On the other hand, if the painting was a fake, there was no ethical or professional reason for her to back away from exploring her sexual boundaries.
Who was she hurting? Certainly not Luke or Justin. Jake maybe? If so, he certainly didn’t seem willing to share his thoughts. And if there was jealousy on his part, it was an emotion he had no right to feel. And it was damned unfair of him to stir up feelings she didn’t want to deal with.
Chapter Twelve
Amanda continued walking briskly through the fields of grass and wildflowers, letting the exercise and beauty of the landscape calm her. She took the path she and Justin had ridden on Cricket, across a swath of Indian paintbrush and through thick stands of red cedar.
She had expected to come out on the hilltop in the clearing, but after several minutes of walking through the trees, she realized she must’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere. On the ride out, her attention had been focused more on Justin than on the trail, and now she was not sure which direction to go. Backtracking, she tried to find her way out of the grove of cedars. Finally, the trees began to thin out and she found herself in a clearing. But it definitely was not the clearing she and Justin had been in the day before. She kept walking, skirting the thick, bushy trees, not wanting to go back into the confusing growth. She saw a building in the distance, perhaps a half a mile away. It looked like a log cabin of some kind, but it was too far away to tell.
A sudden boom of thunder made Amanda look up. The sky was much darker now, with rain clouds lowering and streaks of lightning flashing in the distance.
“Damn,” she muttered, remembering how quickly the storm had built up on her arrival. Damn and double damn. What if it hailed? She’d get knocked senseless out here in the open. She continued around the edge of the stand of cedars, keeping the clearing in sight. There was another crack of lightning and boom of thunder, closer now. She didn’t want to get struck by lightning up here on this hilltop either. Fuck, she thought again, not in total despair but damn worried. She couldn’t be that far from the ranch. Someone would surely come find her.
The rain hit just as she skirted another cluster of cedar trees and came to a wide cattle guard protecting the opening in a barbed wire fence. She wasn’t sure if she and Justin had ridden across a cattle guard.
The rain was not a downpour. Yet. Just a smattering of drops, big ones, and cold. But if she didn’t find her way back soon, she would soon be soaked to the skin. Her thin cotton dress offered no protection at all, and she didn’t even have underwear on. Amanda stopped and looked at her hand. She was still clutching the tiny white cotton thong she had jerked out of Luke’s hand. Lifting her skirt, she quickly stepped into the panties, then looked around wondering just what she should do.
The fence stretched in each direction for what looked like miles. Maybe, she thought, I should just follow the fence line. It’s bound to lead somewhere. Maybe it runs to the entrance road of the ranch. The only other options were to head off across the hills or go back into the growth of cedar trees. Given how dark it had become in the thicket of trees, Amanda ruled that out completely. I’ll follow the fence, she thought, leaping over the two dozen links of round pipe that formed the cattle guard. But which way?
Picking a direction at random, she started walking. She had walked less than a hundred yards when she topped a gentle rise and saw a cluster of buildings in the distance. She studied the buildings carefully, her heart leaping when she realized it was the lodge and barns and stables of the ranch.
“Thank God,” she said, delighted that she wasn’t completely lost. She was, however, a hell of a lot farther from the ranch than she should be. Jesus. How did I get so far away?
As if to dampen her elation, the sprinkles of rain came quicker, the drops bigger and colder. Doesn’t matter, at least I know where I am.
The lightning and thunder had been sporadic, but now was growing in intensity. The sky was darker also, spreading a gray pall over the colorful fields of wildflowers. Still, she could at least get back to the ranch, even if she did end up looking like a soggy rat. And if she ever wanted to take another walk on the Texas prairie, she damn sure wouldn’t do it alone.
Amanda had just topped another small hill, when she realized she wasn’t alone. A dozen cattle, the same brown-bodied white-faced beasts she’d honked at, were grazing in a shallow valley off to her right. She was unconcerned about the cattle until she saw the large one halfway up the hill she was standing on. This one, she realized, was not a cow but a bull. His huge testicles were hanging low enough to touch the top of the grass the cattle were grazing on.
