning bucking stock in a few years if that were to happen.”

  “If you’re thinking about breeding your heifers, I could talk to Rohn for you—”

  “No. That’s okay.” Janie interrupted Tyler’s offer. “I know full well that Rohn’s bulls are potential champion buckers. My stock consists of a few heifers and some cows I was too sentimental to sell with the rest of the stock last year. It would be silly to even think about breeding them with your bulls.”

  Tyler shrugged. “Well, if you change your mind, just let me know.”

  “I will. And thank you.” A beep from the counter behind Janie signaled the pot was done brewing. The fence would wait long enough for them to drink the coffee while it was fresh and hot. “Coffee’s ready. Can I pour you two a cup before we head outside?”

  “Yes, ma’am. That would be great.” Colton nodded. “Black, lots of sugar if you’ve got it.”

  “Yeah, I’ve got it.” She smiled as she poured. That was how her husband used to take his. She handed Colton the mug. “Sugar is in that big canister right there on the counter. Spoons are in the drawer just below.”

  She’d long ago given up on trying to keep one of those cute little sugar bowls full with Tom and the other guys dipping into it all day. Even though it had been nearly a year since she’d been drinking her coffee alone in the morning—and she only took one teaspoon of sugar in hers—she’d never put the oversized sugar container away. It was too familiar, too much a part of the kitchen, so it remained where it had always been.

  Tyler took the mug Janie handed him. “I take cream and sugar in mine . . . if you’ve got any. I’m afraid I’m not as hard-core as Colton here.”

  Always the charmer, he treated her to the same self-deprecating smile she’d seen the night before during their odd encounter. Janie smiled.

  “Don’t worry, so do I. There’s a quart of half-and-half in the fridge. Top shelf.” Coffee without cream and sugar was torture, as far as she was concerned. It didn’t matter how good the beans were or how fancy the machine brewing them.

  “Thank you, much. I’ll grab it for us both, then.” He nodded, sending the cowboy hat into a dip as he turned to open the refrigerator. Tyler turned back to her with the container in hand. “Then when we’ve all had our coffee, you can come outside and see if Colton and I did a good enough job on the fence for you.”

  Janie drew her brows low. “You fixed it already?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Colton leaned back against the counter with his mug in his hand.

  “I was going to help—”

  Tyler’s burst of air cut her short. “No gentleman worth anything is gonna let a lady help him do something like dig out a fence post. We handled it just fine on our own.”

  “Yup,” Colton agreed. “Wasn’t a problem at all.”

  Their kindness threatened to bring tears to Janie’s eyes. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “This here fine coffee is thanks enough.” Tyler smiled. “Don’t tell Rohn I said so, but he makes the worst coffee I’ve ever tasted.”

  Colton let out a laugh. “Ain’t that the truth. Tastes like he scooped it out of a tire rut after a rainstorm.”

  Janie couldn’t control her smile. “Maybe I should come over and give him a lesson.”

  The corners of Tyler’s mouth lifted. “I think that’s a very good idea. I can’t think of a better way to start a morning than greeting the day with a beautiful woman and some good coffee.”

  His stare was so intense upon her that she felt her cheeks heat. She couldn’t exactly say thank you since he hadn’t said she was that beautiful woman he’d been referring to, but the implication had been there. Judging by the look in his eyes as they focused solely on her, his meaning was clear.

  “Then I’ll see what I can do . . . about Rohn’s coffee, that is. It’s the least I can do to pay you back for your work on the fence.” Desperate to get out from under his gaze, she threw out that response and then turned toward the counter to add sugar to her own mug.

  “I’ll look forward to it.” There was amusement in Tyler’s voice as it came from much closer to her than she expected.

  He leaned past her to set the container of half-and-half on the counter next to her. The move put him close enough that the combined scents of manly deodorant and good clean sweat hit her. That, along with the warmth radiating off his body as he brushed against her before moving back, had her hyperaware of Tyler. He was a man and she was a woman. Her body knew it and didn
’t care he was younger and she was a fool to even think of him that way.

  Janie took her time adding cream to her mug. When she finally had no more excuse to hide in the corner, she turned. She was in time to see Colton shoot an amused look at his friend before his mug covered the smirk on his lips.

  Tyler was a flirt. Colton knew it. Jed from the lumberyard had known it. Deep down, Janie realized it, too, which made it even more ridiculous that she was letting him get to her. He was a young, cocky ranch hand enjoying life. Enjoying it a bit too much, as far as she could see.

  She needed to get herself back on level ground. She was a mature woman who also happened to be the sole owner of a large tract of land, some damn good horses, and a few head of cattle. Things weren’t ideal, but she was hanging on. Those accomplishments were nothing to sneeze at in this economy, especially after last year’s drought, which had been bad enough to put some farms in dire straits.

  Searching for a safe topic of discussion, she asked, “So how’s Rohn doing? I don’t get to see him much.”

  “He’s real good,” Tyler answered before taking a sip from his mug.

  Colton frowned. “You think so? It seems to me he’s lonely. When we’re busy working he seems okay, but when things slow down at the end of the day, he looks kinda sad. I think he’s still not over losing his wife.”

  Janie nodded. “That I can understand better than most.”

  “I guess you can.” Colton’s eyes settled on her. “I’d meant to say it before, ma’am. I’m real sorry about Mr. Smithwick’s passing. I’d met him a few times. He was a good man.”

  “Thank you. He was.” She’d reached the point where she could smile at the good memories and accept the kindness of those who’d known her husband without tearing up. Maybe things were improving after all.

  “If you need any help, like with the fence, just give Rohn a call and Tyler and I will be right over. Our other hand, Justin, too. As soon as he’s back to work.”