A Cowboy For Christmas (11 page)

“
It’s going to get us!” She
backed her horse up. Speckle flicked an ear, and looked at him as
if to say,
She’s a newbie.
The wave did reach them, but the horses weren’t
afraid of the ocean.

A bank of fog hung in the
air above them, leaving stillness underneath. Even while the ocean
fought the land, the air stood still.

“
Where did the wind go?”
she asked him.

“
It does this once in a
while, fall or springtime.” He’d walked it all his life, but today
was new for him. Today was with her.

She glanced at him and
smiled.

“
Hungry?” he asked. At her
nod, he led the way back toward the brush near the hill. Staying by
the horses, they sat on the sand with the sandwiches.

“
Thanks for today,” she
said before taking a bite. After chewing for a minute she added,
“For the furniture, and all this.”

“
My pleasure.” He meant
that, too, in a big way. Watching her ride, watching her watch him
back. It was all his pleasure.

A desperate need filled
him. He wanted to kiss her, but he’d been unable to gauge if that’s
what she wanted.

While they ate, she turned
her gaze toward the waves and sky. Hardly a soul had ventured out
today. That could have something to do with the fading daylight and
falling temperatures.

The fog made it seem later,
darker, and he knew they should head back. He didn’t want her
riding up the hill for the first time in the dark.

She turned to him. “It’s
almost dark.”

“
Yeah, time to go,” he
agreed and stood, offering his hand. Hers felt cold, another reason
to leave.

When she stood, her body
nearly brushed his. At first, she looked at his chin. He knew she
could sense the mood, sense how he watched her.

She raised her gaze to meet
his. After a searching, thoughtful look, she rose on her toes and
softly kissed his cheek.

The woman was killing
him.

She mounted her horse and
waited for him. Yeah, he’d follow her anywhere. But would she let
him? Did she want to stay with him? He couldn’t even tell if this
was the start of something or just a nice day for her.

He let her lead the way
back up the hill and through the forest. They didn’t speak. How
could they?

He felt something like
respect for the time, for that kiss, and for the feelings that must
be boiling inside her. He wanted to take it slow, for
her.

After they brushed the
horses, he walked her home. Her mind seemed to be turning something
over, and he hoped it was him. She glanced at him several times,
but didn’t say much.

At her door, he leaned in
and brushed his lips across hers. If lightening could touch
lightly, it did.

The look in her eyes asked
for more. Instead, he touched his hat and headed back to the
stables. The horses needed their blankets since the temperature was
already flirting with freezing.

He smiled on his way there
because he’d tricked her into taking an evening off. Tomorrow was
Thanksgiving, and he planned to take full advantage of having her
in his house all day. She’d need her rest tonight.

* * * *

Missy rolled over onto her
back, rubbed her hair out of her face, and stretched. The alarm
clock clicked on and Alan Jackson’s smooth, sweet voice filled the
room. “Good morning to you, too. And happy
Thanksgiving!”

She sat up on the edge of
the bed - the new one Brent had brought back for her - to listen to
the rest of the song before turning if off. She’d changed
everything about herself when she moved to Las Vegas, everything
except her love of country music, which she‘d hidden.

She hadn’t sung in the
shower in a while. She did today while lathering on coconut body
wash and extra conditioner in her hair. When she dressed, she
pulled on an olive green sweater that Brent hadn’t seen
yet.

Since coming to the ranch,
she hadn’t been applying as much makeup, but today she went all the
way. She was about to leave the bathroom when she decided to pull
her hair up.

Daylight met her outside,
soft and innocent as she walked through the thin mist. Promising. A
fuzzy yellow spot indicated where the sun was above the tree line.
Maybe the mist would burn off to a nice day.

Had Brent meant what she’d
read in his eyes? Did she trust him? She couldn’t imagine him using
her feelings against her, but she couldn’t let go of that fear,
either.

She wore new leather boots
and Levis. It didn't compare to how she'd dressed for her old job,
but this fit in with Brent and his friends.

She knocked and wrapped her
arms around herself while she waited. The door swung open and
Brent’s cologne kicked her in the stomach with a sensation she . .
. might like.

“
What are you knocking
for?” he asked, his blue eyes full of teasing and desire at the
same time. The look put her mind into sex mode before she could
stop it.

“
Right. I still need to
catch you in the shower.”
Or climbing out,
skin damp with a towel around his waist.
His pupils widened. Then, leaning close, he kissed her cheek.
Rather, he kissed her right next to her mouth. And that was worse
than kissing her lips, because now she itched all over to touch
him.

“
You look nice.” He held
the door open.

“
Nice?” she teased with a
small smile.

“
You always look nice. I
was being polite, but I could have said you look good enough to
eat. Or lick, whichever.”

She blushed at that one,
and could tell that’s what he wanted. Their eyes met, and his were
full of playfulness. He looked pretty yummy himself, but she lost
her nerve and didn’t say so. His snug jeans and fitted black
T-shirt were driving her crazy, but she didn’t plan on telling him
what she wanted to do.

When she followed him into
the kitchen, she saw brown grocery bags all over his counter. “I
got everything on your list and then some,” he said.

“
I can see that.” She had
to look away from the sexy grin he flashed her. He started to pull
things from the freezer and refrigerator. Looking inside the bags,
she saw they contained all the nonperishable items she could ever
want for a fest.

She looked at him again and
her heart beat wildly in her chest. That black shirt of his did
something to her. So did the view as she stood behind him, checking
out his butt in the jeans.