The bull didn’t have horns, but if the fearsome thing decided to just bump her, it could probably break her back. Or worse. As if reading her thoughts, the bull turned her way and lifted his head, sniffing the air. She wasn’t sure how far away the animal was, but she could see his nostrils flare, could see the slobber dripping from his mouth.
Fuck! That son of a bitch is huge. “Double fuck,” she muttered when the bull turned and walked toward her. This was not good.
Amanda turned and looked at the fence. The cattle guard was too far back. Her only hope, if the damn thing decided to charge, would be to hop over the barbed wire fence. And it looked like coming after her was just what the bull was going to do. The animal had lowered its head, still looking at her, as it pawed the ground with one hoof.
She backed slowly toward the fence, keeping her eyes on the bull. It was coming, not running but moving faster. She turned away from the bull with the fence just feet away. For a moment, she considered grabbing a fence post and swinging both legs over. But the top strand was too high. She would never make it. Her only chance was to climb. By the time she had her hands on a fence post, she could feel the ground tremble under the bull’s pounding hooves.
Lightning cracked and hit a tall cedar a hundred yards away, splitting it like kindling. Thunder exploded across the plain, rumbling away in all directions. The splattering sprinkles of fat raindrops suddenly came faster, building toward a drenching rain. Amanda grabbed a wooden post with both hands, lifting her right boot to step on the middle strand of wire. The slick sole of her boot hit the wire and slid sideways, finally catching on a sharp barb. Oh God, she thought. There’s no way I’m going to make it. As she attempted to swing over the top strand, the high boot heel locked onto the middle wire.
“Damn!” A barb on the top strand sliced through her dress and stabbed the inside of her left thigh. She held tight to the post, trying to lift her leg up as the barb pushed deeper and another punctured her right thigh.
She screamed in pain, unable to move without the barbs stabbing deeper. She knew the bull was close, running at her with its head down. A thousand pounds of terror in full charge. She felt a sudden rush from behind—more hooves pounding, a loud yell. She glanced over her shoulder to see Jake on Ginger, cutting the bull off ten yards from the fence. A quick leap and the mare avoided the bull’s charge, turning the animal just enough that it crashed into the fence post next to her. The entire section of fence tilted over, leaving her hanging at an angle. Screaming as the barbs dug in deeper, her face ran with rain and tears.
In seconds, Jake tossed the loop of his lariat around the bull’s neck and had the other end of the rope tied off on the saddle horn. The strong Quarter Horse immediately backed up, pulling the animal away from the fence. Leaving Ginger to restrain the bull, he leapt from the saddle and rushed to Amanda. She was crying now, as much in relief as from the pain of the barbs in her thighs.
“It’s okay,” he said. “You’ll be okay. Hold on just a minute.” Stepping between the wires of the slanted fence, he grabbed her waist and lifted, letting her lift one leg off the stabbing barb. Still sobbing, Amanda managed to work her inner thigh free of the second barb. As Jake led her away from the fence, her legs gave way and she collapsed in his arms.
“It’s okay, Amanda.” He slipped his arms under her knees and back to cradle her against his chest. He held her for several mi
nutes, letting her cry, her face buried against his shoulder. They were both soaked from the downpour.
Finally, her sobs eased to a soft cry. Jake carried her to Ginger, who was still tied to the bull. The bull, head down and legs stiff, was trying to back away from the horse.
Jake swung Amanda up onto Ginger, causing her to cry out as her inner thighs came down hard on the horse’s back. “Ouch!” She cried. “That really hurts.”
“Sorry. We need to get you out of the rain. I should’ve brought my slicker.” He looked up at the clouds, now turning an eerie electric green. “It looks like it’s gonna hail. Might even blow up a twister.”
Looking up at the sky, she watched the ominous thunderstorm build higher and higher. She didn’t care what happened. Jake was here, and she felt safe.