“
Here you go.” She brought
over chopped celery and onion. When she turned her back to chop
mushrooms, she felt his lips touch her neck. Moist and warm, his
kiss sent pleasure rocketing through her body.

“
I’m trying to work here,”
she murmured

“
And I’m trying to seduce
you.” His soft voice tickled her ear, so she laughed instead of
responding. When he stepped back, she was glad she had a minute to
get her bearings. He wanted to seduce her?

Did that mean, seduce her
and have a relationship?

They both heard loud,
feminine laughter from outside, and Brent smiled. “That’d be Alice,
Dale’s girlfriend.”

When she took a shaky
breath, he turned and went to the door.

She followed hesitantly,
realizing something was happening. Maybe it had been happening for
a while, but she wasn’t fighting as fiercely as she usually did.
Being on the ranch at first had been one thing, but to feel welcome
was another thing.

“
Dale, Alice.” Brent
greeted them as he opened the door. “Alice, this is
Missy.”

“
Well, well. Now I see why
Brent let that horse kick him.”

Missy shot Brent a confused
look. Did she have something to do with that? Dale and Alice both
hooted while she narrowed her eyes at Brent.

“
We saw Ivan coming down
the road,” Dale said, most likely to change the subject for Brent’s
sake, then went to the door to open it.

* * * *

Brent left the living room
where everyone chatted but returned a moment later with his violin.
“I promised the lady a song or two, for taking care of me while my
side healed up.”

He held her gaze while he
warmed up. Next he eased into a soulful piece, with beautiful
soaring passages. His hands moved expertly, showing years of
practice, and his love of the instrument came through in his
playing.

With his intense gaze on
her, she couldn’t look away from him. Even while she knew everyone
looked between her and him.

She no longer knew what to
expect from his man - except that she had a lot more to
learn.

Chapter Seven

Music had been a hobby, one
he’d always enjoyed, but tonight his music became a love song for
Missy. He put his feelings for her into his music, hoping she
understood his longing, his need to touch her, his need to take her
breath away.

The others clapped along
with her when he finished the last song, but he looked into her
wondrous brown eyes only, gauging her response.

Romance,
anyone?

To everyone he said,
“Smells like dinner’s done.” He didn’t want to make a big show of
it, and he’d seen what he wanted from Missy. She’d listened with
more than her ears, leaning forward, her face
enraptured.

After he carried the turkey
to the table, he carved while everyone filled their
plates.

“
Did you cook for the rest
of the year?” Alice asked Brent with a laugh, “You don’t think we
eat this much, do you?”

He shrugged and glanced at
Missy. She returned his smile with a secretive one, a shared look.
With her hair pulled up, she looked different. Sophisticated, but
not aloof like when he’d first met her. It helped that she wore a
soft green sweater and not a silk suit.

Funny thing was, he itched
to pull her hair free and watch it tumble down around her shoulders
-- after kissing her neck like crazy. He hadn’t thought of that.
Maybe he liked it up . . . for a while.

“
Gonna daydream all day, or
are you hungry?” Dale intruded into his fantasy. One look at Dale
grinning at him told Brent his thoughts were pretty
apparent.

“
Don’t wait for me, dig
in,” he joked right back. He didn’t care if everyone could tell
what was on his mind. As long as Missy got the hint.

She glanced at him, but
looked away quickly.

“
I guess there is something
you can cook.” Brent spoke in Missy’s ear, so the others wouldn’t
hear him tease her.

She narrowed her eyes at
him, while trying not to smile. Her lips quivered before she gave
in and shrugged.

“
Pie anyone?” Dale asked,
adding to Missy, “You have to try my apple pie.”

“
I’ll try to fit in a
piece.”

Brent could see her
surprise when she bit into the first bite. “Can all the men around
here cook and bake better than me?”

Brent liked Dale’s pies,
but what he really wanted for dessert was the woman sampling a
bite. He watched her savor it, her eyes fluttering shut, and then
opening to look right at him.

A blush crept up her neck
and onto her cheeks. Brent’s manners insisted he didn’t rush
everyone out the door after dinner, but his body couldn’t wait to
get Missy alone.

On that thought, he cleared
the table and let his company talk. Glancing back at them, he saw
Missy’s gaze on him. His legs. She worked her way up and seemed to
stop right below his belt. He let out his breath when she moved on
to his stomach. She lingered there, too. Then his chest.

She was chewing her lips.
Someone help him.

Finally she looked up at
his face and went flaming red.
Oh, yeah,
baby, I’m watching you, too.
He
smiled.

Rubbing her neck, she
turned back to Alice, who wore a sly smile.

“
Well, I think we need to
be getting home.” Alice spoke loud enough for Dale to hear her as
she stood. Ivan sat with his wife on the couch, about climbing in
her lap, so he looked equally pleased with the idea.

Missy’s face had gone from
red to pale. He’d let her leave if she gave the slightest
indication she wasn’t ready to be close to him. Maybe he scared
her. He’d gobbled her up with his gaze all night. Where had his
self-control had gone? Right in the gutter, along with his
thoughts.

Dale and Alice wished
everyone a happy Thanksgiving and left. He knew they’d exchanged a
look about the heat between him and Missy. But hell, he couldn’t
hide it. He’d never wanted anyone like this before, and he didn’t
care who saw it.

After Ivan and Tina drove
away, Missy turned to him with questioning eyes, her mouth
parted.

“
I didn’t mean to make you
uneasy tonight,” he started. She looked down and he felt like
kicking himself.

“
Maybe it wasn’t you.” She
looked up again. He felt a leap of excitement when he read the
feelings there. “I’m not used to feeling like this.”