Amanda had lost her hat when the bull crashed into the fence and Jake picked it up and handed it to her. He remounted and flicked his lariat off the bull’s neck then untied it from the saddle horn. The bull leapt sideways and ambled off, heading down the hill toward his herd.
As he settled into the saddle, small pellets of hail began to fall. “Damn,” he muttered, glancing over his shoulder. “We’ll never make it back to the lodge without getting beaten all to hell.”
Amanda had scooted forward again, whimpering as her wounded thighs pressed against Ginger’s back. “Should we go up into the trees?”
“No. I know where we can go. Hang on.” As he turned and spurred the horse, she held on tightly, locking her hands around his waist.
Jake spurred Ginger into an all-out run. Amanda had never been so scared or excited at the same time. Her head rested against Jake’s shoulder with the brim of her hat tucked just under his. Surprisingly, with the horse running flat out, her butt didn’t bounce and the pressure on her injured thighs was bearable.
Jake guided the horse away from the ranch, cutting across the cattle guard in a leap and then turning down the hill toward the lone building Amanda had seen earlier. The rain had almost stopped, but the hail was coming hard now, the balls of ice growing in size. By the time they reached the cabin, they had both been bruised several times by hailstones. Jake guided Ginger under a lean-to and dismounted to help Amanda down. The cabin door was padlocked, but he quickly pried it open with a rusted metal rod he’d found lying near the lean-to.
Inside, the cabin was dark and musty. Two small windows on either side of the front door were boarded up with solid wooden shutters. Jake swung the shutters open, letting some light and fresh air into the cabin. Rain and hail slashed against the dirty glass windowpane so hard Amanda thought it might break.
The cabin was a single room with a black pot-bellied stove centered on the back wall. Sets of bunk beds sat against two walls. Jake hung both their hats on a rack of antlers on the wall by the door. He took an old-fashioned kerosene lamp down from a shelf, along with a can of matches. He pumped the plunger to get oil to the wick and lit the lamp. The soft golden glow quickly lit up the small room. A small table with two rickety wooden chairs filled the middle of the cabin. Amanda pulled out a chair and sat down. Lifting her ripped dress, she examined the punctures on the inside of each thigh.
Jake moved the lamp closer, giving her more light. The punctures were deep and bled out large spots of crimson on her dress, but had scabbed over quickly.
“Still hurt?” He looked at the bloody holes just inches from her thong-covered crotch.
“Like a son of a bitch. They don’t look like much, but they hurt like hell.” She looked up at Jake, who was still holding the lamp. “Thank you for rescuing me. That was close. Too close.”
“You’re welcome,” he said softly. “Maurice, our bull, can get a little protective of his ladies.”
“Like a lot of males,” she said. She sat with her arms around her knees, shivering roughly.
“You’re soaked,” Jake said. “Let me get a fire started. Maybe find a first aid kit, too, but I doubt it.”
He set the lamp on the table and tossed sticks of kindling in the door of the stove. Amanda looked around while he got the fire started. The bunk beds were covered with heavy woven Indian blankets and striped ticking pillows. One wall sported several shelves of tin plates and cups and half a dozen hand-thrown clay pots in various shapes and sizes. The clay pots were simple but elegant designs that seemed familiar but she couldn’t quite place. Old wooden chests sat at the end of each bunk bed.
“We only use this place occasionally.” Jake turned up the lamp. “During spring roundup, one or two of the extra hands we hire will stay up here. This was the first home Great Granddaddy Odel built on the place. Not much, but it beats living in a tent.”
“Or being out in a hailstorm,” she quipped, still shivering.
The fire in the stove was blazing and Jake left the hinged grate open, releasing more heat into the room. As Amanda pulled her chair up close to the stove, Jake rummaged around in the chests, looking for a first aid kit.
“Eureka!” he finally said, holding up a bottle of iodine.
From the look of the label, the antiseptic could have easily been fifty or sixty years old. He shook the bottle then twisted with all his might to unscrew the cap. Finally, it came loose. She stared at the ancient bottle uncertainly, but lifted her dress and spread her thighs as he knelt down in front of her.
“We’ll tend to these properly when we get back to the lodge, but I’m afraid this is the best we can do right now.”
“Ouch!” She cried as he daubed the reddish orange antiseptic on her wounds. “That stings.”
“That’s good. Maybe it’s not too old to work.”
He daubed the puncture holes a second time. She winced but didn’t complain. When he finished, she edged her chair closer to the stove. Anything to break the bone-deep chill.
“You’re soaked to the bone, Amanda. You need to get out of that wet dress. You can wrap up in a blanket.”
She studied his expression. He glanced down at her breasts. The wet dress was plastered to the full round globes and her large nipples were easily visible beneath the thin cotton. Jake glanced back up to her face, a hint of a smile on his lips. He pulled a blanket off one of the bunk beds and held it up, arms outstretched.
She stood and quickly stripped out of the wet dress and thong, carefully pulling the garment over her thighs. Naked now, except for her boots, she backed up toward him. When he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, he held her for a moment, then let go. Clutching the blanket close, she sat down again in the chair next to the stove.
He knelt down next to her, reaching for her boots. “Let me take these off,” he said. “They’re soaked, too.”
She lifted her legs one at a time, letting him take her boots and socks off. When he was finished, she tucked her feet back under the blanket. Amanda was already warming up from the thick blanket and the waves of heat coming off the stove.
Jake still knelt beside her, not saying anything, just studying her face. She met his gaze. They were quiet for a moment, then she said, “Jake. About Luke, in the barn…did you plan…”
He gave her a slight smile. “No. I just happened by at an opportune moment. I probably should have left the two of you alone, but you just looked so damned hot and sexy…”
“Then you weren’t upset? Or…”
He reached out and put a finger gently against her lips, stopping her in mid-sentence. “Jealous? No. I don’t have my brand on you.”
She looked at him for a long moment. “Then you aren’t…angry or anything? At me? Or at Luke?” Do I want him to be? Maybe I do. Maybe that’s why I got so mad when he walked away.
He smiled. “No. You and Luke are both adults. Both free to do whatever you want with whoever you want. I think from what you’ve already seen and experienced, you know we have a pretty liberal attitude about sex around here. We all feel that it’s something to be enjoyed.”
She blushed, the heat blending in with the rosy glow from the pot-bellied stove. “Is that why you walked away? Because I
was enjoying fucking Luke so much?”
“Partly, I guess. We had already agreed you would spend the night with me. I thought you might want some time with just Luke.” He smiled. “You definitely looked like you were enjoying yourself.
“But you being there was what made it so hot. And when you started rubbing my clit…I swear I saw fireworks.”
Jake grinned. “I must say, I do love watching you orgasm.”
She blushed again. “You must think I’m very easy. Ready to spread my legs and tilt my ass up for anybody, anytime.”
“What I think is that you are a beautiful, sensual woman, waking up to certain erotic pleasures. I’m glad to be a part of that. I don’t want you to feel guilty about anything you do on this ranch.”
She studied his face for a moment. Nothing in his expression said that he was being disingenuous.
“Does that mean you still want to spend the night with me?” Amanda smiled at him, watched his smile grow into a broad grin, his eyes twinkling.
“Absolutely. If you haven’t changed your mind.”
She grinned and hugged the thick wool blanket close. “It’s still a date as far as I’m concerned. But in the meantime, you really should get out of those clothes. You’re as wet as I was, and the storm doesn’t seem to be dying down.”
Jake looked down. His leather vest and chaps had offered some protection from the rain and hail, but his jeans and flannel shirt were soaked.
The storm outside was increasing in strength, rattling the shutters and whistling around the eaves of the cabin.
“I think we’re going to be here for a while,” he said. “Maybe I should get dry.”
One Hard Ride Page 11
